East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry

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Background

In 1993, fledgling A&R executive and record producer Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs founded the New York-centered hip-hop label, Bad Boy Records. The next year, the label’s debut releases by Brooklyn-based rapper Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace (also referred to as ‘Biggie Smalls’) and Long Island-based rapper Craig Mack became immediate critical and commercial successes, and seemed to revitalize the East Coast hip-hop scene by 1995.

Oakland, California-based rapper Tupac Shakur, meanwhile, forged a rivalry with Biggie, publicly accusing him and Combs of having facilitated his being robbed and shot five times in the lobby of a New York recording studio on November 30, 1994. Shortly after 2Pac’s shooting, “Who Shot Ya?,” a B-side track from the BIG’s “Big Poppa” single was released. Although Combs and Wallace emphatically denied having anything to do with the shooting and insisted that “Who Shot Ya?” had been recorded before his shooting, 2Pac and the majority of the rap community interpreted it as BIG’s way of taunting him. Shakur would claim that the song proved that Bad Boy had set him up.

In August 1995, Death Row CEO Suge Knight took a dig at Bad Boy and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs at that year's Source Awards; announcing to the assembly of artists and industry figures:

“Any artist out there that want to be an artist and stay a star, and don’t have to worry about the executive producer trying to be all in the videos…All on the records…dancing, come to Death Row!”

It was a direct reference to Combs’ tendency of ad-libbing on his artists’ songs and dancing in their videos. With the ceremony being held in New York, to the audience, Knight’s comments seemed a slight to the entire East Coast hip-hop scene, and resulted in many boos from the crowd. Combs attempted to defuse the growing hostility in the air with a speech denouncing the rivalry, to little avail. Later that evening, a performance by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg was jeered by New Yorkers in attendance, to which Snoop famously responded, “The East Coast ain’t got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and Death Row?!”

Tensions were escalated when Knight later attended a party for producer Jermaine Dupri in Atlanta. During the bash, a close friend of Suge’s was fatally shot outside. Knight accused Combs (also in attendance) of having something to do with the shoot

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