Which is better or more respected the East-Coast or West- Coast? This age old debate has always been a center of controversy in the American rap culture. Before I start this blog I want to say that I was born in Pennsylvania and lived in Virginia my whole life. Furthermore, I believe west-coast rap is inferior to east-coast because there are better known rappers like Biggie, Jay-z, Nas, Kanye and Rakim. Also the mecca for rap has to be New York because not only was rap started their with the Sugar hill gang but, 4 of the 5 people in my list were from New York City. Other rappers like Gucci mane and T.I. are the kings of the south and they are more popular than west coast rappers. Not only is the east coast more popular but also most progressive hip hop has come from the east coast like trap music from the Deep south and battle rappers in Chicago.  Besides the vast majority of rappers being in east Coast the biggest record labels are in the East coast also like Bad Boy entertainment which was founded by Sean Combs in New York. There also is Cash Money which was founded by Birdman and Slim in Miami and New Orleans. These rap labels were essential in distributing rappers music throughout the country without them we may not of had Drake (cash money) or Rick Ross (Bad Boy records). Also I feel the greatest rap feuds are between east coast rappers (except for Biggie and Tupac). Battle rapping was a style created in the streets of Chicago where basically two rappers try and make their opponents look bad while simultaneously making themselves look better. But because of this rivalries were formed which showed how important rap was to this community. Around the time rap was just beginning in New York Africans realty did not have a voice in social media or in the news but, rap made their voices heard it was a way for rappers on the east coast to voice their opinions. While on the west coast rappers used their voice only to further their gang motives. Still there are some good things about west-coast rap like they have had some influential rap groups like Tupac, Ice –T and N.W.A.. They also have probably the greatest record company Atlantic records which is in LA. There really is no surprise that the east coast would be better in terms of rap than the west coast because there are more African Americans in the east coast. I do not believe that only black Americans can rap but I see the correlation and the vast majority of great rappers are African American.  I have also interviewed a west coast native from Chino Hills, California who stated that the East coast has more rappers than the west coast and they are better. So in conclusion I feel eve the people from the west coast know that rappers in the east coast are better because there are more people inclined to rap ion the East Coast.

Hey guys, my name is Drew Holland I am the author of this blog. I am a college student at the University of Arizona but, I am originally from Richmond, Virginia.  Even though I am a Pre- business major I have always had a love for music so I decided to make a blog about rap/hip hop.  I feel that rap is like a book in which you can peer into the rappers mind.  In my blog I want to expand the world’s knowledge about rap because I believe many people believe the stereotypes about rap some stereotypes are that rappers are uneducated.  This is not true if you think about rappers like 2 Chainz and wale that graduated from college with a 4 .0. Other stereotypes associated with rap is that only black people can be rappers and that all rappers abuse drugs. I feel that people think this because you see the facade that rappers put up. But if one was to really analysis rap lines they would find that the there is some truth behind the words. For example in Lil Wayne’s song “Hot boy” Lil Wayne says “Come through looking like the old me white t-shirt and Girbaud jeans.” He means that he is going back to his roots going back to his original self. If a person was just to listen to this song once they would not understand what he is trying to say.  A lot of people forget that rap is a form a poetry and it is nearly impossible to fully understand a poem if you only listen to once. So I urge my readers to give rap a chance before they immediately dismiss it. Also the rap community is extremely diverse. I have heard Chinese rap and Rap from the Israel. Even though rap is diverse I do believe that rap is deeply rooted in jazz which is a direct product from the jazz era which was a style brought over from Africa.  Still though I feel the whole word have embraced rap. In this blog I will be reviewing rap albums, making commentary, and explaining rap feuds. Rather than calling myself a rap expert, I consider myself a concerned consumer. If you follow this blog you can expect to learn more about the rap culture, learn more about the latest drama, and get non bias reviews of rap albums. Even though I will try to not be biased I ask that you read other 3^rd party sources. I also suggest you also listen to the breakfast club’s podcast for rap news. My first blog post will be about how people classify rappers in relation to the geographical locations in America.