Lawrence Goodman and his wife Ann had been releasing R&B, dance and rap records on their Pop Art imprint since the early 1980s. Acts like The Singing M.C. Breeze and Schoolly D had been producing, recording, releasing and distributing their own music on their own labels, (even creating their own artwork on the record covers), since the mid-1980s.

And you can add the rap group 3-D to that list.

Later known as Three Times Dope, 3-D (EST, Chuck Nice and D.J. Woody Wood) released their first few singles through the Lawrence Goodman-affiliated Hilltop Hustlers record label, which was the home of Philly emcee Cool C as well. In the late '80s, a rap artist's pre-album singles not only built their reputation and brand, but they also created hype for the upcoming album, even determining whether they would even have the chance to record a full length album—which many did not.

3-D released the singles "Crushin' & Bussin'"/"On The Dope Side" and "From The Giddy Up"/"Once More You Hear The Dope Stuff" in 1987 and 1988, respectively. Both singles were revered as underground classics at the time, receiving heavy airplay on Hip-Hop mix shows and moving respectable units in what was considered rap's "Golden Era." It was obvious from the first listen that 3-D was musically about big beats and cleverly-placed samples, and "Crushin' & Bussin'" contained both; topped off with EST's clever wordplay, Chuck Nice's drum programming (assisted by Steady B, according to the credits) and Woody Wood's cuts and scratches. 3-D had the ears of underground Hip-Hop, and their next single would solidify their dopeness and pull us even further into the world of what 3-D famously-dubbed the "Acknickulous" Philly sound.

"From The Giddy Up" cleverly sampled "Let A Woman Be A Woman" by Dyke And The Blazers and "Get On The Good Foot" by James Brown, a perfect soundbed for EST to flex his lyrical muscle and DJ Tat Money (who was Steady B's deejay at the time) to do what Philly deejays do. "From The Giddy Up" (and its B-side "Once More You Hear The Dope Stuff") was the single that made the people want to hear more from the Philadelphia trio, and later in 1989, we would receive eight new songs (in addition to the previously-released "From The Giddy Up and "Once More You Hear The Dope Stuff") in the form of the Arista Records' full-length album, Original Stylin.'

The lead single from Original Stylin' was "The Greatest Man Alive," which was EST's lyrical manifesto announcing his arrival and declaring his supremacy. The power of Arista's distribution and promotion arm gave us 3-D's first video, which was the first time that most of their fans ever saw their faces. 3-D, by now known as Three Times Dope, was no longer considered an underground group. The video for "The Greatest Man Alive" received heavy airplay on the new video outlets Yo! MTV Raps and BET's Rap City. This exposure put the group into rotation and into conversations along with other 1998 greats like "Follow The Leader" by Eric B. and Rakim (the first video aired on Yo! MTV Raps), "Ain't No Half Steppin'" by Big Daddy Kane, "You Gots To Chill" by EPMD, Public Enemy's "Night of The Living Baseheads" and the scores of other releases from rap's magic year.

Lyrically, EST brought a unique style and cadence to an already versatile landscape as he spit:

The video not only showcased Woody Wood's turntable work, it was one of few to highlight the producer, Chuck Nice in this case actually playing the drum machine, a powerful image of a unified crew. As videos do, the video for "The Greatest Man Alive" boosted the popularity of the song as the song and video rode each other to glory immediately creating a buzz for Original Styin.'

The second single from the album was "Funky Dividends," which tackled the the subject of the "gold digger" a year prior to EPMD and sixteen years before Kanye West. Musically, "...Dividends" (as it was often called) contained a loop of "Oh Honey" by The Delegation and a drum chop of "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss. Lyrically, EST crafts the tale of his ex-girlfriend Michelle who after one date starts asking for cash. EST spits:

"Dividends" gave Three Times Dope another hit song and video further solidifying the groups position and increasing the popularity of Original Stylin'.

The album's title track was the third single released from the album and another banger, though it didn't gain the popularity of the first two. The drum-heavy track is reminiscent of their earlier Hilltop Records releases and a testament to Chuck Nice's production and drum programming skill set. "Straight Up," with it's off beat drum pattern and EST's clever wordplay, is another standout song.

It was commonplace—and almost a prerequisite—for a rap album to contain a socially-conscious song and/or a deejay cut/instrumental track and "Increase The Peace" and "Who Is This?" check the boxes for those songs; and both were solid cuts on the album. "Improvin' Da Groovin" and "Believe Dat" were also respectable cuts on an album where there was no need to fast forward and the replay value was great.