Hip-Hop Rivalries: East .vs. West

Throughout the 90’s hip-hop was engulfed in a territorial feud pitting rappers on the east coast against rappers on the west coast. I would to revisit this feud but instead of dwelling on the past I will pit each coast, based on the talent of it’s MC’s, against each other to once and for all find out which side has the upper-hand 16 years after the symbolic end of the original beef.

West coast: Up until the late 80’s-early 90’s hip-hop on the west coast was hardly recognized if at all by national media. This all changed with the introduction of rappers such as Ice-T and groups like N.W.A who rapped about the gritty reality of so-called “ghetto” life, this type of rapping would later become known as “gangster rap”. The west coast’s style focuses on the struggle of every day life with gritty lyrics and attitude.

East coast: This (specifically New York) is the birthplace of hip-hop. The hip-hop revolution was started by artists like Kool Herc and groups such as The Sugar Hill Gang and was perfected by the likes of Rakim and LL Cool J. The east coast’s style focuses on clever lyrics, complex rhyme schemes, and metaphors to convey each individual artist’s message.

Vote for which side you think is better!