Certified Fresh: Pac Div Continues Bringing That West Coast Dope

In a whirlwind six years, California rap trio Pac Div – also known as Pacific Division – has released four critically-acclaimed, album-worthy mixtapes, an EP and two full-length projects. Even with the wealth of material found on the Internets and online stores, the MCs Like, Mibbs and BeYoung are floating far too below the radar.

Who: Like, Mibbs and BeYoung are a trio of rappers hailing from Los Angeles County. Like and Mibbs are actual siblings, meeting BeYoung as teenagers while attending Highland High in Palmdale, Ca. Like also produces tracks for the crew, along with longtime producer Swiff D.

Credentials: Pac Div has the talent to go hard with the bars over funky yet smooth joints like “The Return” or the Kendrick Lamar and Blu-assisted banger “Cross Trainers” from their second album GMB. Other smash joints in their lengthy catalog include the bouncy “Mayor,” the hard-to-find “Women Problems” and the slinky groove of “Take Me High.”

Fun Fact: The trio was signed to Universal Motown by the legendary Sylvia Rhone. In a 2008 interview, the guys recounted how they performed in front of the famed music executive, even jumping on table at one point. The energy impressed her enough to give Pac Div a deal right there on the spot.

For our latest Certified Fresh feature, HipHopWired chatted briefly with Mibbs about the crew’s aims in being heard, and their ambitious recording aims in the coming year.

For those uninitiated, Pac Div is a family affair – literally. Like, who doubles as a producer for the crew, is the brother of the verbally dexterous Mibbs. BeYoung has been rolling with the siblings since high school, and the trio all came up playing hoops in Palmdale. With tunes ranging from staying freshly dipped, dating woes and other real-life matters, Mibbs believes their grassroots grind is what keeps them at the top.

“That’s the reason we still have our existence and continue to get better with every release,” said Mibbs of their homegrown style. “With all those different mixtapes, we hit different milestones with each mixtape and albums up to this point. We feel good about where we’re headed.”

Pac Div hit the scene in a major way with their 2006 debut mixtape Sealed For Freshness: The Blend Tape. Dripping heavy with Southern Cali accents, blistering flows, and a unyielding allegiance to all things West Coast, the Div got cosigns from big names like ?uestlove, 9^th Wonder, Pharrell Williams and others. But back then, the competition was a lot thinner than in recent times. Mibbs was self-aware enough to address that.

“We do know that there’s an influx of artists coming out doing the same thing and they’re getting hip on the business end,” explained Mibbs of the narrowing playing field. “Supply and demand is the name of the game and I’m noticing it’s less of a focus on quality and a lot more on quantity.”

The aforementioned co-signs and magazine features eventually led to the guys getting signed to a major label deal in 2008 with Universal Motown. However, their good fortunes dried up and a revealing 2011 LA Weekly piece highlighted their struggles and subsequent rise to triumph. In the span of time during their three years with Universal, they released a trio of amazing mixtapes in 2009’s Church League Champions, 2010’s Don’t Mention It, and the still spin-worthy Mania! In 2011.

“We take pride in being pioneers, that’s why we were able to deliver on those mixtapes during that span,” said Mibbs. “We always want to innovate, it’s pretty much like a competition. We challenge each other all the time.”

If you haven’t seen the Div live, their energetic stage show will make you a believer even if the music hasn’t grabbed you yet. Making their name on the road from small venues to big events like last year’s SXSW, Gabe, Mike and Bryan look to continue their winning streak in shutting down stages in 2012 and beyond.

Speaking of government names, the curious title of the crew’s second LP GMB was formed as a result of the gang’s names Gabe (Like), Mike (Mibbs) and Bryan (BeYoung). Their latest album is, according to Mibbs, “harder and more aggressive” than their official debut The Div. Mibbs offered that a lot of material on the debut was the last remnants of tracks they recorded while still signed to the major.

Now signed to RBC Records, home to veterans like E-40, Tech N9ne, Ice Cube, Ras Kass and others, Pac Div is certainly hoping that the same love they got along the way continues on as they keep bringing forth that West Coast dope. Mibbs also revealed he’s dropping a solo project with producer Scoop Deville titled Free Base.

The rest of the crew are embarking on solo projects as well with Like releasing an instrumental album The Letter L and a as-yet-untitled BeYoung solo record. With all their success, Mibbs is still humbled by all the love. “To get respected by the magazines and blogs and websites, that’s a really big deal to us,” said Mibbs.

Check out some essentials from Pac Div’s catalog below.

“Mayor”