When the late greats Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace, who were popularly known as 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., were feuding of wax it was considered “beef.” Bitter feelings about a botched robbery and attempted assassination of 2Pac, lead to him pointing the finger at The Notorious B.I.G and his Bad Boy records CEO Sean “Puffy” Combs. The allegations sparked a bitter war of words between the one-time friends that spawned the legendary diss track “Hit’em Up” by 2Pac.  Within the profanity laced tirade 2Pac opens the track saying “That’s why I fucked your bitch you fat motherfucker!” The “bitch” 2Pac claims to have slept with is none other than The Notorious B.I.G.’s wife R&B superstar Faith Evans. With this one diss track, 2Pac unknowingly (?) set in motion the epically tragic chain of events that would ultimately take the lives of two of Hip-Hop’s brightest and most promising stars, The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac himself.

The war of words that escalated into actual physical violence in and of itself is not a problem. Hip-Hop was founded on the concept of “battling,” which is when 2 opposing MC’s get together to hurl insults and try to win the favor of the crowd over the challenger. No harm no foul, save for a bruised ego, but you lived to battle another day! As the art of MC’ing or rapping morphed into ever more clever and nuanced ways, the MC’s insults became wittier, more aggressive, and more personal. Again, no harm no foul, save for the fact that threats seem more real, and personal business might get exposed, but you lived to see another day! The new aged battles have become increasingly more vicious and cunning in the way they drum up violent metaphors. The fear that something can escalate from simple idle threats to best your opponent to actual acts of violence, stems from the fact that Hip-Hop has become the new crack trade. A lot of “ex-dealers” and “hustlers” have switched professions to use Hip-Hop as a revenue stream in a legit arena. Some of these street poets actually come from felonious backgrounds with legit violent histories that have been well documented. Hence the fear that the ebb and flow of 2 ex-criminal MC’s resorting to physical violence is a constant reminder of the “East coast, West coast” “beef” that claimed the lives of both ‘Pac and Biggie.

Two MC’s spewing venomous lyrics aimed to agitate and overwhelm one another is not a “beef,” it is simply carrying on the tradition of battling. The diss tracks are another nuanced component in the on going competition to see who will reign supreme as the premier MC in Hip-Hop. This is not a “beef” because the rappers themselves will clarify that they’re just “keeping it on wax” and that real beef is when actual violence occurs. The late Notorious B.I.G. on his posthumous album eerily titled “Life After Death,” defines “beef” in his song “What’s Beef?” with the lyrics

What’s beef? Beef is when you need 2 Gats to go to sleep
Beef is when your moms ain’t safe up in the streets
Beef is when I see you
Guaranteed to be in ICU, one more time
What’s beef? Beef is when you make your enemies start your Jeep
Beef is when you roll no less than 30 deep
Beef is when I see you
Guaranteed to be in ICU

In the case of the recent 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather banter, this is not “beef!” All this is is two prominent figures from the Hip-Hop community verbally assaulting each other in the vein of traditional Hip-Hop battling. No one will be harmed behind this, save for public mocking, but besides this, these two men will still be millionaires and still continue to contribute to their respective fields in significant ways that won’t be hindered by their personal yet very public bickering. Remember its only entertainment… until its not!