When hip-hop broke in New York in the 1970s, it was all about the beats - DJs spinning and scratching. But when some DJs grabbed a microphone, the Rap MC was born and the great lyrical tradition of hip hop began. But like any artistic enterprise, MCs would battle over who was the bigger talent, with playful words and rhymes in concerts and on wax. But the harmless back and forth soon grew more contentious. Disrespectfulness in lyrics and arguments over the spoils of album profits soon led to physical and sometimes violent confrontations between artists and their posses.
VH1 News Presents: Beef - Rap’s Biggest Battles will trace the history of rap through the history of BEEFS – the nickname for the feuds that have developed between artists. It will show how hip hop’s war of words soon became actual battles, spilling out of the studios and into the streets. Many thought that the rap wars reached a climax with the murders of Tupac Shakur and Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace. But renewed tensions between artists like 50 Cent and Ja Rule seems to have returned hip hop to the bad old days. Does the violence threaten hip hop itself? Will today’s artists learn from past tragedies in time?
This oral history of beefs will feature many artists themselves talking about their own beefs with other artists. Key interviews include 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Mack 10, Common, and KRS-One.
The following BEEFS will be explored:- Busy Bee vs. Kool Moe Dee.
- KRS-One vs. MC Shan
- Ice Cube vs. NWA
- Dr. Dre vs. Easy-E
- Dogg Pound vs. Ruthless Records
- Common vs. Westside Connection/Ice Cube
- East Coast vs. West Coast
- Tupac v. Biggie
- Jay-Z vs. Nas
- Jay-Z vs. 50 Cent
- 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule/Black Child
For VH1
Producer - Stacy Axelrod
Segment Producer - Jen Wagman
Associate Producer - Scott Engel
Production Associate - Justin Begnaud
Editor - Jackie Youngs
Rights & Clearances - Michael Grimes
Operations - Ginny Acosta
Production Management - Peter DeGrazio
Standards & Practices - Alicia Denson, Kathleen Scheier
Business Affairs - Maureen Guthman, Michael Lanzillotta
Senior News Editor - Warren Cohen
Executive Producers - Brad Abramson, Michael Hirschorn, Shelly Tatro
For QD3
Executive Producer - Quincy “QD3” Jones, III
Producers - Quincy “QD3” Jones, III, Casey Suchan, Denis Henry Hennelly, Peter Spirer
Director - Peter Spirer
Cinematography - Jeff Bollman, Sean Adair, Peter Alton
Editor - Peter Alton
Assistant Editor - Christina Choe, Joshua Krause
Original Music By - J Force, Quincy “QD3” Jones III, Femi Ojetunde, Paul Vega
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