EAST COAST

I am currently listening to the song "Ten Crack Commandments" by Notorious B.I.G.

I grew up listening to hardcore rap and Phil Collins. While my (embarrassing but unwavering)love of Phil Collins manifested itself while I was young, more recently I have discovered just how awesome rap is.

Yesterday I went on my quest to find out which rapper got shot in front of Hot 97, New York's rap station in Hollis, Queens. I ended up schooling myself in the whole East Coast/ West Coast war. Did you know that Biggie, Tupac, and Jay-Z all sold crack? Biggie actually continued to sell crack during his early rapping years to support his daughter. The whole thing is kind of fascinating; that was back when rappers were actually talking about their struggle. Listening to Biggie's lyrics about being ready to die and Tupac's desire for change really make Kanye seem like such a pussy. He shops so much he can speak Italian; they sold crack and got shot. Hmmm...

As far as the East Coast rappers vs the West Coast rappers, considering I am from Queens I feel as thought I should prefer the East Coast rappers. You can't deny Biggie, and Jay-Z is awesome, but really nobody raps quite like Tupac did. The Game was pretty sweet, too.

So uh, the purpose of this post? To tell you that rap is awesome. And also, in case any of the members of the Backstreet Boys read this, listen to "Dear Mama" by Tupac and then try writing a song dedicated to your mothers.

EDIT: Lots of people got shot in front of Hot 97 but the one I was thinking of was actually 50 Cent.