A funk musician who left his mark in Washington, D.C. and Memphis, Tennessee prior to achieving his greatest success in Los Angeles, California, Ronnie Hudson is known most for "West Coast Pop Lock," the classic 1982 single that linked Zapp to 2Pac. Originally from D.C., bassist Hudson performed with Chuck Brown and Al Johnson before he relocated to Memphis, where he recorded during the '70s with Isaac Hayes (as heard on part of the Shaft soundtrack and the entirety of Black Moses), Luther Ingram (the number three pop hit "[If Loving You Is Wrong] I Don't Want to Be Right"), and Rufus Thomas (including the number two R&B hit "The Breakdown"). Around the start of the following decade, Hudson moved to San Francisco, then to Los Angeles, and went solo with "West Coast Pop Lock." Co-credited to the Street People, the single -- based on Zapp's "So Ruff, So Tuff," with Hudson's distinctive flavoring -- was kick-started by L.A. station KDAY. Hudson followed with additional singles in 1983 and 1985 (that weren't as popular but became collectors' items). By the end of the '80s, "West Coast Pop Lock" had been sampled and/or referenced several times over. In 1996, through 2Pac and Dr. Dre's multi-platinum smash "California Love" -- featuring Zapp's Roger Troutman -- the song became more popular than ever. Hudson continued to perform regularly and record, and in 2014 released Westcoastin' with appearances from Too $hort, E-40, Snoop Dogg, and DJ Battlecat, among other major West Coast rap figures. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

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Ronnie Hudson

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