Rap Beef

Rap beef is when two or more rappers become enemies and usually create songs “dissing” each other.  This is arguably the most entertaining form of rap. This goes back to the essence of hip-hop, the battle.  A battle is when two MCs (or rappers) compete by taking turns rapping and then a winner is decided. The objective of this competition is to rhyme while being creative and witty. My opinion is that battles and beef are more entertaining because you have to be better than someone else instead of making arbitrary songs. Your round in a battle is being directly compared to your opponent’s round. Your “diss” song is also being directly compared to your opponent’s. I feel that the level of competition brings out the best in each artist.

In today’s society “rap beef” has taken a turn for the worse. Most rappers today are considered to be gangsters. They make music filled with so many guns and so much violence that when a situation occurs they feel that they have a image to uphold. Upholding this image often leads to lives being lost.  Many people attribute “rap beef” to the deaths of the (arguably) two greatest rappers ever, Tupac and Notorious Big. This beef was not only a beef between the rappers, but it became a east coast versus west coast civil war in the hip-hop community.

This is not always the case. There are battle rap leagues, such as URLTV, where people compete strictly for entertainment, and after the battle the MCs shake hands and go on with their lives. Lots of times these events can get personally and out of hand, but the majority of the beef that goes on is for entertainment.

A gangster persona is what helps a lot of these guys become successful, but it can also be what can get these guys killed. In the music industry there is a thin line between business and personal because they are in the lime light 24/7 and their personal life becomes business.

My advice to rappers is to treat “rap beef” as a sport. Try to be better than the other person, make good music, and keep the “beef” in your music. This will keep this aspect of hip-hop alive and will keep our people alive as well.