East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry

The East Coast–West Coast Hip Hop Rivalry was a feud in the 1990s between artists and fans of the Eastcoast and Westcoast hip-hop scenes. Seeming focal points of the feud were East Coast-based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (and his label, Bad Boy Records), and West Coast-based rapper 2Pac (and his label, Death Row Records), both of whom were murdered.

Contents

Background

During the late 1970s, hip-hop emerged in the streets of New York City,[1][2][3] which would remain the forefront of the genre throughout the 1980s.[4] As the 1980s drew to a close, however, several west coast based acts such as Ice-T, MC Hammer, and N.W.A began garnering attention.[4] The origins of the conflict were arguably initiated in 1991 when East Coast based rapper Tim Dog released “Fuck Compton”, a scathing diss track aimed at N.W.A. and other Compton artists including DJ Quik.[5][6][7]

In late 1992, rapper/producer Dr. Dre’s solo debut album, The Chronic, was released on the fledgling Death Row Records.[8] Into the new year, the album went triple platinum.[9] In late 1993, Death Row Records released Doggystyle, the debut album by Dr. Dre's protégé[10] and Long Beach-based Snoop Dogg, which also became a multi-platinum opus.[11] By early 1994, the quick success of Death Row Records (headed by Suge Knight and Dr. Dre)[12] had effectively put a large media spotlight on Los Angeles and the west-coast hip-hop scene.[13]

The Rivalry

Bad Boy vs. Death Row

In 1993, fledgling A&R executive and record producer Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs founded the New York-centered hip-hop label, Bad Boy Records.[14][15] The next year, the label’s debut releases by Brooklyn-based rapper Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace (also referred to as ‘Biggie Smalls’)[16] and Long Island-based rapper Craig Mack became immediate critical and commercial successes, and seemed to revitalize the East Coast hip-hop scene by 1995.[17]

New York born and Oakland, California-based rapper Tupac Shakur, meanwhile, forged a rivalry with Biggie, publicly accusing him and Combs of having facilitated him being robbed and shot five times in the lobby of a New York recording studio on November 30, 1994.[5][18][19][19][20] Shortly after 2Pac’s shooting, “Who Shot Ya?,” a B-side track from the BIG’s “Big Poppa” single was released. Although Combs and Wallace denied having anything to do with the shooting and stated that “Who Shot Ya?” had been recorded before his shooting,[21] 2Pac and the majority of the rap community interpreted it as B.I.G.’s way of taunting him.[22][23]

In August 1995, Death Row CEO Suge Knight took a dig at Bad Boy and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs at that year's Source Awards; announcing to the assembly of artists and industry figures:

“Any artist out there that want to be an artist and stay a star, and don’t have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos…All on the records…dancing, come to Death Row!”[24]

It was a direct reference to Combs’ tendency of ad-libbing on his artists’ songs and dancing in their videos.[25] With the ceremony being held in New York, to the audience, Knight’s comments seemed a slight to the entire East Coast hip-hop scene, and resulted in many boos from the crowd.[26]

Tensions were escalated when Knight later attended a party for producer Jermaine Dupri in Atlanta. During the bash, a close friend of Suge’s was shot in the arm. Knight accused Combs (also in attendance) of having something to do with the shooting.[18][27][28] The same year, Knight posted the $1.4 million bail of the then-incarcerated 2Pac, in exchange for his signing with Death Row Records.[29] Shortly after the rapper’s release in October 1995, he proceeded to join Knight in furthering Death Row’s feud with Bad Boy Records.

2Pac vs. The Notorious B.I.G.

“ Who shot ya? Separate the weak from the obsolete, hard to creep them Brooklyn streets. ”

—The Notorious B.I.G., “Who Shot Ya?”
“ Who shot me? But ya punks didn't finish now you 'bout to feel the wrath of a menace… Nigga, I hit ‘em up! ”

—2Pac, “Hit 'Em Up”

After the release of Who Shot Ya?, which Shakur interpreted as a diss song mocking his robbery/shooting,[30] 2Pac appeared on numerous tracks aiming threatening and/or antagonistic slants at Biggie, Bad Boy as a label, and anyone affiliated with them from late 1995 to 1996.[31][32] During this time the media became heavily involved and dubbed the rivalry a coastal rap war, reporting on it continuously.[33][34] This caused fans from both scenes to take sides.[17] Although an official retaliation record was never released by the Brooklyn rapper in response, certain songs from B.I.G.'s catalog can be speculated as being an answer to Shakur's slurs, most notably "Long Kiss Goodnight" which Lil' Cease claimed was aimed at 2Pac in an XXL magazine interview.[35]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dyson, Michael Eric, 2007, Know What I Mean? : Reflections on Hip-Hop, Basic Civitas Books, p. 6.
  2. ^ Castillo-Garstow, Melissa (March 2005). "Latinos in Hip Hop to Reggaeton". Latin Beat Magazine 15 (2): 24(4). 
  3. ^ Rojas, Sal (2007). "Estados Unidos Latin Lingo". Zona de Obras (Zaragoza, Spain) (47): 68. 
  4. ^ a b Encyclopedia Britannica article on hip-hop, retrieved from britannica.com
  5. ^ a b "HOLLYWOOD OR BUST-UP". The Observer. July 7, 1996. 
  6. ^ "Rapper fires up New York vs. Los Angeles rivalry". The Robesonian. September 3, 1991. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uME_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=sVcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4367,527985&dq=tim+dog+compton&hl=en. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
  7. ^ "Gangsta Rap': Rhyme That Pays". The Washington Post. November 29, 1991. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/74756593.html?dids=74756593:74756593&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+29%2C+1991&author=Gil+Griffin&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Gangsta+Rap'%3A+Rhyme+That+Pays&pqatl=google. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
  8. ^ "Dr. Dre's 'Chronic' Getting Stronger". LA Times. January 29, 1993. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/60173215.html?dids=60173215:60173215&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+29%2C+1993&author=DENNIS+HUNT&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Dr.+Dre's+%60Chronic'+Getting+Stronger&pqatl=google. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
  9. ^ "After All the Hype, Will This Dogg Hunt?". The Washington Post. November 28, 1993. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/72205827.html?dids=72205827:72205827&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+28%2C+1993&author=Richard+Harrington&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=After+All+the+Hype%2C+Will+This+Dogg+Hunt%3F&pqatl=google. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Snoop unleashes his `Doggystyle' funk". USA Today. November 23, 1993. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/USAToday/access/55221048.html?dids=55221048:55221048&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+23%2C+1993&author=James+T.+Jones+IV&pub=USA+TODAY+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Snoop+unleashes+his+%60Doggystyle'+funk&pqatl=google. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
  11. ^ "SNOOP". The Fayetteville Observer. June 29, 1997. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=FV&p_theme=fv&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F54FC0D088861D7&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
  12. ^ "Winds of Change Hit Music's Top Tier: Winds of Change Are Sweeping the Recording Industry". NY Times. January 2, 1995. 
  13. ^ "Only One Star in the Two Schools of Rap". NY Times. August 14, 1994. 
  14. ^ "Interview with Mark Pitts". HitQuarters. April 26, 2006. http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_MarkPitts.html. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
  15. ^ Bad Boy’s Good Man - March 2004
  16. ^ "Slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. wasn't `ready to die'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. March 10, 1997. 
  17. ^ a b "Milwaukee players talk about the rap wars between the coasts". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. May 10, 1995. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MqUcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4SwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3210,8721508&hl=en. Retrieved November 14, 2011. 
  18. ^ a b "The Homeboy as Mogul, And the Mogul as Rapper". NY Times. July 20, 1997. 
  19. ^ a b "A History of Modern Music: Part three: Hip-hop and R&B: 35. The death of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, 1996 - 1997". The Guardian. June 13, 2011. 
  20. ^ "Ex-LAPD detective: 'Suge Knight and P Diddy were behind hits on Biggie and Tupac'". NME. October 4, 2011. 
  21. ^ "Big Life: The rise and fall of Biggie Smalls". The Guardian. January 31, 2009. 
  22. ^ "Gangsta rap: East Coast vs West Coast". New Straits Times. May 21, 1997. 
  23. ^ "Requiem for a Gangsta". Newsweek. March 24, 2997. 
  24. ^ "A Source Of Trouble Shots, suits & shaky circulation threaten to rip apart hip-hop mag". Daily News NY. August 3, 2005. 
  25. ^ "The Turbulent Life and Times Of a Rap Mogul". The Washington Post. June 17, 2007. 
  26. ^ "THE RAP COLUMN : NOTORIOUS WINS B.I.G., MINOR REGIOAL FRACAS AMONG HIGHLIGHTS OF AWARDS". Billboard. August 26, 1995. 
  27. ^ "MTV party shooting revives rap wars". The Times. August 29, 2005. 
  28. ^ "Police probe Puff Daddy on Atlanta killing". The Sunday Times. january 28, 2001. 
  29. ^ "Tupac Shakur out on $ 1.4-million bail". St. Petersburg Times. October 14, 1995. 
  30. ^ "L.A. TIMES LINKS DIDDY TO 1994 SHOOTING OF TUPAC". The Boom Box. March 17, 2008. http://www.theboombox.com/2008/03/17/la-times-links-diddy-to-1994-shooting-of-tupac/. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  31. ^ "Man Says He Shot Tupac at Quad Studio". The Root. June 16, 2011. http://www.theroot.com/buzz/man-admits-shooting-tupac-quad-studio. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  32. ^ "Biggie Smalls was murdered 12 years ago. Now Jamal Woolard's portrayal of the rapper in Notorious is bringing pain among the plaudits, such is his uncanny likeness to him". The Scotsman. January 13, 2009. http://www.scotsman.com/news/biggie_smalls_was_murdered_12_years_ago_now_jamal_woolard_s_portrayal_of_the_rapper_in_notorious_is_bringing_pain_among_the_plaudits_such_is_his_uncanny_likeness_to_him_1_753790. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  33. ^ "THE RAP WARS / EAST COAST VS. WEST COAST". Newsday. September 23, 2996. 
  34. ^ "Gangsta Life And Death; For Tupac Shakur, Violence Was Part of the Act". The Washington Post. September 16, 1996. 
  35. ^ "8 Subliminal Diss Records That No One Claims". XXL. November 5, 2010. http://www.xxlmag.com/homepage-highlight/2010/11/8-subliminal-diss-records-that-no-one-claims/4/. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 

References

"Всё о West Coast Rap". by Shmuga. http://westcoast.at.ua.