Location and culture is a big part of hip hop. In this
genre, where you come from almost defines who you are and what kind of music
you make. Ever since hip hop began, feuds and rivalries have taken place
over location and hometowns. These feuds have, in the past, included gang
rivalries, drug wars, and culture differences. According to Allison
Samuels, Newsweek Reporter, "Originally,
at block parties, DJs would play records and
isolate the percussion breaks for the dancing masses. Soon, MCs began
speaking over the beats, usually simply to keep the audience dancing.
Eventually, MCs began incorporating more varied and stylistic speech and
focused on introducing themselves, shouting out to friends in the audience,
boasting about their own skills, and criticizing their rivals. This was often
done in good humor, but several deaths introduced a fear that lyrical rivalries
may develop into offstage feuds that become violent." After rappers started getting angry over who
was better, location and culture became the main topic in hip hop. One of the most common ways rap rivals
clash is through "diss tracks," music tracks that contain
lyrical insults directed at the artist's rivals. Feuds are also fueled by
rivals placing targeted insults in the press and confronting one another at
public events. In some cases, feuds intermingle. This lead to the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry of
the early and mid nineties.
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East Coast- West Cost rivalries was one of the things that started why hometowns matter so much in hip hop
While hip-hop is known to have originated in the East Coast
(particularly, the Bronx, New York), the roots of gangsta rap are accredited to the West Cost (particularly,
Compton, California). Thefocuses of many rap battles involve disputes between
East Coast and West Coast artists. The artists most commonly associated with
the East Coast vs. West Coast beef are Tupac
(2Pac) Shakur from the West
Coast and Notorious B.I.G (Biggie Smalls) from the East Coast. After the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie
Smalls in 1996 and 1997, the beef between East Coast and West Coast died down
and rappers began representing their hometowns, instead of either Coast.
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Hometowns
became a huge part of hip hop music and most songs in some way talk about
someone’s hometown still to this day. Artists
battle over who is better and how their hometown is better. If someone is not from your hometown, then
they don’t belong there and should never go there. For example, artists such as OutKast
represented Atlanta, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre represented California, 50 Cent and
Eminem represented Detroit, and Jay Z and Nas represented New York. So therefore, no matter the artist or genre,
part of what makes music so powerful and enduring is the intense connection
every artist has to “where they’re from”. The sights, sounds, feelings and
people in our “hometowns” are inextricably tied to who we are and those influences
almost always resonate in the music artists make. The music has changed, but
today’s most popular artists still wear their “homes” on their sleeves no
matter where their travels take them.
Your blog post was very in depth and informative. Locations give people an item to identify with, but can lead to disagreements and violence.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog interesting i agree how OutKast represented Atlanta, Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre represented California, 50 Cent and Eminem represented Detroit, and Jay Z and Nas represented New York. I like to take into account how in modern day like TDE is the new generation of N.W.A in the west side.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. It’s very apparent throughout hip hop that we hear about rivalries through the lyrics.I mean everyone’s heard of West coast vs. East coast, and it originated from hip hop which is pretty cool to think about. Most hip hop artists are so devoted to their hometown and it comes out through their songs.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. Rivals between artists of different location has been going on for as long as I can remember. In almost every hip hop song I usually hear the artist say at least one thing that has something to do with where the artist is from.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog! I think one of the most unique things about hip hop is that the artists incorporate their hometown and stay true to it, which is unlike any other type of genre. Almost every hip hop song includes their hometown, so obviously this is a very important fact in hip hop music.
ReplyDeleteI agree that most artists are very prideful of their hometown. If the components of the artist's music itself isnt enough to reveal the artists hometown, they almost always mention where they are from in multiple songs. I think this is especially true with artists from the not-so-common areas, such as Big KRIT, who is from a small town in Mississippi. In these cases, the artists make their hometown known to put them on the map.
ReplyDeleteAmazing to look at how different hip hop can be depending on the areas. Also, interesting points about how depending on where you're from depends on certain rivalries. It is fascinating to think of how much pride these artists have in their music.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog. A lot of artists take pride in where they come from. They love where they are from and always are quick to stand up for their city even though it sometimes leads to problems. Its clearly shows location plays a huge factor in hip hop.
ReplyDeleteThis blog is very accurate. Hometowns play a huge role in the hip hop industry and influences alot of their music. When beef comes up and artist are going after one another, this creates a clash between hometowns, sides of a town, or even regional difference. Great Blog!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is on point! Reppin where you are from is an important factor in the rap culture. We also know different artist styles by where they are from. Location is important in the previous and current generation of rap.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog! It is very important that rappers and other artists know where they come from. Location and culture is very important to the hip hop genre and community.
ReplyDeleteThis was well written. I feel like in most cases your area his highly influential on the type of artist you are going to be shaped as especially in hip hop. I like the point you brought up about how they need to stand up for their city and represent it as well because if they don't who will?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how rappers went from representing an entire coast to mainly their hometowns; I never really thought about it but it is very true. It seems like the rivalries are not as present as they were in earlier hip hop history. I think the artists are representing their hometowns in a more mature manner by not starting or continuing rivalries.
ReplyDeleteI think that this blog was very well done. Geographical conflict is one of my favorite aspects of hip hop because, as you stated, it has lead to so much that is still present in hip hop today. I especially enjoyed the excerpt you pulled from the Newsweek reporter. It did a great job of setting up the rest of the post.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I never took heed to the magnitude of a rappers hometown/location can have on pertaining his/her exposure and fame. I for one like to listen to rappers from my hometown mainly because of the type of language they use in their songs.
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