September 14, 1993. Souls of Mischief — Tajai, A-Plus, Opio, and Phesto — released ’93 ’til Infinity on Jive Records. Thirty-three years later, it’s still one of the most recognized records in hip-hop history.

The title track — built on a looped Joe Zawinul sample from “Young and Fine” — is one of those records that doesn’t age. It feels like summer and Oakland and being 19 years old and feeling like anything is possible. It is, without question, one of the greatest moments in West Coast hip-hop.

But the album was more than a single. Front to back, ’93 ’til Infinity was a complete statement — four teenagers from Oakland who had been rapping together since junior high school, suddenly with the world’s attention and exactly the right thing to say. The jazz samples, the interlocking flows, the effortless cool — it was a blueprint for underground hip-hop that still gets referenced 33 years on.

The album sold over 500,000 copies. More importantly, it gave the Hiero crew — and a generation of independent hip-hop artists — proof that you could make uncompromising music and find your audience. It was the foundation everything else was built on.

To Souls of Mischief and the entire Hiero family: thank you for making it. To the fans who’ve been riding with this for 33 years: this one’s still for you.