• Compilation of mid- to late-’80s material from N.W.A.’s “fifth Beatle”

If the history of rap could be condensed into a 100-page book, Arabian Prince (a.k.a. Mik Lezan) would have a few sentences written about him at most. In the strictest sense of the word, he truly was a groundbreaker of West Coast rap, but his significance in the big picture was muted outside of his hometown of Los Angeles. Despite gaining limited recognition for his solo work, he may be forever known as the guy who was with N.W.A. for all of 20 minutes, becoming a footnote when Ice Cube joined the crew.

Innovative Life is an example of above average fare for the type of music being made before Dr. Dre's P-Funk grooves and N.W.A.'s badassery put the West Coast scene on the map. The genesis of rap is quite evident here, as the variation (or lack thereof) between songs is less than awe-inspiring — let's face it, they all sound like slightly different mixes of Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" or Herbie Hancock's "Rockit." The relevance of this music is minimal, especially in the context of how far rap has ventured in the past 20 years, so be forewarned — Innovative Life is for hardcore fans or purists only.