Believe it or not, Ice T was on the cutting edge of 'Gangsta/hardcore' rap back in the day.
He was a well known/respected hustler before he blew up rhymin', in fact, most of his early stuff was just a rehash of his life....
But, hands down, the hardest, most 'real' album that I EVER heard was by these guy's called "The Lifers Group". Remember " scared straight"?
Well. it's the newer generation of those guys...Man, these cats were rhymin' about crimin', and it was all true..How do I know? Oh, did I mention that the entire album was recorded at Rikers Island? These guy's were talkin' about the stuff that got them locked up, and the stuff that went down in jail..
If you can find it, listen..I used to have the video, and I'm pretty sure that I have the cassette . I'll look for it.