
Hip-hop feuds and rivalries, often referred to as "beefs", have existed since the 1970s. Originally, at block parties, DJs would play records and isolate the percussion breaks for the dancing masses, which was copied from Jamaican reggae music. Soon, MCs began speaking over the beats, at first simply exhorting the audience to continue dancing, but eventually expanded their time on stage to introducing themselves, shouting out friends in the audience, boasting about their own skills, and criticizing their rivals, all in good humor. The deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. have alerted rappers to the possibility of a simple feud becoming violent. Observers have claimed that the media feeds on such rivalries for headlines and blows situations out of proportion, particularly in the infamous East Coast-West Coast rivalry of the 1990s. A contrasting example was the 1980s hit "Roxanne, Roxanne" by U.T.F.O., which sparked several hundred "answer records" in response, some of which were quite vituperative (see the Roxanne Wars). At the time, hip hop was not as high-profile, and the media ignored the record, so the beef never made it onto the streets. The 2001 high-profile beef between Nas and Jay-Z however, was carried out without ever threatening to become violent.