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{{Short description|1990s dispute between hip hop artists and fans in the US}}
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The '''East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry''' is a dispute between artists and fans of the [[East Coast hip hop]] and [[West Coast hip hop]] scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/09/lapd-notorious-big-murder/1756471/|title=LAPD apologizes to Notorious B.I.G.'s family|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=December 9, 2012|access-date=November 25, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209180014/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/09/lapd-notorious-big-murder/1756471/|url-status=live}}</ref> A focal point of the rivalry was the feud between East Coast–based rapper [[the Notorious B.I.G.]] signed by [[Sean Combs|Puff Daddy]] and their [[New York City]]–based label, [[Bad Boy Records]], and West Coast–based rapper [[Tupac Shakur]] signed by [[Suge Knight]] and their [[Los Angeles]]–based label, [[Death Row Records]]. Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in [[Drive-by shooting|drive-by shootings]] within six months of each other, after which the feud entered a truce with a "peace" summit in 1997 at the behest of [[Nation of Islam]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ice Cube Says Beef With Common Was A 'Dark Moment' In His Career |url=https://www.bet.com/article/r4u4j5/ice-cube-recalls-beef-with-common |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=BET |language=en |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326014640/https://www.bet.com/article/r4u4j5/ice-cube-recalls-beef-with-common |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Saint-Vil |first=Sweenie |title=Fat Joe describes exactly how he helped end the East Coast/West Coast beef |url=https://www.revolt.tv/article/2021-12-21/145248/fat-joe-explains-role-in-ending-east-coast-west-coast-beef |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=REVOLT |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326014641/https://www.revolt.tv/article/2021-12-21/145248/fat-joe-explains-role-in-ending-east-coast-west-coast-beef |url-status=live }}{{unreliable source inline|date=May 2024}}</ref>
'''The East Coast–West Coast Hip Hop Rivalry''' was a feud in the early-mid 1990s between artists and fans of the [[East Coast rap|East Coast]] and [[West Coast rap|West Coast]] hip-hop scenes. Seeming focal points of the feud were West Coast-based rapper [[2Pac]] (and his label, [[Death Row Records]]), and East Coast-based rapper [[The Notorious B.I.G.]] (and his label, [[Bad Boy Records]]), both of whom were murdered.


==Background==
==Rivalry==
===Background===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2009}}
[[Hip hop music]] and [[Hip hop (culture)|hip hop culture]] is widely considered to have originated on the [[Northeastern United States|East Coast of the United States]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Millar |first1=Aaron |title=New York: the birthplace of hip hop |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2018/05/new-york-birthplace-hip-hop |access-date=November 24, 2021 |work=[[National Geographic]] |date=May 19, 2018 |language=en-gb |archive-date=November 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124232211/https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2018/05/new-york-birthplace-hip-hop |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hip-Hop: A Culture of Vision and Voice |url=https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/hip-hop/hip-hop-a-culture-of-vision-and-voice/ |publisher=[[Kennedy Center]] |access-date=November 24, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623155128/https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/hip-hop/hip-hop-a-culture-of-vision-and-voice/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Swanson |first1=Abbie Fentress |title=The South Bronx: Where Hip-Hop Was Born |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/89709-south-bronx-hip-hop-year-zero/ |access-date=November 24, 2021 |publisher=[[WNYC]] |date=August 2, 2010 |language=en |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004011029/https://www.wnyc.org/story/89709-south-bronx-hip-hop-year-zero/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, New York rappers were often perceived as feeling their hip hop scene was superior to other regional hip hop cultures whereas those on the [[West Coast of the United States]] had developed an [[inferiority complex]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quinn |first1=Eithne |title=Nuthin' But a "G" Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap |date=2005 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-12408-9 |page=84 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GWybXxc952oC&pg=PT84 |access-date=November 24, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=November 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124232210/https://books.google.com/books?id=GWybXxc952oC&pg=PT84 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="slowburn3" />
During the late 1970s, [[Hip hop music|Hip-hop]] emerged in the streets of [[New York City]], which would remain the forefront of the genre throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. As the 1980s drew to a close, however, several west coast based acts such as [[Ice-T]], [[MC Hammer]], [[N.W.A]] and [[The D.O.C.]] began garnering attention. The origins of the conflict were arguably initiated in [[1991 in music|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 [[Compton's Most Wanted]] and [[DJ Quik]]. N.W.A. never officially responded due to their pending break up, but upcoming West Coast artist [[Tweedy Bird Loc]] would respond on the track “Fuck the South Bronx.”


By the late-1980s, however, West Coast hip hop was flourishing, led by acts such as [[Compton, California]]'s [[N.W.A]]. On November 12, 1991, [[Bronx]] rapper [[Tim Dog]] released the album ''[[Penicillin on Wax]]''.<ref name="madden" /> It contained several skits which mocked West Coast artists and a [[diss track]] directed at the members of N.W.A including [[Dr. Dre]] entitled "[[Fuck Compton]]." Dr. Dre would respond a year later on his debut solo album, ''[[The Chronic]]''.<ref name="madden">{{cite news |last1=Madden |first1=Sidney |title=Today in Hip-Hop: Tim Dog Drops 'Pencillin on Wax' Album |url=https://www.xxlmag.com/tim-dog-pencillin-on-wax-album/ |access-date=November 28, 2021 |work=[[XXL Mag]] |date=November 12, 2016 |language=en |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128231229/https://www.xxlmag.com/tim-dog-pencillin-on-wax-album/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Although Tim Dog would not figure into the later stages of the feud, his diss track presaged what was to come. This was also the same year that [[Uncle Luke]] came out with the album ''[[In the Nude]]'' which also dissed [[Dr. Dre]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Barber |first1=Andrew |last2=Tharpe |first2=Frazier |title=The 50 Best Hip-Hop Diss Songs |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2018/10/the-50-best-hip-hop-diss-songs/tim-dog-fuck-compton-1991 |access-date=November 28, 2021 |work=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]] |date=October 13, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128231228/https://www.complex.com/music/2018/10/the-50-best-hip-hop-diss-songs/tim-dog-fuck-compton-1991 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In late [[1992 in music|1992]], rapper/producer [[Dr. Dre|Dr. Dre’s]] solo debut album, ''[[The Chronic]]'', was released on the fledgling Death Row Records. Into the new year, the album went triple platinum. In late [[1993 in music|1993]], Death Row Records released ''[[Doggystyle]]'', the debut album by Dr. Dre protégé and [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]]-based [[Snoop Dogg]], which also became a multi-platinum opus. By early [[1994 in music|1994]], the quick success of Death Row Records (headed by [[Suge Knight]] and Dr. Dre) had effectively put a large media spotlight on [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and the west-coast hip-hop scene.


In 1991, [[Suge Knight]] co-founded Death Row Records in [[Los Angeles]] alongside Dr. Dre, [[Dick Griffey]] and [[The D.O.C.]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hodge |first1=Kyle |title=Tupac's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony Might Be a Mini Death Row Records Reunion |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/mc44rm/tupacs-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-death-row-reunion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524002856/https://www.vh1.com/news/mc44rm/tupacs-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-death-row-reunion |url-status=live |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |access-date=November 24, 2021 |publisher=[[VH1|VH1 News]] |date=March 27, 2017}}</ref> Knight, a native of [[Compton, California]] and a [[Bloods|Blood]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bakare |first1=Lanre |title=Life and times of Suge Knight — the fall of Compton's notorious music mogul |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/30/life-and-times-of-suge-knight |access-date=November 24, 2021 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=January 30, 2015 |language=en |archive-date=November 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124234538/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jan/30/life-and-times-of-suge-knight |url-status=live }}</ref> was among those in the West Coast hip hop scene irritated by the East Coast's perceived condescension toward the West.<ref name="slowburn3" />[[File:Tupac and Biggie.jpg|thumb|344x344px|[[Tupac Shakur]] and [[The Notorious B.I.G.]], the two main figures of the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, prior to the conflict in 1993 in Los Angeles]]
==The Rivalry==
===Bad Boy vs. Death Row ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2009}}
{{cquote|“Any hip-hop artists out there who wants to be an artist and stay a star, and don’t wanna have to worry about the executive producer trying to be…all in the videos, all on the records, dancing…Come to Death Row!”''''' — Suge Knight at The 1995 Source Awards}}


In 1993, fledgling A&R executive and record producer [[Sean Combs|Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs]] founded the New York-centered hip-hop label, Bad Boy Records. The next year, the label’s debut releases by [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]]-based rapper Christopher “[[The Notorious B.I.G.]]” Wallace (also referred to as ‘Biggie Smalls’) and [[Long Island, New York|Long Island]]-based rapper [[Craig Mack]] became immediate critical and commercial successes, and seemed to revitalize the East Coast hip-hop scene by [[1995 in music|1995]]. {{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}
In 1993, fledgling [[Artists and repertoire|A&R]] executive and record producer [[Sean Combs|Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs]] founded the New York-centered hip-hop label, Bad Boy Records.<ref name="hitquarters.com">{{cite web | url = http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_MarkPitts.html | title = Interview with Mark Pitts | publisher = [[HitQuarters]] | date = April 26, 2006 | access-date = November 14, 2011 | archive-date = October 24, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121024082039/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_MarkPitts.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/2004/march/ferguson.html |title=Alumni Bulletin - Alumni - Harvard Business School |website=Alumni.hbs.edu |access-date=September 28, 2016 |archive-date=May 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530095253/http://www.alumni.hbs.edu/bulletin/2004/march/ferguson.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The next year, the label's debut releases by [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]]-based rapper [[the Notorious B.I.G.]] (also known as Biggie Smalls)<ref>{{cite news |date=March 10, 1997<!--|access-date=November 14, 2011--> | publisher = [[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] | title = Slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. was 'ready to die'}}</ref> and [[Long Island, New York|Long Island]]–based rapper [[Craig Mack]] became immediate critical and commercial successes.<ref name="Milwaukee Journal Sentinel">{{cite news | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MqUcAAAAIBAJ&pg=3210,8721508&hl=en | date = May 10, 1995 | access-date = November 14, 2011 | publisher = [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] | title = Why the West is Winning: Milwaukee players talk about the rap wars between the coasts }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>


By 1994, New York-born, California-based rapper and actor Tupac "2Pac" Shakur had released [[Tupac Shakur discography#Studio albums|two successful albums]] and starred in [[Tupac Shakur#Filmography|three movies]]. However, at the same time, his career was in jeopardy as he was low on money and standing trial in New York City on charges of [[sexual abuse]], [[sodomy]], and weapons possession.<ref name="slowburn1">{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Joel |title=Slow Burn Season 3, Episode 1: Against the World |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/transcript-of-slow-burn-season-3-episode-1.html |access-date=November 24, 2021 |work=[[Slate Magazine|Slate]] |date=February 14, 2020 |language=en |archive-date=November 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124235204/https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/transcript-of-slow-burn-season-3-episode-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[New York]] born and [[Oakland, California]]-based rapper [[Tupac Shakur]], meanwhile, forged a rivalry with Biggie, publicly accusing him and Combs of having facilitated his being robbed and shot five times in the lobby of a New York recording studio on November 30, 1994. 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, 2Pac and the majority of the rap community interpreted it as B.I.G.’s way of taunting him. Shakur would claim that the song proved that Bad Boy had set him up.


===Quad Studios shooting===
In August 1995, Death Row CEO Suge Knight took a dig at Bad Boy and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs at that year's [[The Source (magazine)|Source Awards]]; announcing to the assembly of artists and industry figures:
On November 30, 1994, 2Pac was scheduled to record a verse with [[Shawn Pen|Little Shawn]] at Quad Studios in [[Manhattan]] to help pay his legal fees. As he arrived, members of [[Junior M.A.F.I.A.]], a group affiliated with Bad Boy, shouted greetings to 2Pac on the street below. Once he entered the building, two gunmen ordered everyone in the lobby to the floor. When 2Pac hesitated, he was shot five times and robbed. As 2Pac was taken out on a [[stretcher]], he [[The finger|gave the middle finger]] to Biggie and other Bad Boy affiliates who were present.<ref name="slowburn1" />


One day later, 2Pac was convicted of sexual abuse.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Perez-Pena |first1=Richard |title=Wounded Rapper Gets Mixed Verdict In Sex-Abuse Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/02/nyregion/wounded-rapper-gets-mixed-verdict-in-sex-abuse-case.html |access-date=November 25, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 2, 1994 |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125013811/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/02/nyregion/wounded-rapper-gets-mixed-verdict-in-sex-abuse-case.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Afterward, 2Pac implied in an interview with [[Kevin Powell]] of ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]]'' that Biggie, Puff Daddy and [[Uptown Records]] head [[Andre Harrell]] were involved in or responsible for the attack at Quad Studios.<ref name="ready to live">{{cite journal |last1=Powell |first1=Kevin |title=Ready to Live |journal=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]] |date=February 14, 2021 |issue=April 1995 |url=https://www.vibe.com/features/editorial/tupac-april-1995-cover-story-ready-to-live-686969/ |access-date=November 25, 2021 |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125013806/https://www.vibe.com/features/editorial/tupac-april-1995-cover-story-ready-to-live-686969/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Between when that interview was given and when the article was published, Puff Daddy had visited 2Pac at [[Rikers Island]] and assured him that Bad Boy was not involved in the shooting.<ref name="slowburn3" />
''“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!”''


{{quote box|width=200px|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote=C'mere c'mere ... open your fucking mouth ... Didn't I tell you not to fuck with me? ... Can't talk with a gun in your mouth huh? ... Bitch-ass nigga, what?|||source =- The Notorious B.I.G.| title = ''"[[Who Shot Ya?]]"''<ref name="autogenerated1"/>}}
It was a direct reference to Combs’ tendency of ad-libbing on his artists’ songs and dancing in their videos. 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. Combs attempted to defuse the growing hostility in the air with a speech denouncing the rivalry, to little avail:


In February 1995, "[[Who Shot Ya?]]", a B-side track from Biggie's "[[Big Poppa]]" single was released. Although Combs and Biggie denied having anything to do with the shooting and stated that "Who Shot Ya?" had been recorded before the shooting,<ref>{{cite news | date = January 31, 2009 | work = The Guardian | title = Big Life: The rise and fall of Biggie Smalls}}</ref> 2Pac interpreted it as a taunt directed at him.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 21, 1997 |newspaper=[[New Straits Times]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6vxOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6620%2C4393622 |title=Gangsta rap: East Coast v.s. West Coast |access-date=December 17, 2013 |archive-date=January 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121045526/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6vxOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6620,4393622 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 24, 1997 |work=[[Newsweek]] |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1997/03/23/requiem-for-a-gangsta.html |title=Requiem for a Gangsta |access-date=December 17, 2013 |archive-date=May 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508224632/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1997/03/23/requiem-for-a-gangsta.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | date = March 17, 2008 | access-date = December 6, 2011 | publisher = The Boom Box | title = L.A. Times Links Diddy to 1994 Shooting of Tupac | url = http://www.theboombox.com/2008/03/17/la-times-links-diddy-to-1994-shooting-of-tupac/ | archive-date = June 17, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120617022844/http://www.theboombox.com/2008/03/17/la-times-links-diddy-to-1994-shooting-of-tupac/ | url-status = live }}</ref>
''"I'm the executive producer that a comment was made about a little bit earlier...but check this out....contrary to what anyone else may feel...I would like to say that I am very proud of Dr. Dre, of Death Row and Suge Knight for all their accomplishments - and all this east and west needs to stop!"''


===1995 Source Awards===
Later that evening, a performance by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg was jeered by New Yorkers in attendance, to which Snoop famously responded:
On August 3, 1995, Suge Knight took a dig at Puff Daddy at [[1995 Source Awards|that year's Source Awards]] in New York City, announcing to the 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 the executive producer trying to be all in the videos ... All on the records ... dancing, come to Death Row!" - referring to Combs' tendency to appear in his artists' music videos and perform ad-libs in their songs.<ref>{{cite news |date=August 3, 2005 |newspaper=[[New York Daily News]] |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/source-trouble-shots-suits-shaky-circulation-threaten-rip-hip-hop-mag-article-1.579062 |title=A Source Of Trouble Shots, suits & shaky circulation threaten to rip apart hip-hop mag |access-date=December 17, 2013 |archive-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221021929/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/source-trouble-shots-suits-shaky-circulation-threaten-rip-hip-hop-mag-article-1.579062 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061500516.html |date=June 17, 2007 |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=The Turbulent Life and Times Of a Rap Mogul |access-date=December 17, 2013 |archive-date=February 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223225105/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/15/AR2007061500516.html |url-status=live }}</ref> To the New York audience, Knight's comments seemed a slight to the entire East Coast hip hop scene, and resulted in boos from the crowd.<ref>{{cite magazine | date = August 26, 1995 | magazine = [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | title = The Rap Column: Notorious Wins B.I.G., Minor Regional Fracas Among Highlights Of Awards | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wAsEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22+MINOR+REGIONAL+FRACAS+AMONG+HIGHLIGHTS%22&pg=PA25 | access-date = December 17, 2016 | archive-date = December 27, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221227162827/https://books.google.com/books?id=wAsEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22+MINOR+REGIONAL+FRACAS+AMONG+HIGHLIGHTS%22&pg=PA25 | url-status = live }}</ref>


''“The East Coast ain’t got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and Death Row?!...Y'all don't love us!? Y'all don't love us!? Well '''let it be known''': we all know you eastcoast fuckers - we know where the fuck we at. Eastcoast motherfuckers all up in the house”''
The crowd booed again when Dr. Dre was named Producer of the Year. In response to the boos, Death Row artist [[Snoop Dogg|Snoop Doggy Dogg]] took the microphone from Dr. Dre and asked the crowd: "The east coast ain't got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and Death Row? Y'all 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! We know where the fuck we at!"<ref name="slowburn3" />


Puff Daddy later took the stage as a presenter and told the audience: "[A]ll this East and West—that needs to stop. So give it up for everybody from the East and the West that won tonight. One love."<ref name="slowburn3" />
Tensions were escalated when Knight later attended a party for producer [[Jermaine Dupri]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia|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. The same year, Knight posted the $1.4 million bail of the then-incarcerated 2Pac, in exchange for his signing with Death Row Records. Shortly after the rapper’s release in October 1995, he proceeded to join Knight in furthering Death Row’s feud with Bad Boy Records.


===Murder of "Big Jake" Robles, release of 2Pac diss tracks===
In [[1996 in music|1996]], the Death Row act [[Tha Dogg Pound]] released a music video for their single “New York, New York” in which they are seen knocking over New York skyscrapers and landmarks, a gesture to which many East Coast artists and music fans took offense. This led to suspicion that the song itself was targeted at Bad Boy Records and New York in general. [[Queens, New York]]-based artists [[Tragedy Khadafi]], [[Capone-N-Noreaga]] and [[Mobb Deep]] responded with the release of “L.A., L.A.” aimed at Tha Dogg Pound. In the music video, members of Tha Dogg Pound are kidnapped and thrown off the [[Queensboro Bridge]].
Problems continued the following month when Suge Knight and Puff Daddy attended a birthday party for musician [[Jermaine Dupri]] at Platinum House club in [[Atlanta]]. Conflict between the two groups spilled outside the club and Jai "Big Jake" Robles, a close friend of Knight's and a Death Row Blood affiliate, was fatally shot as he was getting into a limousine.<ref name="slowburn3">{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Joel |title=Slow Burn Season 3, Episode 3: What's Beef? |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/transcript-of-slow-burn-season-3-episode-3.html |access-date=November 24, 2021 |work=[[Slate Magazine|Slate]] |date=February 14, 2020 |language=en |archive-date=November 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124223751/https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/transcript-of-slow-burn-season-3-episode-3.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Knight accused Combs (also in attendance) of being involved in the shooting.<ref>{{cite news | date = August 29, 2005 | newspaper = [[The Times]] | title = MTV party shooting revives rap wars | url = http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/article2402340.ece | access-date = December 17, 2013 | archive-date = December 30, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131230163725/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/article2402340.ece | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | date = January 28, 2001 <!--|access-date=November 14, 2011--> | newspaper= [[The Sunday Times]] | title = Police probe Puff Daddy on Atlanta killing}}</ref>


Shortly after Robles' death, Knight secured 2Pac's release from prison by posting his $1.4 million bond, flying across the country and renting a limousine to pick him up from [[Clinton Correctional Facility]].<ref name="slowburn3" /> Shortly after his release, 2Pac proceeded to join Knight in escalating Death Row's feud with Bad Boy Records.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news <!--|access-date=June 26, 2013--> | publisher = AZ Lyrics | title = Notorious B.I.G. Lyrics- "Who Shot Ya"}}</ref> 2Pac insulted or threatened Biggie, Bad Boy and its affiliates on several tracks from late 1995 to 1996. Examples include the songs "Against All Odds," "Bomb First (My Second Reply)" and "[[Hit 'Em Up]]."<ref>{{cite news|first=Nsenga |last=Burton |date=June 16, 2011|title=Man Says He Shot Tupac at Quad Studio|publisher=[[The Root (magazine)|The Root]]|url=http://www.theroot.com/buzz/man-admits-shooting-tupac-quad-studio|url-status=dead|access-date=December 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915012446/http://www.theroot.com/buzz/man-admits-shooting-tupac-quad-studio|archive-date=September 15, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=January 13, 2009|title=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|publisher=[[The Scotsman]]|url=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|access-date=December 6, 2011|archive-date=December 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202202612/https://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|url-status=live}}</ref>
===2Pac vs. The Notorious B.I.G.===
{{quote box
{{cquote|Who shot ya? Separate the weak from the obsolete, hard to creep them Brooklyn streets.|||The Notorious B.I.G.|“[[Who Shot Ya?]]”}}
| width = 200px
{{cquote|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]]”}}
| bgcolor = #c6dbf7
After the release of [[Who Shot Ya?]], which Shakur interpreted as a diss song mocking his robbery/shooting, 2Pac would appear 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. During this time the media became heavily involved and dubbed the rivalry a coastal rap war, reporting on it continuously. This caused fans from both scenes to take sides. 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.<ref>http://www.rapnews.net/0-202-1604-00.html</ref>
| align = right
| quote = Who shot me? But ya punks didn't finish now you 'bout to feel the wrath of a menace nigga, I hit 'em up!||
| source = - 2Pac
| title = ''"[[Hit 'Em Up]]"''
}}


[[Queens]] group [[Mobb Deep]], which had been called out by name in 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up," released "[[Drop a Gem on 'Em]]" in August 1996 as a direct response. In 2011, Mobb Deep's [[Prodigy (rapper)|Prodigy]] recalled his reaction after hearing Hit 'Em Up: "As soon as we heard Tupac saying anything about Mobb Deep, we went in and made that shit about him. We were like, 'Fuck this nigga, we going right at this nigga and whoever the fuck he's down with.'"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahmed |first1=Insanul |title=Prodigy Breaks Down His 25 Most Essential Songs |url=https://www.complex.com/music/2011/05/prodigy-25-essentials/drop-a-gem-on-em |access-date=November 25, 2021 |work=[[Complex (magazine)|Complex]] |date=May 12, 2011 |language=en |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125045559/https://www.complex.com/music/2011/05/prodigy-25-essentials/drop-a-gem-on-em |url-status=live }}</ref>
===2Pac vs. others===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2009}}


2Pac also interpreted New York rapper [[LL Cool J]]'s 1995 track "[[I Shot Ya (remix)|I Shot Ya]]" as a [[Diss (music)|diss track]] referring to the Quad Studios shooting.<ref>{{cite web|last=VIBE|first=Staff|title=Tupac Talks 'Hit Em Up' Vs. 'Who Shot Ya?' (Pg. 2)|url=https://www.vibe.com/2010/09/tupac-talks-hit-em-vs-who-shot-ya-pg-2|website=www.vibe.com|date=September 13, 2010|quote="Niggas been talking shit all while I was in jail. "Who Shot Ya?" [[LL Cool J|L.L. [Cool J]]] got a song "I Shot Ya." Even if it ain't about me, nigga, you should be like, I'm not putting it out cause he might ''think'' it's about him."|access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-date=December 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216112809/https://www.vibe.com/2010/09/tupac-talks-hit-em-vs-who-shot-ya-pg-2|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1996, 2Pac confronted [[Keith Murray (rapper)|Keith Murray]], who was featured on the track, at the California [[House of Blues]]. Murray made it clear that the record was not about 2Pac.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harling|first=Danielle|date=August 7, 2014|title=Keith Murray Recalls Tupac Approaching Him Over "I Shot Ya"|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.30128/title.keith-murray-recalls-tupac-approaching-him-over-i-shot-ya|website=www.hiphopdx.com|quote="Rest in peace to Tupac. I love and respect Tupac to death. I'm not talking bad about Tupac or nothing like that. It's just an incident. So, he came up. Walked up and he was like 'Nah, I just wanted to know because we had—I got shot five times. You know what I'm saying? In New York, so I thought niggas was talking about me'…I can understand why he did that…We was squaring off. Everybody had knives on 'em. But we diffused it and it was peace after that."|access-date=December 18, 2019|archive-date=December 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216105711/https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.30128/title.keith-murray-recalls-tupac-approaching-him-over-i-shot-ya|url-status=live}}</ref>
In addition to Biggie, “[[Hit 'Em Up]]” Pac also insulted [[Mobb Deep]] and [[New Jersey]]-based rapper [[Chino XL]], who joked that 2Pac had been raped in jail on his song “Riiiot!” 2Pac only responded with the line “Chino XL, fuck you too”, saying it would be his only diss, because he felt Chino XL was trying to gain fame by insulting him.


Although Biggie never released an explicit retaliation record, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member [[Lil' Cease]] claimed in a ''[[XXL (magazine)|XXL]]'' interview that 2Pac was the subject of Biggie's track "[[Life After Death#"Long Kiss Goodnight"|Long Kiss Goodnight]]." Puff Daddy, however, steadfastly denied this theory, arguing that if Biggie were to diss 2Pac, he would have called him out by name.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 5, 2010|title=8 Subliminal Diss Records That No One Claims|publisher=[[XXL (magazine)|XXL]]|url=http://www.xxlmag.com/xxl-magazine/2010/11/8-subliminal-diss-records-that-no-one-claims/4/|access-date=December 6, 2011|archive-date=June 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617135852/http://www.xxlmag.com/xxl-magazine/2010/11/8-subliminal-diss-records-that-no-one-claims/4/|url-status=live}}</ref>
During his incarceration, members of 2Pac’s group [[Outlawz]] allegedly attended a [[Mobb Deep]] concert. They then visited 2Pac, maintaining that the duo had snubbed them at the concert. Through his associates, 2Pac sent out a message to Mobb Deep, threatening violence.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} In ''Hit ‘Em Up'', 2Pac made reference to Mobb Deep member [[Prodigy (rapper)|Prodigy’s]] struggle with [[sickle cell anemia]]. Mobb Deep responded with the track ''[[Drop a Gem on 'em]]''.


During this time, the media became heavily involved and dubbed the rivalry a coastal rap war, reporting on it continually.<ref>{{cite news |first=J. D. |last=Considine |date=September 27, 1996 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-news-gang-war/144161796/ |title=Rumors Of Gang War In World Of Rap Music |newspaper=The Courier-News |access-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326144938/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-news-gang-war/144161796/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first= Alona |last=Wartofsky|date=September 16, 1996|title=Gangsta Life And Death; For Tupac Shakur, Violence Was Part of the Act|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-796048.html|url-status=dead|access-date=December 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610085901/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-796048.html|archive-date=June 10, 2014}}</ref> This caused fans from both scenes to take sides.<ref name="Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" />
2Pac would later go on to insult various others, including [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]]-based rapper, [[Da Brat]], her label [[So So Def Recordings]], and [[New Jersey]]-based group [[The Fugees]].


However even at the height of the rivalry, [[Nas]] (from the East) and [[Dr. Dre]] (from the West) worked together on Nas's 1996 album ''[[It Was Written]]''. On the track "Nas is Coming" both of them ridiculed the coastal rivalry, with Dr. Dre calling it "bullshit" and stating that they need to work together to get paid.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-06-15 |title=Nas and Dr Dre: During the 90s Bicoastal Conflict and Beyond |url=https://hiphopnewsjournal.com/nas-and-dr-dre-during-the-90s-bicoastal-conflict-and-beyond/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Hip Hop News Journal |language=en |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326173723/https://hiphopnewsjournal.com/nas-and-dr-dre-during-the-90s-bicoastal-conflict-and-beyond/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
During this time, 2Pac met [[Nas]] and purportedly told him he didn’t have to be involved in the situation—however, a Nas radio freestyle seemingly slighting 2Pac and several direct slights from Shakur to Nas would both eventually turn up. On the introduction to Shakur’s final studio album, ''[[The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory]]'', he would bill Nas as the leader of a conspiracy against him, which included several of the artists he was having contentions with. Nas was upset that 2pac's song "all eyes on me" contained the same sample as nas's "street dreams". 2Pac furthermore, recorded then unreleased songs "Troublesome 96" & "Friendz" over the Friends sample that Nas used for "[[If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)|If I Ruled The World]]". Another unreleased 2Pac diss record towards Nas entitled "The World Is Mine" also contains this same sample and the same exact beat used for "Friendz". It has been stated by the outlawz that 2Pac & Nas made amends days before 2Pac's murder. Nas has stated in various interviews that he was supposed to appear on the One Nation album alongside 2Pac. 2Pac was shot and murdered before the two men got the chance to collaborate on a song together.


===Faith Evans===
Though 2Pac, his group The Outlawz, Snoop Dogg, and Tha Dogg Pound had all been involved in the discord, several Death Row artists refused to follow suit. [[Lady of Rage]] stated in an AllHipHop.com interview that 2Pac had once called her “the weak link on Death Row”<ref>http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1160</ref> for not insulting Bad Boy. Death Row co-founder Dr. Dre also snubbed the strife, and collaborated with Nas shortly thereafter.
[[File:Faith Evans 1998 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Faith Evans in 1998]]
In October 1995, 2Pac met Biggie's estranged wife, Bad Boy singer [[Faith Evans]], at a party and agreed to pay her $25,000 to sing on one of his tracks. According to Evans, after she recorded her part, 2Pac refused to pay her unless she had sex with him and she declined.<ref name="slowburn5">{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Joel |title=Slow Burn Season 3, Episode 5: Wrath of a Menace |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/transcript-of-slow-burn-season-3-episode-5.html |access-date=November 25, 2021 |work=[[Slate Magazine|Slate]] |date=February 14, 2020 |language=en |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125060225/https://slate.com/culture/2020/02/transcript-of-slow-burn-season-3-episode-5.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


While Evans continued to deny rumors that she was involved romantically or sexually with 2Pac, Suge Knight and 2Pac were doing the opposite. In January 1996, they hinted to [[Lynn Hirschberg]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' that 2Pac was in a relationship with Evans in that she had given him gifts and he had repaid those gifts with what he implied were sexual favors.<ref name="sugar bear">{{cite news |last1=Hirschberg |first1=Lynn |title=Does a Sugar Bear Bite? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/14/magazine/does-a-sugar-bear-bite.html |access-date=November 25, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 14, 1996 |archive-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525002333/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/14/magazine/does-a-sugar-bear-bite.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Biggie flew into a rage after hearing about the ''Times'' article and aggressively confronted Evans. Publicly, however, he tried to brush it off as a joke.<ref name="slowburn5" /> Later, in "Hit 'Em Up," 2Pac made his insinuations explicit, going so far as to say "I fucked your bitch, you fat motherfucker" and "you claim to be a player but I fucked your wife."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dyson |first1=Michael Eric |title=JAY-Z: Made in America |date=November 26, 2019 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-250-27088-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPKgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |access-date=November 29, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=November 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129203246/https://books.google.com/books?id=wPKgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Rapper [[Jay-Z]] would also become embroiled in the rivalry when, in an appearance on Jay’s debut album ''[[Reasonable Doubt]]'', "Brooklyn's Finest," Biggie recited the line: “If Faith have twins she’d probably have Tupac's, get it, 2… pacs…” in reference to the allegations that she had cheated on him with the rapper, though it’s unclear if he was insulting her, 2Pac himself or anyone at all. Shakur took it as an affront and, since it was on Jay-Z’s song, went on to insult him as well. 2Pac originally called out Jay-Z during the outro of “Hit Em Up,” but later was convinced by Outlaw member, [[Hussein Fatal]], that Jay was not part of the rivalry, and ultimately edited that part out. However, later in 1996, Pac would persist in slandering Jay-Z on the songs “Friends”, "All Out" “Bomb First” and the unreleased song entitled "War Games". Posthumous material released underground following 2Pac’s death revealed that he had also had tension with LL Cool J due to the fact that LL recorded a diss record over the "Who Shot Ya?" beat.


Hip hop writers including ''[[Newsweek]]'''s Allison Samuels and ''[[The Source]]''{{'}}s [[Kierna Mayo]] described Evans as "a pawn" in 2Pac's revenge plot against Biggie and the power struggle between the two men. She was not portrayed sympathetically in the media.<ref name="slowburn5" /> ''Vibe'' joked in March 1996 that Evans was "losing weight from all that running back and forth between the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac."<ref>{{cite journal |title=20 Questions |journal=[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe]] |date=March 1996 |issue=March 1996 |page=131 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jCwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA131 |access-date=November 25, 2021 |publisher=Vibe Media Group |language=en |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125060230/https://books.google.com/books?id=jCwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA131 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Interestingly, East Coast rapper Tim Dog (whose 1991 single “Fuck Compton” is often regarded as the beginning of this coastal feud) would later acknowledge 2Pac on his second album ''[[Do or Die (Tim Dog album)|Do Or Die]]'' for assisting him in a potentially violent situation while touring Los Angeles. He would go on to mention in interviews that he hadn’t anticipated that “Fuck Compton” would ‘blow up the way it did,’ citing that it was only recorded for the purpose of venting out his anger towards record companies only wanting to sign West Coast rappers.


===End of the Feud===
==="New York, New York"===
In December 1995, [[Tha Dogg Pound]], a Death Row group, was in [[Red Hook, Brooklyn]] filming the [[music video]] for their single "[[New York, New York (Tha Dogg Pound song)|New York, New York]]." The music for the song used a [[beat (music)|beat]] that Biggie had rapped over in a commercial for [[St. Ides]].<ref name="slowburn5" /> Biggie called into local hip hop station [[WQHT|Hot 97]] and said "Red Hook [is where Tha Dogg Pound and 2Pac are] shooting a video. Brooklyn, stand up!" according to Snoop Doggy Dogg's recollection. Tha Dogg Pound, who were listening to the radio at the time, interpreted it as a friendly sentiment and thought Biggie was summoning fans to their video set.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2018/06/snoop-dogg-pound-biggie-new-york-video/ |title=Snoop Blames Biggie for Tha Dogg Pound NY Video Shooting |access-date=May 2, 2024 |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226042846/https://ambrosiaforheads.com/2018/06/snoop-dogg-pound-biggie-new-york-video/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Shortly after the call, however, shots were fired at Tha Dogg Pound's trailer on the video set. The gunman was never identified. After the shooting, a scene was added to the music video showing Snoop Dogg destroying buildings and cars in New York City like [[Godzilla]].<ref name="slowburn5" /> In 1996, East Coast rappers [[Capone-N-Noreaga]], [[Mobb Deep]] and [[Tragedy Khadafi]] recorded a comeback diss entitled "[[L.A., L.A.]]" It was released in 1996 on [[Penalty Recordings]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Markman |first1=Rob |title=Prodigy Didn't Want To Respond To Tupac Dis, N.O.R.E. Says |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1662452/prodigy-mobb-deep-tupac-nore/ |access-date=November 30, 2021 |publisher=[[MTV News]] |date=April 21, 2011 |language=en |archive-date=November 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130141618/http://www.mtv.com/news/1662452/prodigy-mobb-deep-tupac-nore/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{{Very long|section|date=October 2010}}
{{Story|section|date=November 2010}}


===Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.===
In March 1996, during the [[Soul Train Awards]] ceremony in [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]], there was a confrontation in the parking lot between the respective entourages of Bad Boy and Death Row in which guns were drawn.No violence ensued. Local papers referred to the situation as, “the ''hip hop'' version of the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].”
On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur was [[Murder of Tupac Shakur|shot in a drive-by shooting]] at the intersection of [[Flamingo Road (Las Vegas)|Flamingo Road]] and Koval Lane in [[Las Vegas|Las Vegas, Nevada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lvrj.com/news/fbi-outlines-parallels-in-notorious-b-i-g-tupac-slayings-119389104.html |archive-date=April 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410211831/http://www.lvrj.com/news/fbi-outlines-parallels-in-notorious-b-i-g-tupac-slayings-119389104.html |title=FBI outlines parallels in Notorious B.I.G., Tupac slayings|last=Planas|first=Antonio |date=April 7, 2011|website=Las Vegas Review-Journal|access-date=May 1, 2016}}</ref> He was taken to the [[University Medical Center of Southern Nevada]], where he died six days later. In 2002, [[Chuck Philips]] wrote the article "Who Killed Tupac Shakur?"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-06-fi-tupac6-story.html|title=Who Killed Tupac Shakur?|last=Philips|first=Chuck|author-link=Chuck Philips|date=September 6, 2002|url-access=limited|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035|access-date=May 1, 2016|archive-date=January 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119035953/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/sep/06/business/fi-tupac6|url-status=live}}</ref> reporting, "the shooting was carried out by a [[Compton, California|Compton]] gang called the Southside [[Crips]] to avenge the beating of one of its members by Shakur a few hours earlier". The Philips article and its follow-up, "How Vegas Police Probe Floundered in Tupac Shakur Case"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Philips |first1=Chuck |author-link=Chuck Philips |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fi-tupac7sep07-story.html |url-access=limited |title=How Vegas police probe floundered in Tupac Shakur case |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 30, 2015 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307112523/http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fi-tupac7sep07-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> also implicated East Coast rappers including Biggie Smalls.


Six months after Tupac's death, on March 9, 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. was [[Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.|killed in a drive-by shooting]] by an unknown assailant in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]. As with Tupac's death, nobody was charged with the murder, although Suge Knight was believed by officials to have been involved in a conspiracy for B.I.G.'s killing. At the time of the murder, Knight had only a week prior been sentenced to 9 years in prison for parole violation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1999-12-09 |title=Ex-LAPD Officer Is Suspect in Rapper's Slaying, Records Show |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-09-mn-42032-story.html |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925212926/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-09-mn-42032-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
At the [[MTV Video Music Awards]] in New York, Nas and 2Pac also confronted each other outside the venue. Though accounts from Suge, The Outlawz, Snoop Dogg and Nas himself somewhat vary, most agreed that 2Pac said he would remove the insults to Nas from his next album, if Nas would in return refrain from insulting him. Their previous verbal abuse was, as found in the meeting, based on publicity. The media’s sensationalizing of the ''East vs. West Coast'' rivalry, meanwhile, fueled record sales. Although Nas kept his end of the bargain, 2Pac was murdered before he was able to do the same.


===Efforts at reconciliation===
At 8:45 P.M. on September 7, 1996—two months after Tray Lane was robbed of his Death Row medallion—Lane was in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. He was with [[Tupac Shakur]], [[Suge Knight]], and a group of Mob Piru Blood bodyguards. They had just attended the [[Mike Tyson]]-[[Bruce Seldon]] prizefight at the hotel—one of Tyson's many Round 1 knockouts—and were on their way out when Lane spotted a young man across the lobby. The young man's name was [[Orlando Anderson]], and Lane recognized him as one of the [[Crips]] who had beaten him and stolen his medallion. Lane's group rushed Anderson, knocked him to the ground, and proceeded to beat, kick, and stomp him. The 30-second incident was caught on tape by the hotel's security cameras. It showed Shakur and Knight participating in the assault, Shakur throwing the first punch. By the time the police arrived, the Death Row contingent was gone. Anderson refused to press charges.
[[File:Louis Farrakhan 1997.jpg|thumb|Louis Farrakhan played a part in squashing the rivalry.]]
On September 22, 1996, a [[Summit (meeting)|peace summit]] was convened at [[Mosque Maryam]] by [[Louis Farrakhan]] in the wake of the murder of 2Pac.<ref>{{cite news |last=Coleman |first=Chrisena |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/rappers-peace-summit-article-1.748414 |title=Rappers in Peace Summit |newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York |date=September 18, 1996 |access-date=September 28, 2016 |archive-date=August 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816040126/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/rappers-peace-summit-article-1.748414 |url-status=live }}</ref>


In February 1997, Snoop Dogg and Combs appeared together on ''[[The Steve Harvey Show]]'' and held a press conference where they called for an end to the East Coast–West Coast rap feud that had already claimed the life of 2Pac.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coker |first=Cheo Hodari |date=1997-02-22 |title='Doggfather' Turns Into a Peacemaker |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-22-ca-31162-story.html |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326172221/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-22-ca-31162-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> "Kids around the world are watching," Snoop said. "By calling for a truce we're giving them something to live for."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-13-me-28375-story.html |title=Rap Artists Call for Truce in Hip-Hop Rivalry |date=February 13, 1997 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=January 18, 2023 |archive-date=January 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118002442/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-13-me-28375-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> However, their efforts failed to stop the violence; less than a month later, the Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting while stopping at a stoplight in Los Angeles.
Later that night, Shakur , Suge and company headed for Club 662, a known Blood hangout. Suge Knight was behind the wheel of the lead car, a black [[BMW 750]]. Tupac Shakur was sitting in the front passenger seat. At around 11:17 P.M., Knight pulled to a stop at a red light on Flamingo Road.A white Cadillac with four black men inside pulled up on their right.Shots were fired into the BMW through the drivers window of the Cadillac.


On April 3, 1997, key figures in the rap industry were summoned to Farrakhan's Chicago-based ministry house for an in-depth meeting. The main thrust was to put an end to the East / West rivalry. On hand were artists such as [[Snoop Dogg]], [[Tha Dogg Pound]], [[Ice Cube]], [[Bone Thugs-n-Harmony]] and [[Fat Joe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-04-04-9704040111-story.html|title=FARRAKHAN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST RAP STAR FEUDS|date=April 4, 1997|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=January 18, 2023|archive-date=January 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118000719/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-04-04-9704040111-story.html|url-status=live}}{{primary source inline|date=May 2024}}</ref>
Though Shakur tried to protect himself, he was hit three times; once in the hip, once in the hand, and the fatal round in the chest.Knight was also injured in the head, but managed to maneuver the BMW around the stopped traffic, making a u-turn and heading back toward the Strip. The other vehicles in the Death Row caravan followed him. He finally stopped when he ran his car into a curb. When the police arrived, they called for an ambulance for Shakur and ordered everyone else out of their vehicles, treating the Death Row entourage as suspects. In the meantime the white Cadillac slipped away into the night.


====Since 1997====
Shakur was rushed to the [[University Medical Center]] where doctors performed emergency surgery to save his life. In an effort to stem the internal bleeding, surgeons removed his right lung. Suge Knight stood vigil at the hospital with Shakur's family, waiting for hopeful news. His heart stopped beating several times, and doctors revived him. Finally Shakur's mother [[Afeni]] decided not to resuscitate her son if he went into arrest again, explaining to reporters that "it was important for his spirit to be allowed to be free." Six days after he was shot, Tupac Shakur died.
After Tupac's death but shortly before Biggie's, rappers from both coasts worked together on [[Ice Cube]]'s [[Dangerous Ground (soundtrack)|''Dangerous Ground soundtrack'']].<ref>{{Cite web |first=Trent |last=Clark |date=2016-04-18 |title=Reel Music: 16 Underrated Hip Hop Soundtracks |url=https://hiphopdx.com/editorials/id.3285/title.reel-music-16-underrated-hip-hop-soundtracks |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=HipHopDX |language=en |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326013527/https://hiphopdx.com/editorials/id.3285/title.reel-music-16-underrated-hip-hop-soundtracks |url-status=live }}</ref> Later some rappers ridiculed the rivalry like [[Big Pun]] - who in his song "You Ain't a Killer" raps "won't even talk that East or West crap" - with Pun himself being an East Coast rapper "heartily embraced" by fans in the West Coast.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Valdes-Rodriguez |first=Alisa |date=2000-02-09 |title=Christopher Rios; Grammy-Nominated Puerto Rican Rapper Known as Big Pun |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-feb-09-mn-62591-story.html |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326013526/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-feb-09-mn-62591-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[The Game (rapper)|The Game]], who is from the West Coast, shouted out "[[RIP]]" to both Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. on "[[Put You on the Game]]" ("Another memorial for Makaveli and Big Pop").


Some rappers have promoted unity in their lyrics, for example in [[Eminem]] and [[Snoop Dogg]]'s single "[[From the D 2 the LBC]]" (meaning "From [[Detroit]] to [[Long Beach, California]]"), the chorus contains the lyrics: "Whether you Eastside or Westside of the 313, let's see them guns blaze", along with other lyrics in the song that talk about both coasts of the United States. Eminem is from Detroit, which is in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], while Snoop Dogg is from Long Beach, which is on the West Coast.{{cn|date=March 2024}}
Six months after the death of Tupac Shakur, [[Notorious B.I.G.]] was in [[Los Angeles]] for the [[11th Annual Soul Train Music Awards]] at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Center. When he took the stage to present an award, the audience booed him.

He leaned into the microphone and tried to lighten the mood by saying "What's up, Cali?" The booing increased and continued through his presentation of an award to singer [[Toni Braxton]]

B.I.G. left the stage deeply embarrassed. He had been trying to distance himself from the rap feuds and just make music {{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}, but rumors were circulating that he was in some way responsible for Shakur's murder. A party hosted by Vibe and Qwest Records was scheduled for the next night at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard. According to [[Cathy Scott]] in her book The Murder of Biggie Smalls, B.I.G. wasn't in the mood for partying after being booed at the awards ceremony, but he agreed to go "because Puffy Combs had asked him to go." They were both eager for the release of B.I.G.'s next album [[Life After Death]] later that month, and being seen at the party would be good promotion.

Witnesses reported that B.I.G. had a good time at the party. He spoke to old friends and met several flirtatious women. Some asked him to dance, but he was walking with a cane, still on the mend from a leg injury due to a car accident, so a few of the women danced suggestively in front of him as he sat and watched. The party was the place to be that night as 2,000 people crowded the museum space, and outside 200 more jostled to get in. By midnight fire marshals decided that the museum was dangerously overcrowded, and at 12:35 A.M. they shut the party down and ordered everyone out. The crowd dispersed, disappointed guests heading for the doors. B.I.G. was moving slowly with his injured leg, so he, Puffy Combs, and the rest of the Bad Boy entourage hung back and let the others go first. They walked to their two rented [[G.M.C. Suburbans]], a black one and a dark green one, which they'd parked on the street because the valet parking lots were full by the time they had arrived. B.I.G. got into the front passenger seat of the dark green Suburban along with two friends and his driver. Puffy and his friends piled into the black Suburban. At night, the two vehicles looked identical.

Puffy's vehicle pulled out first, followed closely by B.I.G.'s and then another SUV carrying their bodyguards who were all off-duty Inglewood police officers. All three vehicles drove to the intersection of Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard where they stopped for a red light. They were heading for an after-party. The stereo in Biggie's car was bumping hard, playing his new album.

While they waited for the light to turn, a man called out to the green Suburban. Thinking it was a fan who just wanted to wish him well, B.I.G. rolled down his window. Then, a dark-colored [[Chevrolet Suburban]] pulled up along the right side of B.I.G.'s vehicle. The driver—a black man wearing a suit and bow tie—pulled out an 9mm automatic pistol and opened fire on the rapper. B.I.G. was hit several times in the chest. Puffy got out of his Suburban and ran to B.I.G.'s side as the Suburban sped off, but B.I.G. had already lost consciousness. They raced to get him to the hospital, but B.I.G. was dead upon arrival.

==Following the Rivalry==
The outcome of the feud (significantly due to the deaths of Shakur and Wallace) would shake the culture of hip hop, changing the way rap rivalries were both handled by artists, viewed by fans, and reported on by the media. In 1997, several rappers, including: [[Bizzy Bone]], [[Doug E. Fresh]] and Snoop Dogg met at the request of [[Louis Farrakhan]], leader of the [[Nation of Islam]], and pledged to forgive any slights that may be related to the rivalry and/or deaths of Shakur and Wallace.

Following the death of 2Pac, most of Death Row Records prominent artists departed the label. [[Afeni Shakur]], Tupac’s mother, sued the label for allegedly cheating her son out of millions. Suge Knight, meanwhile, was incarcerated for unrelated probation violations. This bad turn for Death Row Records led, in turn, to a long lull in the mainstream popularity of West Coast rap, leading some fans to believe that West Coast hip hop was being [[blacklisted]]. Since his [[2001 in music|2001]] release from prison, attempts by Suge Knight to revitalize his label have been largely futile.

Though Bad Boy Records hasn’t suffered a collapse as steep as that of Death Row’s, it too has seen its fortunes decline. Rapper [[Mase]] achieved a good deal of success on the label before his early retirement in [[1999 in music|1999]]. In the late 1990s, Bad Boy label head, Sean Combs (who now calls himself “Diddy”) began recording solo albums and earned considerable commercial success as a recording artist, but saw his sales dwindle with each subsequent effort. More recently, however, Bad Boy has struggled to remain commercially competitive, due to a lack of marketable talent and allegations that Combs is now more concerned with his other ventures (e.g., his [[Sean John]] clothing line.)

At the [[MTV Music Video Awards]], in September 1999, Afeni Shakur and [[Voletta Wallace]] (mothers of 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G.) publicly met on stage in a show of solidarity. Ms. Wallace also offered to help Ms. Shakur investigate Tupac’s death. Even so, Afeni and her attorney noted that they wouldn’t accept federal investigations.

While rivalries in hip-hop continue to exist, since the murders of Shakur and Wallace, there has not been a rivalry of such magnitude. This may be due largely to the fact that, seeing the outcome of this episode (though no physically sustainable connection has been made linking the actual homicides of these two slain rappers to their rivalry), artists and prominent industry figures have been mindful of tempering battles and commercializing contention, in a seemingly direct attempt to prevent them from reaching this level.

==Participants==
===East Coast===
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Participant || Based || Involvement
|-
|'''[[The Notorious B.I.G.]]'''|| Brooklyn, New York || Once a friend of 2Pac, Shakur accused him and his crew of being involved in his 1994 shooting in New York, and proceeded to continually blast Biggie for the remainder of his life. The feud escalated when Biggie's song "Who Shot Ya?" was interpreted as an insult mocking Shakur's robbery/shooting. Though Biggie never directly responded to 2Pac’s repeated slants (despite mentioning his name in "Brooklyn's Finest", referring to rumors that Shakur was having sexual relations with Faith Evans, Biggie's estranged wife) such released tracks as “Long Kiss Goodnight”, “What’s Beef,” “My Downfall,” "You're Nobody (Till Somebody Kills You)", "Going Back to Cali", “Notorious Thugs” and "Dangerous MCs" have caused some to ponder as to whether they contain [[Subliminal message|subliminal]] jabs aimed at the West Coast rapper and/or his label [[Death Row Records]]. Although [[Sean Combs]] denies these claims, Biggie's cousin [[Lil' Cease]] has revealed in [[XXL magazine]] that the song "Long Kiss Goodnight" was indeed about 2Pac.<ref>http://www.rapnews.net/0-202-1604-00.html</ref> Despite the media dubbing the feud between Shakur and the Brooklyn rapper as an inter-coastal war, Biggie made it clear in his song "Going Back to Cali" that his beef was not with California as a whole, but only with those that 'violated' him.
|-
|'''[[Junior Mafia]]''' || Brooklyn, New York || Subsidiary act of The Notorious B.I.G., which included: [[Lil' Cease]] and [[Lil' Kim]]. All were slighted by 2Pac and The Outlawz. According to the Notorious B.I.G.’s ''[[Behind The Music]]'' profile, the members of Junior Mafia intended to record an answer song to 2Pac’s insults, but were instructed not to by Biggie. The original version, however, of [[Lil' Kim]]’s album track “Big Momma Thang” from her debut, ''[[Hard Core (Lil' Kim album)|Hard Core]]'', does contain insults directed towards 2Pac; including references to him being shot and his purported affair with Faith Evans.
|-
|'''[[Mobb Deep]]''' || Queens, New York || A rap duo from [[Queens, New York]]. After having allegedly insulted 2Pac and his associates; 2Pac publicly insulted them in interviews and, most notably, on his song “Hit ‘Em Up.” They later recorded an answer song. “Drop a Gem On ‘Em.” The duo also appeared on the song “LA, LA,” a track in which Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound were slighted.
|-
|'''[[Capone-N-Noreaga]]''' || Queens, New York || Recorded the song “LA, LA” (which took jabs at Snoop Dogg and the Tha Dogg Pound) as in response to “New York, New York.”
|-
|'''[[Tim Dog]]''' || Bronx, New York || Tired of being overlooked as a result of the growing west-coast hip-hop movement, recorded the infamous underground track “Fuck Compton.” The track sparked a rip wave in the hip hop scene which led to many responses from West Coast artists and criticisms from hip hop fans . Was later answered back by various west-coast artists, including: Snoop Dogg, [[Comptons Most Wanted]] , [[Dr.Dre]], [[The D.O.C]] (20 dollar sack pyramid) [[DJ Quik]], and [[Tweedy Bird Loc]]. Numerous other put downs and sneers at other artists were present on his debut album [[Penicillin on wax]].
|-
|'''[[Masta Ace]]''' || Brooklyn, New York || Heavily criticized the direction Hip-Hop was heading due to growing dominance of West Coast [[Gangsta Rap]] on his 1993 album [[Slaughtahouse]]. The Title track and intro were a parodies of the west coast gangsta rap of the time.
|-
|'''[[De La Soul]]''' || Amityville, New York || One of the founders of the alt-rap [[Native Tongues Posse]] movement, they parodied and lamented the state of Hip-Hop throughout their 1991 Album [[De La Soul is Dead]] through frequent skits and the track [[Who Do U Worship?]].
|-
|'''[[Black Sheep (hip hop group)|Black Sheep]]''' || Bronx, New York || Another member of the Native Tongues Posse, criticized both the Gangsta themes (U Mean Im Not) and the militant Afrocentrism (Are You Mad?) of the West Coast on their 1991 album [[A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing]].
|-
|'''[[Kool Keith]]''' || South Bronx, New York || Frequently featured on Tim Dogs debut album, most notably on the scathing track "I Aint Having It". Later dismissed the [[G-Funk]] style of the West Coast as "Fake" and "Over-Commercial" on his 1998 album [[First Come, First Served]] under the alias [[Dr.Dooom]].
|-
|'''[[Nas]]''' || Queens, New York || A radio freestyle from Nas allegedly contained subliminal insults levied at 2Pac, who in turn insulted him on songs and in interviews. Claims now speculate that the two later settled their differences prior to the other rapper’s death.
|-
|'''[[Jay-Z]]''' || Brooklyn, New York || An associate of The Notorious B.I.G., whose cameo appearance on Jay’s song “Brooklyn’s Finest” seemingly referenced 2Pac, who later insulted Jay-Z. Though he never publicly retaliated, Jay-Z later claimed that he had prepared a retaliatory song levied at 2pac, but shelved it in observance of Shakur’s death.
|-
|'''[[Chino XL]]'''|| East Orange, New Jersey || Poked fun at 2Pac’s prison stint, claiming that the rapper had been raped while in jail, on his song “Riiiot!” 2Pac responded by proclaiming ‘Chino XL, fuck you too!’ on his song “Hit ‘Em Up.”
|-
|'''[[DMX (rapper)|DMX]]''' || Yonkers, New York || Involved in a feud with Kurupt, a member of Tha Dogg Pound, over allegations of having slept with Kurupt’s fiance. He, allegedly, recorded a 2pac slant called “Fuck That Nigga Pac,” but the song was never released .
|-
|'''[[Luther Campbell]]'''||Miami, Florida|| Dissed many popular gangsta rappers with the track "Fakin' Like Gangstas" from his debut solo album ''I Got Shit On My Mind'' (featuring [[JT Money]] from the group [[Poison Clan]]) Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg responded with [[Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')]] on Dr. Dre's solo debut [[The Chronic]].
|}

===West Coast===
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Participant || Based || Involvement
|-
|'''[[2Pac]]''' || Oakland, California || The east-west coastal rivalry's most central and, arguably, most vocal figure who, ironically, was born and raised for a time on the East Coast. In the two years leading up to his death, the rapper took potshots at various East Coast rappers; most notably, The Notorious B.I.G. and his label [[Bad Boy Records]]. Songs with threats/antagonistic slants or music videos lampooning Shakur’s adversaries include: “All Eyez On Me,” “Troublesome ‘96,” “When We Ride On Our Enemies,” “Wonder Why They Call U Bitch,”, "Ambitionz Az a Ridah", “Hit 'Em Up,” "Bomb First (My Second Reply)," “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” "Made Niggaz", "Fuckin' With the Wrong Nigga" and “Against All Odds.” 2Pac made it clear, however, that his personal beef with Bad Boy and other artists from New York had nothing to do with 'east or west' in the intro to "Bomb First (My Second Reply)".
|-
|'''[[Suge Knight]]''' || Compton, California || CEO of Death Row Records. His grudge against the success of the New York-based Bad Boy Records and its label head, Sean Combs, led him to sign 2Pac and (allegedly) encourage the coastal feud. His record label would eventually begin to implode following the death of 2Pac in 1996, the departure of Dr. Dre, and Knight’s imprisonment for [[probation violation]] charges.
|-
|'''[[Tha Dogg Pound]]''' || Long Beach, California || A duo consisting of rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger on the Death Row Records roster, who in 1996 released “New York, New York”— a track in which many New York emcees took to be a slight to their city. Kurupt became involved in a dispute with East Coast rapper [[DMX (rapper)|DMX]] over allegations of DMX having slept with [[Foxy Brown (rapper)|Foxy Brown]]. Kurupt insulted him on “Calling Out Names.” Their feud has since ended.
|-
|'''[[Snoop Dogg]]''' || Long Beach, California || A former Death Row Records recording artist, who appeared with Tha Dogg Pound on the song “New York, New York.” He also slighted Bronx rapper Tim Dog on the Dr. Dre’s “Dre Day.” Has since denounced coastal feuding in hip-hop, and has gone on to collaborate with other artists based outside of the west coast scene.
|-
|'''[[Ice Cube]]''' || Compton, California || Became embroiled in a feud with Chicago-based rapper Common, after he denounced the themes of west coast gangsta rap in his song “I Used To Love H.E.R.” Recorded the track “[[Westside Slaughterhouse]]” in response. Common answered back with the scalding track, “The Bitch In Yoo.” The two have since made peace.
|-
|'''[[Westside Connection]]''' || Los Angeles, California || A [[Supergroup (music)|supergroup]] consisting of west coast hip-hop rappers Ice Cube, [[Mack 10]], and [[WC]]. Recorded “All The Critics In New York,” and “West Up” in reaction to feeling that the east coast hip-hop community lacked respect for their coast. Interestingly they also brutally dismissed alternative hip-hop act [[A Tribe Called Quest]] Cross Em Out And Put A 'k".
|-
|'''[[Compton's Most Wanted]]''' || Compton, California || Slurred Bronx rapper Tim Dog for his song “Fuck Compton” on their track “Who’s Fucking Who.”
|-
|'''[[DJ Quik]]''' || Compton, California || Quarreled with rapper Tim Dog for his tracks: “Fuck Compton,” “DJ Quik Beat Down” and “Step To Me.” DJ Quik responded on “Way 2 Fonky” and “The Last Word.”
|-
|'''[[Tweedy Bird Loc]]''' || Compton, California || A rapper from Compton that insulted Tim Dog in the song "Fuck the South Bronx".
|-
|'''[[E-40]]''' || Bay Area, California || According to sources, E-40 was insulted by a remark The Notorious B.I.G. made on a radio interview stating that he did not like E-40's music. When Biggie and his crew were visiting in Los Angeles, they were held at gun point by associates of E-40, threatening to kill the Brooklyn rapper. Biggie asked if he could make a phone call to E-40 so that he can make amends. They made up after the call and E-40 told his associates to lay down their arms.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibOMqINc_m8</ref>
|-
|'''[[Top Dogg]]''' ||Compton, California || Rapper who released the track "Goin' Back to Cali" in response to The Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Going Back to Cali".
|}

===Opposing artists===
* '''[[Sean Combs]]'''; CEO of New York-based Bad Boy Records, and rapper. Primary target of 2Pac and Suge Knight during the middle 1990s; never publicly responded to the allegations, criticism and insults levied his way, and refused to allow any of his Bad Boy artists to lash back on record. However, Combs lashed out against many of his nemeses by calling them playa haters and accusing them of being jealous of him and his label's success, such as in the track "Stop Yappin' Niggaz"

* '''[[Dr. Dre]]'''; former president of, and artist on, Death Row Records. Despite his participation with 2Pac on the west coast-centric “[[California Love]],” he actively attempted to denounce the conflict between opposing coasts, music fans, and artists. In 1996, he appeared on [[Nas]]' ''[[It Was Written]]'' on the song "Nas Is Coming" where the two discussed the rivalry saying it wasn't necessary; in the same year, he assembled a collaboration of multi-coastal rappers (consisting of [[KRS-One]], Nas, [[RBX]], [[B-Real]]) tagged ‘Group Therapy’ to record the anti-coastal battle anthem, “[[East Coast West Coast Killas]].”

* '''[[A Tribe Called Quest]]'''; A much revered hip-hop group from the east coast, they were well-respected on both sides. They protested the feud on their track Keeping It Moving on their album Beats, Rhymes and Life.

==See also==
* [[G-Unit vs. The Game feud]]
* [[LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee feud]]
* [[Nas vs. Jay-Z feud]]
* [[Hip-hop rivalry]]

==External links==
{{Empty section|date=July 2010}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Cite web|author=|datepublished=|url=http://westcoast.at.ua|title=Всё о West Coast Rap|publisher=by Shmuga}}


{{Portal bar|1990s|Music|United States}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:East Coast–West Coast Hip Hop Rivalry}}
[[Category:American hip hop]]
[[Category:East Coast hip hop]]
[[Category:West Coast hip hop]]
[[Category:History of hip hop]]
[[Category:Tupac Shakur]]
[[Category:The Notorious B.I.G.]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:East Coast-West Coast Hip Hop Rivalry}}
[[ar:عداوة هيب هوب الساحل الشرقي و الساحل الغربي]]
[[Category:1990s in hip-hop]]
[[de:East Coast vs. West Coast]]
[[Category:American hip-hop scenes]]
[[fr:Rivalité East Coast/West Coast]]
[[Category:1990s in the United States]]
[[it:Faida hip hop tra East Coast e West Coast]]
[[Category:Regional rivalries]]
[[pt:Rivalidade entre a Costa Oeste e a Costa Leste]]
[[Category:East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry| ]]

Latest revision as of 05:23, 16 December 2024

Suge Knight (left) and Puff Daddy (right), leading figures on opposite sides of the main phase of the rivalry

The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry is a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s.[1] A focal point of the rivalry was the feud between East Coast–based rapper the Notorious B.I.G. signed by Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur signed by Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in drive-by shootings within six months of each other, after which the feud entered a truce with a "peace" summit in 1997 at the behest of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.[2][3]

Rivalry

[edit]

Background

[edit]

Hip hop music and hip hop culture is widely considered to have originated on the East Coast of the United States in New York City.[4][5][6] As a result, New York rappers were often perceived as feeling their hip hop scene was superior to other regional hip hop cultures whereas those on the West Coast of the United States had developed an inferiority complex.[7][8]

By the late-1980s, however, West Coast hip hop was flourishing, led by acts such as Compton, California's N.W.A. On November 12, 1991, Bronx rapper Tim Dog released the album Penicillin on Wax.[9] It contained several skits which mocked West Coast artists and a diss track directed at the members of N.W.A including Dr. Dre entitled "Fuck Compton." Dr. Dre would respond a year later on his debut solo album, The Chronic.[9] Although Tim Dog would not figure into the later stages of the feud, his diss track presaged what was to come. This was also the same year that Uncle Luke came out with the album In the Nude which also dissed Dr. Dre.[10]

In 1991, Suge Knight co-founded Death Row Records in Los Angeles alongside Dr. Dre, Dick Griffey and The D.O.C.[11] Knight, a native of Compton, California and a Blood,[12] was among those in the West Coast hip hop scene irritated by the East Coast's perceived condescension toward the West.[8]

Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., the two main figures of the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, prior to the conflict in 1993 in Los Angeles

In 1993, fledgling A&R executive and record producer Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs founded the New York-centered hip-hop label, Bad Boy Records.[13][14] The next year, the label's debut releases by Brooklyn-based rapper the Notorious B.I.G. (also known as Biggie Smalls)[15] and Long Island–based rapper Craig Mack became immediate critical and commercial successes.[16]

By 1994, New York-born, California-based rapper and actor Tupac "2Pac" Shakur had released two successful albums and starred in three movies. However, at the same time, his career was in jeopardy as he was low on money and standing trial in New York City on charges of sexual abuse, sodomy, and weapons possession.[17]

Quad Studios shooting

[edit]

On November 30, 1994, 2Pac was scheduled to record a verse with Little Shawn at Quad Studios in Manhattan to help pay his legal fees. As he arrived, members of Junior M.A.F.I.A., a group affiliated with Bad Boy, shouted greetings to 2Pac on the street below. Once he entered the building, two gunmen ordered everyone in the lobby to the floor. When 2Pac hesitated, he was shot five times and robbed. As 2Pac was taken out on a stretcher, he gave the middle finger to Biggie and other Bad Boy affiliates who were present.[17]

One day later, 2Pac was convicted of sexual abuse.[18] Afterward, 2Pac implied in an interview with Kevin Powell of Vibe that Biggie, Puff Daddy and Uptown Records head Andre Harrell were involved in or responsible for the attack at Quad Studios.[19] Between when that interview was given and when the article was published, Puff Daddy had visited 2Pac at Rikers Island and assured him that Bad Boy was not involved in the shooting.[8]

C'mere c'mere ... open your fucking mouth ... Didn't I tell you not to fuck with me? ... Can't talk with a gun in your mouth huh? ... Bitch-ass nigga, what?

- The Notorious B.I.G.

In February 1995, "Who Shot Ya?", a B-side track from Biggie's "Big Poppa" single was released. Although Combs and Biggie denied having anything to do with the shooting and stated that "Who Shot Ya?" had been recorded before the shooting,[21] 2Pac interpreted it as a taunt directed at him.[22][23][24]

1995 Source Awards

[edit]

On August 3, 1995, Suge Knight took a dig at Puff Daddy at that year's Source Awards in New York City, announcing to the 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 the executive producer trying to be all in the videos ... All on the records ... dancing, come to Death Row!" - referring to Combs' tendency to appear in his artists' music videos and perform ad-libs in their songs.[25][26] To the New York audience, Knight's comments seemed a slight to the entire East Coast hip hop scene, and resulted in boos from the crowd.[27]

The crowd booed again when Dr. Dre was named Producer of the Year. In response to the boos, Death Row artist Snoop Doggy Dogg took the microphone from Dr. Dre and asked the crowd: "The east coast ain't got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and Death Row? Y'all 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! We know where the fuck we at!"[8]

Puff Daddy later took the stage as a presenter and told the audience: "[A]ll this East and West—that needs to stop. So give it up for everybody from the East and the West that won tonight. One love."[8]

Murder of "Big Jake" Robles, release of 2Pac diss tracks

[edit]

Problems continued the following month when Suge Knight and Puff Daddy attended a birthday party for musician Jermaine Dupri at Platinum House club in Atlanta. Conflict between the two groups spilled outside the club and Jai "Big Jake" Robles, a close friend of Knight's and a Death Row Blood affiliate, was fatally shot as he was getting into a limousine.[8] Knight accused Combs (also in attendance) of being involved in the shooting.[28][29]

Shortly after Robles' death, Knight secured 2Pac's release from prison by posting his $1.4 million bond, flying across the country and renting a limousine to pick him up from Clinton Correctional Facility.[8] Shortly after his release, 2Pac proceeded to join Knight in escalating Death Row's feud with Bad Boy Records.[20] 2Pac insulted or threatened Biggie, Bad Boy and its affiliates on several tracks from late 1995 to 1996. Examples include the songs "Against All Odds," "Bomb First (My Second Reply)" and "Hit 'Em Up."[30][31]

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

Queens group Mobb Deep, which had been called out by name in 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up," released "Drop a Gem on 'Em" in August 1996 as a direct response. In 2011, Mobb Deep's Prodigy recalled his reaction after hearing Hit 'Em Up: "As soon as we heard Tupac saying anything about Mobb Deep, we went in and made that shit about him. We were like, 'Fuck this nigga, we going right at this nigga and whoever the fuck he's down with.'"[32]

2Pac also interpreted New York rapper LL Cool J's 1995 track "I Shot Ya" as a diss track referring to the Quad Studios shooting.[33] In 1996, 2Pac confronted Keith Murray, who was featured on the track, at the California House of Blues. Murray made it clear that the record was not about 2Pac.[34]

Although Biggie never released an explicit retaliation record, Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease claimed in a XXL interview that 2Pac was the subject of Biggie's track "Long Kiss Goodnight." Puff Daddy, however, steadfastly denied this theory, arguing that if Biggie were to diss 2Pac, he would have called him out by name.[35]

During this time, the media became heavily involved and dubbed the rivalry a coastal rap war, reporting on it continually.[36][37] This caused fans from both scenes to take sides.[16]

However even at the height of the rivalry, Nas (from the East) and Dr. Dre (from the West) worked together on Nas's 1996 album It Was Written. On the track "Nas is Coming" both of them ridiculed the coastal rivalry, with Dr. Dre calling it "bullshit" and stating that they need to work together to get paid.[38]

Faith Evans

[edit]
Faith Evans in 1998

In October 1995, 2Pac met Biggie's estranged wife, Bad Boy singer Faith Evans, at a party and agreed to pay her $25,000 to sing on one of his tracks. According to Evans, after she recorded her part, 2Pac refused to pay her unless she had sex with him and she declined.[39]

While Evans continued to deny rumors that she was involved romantically or sexually with 2Pac, Suge Knight and 2Pac were doing the opposite. In January 1996, they hinted to Lynn Hirschberg of The New York Times that 2Pac was in a relationship with Evans in that she had given him gifts and he had repaid those gifts with what he implied were sexual favors.[40] Biggie flew into a rage after hearing about the Times article and aggressively confronted Evans. Publicly, however, he tried to brush it off as a joke.[39] Later, in "Hit 'Em Up," 2Pac made his insinuations explicit, going so far as to say "I fucked your bitch, you fat motherfucker" and "you claim to be a player but I fucked your wife."[41]

Hip hop writers including Newsweek's Allison Samuels and The Source's Kierna Mayo described Evans as "a pawn" in 2Pac's revenge plot against Biggie and the power struggle between the two men. She was not portrayed sympathetically in the media.[39] Vibe joked in March 1996 that Evans was "losing weight from all that running back and forth between the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac."[42]

"New York, New York"

[edit]

In December 1995, Tha Dogg Pound, a Death Row group, was in Red Hook, Brooklyn filming the music video for their single "New York, New York." The music for the song used a beat that Biggie had rapped over in a commercial for St. Ides.[39] Biggie called into local hip hop station Hot 97 and said "Red Hook [is where Tha Dogg Pound and 2Pac are] shooting a video. Brooklyn, stand up!" according to Snoop Doggy Dogg's recollection. Tha Dogg Pound, who were listening to the radio at the time, interpreted it as a friendly sentiment and thought Biggie was summoning fans to their video set.[43] Shortly after the call, however, shots were fired at Tha Dogg Pound's trailer on the video set. The gunman was never identified. After the shooting, a scene was added to the music video showing Snoop Dogg destroying buildings and cars in New York City like Godzilla.[39] In 1996, East Coast rappers Capone-N-Noreaga, Mobb Deep and Tragedy Khadafi recorded a comeback diss entitled "L.A., L.A." It was released in 1996 on Penalty Recordings.[44]

Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.

[edit]

On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane in Las Vegas, Nevada.[45] He was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he died six days later. In 2002, Chuck Philips wrote the article "Who Killed Tupac Shakur?"[46] reporting, "the shooting was carried out by a Compton gang called the Southside Crips to avenge the beating of one of its members by Shakur a few hours earlier". The Philips article and its follow-up, "How Vegas Police Probe Floundered in Tupac Shakur Case"[47] also implicated East Coast rappers including Biggie Smalls.

Six months after Tupac's death, on March 9, 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting by an unknown assailant in Los Angeles, California. As with Tupac's death, nobody was charged with the murder, although Suge Knight was believed by officials to have been involved in a conspiracy for B.I.G.'s killing. At the time of the murder, Knight had only a week prior been sentenced to 9 years in prison for parole violation.[48]

Efforts at reconciliation

[edit]
Louis Farrakhan played a part in squashing the rivalry.

On September 22, 1996, a peace summit was convened at Mosque Maryam by Louis Farrakhan in the wake of the murder of 2Pac.[49]

In February 1997, Snoop Dogg and Combs appeared together on The Steve Harvey Show and held a press conference where they called for an end to the East Coast–West Coast rap feud that had already claimed the life of 2Pac.[50] "Kids around the world are watching," Snoop said. "By calling for a truce we're giving them something to live for."[51] However, their efforts failed to stop the violence; less than a month later, the Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a drive-by shooting while stopping at a stoplight in Los Angeles.

On April 3, 1997, key figures in the rap industry were summoned to Farrakhan's Chicago-based ministry house for an in-depth meeting. The main thrust was to put an end to the East / West rivalry. On hand were artists such as Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Ice Cube, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Fat Joe.[52]

Since 1997

[edit]

After Tupac's death but shortly before Biggie's, rappers from both coasts worked together on Ice Cube's Dangerous Ground soundtrack.[53] Later some rappers ridiculed the rivalry like Big Pun - who in his song "You Ain't a Killer" raps "won't even talk that East or West crap" - with Pun himself being an East Coast rapper "heartily embraced" by fans in the West Coast.[54] The Game, who is from the West Coast, shouted out "RIP" to both Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. on "Put You on the Game" ("Another memorial for Makaveli and Big Pop").

Some rappers have promoted unity in their lyrics, for example in Eminem and Snoop Dogg's single "From the D 2 the LBC" (meaning "From Detroit to Long Beach, California"), the chorus contains the lyrics: "Whether you Eastside or Westside of the 313, let's see them guns blaze", along with other lyrics in the song that talk about both coasts of the United States. Eminem is from Detroit, which is in the Midwest, while Snoop Dogg is from Long Beach, which is on the West Coast.[citation needed]

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