East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry

The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a feud from 1991 to 1997 between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States, especially from 1994 to 1997. Focal points of the feud were East Coast-based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (and his New York-based label, Bad Boy Records) and West Coast-based rapper Tupac Shakur (and his Los Angeles-based label, Death Row Records), who were both fatally shot following drive-by shootings by unknown assailants in 1997 and 1996, respectively.

Hip hop emerged in the 1970s on the streets of South Bronx. Powered by DJs such as Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa, the new genre became popular throughout the city's neighborhoods. The New York City area remained the forefront for rap music throughout the mid-80's, becoming home to numerous stars like Run-DMC, A Tribe Called Quest, LL Cool J, KRS-One, Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Slick Rick, The Beastie Boys, Salt-n-Pepa, and others. In the early 1990s hip hop functioned to give the black community a voice in the public sphere. Hip hop gained appeal among African-Americans because of the "authentic" nature of the lyrical content to which they could relate. Over time, hip hop and gangsta rap became tools for competing record labels and their sometimes-associated gangs, as a way to build up reputations and increase commercial sales.

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