Background 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. 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. 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. In 1991,
Suge Knight co-founded Death Row Records in
Los Angeles alongside Dr. Dre,
Dick Griffey and
the D.O.C. Knight, a native of
Compton, California, and a
Blood, was among those in the West Coast hip-hop scene irritated by the East Coast's perceived condescension toward the West. The next year, the label's debut releases by
Brooklyn-based rapper
the Notorious B.I.G. (also known as Biggie Smalls) and
Long Island–based rapper
Craig Mack became immediate critical and commercial successes. 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.
Quad Studios shooting 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. 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. 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. 2Pac interpreted it as a taunt directed at him.
1995 Source Awards 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's tendency to appear in his artists' music videos and perform ad-libs in their songs. 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. 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!" Knight accused Combs (also in attendance) of being involved in the shooting. Shortly after Robles's 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. 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".
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.'" 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. 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. 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. During this time, the media became heavily involved and dubbed the rivalry a coastal rap war, reporting on it continually. This caused fans from both scenes to take sides.
Faith Evans 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. 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. 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. Hip-hop writers including
Newsweeks Allison Samuels and
The Sources
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.
"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". The music for the song used a
beat that Biggie had rapped over in a commercial for
St. Ides. 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.
Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. 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. 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?" 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" 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.
Efforts at reconciliation On September 22, 1996, a
peace summit was convened at
Mosque Maryam by
Louis Farrakhan in the wake of the murder of 2Pac. 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. "Kids around the world are watching", Snoop said. "By calling for a truce we're giving them something to live for." 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 motive of the meeting was to put an end to the rivalry. On hand were artists such as
Snoop Dogg,
Tha Dogg Pound,
Ice Cube,
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and
Fat Joe.
Since 1997 After Tupac's death but shortly before Biggie's, rappers from both coasts worked together on
Ice Cube's
Dangerous Ground soundtrack. 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.
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"). By the time the
Jay-Z–Nas feud broke out, the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry was considered to have been concluded. == See also ==