Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
During the early post-Biggie/Tupac days in rap, beef was a major thing. For a short period of time, rappers actually respected each other. But, after the feud between LL Cool J and Canibus, the rappers were back at it again.
Following their feud, Jay-Z and Nas also entered one of the biggest battles to date. Unlike the feud between Biggie and Tupac, Jay-Z and Nas were solely lyrical. Initially, it was personal, but Jay-Z saw a way to market himself through it.
Years later, 50 Cent emerged in the game with a beef with Ja Rule. Their beef was legitimate, but he picked fights with other artists. Before the release of each album, 50 Cent finds someone new to start a feud with. The people have caught on to his gimmick and no longer support his feuds. It appears everyone is picking fights for record sales now.
Recently, rap veteran, Kool G Rap decided to discuss the topic. The veteran said rappers in today's time are not going into beef for the same reasons. He said other veterans would rap about material things, but their entire albums would not be made up of materialistic rhymes. There was a time when people had to put out good music in order to be received by fans. But, it appears those days are now long gone, as rappers beef for attention and they allow things to become violent. Kool G Rap said they did it to prove who was the best.