C-Bo – Til My Casket Drops – A Hip-Hop 1st Amendment First

One of the benefits of having a magazine is getting access to vintage ‘advance copy’ releases of albums. One of the classics that came across my desk was the advance cassette release of C-Bo’s 1998 classic Til My Casket Drops.

On February 24, 1998, (23yrs ago), AWOL Records released C-Bo’s fourth classic studio album Til My Casket Drops. The album reached all the way to #4 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Album chart and debuted at #41 on the Billboard 200 Chart.

It features production by Northern California producer legends such as Mike Mosley, B.C., DJ Daryl, One Drop Scott, Rick Ross and C-Bo himself. It also features a ton of notable artists such as Spice 1, E-40, Tupac’s Outlawz, JT the Bigga Figga, Killa Tay, and fellow Sacramento rappers X-Raided and label mate Lunasicc. This album also introduced the Bay Area super-group Mob Figaz featuring C-Bo, Husalah, Rhydah J. Klyde, The Jacka (RIH), Fed-X, and AP.9. They shine on the intro track “Ride Til’ We Die” along with artist 151.

This album is a classic contribution to Northern California’s impact on hip-hop culture and an early example of freedom of speech legal challenges. His lyrics from the track “Deadly Game” was considered a violation of C-Bo’s parole agreement and landed the rapper back in jail while his recently released album Til My Casket Drops, was climbing the Billboard charts. Ironically, 23 years later, the “Deadly Game” track is still relevant and resonates today. It was written from a frustrated and reactive perspective felt by many young black males that deal with negative interactions with law enforcement.

Many attorneys and 1st Amendment advocates believed that C-Bo’s parole violation charge was the first case in which an artist had been jailed because of the content of their lyrics. The California State Board of Prison Terms avoided an ugly freedom of speech debate by quickly overturning the state parole officials decision – dropping the violation charges and vindicating C-Bo’s rights to freedom of speech.