DLabrie: The roots of the East vs West hip-hop feud

Below, DLabrie (above right with The Jacka) responds to DaveyD's thoughts on hip-hop's coastal feuding.

I’ve been processing the roots of the East vs. West since getting into Hip Hop or at least shortly after, being that I came of age during the rise of West Coast dominance. I also caught the East Coast movement in full swing when I was younger back in elementary. Despite being from Oakland, California, like many others my favs were Gangstarr, Poor Righteous Teachers, KRS, Kid and Play, Salt & Pepper and Big Daddy Kane.

I’d say a lot of early West Coast Hip Hop differed from the east coast sound with beats and rhymes that were much faster and grittier thanks to Hammer, Cube, Ice T, N.W.A, King Tee and Too Short. There was definitely influence, love, and admiration for NY– It was a rap thing, as we all rooted for the underground phenomenon that would soon grow to sweep the world. Most of the music that was big at the time was East Coast and that was the standard. There was even a battle between Self Destruction and All in the Same Game. Which one was better?

However that doesn’t mean that hip hop wasn’t goin’ on in its own way in other places and it doesn’t mean that N.Y. has all the rights to Hip Hop. Hip Hop is a hood thing a black culture (and now multi cultural) thing. KRS told me himself when I toured with him in 2005 that elements of Hip Hop were already firmly embedded in places like Oakland, Chicago, Texas and Seattle... Click HERE to continue reading DLabrie's piece.