Souls Of Mischief

Souls of Mischief came out of Oakland in the early 1990s with four emcees: Tajai Massey, A-Plus, Phesto, and Opio. Their 1993 album '93 'Til Infinity' gave them a lasting presence in hip-hop, anchored by the title track that became something of an anthem for that era. The record had a relaxed, jazz-touched feel that stood apart from what was happening on the East and West Coats at the time.

Songs like 'Step To My Girl' and '94 Via Satellite' showed their knack for weaving everyday stories with clever, internal rhymes over production that felt both intricate and easy. They weren't shouting or adopting gangsta poses; their style was conversational, almost observational, which made their work stick around in a different way than flashier hits from the period.

After '93 'Til Infinity', they put out records like 'No Man's Land' in 1995 and 'Focus' in 1997, maintaining a core audience even as hip-hop's commercial landscape shifted dramatically around them. They kept writing, kept rhyming, and their early work, especially that 1993 album, never really faded from rotation among listeners who valued technique and mood over sheer aggression.