East Coast Rap/Hip-Hop

East Coast Rap/Hip-hop generally retains more of an Old-School flavor than its West Coast counterpart. Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Run-D.M.C. and other quintessential East Coast artists draw directly on their hip-hop ancestry in cultivating a sparseness and a sharpness that is a counterpoint to West Coast flamboyance. This leads to harder-edged beats and a rigid, punchier rhyming style. As the wall between east and west erodes and rap becomes a bi-coastal amalgam, the incisive East Coast sound continues to thrive in the work of young, innovative artists Nas, Mobb Deep and Jeru the Damaja.