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Working Outside The
West
Written By: Incognito
West Coast hip-hop began it's journey in the streets
of South Central, LA where N.W.A came runnin str8 outta
Compton putting the "hardcore" into rap and spreading
it across America. For a while, it seemed like West
Coast rap didn't know anything outside of Cali. That
was true intil Cube broke away from N.W.A and recruited
East Coast producers the Bomb Squad and P.E. frontman
Chuck D for his debut, "Amerikkkaz Most Wanted". It
was successful and Cube didn't get that support from
Dr. Dre either.
So it kinda began there, when the West Coast met the
East in rap. The crossover didn't really take off intil
the aftermath of the East/West war, where from there
West rappers/producers became engaged in collabos with
other coasts. Before that, rappers basically stayed
in their circle. Dre & Snoop stuck with Long Beach
and Compton rappers as the rest of Cali pretty much
did the same. It was about holdin down your own set,
don't cross the line. When Pac rolled in with Tha Row
in late '95, he let it be known it was a West Coast
thang. 2Pac launched the East/West rivalry after claiming
Biggie had him shot in New York. Meanwhile, his Death
Row counterpart Dr. Dre hooked up with QB rapper Nas
for the track, "Nas Is Coming" in '96. Pac disapproved
and tension spread through out the camp. Dre left, Pac
died, and Death Row fell. Dre continued to unite the
2 coasts, next up came, "East Coast Killaz/West Coast
Killaz", a song that was meant to "kill that noise".
Dre summoned rappers RBX, KRS-One, B-Real and Nas for
the bi-coastal anthem. At Aftermath, Dre would work
with more East Coast acts than ever before, as he would
handle the executive production for The Firm's album.
Most responses turned out to be negative though. Almost
a year later ('98) Dre and LL Cool J came together for
the single "Zoom". It was far from "the old Dre" but
Expectable. Why did Dre dip into the East Coast to make
music at the time? I'm guessing he needed somewhat of
a new identity, a fresh sound. It might not have worked
out the way he had wanted, but today, one of his greatest
protege's does not hail from the West.
Y'all know Snoop made a big leap when he headed down
South to set up shop. Snoop took a different turn from
what we were used to with Southern influenced songs
like, "Woof" and "Down For My N's". Both were made into
singles but never really reached "hit" status. Snoop
went on to make music with Wu-Tang & Ruff Ryders.
DJ Quik even made the connection with Bronx MC Peter
Gunz for the hit, "So Many Wayz". Death Row had Ja Rule
and Ruff Ryders on their "Too Gangsta For Radio" LP
so we know peeps have been spreading game to both sides.
Hell, even Pac found himself fuckin around with Redman
& Biggie at one point. Dre went on to collaborate
with Jay-Z and most recently Eve, where he laced 2 songs
for her record. One, "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" is blowing
up as you read this. Shit, even Daz Dilli found a new
home at Roc-A-Fella Records for his next album.
Okay, so whats so special about a rapper going outside
their click to make music? It can sort of put a new
twist on the artist, show off a dimension you thought
didn't exist in that rapper/producer. Hearing someone
from the East spittin over a WC beat beat can be dope.
If you give it a thought, each "division" of rap has
a big distinction from the rest. Like the West make
songs with flavor, funk and hardness. The East has a
more raw and rugged style with maybe some of the more
"lyrically gifted" MC's. Rounding off, the Dirty South
comes with a aggressive, choppy, edgy sound with their
music. The way the East raps from the West is very different,
same goes with the South. Of course, not all of these
get togethers have been excepted. Certainly not everyone
wanted to see Snoop roll with Master P and No Limit.
Same with Dr. Dre and The Firm.
Wrapping this muthafucka up, the West Coast has expanded
it's game up to this point. There will be more East/West
tracks this year. Take the D-R-E for example, his shit
will be poppin up on Jadakiss's "Kiss The Game Goodbye"
album, along with Snoop. Dre even showed interest to
produce songs for Big Tigga's debut album. But perhaps
the greatest crossover in rap history is on the horizon.
Dre will try to catapult Rakim back into the industry
with his comeback album, "Oh My God". What can possibly
be bigger from both sides? We might see the best brought
out in both. So for me, the joining of the East &
West is a good thing for hip-hop culture, though you
know the best side...Wesstsiiiide! -Incognito
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