East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry
| East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry | |||||||
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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.
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."
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 success.
Shortly after the album's release, 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?". 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 Wallace collaborating with Genesys' former group, A.N.D..
Legacy
See also
- Continental hip hop (East Coast hip hop)
- Sierran hip hop (West Coast hip hop)
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