Los Angeles rapper Paperboy (Mitchell Johnson) scored one of 1993's biggest rap hits with "Ditty," a Zapp-indebted G-funk track, released on Next Plateau, that reached number 10 on the Hot 100 early that year. Its parent album, The Nine Yards, peaked at number 48 on the Billboard 200, and the single was subsequently nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Solo Performance. ("Let It Ride," by fellow L.A. native Dr. Dre, took the award.) City to City, the MC's second album for Next Plateau, wasn't released until 1996, and from that point, recordings were fewer and farther between. Among his later releases were The Love Never Dies (Thump, 2004), The New News (TTL, 2008), and Fresh Off the Press (self-released, 2015). Throughout his career, Paperboy maintained his allegiance to the G-funk sound. ~ Andy Kellman