Hip-hop beef is as American as apple pie—MCs have been trading barbs for decades. Beginning with the Roxanne Wars in 1984, when a teenaged Roxanne Shanté and producer Marley Marl dropped “Roxanne’s Revenge,” a diss track aimed at U.T.F.O. The feud exploded throughout the rap community, with several other rappers jumping in with their own contributions.
Obliterating each other on wax quickly became engrained in the culture. Then the Bridge Wars popped off between MC Shan and KRS-One in 1985. MC Shan and Marley Marl released “The Bridge,” a track that definitively stated hip-hop originated in Queensbridge. KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions responded with “South Bronx” the following year, claiming hip-hop started
→ Continue reading at XXL Mag
