Los Angeles, Ca
California rap beef: What is the history of it?
Rap beefs have been around for decades and although they are nothing new, the ongoing feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake has sparked renewed interest in musical altercations.
What is a rap beef?
A rap beef can be defined as a feud between rappers who create songs with the primary purpose of verbally attacking each other. The songs are known as diss tracks and can be a display of lyrical superiority for artists — and entertainment heaven for fans.
What are some popular rap beefs in California?
While multiple reports credit New York as being the home state to rap beef, California rappers have chimed into their fair share of popular wars of words.
Ice Cube vs. N.W.A
The late 1980s feud beef between Ice Cube and his former group, NWA, was a legendary rap beef with roots in California. N.W.A originated in 1987 with some hip-hop icons such as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince. Most of the members grew up together in Compton.
Tensions rose when Ice Cube left the group because of disagreements about money, according to americansongwriter.com. In an interview with Thrasher Magazine, Ice Cube said he would “rather be broke than be in a major group and not be getting paid right.”
His departure from N.W.A led to a rivalry between him and his former group mates and the 1991 release of what is still considered to be one of the greatest diss records of all time, “No Vaseline.”
2pac vs. Biggie
Tupac Shakur (2pac) vs. Christopher Wallace (Notorious B.I.G or Biggie) is remembered by many to be the greatest, and most tragic, rap beef of all time. Tupac, 24, was signed to a California-based label, and Biggie, 25, was from New York. The two went back and forth through their music from 1994-1996.
They started off as collaborators, but a beef was sparked after 2pac was ambushed and wounded at a New York City recording studio in 1994. He alleged that Biggie and P. Diddy were responsible for it, according to the Associated Press. Several legendary diss tracks stemmed from their feud such as “Who Shot Ya,” by Biggie and “Hit em Up,” by 2pac.
The West Coast vs. East Coast rivalry ended in September of 1996 when 2pac was gunned down in Las Vegas. Six months later, Biggy would suffer the same fate when he was fatally shot in Los Angeles. Their deaths were a blow to the hip-hop world, and although it has been almost 30 years, many fans of the genre agree there’s a void in the rap industry that still resonates today.
The Game vs. 50 Cent
The war of words between Jayceon Taylor (The Game) and Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) is one of the longest and most notorious hip-hop beefs in history. This was another West Side vs. East Side battle with The Game being from Compton and 50 Cent from New York. According to BET.com, their beef officially started in 2005 when 50 Cent went on the Hot 97 radio show and announced that The Game, who was signed to his label, was getting kicked off.
In response, The Game showed up to the radio building to confront 50 Cent but was blocked by security from going inside, according to complex.com. The outdoor altercation led to a shootout between the two sides and one person from The Game’s camp was injured.
Following the incident, 50 Cent did several interviews where he took jabs at The Game. He accused The Game of being an exotic dancer with no street credit and a host of other things. In response, The Game launched a campaign called G-Unot, a mockery of 50 Cent’s label and brand, G-Unit. It also birthed a nearly 15-minute iconic diss track by The Game, 300 Bars and Running.
The beef lasted for several years, until The Game publicly apologized in 2016 during a show in Los Angeles, according to XXL.com. However, it was seemingly reignited in 2022 when The Game called 50 Cent a profane name on stage.
Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake
2024 is the current host of one of the wildest rap beefs in recent years – Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake. Their animosity toward each other goes back to 2013 when Kendrick Lamar included a line in a song that said he wanted to murder Drake and other popular rappers when it came to music, according to KTLA.
At the time, Lamar claimed the bar was figurative and friendly competition, but fast forward over a decade later and things between the two are far from friendly. Over the last several weeks nearly 10 diss tracks have been dropped between the two rappers. From allegations of domestic violence and child abuse to plastic surgery and more – the limits of disrespect toward each other have been endless. On May 3 alone, four songs were released within 24 hours which has had fans on the edge of their seats to see what will happen next.
Do rappers start beef for publicity or monetary gain?
Although there has not been any hard evidence of staged rap beefs recorded, it cannot be denied that music labels benefit from the extra sales and streams garnered from music feuds.
For example, Drake is signed to Universal Music Group. Kendrick Lamar is signed to his own label called pgLang. pgLang is a partner of Interscope Records which is owned by Universal Music Group. Essentially, the two are label brothers under Universal – and most of their recently released diss tracks are available for consumption on YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify and SoundCloud.
With all the extra focus on their ongoing beef, Universal Music Group is most likely swimming in a pool of new revenue from the unprecedented number of diss tracks dropped and streamed from their artist’s rap beef.
In fact, the Kendrick Lamar and Drake beef has been so successful that several of their new releases are in the top 20 of Billboard’s top 100 songs, and Kendrick Lamar recently broke Drake’s 2021 Spotify record for most streams in one day – over 6 million streams.
Los Angeles, Ca
Southern California man hospitalized after suspect steals coffee cart, leads police on wild chase
A man who was hospitalized after a suspect stole a coffee cart with him inside and led officers on a wild, multi-county pursuit recalls the terrifying ordeal.
“I thought I was going to die,” said the victim, Derek Strano, 37.
On July 16, the suspect, Liam Preston Yanez, 28, jumped into a pickup truck that was also towing a coffee service trailer in Moorpark.
Little did the suspect know, Strano was still inside the coffee cart. At the time, Strano had gone inside the cart to prepare a drink for a family member who had arrived home for surgery.
As the truck suddenly took off, Strano was taken on a violent, wild ride through Ventura and Los Angeles counties as police officers chased the stolen truck.
“I feel the truck moving and I had been in there for two minutes,” Strano recalled. “I thought I had the parking brake off, but then the truck blows through the fence. It was hell.”
Video of the chase showed the suspect driving erratically as the coffee cart swerved dangerously behind.
Strano held on for life, grabbing a sink inside the coffee cart as the chase became more chaotic. Eventually, Strano could not hold on any longer.
“He took a turn and the side door was ripped off and I flew out of it when he made that turn,” Strano said.
The coffee cart later overturned as the suspect crashed the pickup truck into the Heartfelt Education through the Arts Center building in North Hollywood.
Strano was left hospitalized with serious injuries after the ordeal. The incident left him with severe pain and limited his mobility.
Strano said he’s also been suffering from nightmares and flashbacks to the night of the crash.
The suspect, Yanez, was arrested on several felony charges including unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle and receiving stolen property. He is being held on $20,000 bail.
Strano, however, believes those charges are not enough for the damage caused.
“His charges, not one of them are for my injuries,” Strano said. “My name isn’t in the report. I was just a worker, the assistant, and it kind of got to me.”
For now, Strano is focused on recovering and is undergoing physical therapy. He said he may also consider psychological therapy as well.
A GoFundMe page to help Strano with his medical bills can be found here.
Los Angeles, Ca
Rapper faces prison for trying to board LAX flight with loaded semiautomatic pistol
A rapper faces prison time after he attempted to board a flight with a loaded pistol at Los Angeles International Airport.
Tiwan Raybon, 36, of Douglasville, Georgia, also known as “Fat Money” was sentenced Friday to 20 months in federal prison, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Raybon arrived at LAX and attempted to board a flight headed for Atlanta. He was selected for a routine luggage inspection by Transportation Security Administration officials.
Inside Raybon’s carry-on luggage, security officials discovered a Glock 9mm-caliber semiautomatic pistol and several rounds of ammunition.
Raybon then fled from TSA officers after the discovery, authorities said.
At the time, investigators said Raybon was in illegal possession of the pistol after being previously convicted of multiple felonies and a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in Cook County, Illinois.
Raybon was later arrested and indicted by a federal grand jury in L.A.
In April 2024, he pleaded guilty to one federal count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. On Friday, he was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison.
“It is unlawful for a person convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to ship, transport, receive, or possess a firearm or ammunition,” FBI officials said. “In addition, firearms are not permitted at checkpoints or in the secure area of airports, including in carry-on luggage or onboard aircraft.”
Los Angeles, Ca
Iconic Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel to light up for Team USA
The iconic Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica Pier will light up nightly during the Paris Olympics to cheer on Team USA beginning Friday.
The nightly light display will feature the five colored rings to symbolize the Olympic rings, a 90-foot-tall waving American flag to celebrate Team USA, a French flag for the current host country and the American flag to represent the games returning to the United States, specifically Los Angeles in 2028.
The Ferris wheel will be lit up from sunset until 12:30 a.m.
The Pacific Wheel is the world’s only solar-powered Ferris wheel, featuring 174,000 LED lights mounted on its 40 spokes and two hubs. The wheel’s lighting system features 16.7 million color value combinations to display dynamic, custom, computer-generated lighting entertainment, according to a news release.
Visitors can visit the theme park from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. to catch a ride on the nine-story carnival ride, which takes riders to heights of more than 130 feet over the Pacific Ocean.
If you can’t make it out to the Santa Monica Pier yourself, Pacific Park offers an online stream of the Ferris wheel.
-
World1 week ago
One dead after car crashes into restaurant in Paris
-
Midwest1 week ago
Michigan rep posts video response to Stephen Colbert's joke about his RNC speech: 'Touché'
-
News1 week ago
Video: Young Republicans on Why Their Party Isn’t Reaching Gen Z (And What They Can Do About It)
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Movie Review: A new generation drives into the storm in rousing ‘Twisters’
-
Politics1 week ago
Fox News Politics: The Call is Coming from Inside the House
-
News1 week ago
Video: J.D. Vance Accepts Vice-Presidential Nomination
-
World1 week ago
Trump to take RNC stage for first speech since assassination attempt
-
News1 week ago
RNC speakers want to separate the president from the person to show softer side of Trump