page_title: East Coast hip hop
section_title: Renaissance (1990s)
hierarchical_section_title: East Coast hip hop / History / Renaissance (1990s)
caption_attribution_description: English: NYC 1998
context_page_description: East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York; East Coast hip hop only became a distinct subgenre after artists from other regions of the United States emerged with different styles.
  In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip hop music has prioritized complex lyrics for attentive listening rather than beats for dancing. The main components of hip hop culture from that time and still today are MCing, DJing, break dancing and graffiti.
context_section_description: This was called "The Golden Age" of hip hop. Although East Coast hip hop was more popular throughout the late 1980s, N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton (released in the summer of 1988) presented the toughened sound of West Coast hip hop, which was accompanied by gritty, street-level subject matter. Later in 1992, Dr. Dre's G-Funk record The Chronic would introduce West Coast hip hop to the mainstream. Along with a combined ability to keep its primary function as party music, the West Coast form of hip hop became a dominant force during the early 1990s. Although G-Funk was the most popular variety of hip hop during the early 1990s, the East Coast hip hop scene remained an integral part of the music industry. During this period, several New York City rappers rising from the local underground scene, began releasing noteworthy albums in the early and mid nineties such as Nas, The Notorious B.I.G. and others.
  Nas's 1994 debut album Illmatic has also been noted as one of the creative high points of the East Coast hip hop scene, and featured production from such renowned New York-based producers as Large Professor, Pete Rock and DJ Premier.  Meanwhile, The Wu-Tang Clan, Lost Boyz and Mobb Deep became pillars in New York's hardcore hip hop scene, achieving widespread critical acclaim for their landmark albums, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), Legal Drug Money (1996) and The Infamous (1995).
  The Notorious B.I.G. became the central figure in East Coast hip hop during most of the 1990s. Bad Boy Records comprised a team of producers known as the Hitmen Stevie J, Derrick "D Dot" Angelletie and Amen Ra directed by Sean Combs to move the focus on hip hop to New York with the Notorious B.I.G.'s Billboard topping hits. His success on the music charts and rise to the mainstream drew more attention to New York at the time of West Coast hip hop's dominance. According to AllMusic editor Steve Huey, the success of his 1994 debut album Ready to Die "reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age" and "turned the Notorious B.I.G. into a hip-hop sensation — the first major star the East Coast had produced since the rise of Dr. Dre's West Coast G-funk". Many saw his dominating presence as a catalyzing factor in the East Coast/ West Coast hip hop rivalry that polarized much of the hip hop community, stirring the issue enough to result in the Brooklyn rapper's 1997 death, as well as his West Coast counterpart, Tupac Shakur, months prior. His commercial success helped pave the way for the success of other East Coast rappers such as Jay-Z, DMX, Busta Rhymes and many upcoming rappers.
caption: Nas's 1994 debut album Illmatic was critically acclaimed
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