Bay Area rapper Rasco benefited from an early stint with the group Various Blends, but was limited to self-released demos and EPs for years before his solo debut on Stones Throw. And while he might not have reached his highest profile until he teamed up with Planet Asia as Cali Agents in 2000, Time Waits for No Man leapfrogs over “promising” to land squarely on “give him props already.” Themes might be late ’90s indie-rap familiar — putdowns of quasi-Cosa Nostra champagne MCs, cold- and clear-eyed true crime storytelling, and backed-up declarations of lyrical dominance — but they’re delivered with a solarplexus-crushing authority over a beat suite that makes ’98 San Mateo sound like a quick detour into ’92 Queensbridge.

– Nate Patrin