History of Easy Coast Rap

According to Allmusic, “At the dawn of the hip-hop era, all rap was East Coast rap.”

East Coast rap is a form of hip hop music that originated in New York City and has the earned the designation as the being the original form of hip hop. Early pioneers such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Run D.M.C. are credited with developing East Coast rap sound from its meager block party music beginnings, and propelling it into the major genre of music that it has become today.

The 1970’s was the genesis for several new sounds, one of which being hip hop. Early contributions to the development of this new form of expression came from the likes of Dj Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Run D.M.C., Kurtis Blow and the Sugarhill Gang, most of whom called New York City home. While East Coast rap can not be defined by a uniform sound or style, throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, it maintained a generally positive and Afrocentric message, focusing mainly on lyrical dexterity and complex wordplay overlaying an aggressive, hard hitting, heavily sampled beat. Social consciousness on issues such as poverty and racial inequality dominated East Coast rap, with more and more artists gravitating toward the new media to get their messages across. Most notable among them was Public Enemy, De La Soul and EPMD. It was during this time that rap began to breakthrough to mainstream radio with the likes of Rakim and Big Daddy Kane, making the sound a national phenomenon.

With the dawn of the 1990’s came change. NWA dominated the airwaves with the new, gritty sound of West Coast Rap, which was accompanied by lyrics that glamorized elements of a criminal lifestyle, including violence, promiscuity, and materialism. West Coast rap mainstreamed in 1992 with the introduction of Dr. Dre, the former front man of NWA, as a solo artist and his debut release, The Chronic, propelling West Coast rap into the spotlight. East Coast rap remained an integral part of the music industry, though taking a backseat to the more popular G-Funk style in the 1990’s, with several artists rising through the ranks of the underground scene, most notably, NAS’s debut album, Illmatic and The Notorious B.I.G.

East Coast and West Coast rap went head to head in a battle between of two of the most influential artists in rap music, Tupac Shakur and Christopher “Notorious B.I.G. Wallace. The rivalry created a media firestorm, catapulting rap music into the forefront of mainstream music, and fueling what began as an innocuous lyrical banter into an all out war. Lyrics on both sides became increasingly personal which in turn increased animosity, ultimately culminating in the murders of Shakur in 1996 and Smalls in 1997.

Ultimately, rap music has evolved into many different sounds and styles, however, East Coast rap has remained a constant influence in each subgenre. Gabe Gloden of Stylus magazine notes that even though West Coast rap has continued to dominate the market, many East Coast rap albums have filtered their way into everyone’s collections over time.

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