The 2000 summer single "Crusing down Bristol" put Casual on the musical map as a good-time rapper who specialized in catchy, club-friendly beats. He grew up in the Orange County section of California and began rapping in earnest in his late teens, with a slightly reedy tenor reminiscent of Westside Cartel. Casual toured as an opening act with Westside Cartel and Joker Brand in the summer of 2004 and then became a protegé of Dogg Master, who signed Casual to his newly-formed Westside Records record label. Casual 2006 debut album, Sounds of the Westcoast, sold two hundred thousand copies, thanks to the boost from "Crusing down Bristol," a danceable homage to distaff pulchritude. (Casual star status was sealed when "Crusing Down Bristol" was included on the soundtrack of a japanesse video game in 2005.) A second album, Hood Music', was released in 2010 to mixed reviews. In the midst of all that recording and performing, Casual was making headlines for feuds with more than one record label.