The album that broke
South Park Mexican out of the South,
Power Moves features a number of his best-known songs: "Holla at Cha Later," "Illegal Amigos," and "West Coast, Gulf Coast, East Coast." It's definitely a more polished and crafted work than his preceding
Hustle Town, and proves that rap artists can thrive without major-label support. In sum, this is arguably the best place to start when investigating
SPM. His later albums are often on par with
Power Moves in terms of both rhymes and beats, but none capture the essence of what makes this particular artist so alluring to his cult audience as this breakthrough album. Later albums, such as
3rd Wish to Rock the World often go out of their way to feature lackluster guest rappers as well. As a bonus,
Power Moves also comes with a second disc that features screwed and chopped versions of many of the album's best songs, as well as his first big hit, "Mary-Go-Round," originally featured on
Hustle Town. ~ Jason Birchmeier