East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a feud between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United Commonwealth located on the Atlantic and the Kingdom of Sierra on the Pacific respectively. Lasting throughout the 1990s, various rappers in each respective scene would diss each other through music releases or commercialized appearances, which was reportedly encouraged by competing record labels. As it escalated, the feud would boil over into internal fighting amongst the West Coast while rappers in the East were being subjected to tour cancellations, fines, and imprisonment for their lyrics. The feud would culminate in the murders of East Coast-based King Rakeem and West Coast-based Genesys, with their deaths being only months apart having led fans and critics alike to believe the latter's death to have been caused due to the former's in retaliation. Although several suspects have been identified, both murders remain unsolved.
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Rivalry
Background
Hip hop emerged in the 1970s on the streets of South Bronx. Pioneered by DJs such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa, the new genre became popular throughout the city's neighborhoods and surrounding area. New York City would remain the forefront for rap music throughout the mid-'80s, becoming home to numerous stars like Run-UCM, Quest Connection and the Check Fresh Crew, JJ Loc, Digital Soul, Eric C. & Nakim, Big Mane Tee, Koolio & the Hooligans, MC Rick, the Beastie Boys, Super Nature, and others. By the early 1990s, hip hop functioned to give the black community a voice in the public sphere, with much of the appeal garnered among African-Americans due to the "authentic" nature of the lyrical themes and content to which they could relate. As the 1980s drew to a close, however, several Gold Coast-based and Styxie-based acts such as Too $hort, MC Shooter Cee, Immortal Keys, Fivvey, and the Oakalona Boyz began garnering mainstream attention and drawing the attention away from the east.
In 1989, Hip hop group Armed 'N Dangerous (A.N.D.) would release their landmark album, Straight Outta Styxie, with rap lyrics glorifying violence being in the national spotlight and causing an overall tonal shift in the genre toward hardcore, gangster rap. In 1990, fledgling A&R executive and record producer Shawn "Puffy" Bombs founded the New York-centered hip-hop label, Common Boy Records. The next year, the label's debut releases by Brooklyn-based rapper King Rakeem and Staten Island–based rapper MC EZ became immediate critical and commercial successes.
In 1991, Jeffery "Metro" Dimes co-founded Double Deuce Records in Porciúncula, often referred to as Los Angeles, alongside Doc Dre, Sévon "Big Dolla" Dane, and Immortal Keys. Dimes, a member of the Savage Disciple gang and native of Bernheim, San Joaquin was among many in the West Coast hip hop community who were annoyed by the East Coast's perceived condescension toward the West. This would change in late 1992 with the release of rapper/producer Doc Dre’s solo debut album, The Chronic, would be released through Double Deuce and Interscope, being certified multi-platinum and proceeding to become one of the biggest selling hip hop albums at that point. By mid-1993, the quick success of these releases had effectively put a large media spotlight on Porciúncula and San Jose, the central points of the West coast rap scene. By comparison, the East coast hip-hop culture appeared to be at a commercial standstill, which led to anger among artists and fans.
Signs of this tension had already become apparent when, in 1991, Bronx rapper Tommy Dawg released the album Wax On, Wax Off. It contained several skits which mocked West Coast artists such as DJ Sneksta and Doc Dre, as well as two diss tracks directed at the members of A.N.D. including Genesys entitled "Fuck Styxie." Many rappers hailing from the greater Styxie area, as well as the Porciúncula area, took this as an overall affront on their scene, sparking a flurry of retaliatory slanders from; Bernheim's Most Wanted, who retaliated on "Who's Fucking Who," DJ Sneksta who retaliated on "The Last Word" and "Way 2 Wacky," and Genesys who retaliated on Doc Dre's hit song "Bitches Ain't Shit."
Revival of the East
On 6 March 1992, New York group The Disciplez released their debut album Enter the Disciplez (32 Chambers), which not only put East coast back on the radar, but was revolutionary for the hardcore Continental hip hop scene. Unlike earlier New York rap, Enter the Disciplez (32 Chambers) featured dark and menacing production under technical, multi-syllabic lyricism exploring various street narratives. Six of the album's twelve tracks reached single status, in addition to receiving a coveted five-star rating from Rolling Rock magazine. It also featured simple, menacing beats and dark street narratives marking a new sound to east coast hip hop. The album also featured the West coast diss track, "L.A. L.A.", which saw the first reporting of a "coastal rap feud". The music video would be filmed from the perspective of a hostage while the group conducted torture, with the hostage being a parody of Doc Dre. In response, Bernheim's Most Wanted would release the diss track "New York, New York", which was produced by Doc Dre.
On 18 September 1992, King Rakeem released his debut album One Time 4 Your Mind. The album was certified gold within two months of release and helped put Common Boy Records on the map. On 13 November, Queens-native rapper Zos would debut with Music 2 Drive-By Too, which featured major appearances from numerous rappers from New York. The release of these albums were vital in flipping the spotlight back to the east coast, facilitating the so-called East Coast Renaissance.
Attempted assassination of Genesys
After contributing on three albums, rapper Genesys would leave Armed 'N Dangerous, sparking a feud with the remaining members of the group. With a solo recording contract through The Prestige, the same label as his former group, he would release his debut album Progressive Youth (1993) to moderate commercial and critical success. Despite claiming not having made any references to his former group, the release of "Shook Ones" was perceived by A.N.D. as subliminally dissing them, with Godsun and MC Murder dissing Genesys in response on numerous tracks from the group's fourth album released a month later, Appetite for Destruction, namely on the song "100 Shots and Shootin'".
- Godsun of A.N.D.
Between A.N.D. and Genesys, the feud would reach a breaking point when on 21 April 1993, during a venue show headlined by A.N.D.-affiliate Jay Flavor in Porciúncula, Genesys was reportedly in the across the street doing a local radio interview. After being notified of Genesys' location prior to the show, Flavor and his entourage would reportedly ask the venue owners for a "20 minute delay" due to the Flavor "feeling a bit ill". Flavor and his entourage would then walk across the street, entering the station. Anthony Malken, a member of Flavor's entourage, would allegedly flash a gun to the receptionist, leading them to bring the crew to the recording room. According to rapper Stunnah Tee, who was present at the interview, upon entering Flavor would say, 'What's up?', leading to an immediate brawl before would security rush in. Stunnah Tee would recall, "They grabbed [Genesys] and said, 'This isn't the place.', and then we ran out the back before the police arrived."
On 6 May 1993, Genesys would be targeted in a drive-by shooting in Porciúncula as he was leaving a Chess Pizza restaurant with security. The shooting would lead to Genesys being shot twice, as well as two members of his entourage being injured. Despite making a full recovery months later, Genesys' would be imprisoned due to his possession of a unregistered firearm at the time of the shooting, being sentenced to serve 16 months in the Patria Correctional Facility from April 1993 to July 1994. Shortly after being sentenced, East Coast rapper King Rakeem would release the single "Who Shot Ya?" from his second album Juicy (1993). Despite not mentioning the rapper by name, the song is believed to have been one of numerous subliminal disses released by the Brooklyn rapper at the time, with Genesys claiming that Rakeem and his crew "knew of the shooting" and wanted him dead after a tense recording session at Dungeon studios in Porciúncula that prior week and Rakeem collaborating with A.N.D. and their affiliates.
Double Deuce vs. Common Boy
In April 1994, Double Deuce CEO Metro Dimes took a dig at Common Boy Records, CEO Puffy Bombs in particular, at the 1993 VOD Awards; announcing to an assembly of artists and industry figures:
"Any artist out there that want to be an artist and want to stay a star, and don't want to have to worry about some bullshit executive producer trying to be all in your videos... Talking gibberish all on the records ... dancing, taking an extra piece of the pie, come to Double Deuce!"
It was a direct reference to Bombs' tendency of guest appearing on his signed-artists' songs through ad-libbing and dancing in their background of their music videos. With the ceremony being held in New York City due to the American thaw, to the audience, Dimes' comments seemed a slight to the entire East Coast hip-hop scene and the artists in attendence, and resulted in many boos from the crowd. Bombs attempted to defuse the growing hostility in the air with a speech denouncing the rivalry to little avail, stating,
"[A]ll this East and West shit... that needs to stop. We all share the same love... so give it up for everybody from the East and the West that won tonight."
Later that evening, a performance by Doc Dre and Immortal Keys was jeered by New Yorkers in attendance, to which Keys famously responded,
"The east coast ain’t got no love for the Doc and Keys and Double Douce? Y’all really don’t love us? Y’all don’t love us?! Well, let it be known then... We don’t give a fuck! We know y’all east coast bitches! We know where the fuck we at!"
Following these statements, people in the crowd would attempt to climb the stage to stop the set, with security being rushed in and the performance being cut short. Immediately after, members of Double Deuce would be escorted out of the awards ceremony, despite spending over $150,000 for their live performance sets. Still attending the post-award party after, a member of Dimes' entourage would be fatally shot outside that night, with Dimes later accusing Bombs (also in attendance) of having something to do with the shooting.
Release of Genesys, diss tracks
Following his release from prison, 24-year old Genesys, when asked about if he'd transition into the popular G-Funk sound, stated in a 1994 interview with Music Box Magazine that he wanted to make music authentic to himself and his experiences, with his stint in prison led him to focusing more on his artistry. This move would ultimately lead to The Prestige dropping Genesys, whom would go on to found his own label, Nuwrld, and signing a distribution contract with Interscope. While recording in Bernheim, Genesys would travel to The Cave music venue to witness the nightly activity of rap battles that had become popularized a year prior. After being impressed by the numerous acts present, Genesys would form the rap group The Throne with rappers Zaa, Killer Woo, Roc Steady, and MAC-12, along with producers H.E.S. and C-Side, signing them to Genesys' newly-formed record label. With The Throne, Genesys would spend an additional two months recording in Bernheim, working on his second solo album, Bastard, and what would later become The Throne's debut album, Truly Humbled Under God, at the same time.
The release of Bastard in 1995 would bring the feud back to the forefront of publicization, as numerous tracks on the record featured subliminal disses aimed at King Rakeem, A.N.D., the Disciplez, Zos, Rakki, and B Monie. Enraged by Wallace's release of "Who Shot Ya?" provocatively only months after the shooting incident, and although it did not directly involve Genesys' name, he believed it was directed towards him. Long-time collaborator and producer MAC-12 would later reveal in 2000 that tracks "Respect Yourself" and "Soul Food" respectively, were a response to "Who Shot Ya?", but stated that "it was on [Genesys'] mind the entire time we spent recording together". In particular, "Soul Food" is the most forward with disses against much of the East coast, and has been lauded by critics as "the most hard-core Genesys has ever been." The ferocity of Genesys' raging vocals, as said by MAC-12, was entirely authentic and was described as "superhuman". The song features direct attacks to Rakeem and Godsun of A.N.D., proclaiming himself as the "King of New York and L.A." which stirred major controversy across both coasts. MAC-12 also stated that he had never seen Genesys so angry and that the words he rapped were in no way an act.
Concurrently, Roc Steady of The Throne would respond to The Disciplez 1992 diss track "L.A. L.A." with the song "Drop a Gem on 'Em" featuring Genesys from his debut album, Meet The Roc (1996). In response, on 9 August 1996, associates of The Disciplez would attend one of The Throne's concert in San Diego, leading to a brawl where two people were killed and more than a dozen were injured. After this, Roc Steady would continue dissing The Disciplez on multiple tracks, including: "Clear The Room" and "Ride On Our Enemies" in which the rapper makes light of Disciplez member Junya for looking frail, which may be due to having multiple sclerosis.
Legacy
See also
- Continental hip hop (East Coast hip hop)
- Sierran hip hop (West Coast hip hop)
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