MC Breed may have synthesized East and West Coast styles on his debut album, partly explaining why it sounded so novel for its time, but by the time his third album, The New Breed, hit the streets in 1993 it was apparent: the Midwestern native had adopted the West Coast sound, which was at its zenith of popularity at the time. Dr. Dre’s The Chronic was bumping everywhere in 1993, even on the East Coast, so it isn’t too surprising that Breed, an artist who’s never too far behind the latest trends, headed West and hooked up with D.O.C., the writer/producer who had quietly helped make Dre’s The Chronic the success that it was. Furthermore, Breed also hooked up with Warren G, who produced some of this album, and a young and delightfully unthuggish 2 Pac, who helped make “Gotta Get Mine,” this album’s hit single, a career highlight for the former Midwestern and soon to be Dirty South rapper. In fact, Breed’s decision to head West for this album proved to be a wise decision. His next album, Funkafied, peaked at number nine on Billboard’s R&B chart without little to no commercial airplay, a testament to just how impressed the public was by this album. – Jason Birchmeier