Music West Coast vs East Coast hiphop

VorZakone

What would Kenny G do?
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May 9, 2013
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Alright, which of the 2 has your preference? Both had a distinct sound in the 90s with the East Coast being a bit more aggressive sounding and West Coast more smooth / laid back.

Random East Coast lineup:
Mobb Deep, Nas, AZ, Biggie, Rakim, KRS One, Smif n Wessun, Wu Tang Clan, Jay Z, Big Pun, Big L, DMX, MOP, EPMD, Onyx, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Naughty by Nature, Redman, Gang Starr, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Lords of the Underground, Lost Boyz, Group Home, OC.

Random West Coast lineup:
DJ Quik, Spice 1, 2pac, Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop, Nate Dogg, Eazy E, Above the Law, Kam, Ice T, Cypress Hill, Too Short, Pharcyde, MC Eiht, South Central Cartel, King Tee, Kurupt, Xzibit, Lil Half Dead, 2nd II None, CJ Mac, Daz Dillinger, Luniz, Dresta & BG Knocc Out, Dru Down, MC Ren, D.O.C, Souls of Mischief.
 
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East Coast for me, just a personal preference for that grimy, grittier darker mood.
 
Much prefer the East coast sound myself.

He's not on your list but I think Pusha T deserves a mention. Really embodies the East coast sound for me
 
The two albums that probably most defined the sound of the two sides for that decade were 36 Chambers and The Chronic. The contrast between them is pretty amazing. Maybe it’s due to the sun and palm trees but the LA neighborhoods which the West Coast guys rap about have always seemed in my mind to be more fun, laid back places than the East Coast streets.
 
East tops it in pure lyricists (talking about those who get in a "Top 5/10/20" list), no doubt. But I love the West coast as well.

Not a fan of the South, though, even if Wayne and Andre 3000 are GOATed. I feel like the whole "mumble rap" shit started when their side became the major sound hub.
 
DoomSlayer said:
East tops it in pure lyricists, no doubt. But I love the West coast as well.

Not a fan of the South, though, even if Wayne and Andre 3000 are GOATed. I feel like the whole "mumble rap" shit started when their side became the major sound hub.
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Regarding the South, I wanna give Scarface an honorable mention. He had a couple of classic songs too.
 
VorZakone said:
Regarding the South, I wanna give Scarface an honorable mention. He had a couple of classic songs too.
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No doubt, man. I was just about to edit my comment and add him. :lol:

I wonder where do Detroit rappers like Eminem and Royce Da 5'9 go in. In some ways, they are more affiliated to the West, but they've mostly had their own style or been sonically and lyrically closer to the East, at least that's how I see it.
 
When rap was rap and when lyrics were important too!

East coast was dark and humbling which was great. Had to hustle and they leveraged NYC well.

Late 90s also saw the rise and dominance of Eminem....that was amazing.
 
Anyone thinks West Coast should never listen to rap again
 
Big Daddy Kane alone wins it for the East. But seriously New York wins easily, you don't even need to involve the rest.
 
Apart from JayZ, West Coast wins easy Dre, Tupac and Cypress Hill.
 
Can you count Bone Thugs as West Coast coming from Cleveland and they always said they had no involvement in east coast v West Coast.

2pac maybe even though he is from New York he went after a lot of New Yorks artists when he sold out
 
East coast for me. Particularly for the production style. The dusty samples from old films and soundtracks was super cool. It gave the music a rougher and raw aesthetic, compared to the g-funk sound of the west coast, which was a bit slicker.

Most of the Wu Tang Clan (Ghost, Rae, GZA, Meth, Deck), Nas and MF DOOM are among my all time favourites. I don't think a rapper from the west coast would make it into my top 10 list.
 
West coast all day every day.

The Death Row camps wins it alone and then you got the likes of WC, Above The Law, King T, Foesum, Tha Eastsidaz, Kokane, Spice 1, Cypress Hill, Masta Ace, Tha Twinz, Too Short, Xzibit, Tha liks, Luniz, Ice Cube, Butch Cassidy, Eazy-E, Dresta, BG, Mistah F.A.B, MC Eith, SCC, Coolio and countless more.

Plus the G.O.A.T in hip hop : E-40.

Btw, Bone thugs are not a west coast group even if they were signed to Ruthless.
 
DoomSlayer said:
He is dope, it's just a personal preference, I guess.
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I can say say that back when Wu Tang Forever came out, I wasn't a huge fan but as I got through the catalogue over the years he's grown on me and is now one of my favourites after Ghost, Rae and Deck.
 
From the east you have O.C who is in my opinion great with live instruments, in fact hip hop in general is great with live instruments.

 
Was pre Internet, and being in the UK, a lot of this was not easy to get hold of.

I remember having to import 2Pac CDs from Virgin for about £20 a time, which was a fortune back in the mid 90s.

so my point is, it was quite arbitrary what I listened to. So for me it’s West Coast. because of NWA, 2Pac and Ice-T.
 
Not sure it really matters, also think people sleep on Outkast, ATLiens is one of the best albums of all time IMO.
 
Baneofthegame said:
Not sure it really matters, also think people sleep on Outkast, ATLiens is one of the best albums of all time IMO.
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Not really, Outkast are highly rated and never out of the best hiphop artists conversation.
 
East for sure. Greater lyricism for a start, and preferred the grit as has been said.
 
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