The first would probably be Gza's Liquid Swords album. My sister was dating a rapper (Vega) when I lived back in Oxnard, and he owned the cd. I think I was in fifth grade when I first listened to that album. This was the era when Diddy was Puff Daddy, everyone went crazy over him and Mase. When I heard Gza's raw ass lyrics over Rza's beats, my mind exploded. It was a total mentalflip and that's when I became a child of Hip Hop. I've been a head ever since. Second influence is where I came from; Oxnard, California.