You don't see a whole lot of hip-hop supergroups any more. Why is that? Is it because most artists already have a posse of their own and feel a stronger need to promote within the family than on the outside? Or is it because they tend to go horribly awry? The Firm couldn't deliver despite a great lineup and spectacular buzz, and Gravediggaz could only manage one album's worth of greatness. Remember the promising-but-flat Def Squad, or the stillborn collaboration between Jay-Z, Ja Rule and DMX? Whatever the case, there was at least one trio of stars who managed to deliver when they formed like Voltron and delivered one of the last great releases of the '90s gangsta era. On this day in 1996, Westside Connection -- consisting of Ice Cube, Mack 10 and WC (aka the Gangsta, the Killa and the Dope Dealer) -- dropped their debut album Bow Down.

Prior to their full-length debut, the three Los Angeles-based members of Westside Connection appeared on a few tracks together (most notably on the song "Westside Slaughterhouse," from Mack 10's 1995 self-titled debut). The trio's debut album was immediately gobbled up by the hip-hop community, as it not only featured some great interplay between three great lyricists but also sported some top-shelf Dr. Dre-biting late period G-funk (especially on the title track and the media evisceration "All the Critics in New York"). Strangely, Bow Down also represents one of the main mile markers of the beef between the group and Cypress Hill (there are several references throughout the album, though "King of the Hill" is the clearest diss).

Bow Down went on to sell nearly two million copies, though Westside Connection didn't put out a second album until 2003 (and Mack 10 left the group shortly thereafter). Still, "Bow Down" remains a stellar keepsake from the gangsta era, and the video shows all three members in their west coast finest.

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