ABSTRACT
Despite its strong regional affiliations, rap’s boundaries are not as hard-and-fast as they appear. While “East Coast” is often used as a metonym for New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC, all boast thriving and unique hip-hop scenes. Ice-T and Tupac, both of whom are synonymous with West Coast rap, were born on the East Coast. Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad did the production on Ice Cube’s AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. Snoop Dogg’s characteristic drawl has little to do with Long Beach and everything to do with Mississippi. Oakland and Atlanta developed a symbiotic relationship in the late 2000s: Bay Area legend Too $hort moved to Atlanta, and crunk mastermind Lil Jon produced one of E-40’s most popular albums. These distinct styles characterized not just a particular place, but also a particular time: 1990s Houston rap sounds quite different from 2000s Houston rap. As regional scenes emerged into the national spotlight, they exerted their influence on other local scenes, thus transforming them.
