East Coast hip hop

East Coast hip hop is a highly influential scene of Hip Hop that developed in New York City, particularly in the South Bronx, during the 1970s. Its history can be traced back as far as the hip hop genre itself, with artists like DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and Afrika Bambaataa, and later the hugely successful Run-D.M.C. laying the foundations from which thousands of artists would build upon in the following decades, as well as being highly acclaimed and respected in their own right. While East Coast hip hop’s complex development and endless permutations can never be demonstrated by one particular sound, the late eighties and early nineties specifically saw a number of artists define themselves by hard-hitting, sample-heavy production, as well as lyricism with both a refined social conscience and trademark aggression. This can be seen in the early work of Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy and EPMD, and later in the Boom Bap of Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and The Notorious B.I.G.. This era also saw the rise of the Native Tongues, a collective incorporating generally good-natured, Afrocentric wordplay into a Jazz Rap sound, most notably De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. While perhaps not as wide-reaching as it had been during the previous decade, East Coast hip hop continued strongly following the turn of the millennium, with artists as diverse as Jay-Z, The Roots and MF DOOM enjoying great critical acclaim and popularity.