OPINION
B
EEF - BEEF - BEEF
- not the meat from
cattle. If you are a music
lover like me with a strong inter-
est in Hip Hop then you are very
much familiar with that word or
slang. This is simply a situation
where rappers throw tantrums
at each other through their lyrics
or "bars". Many have said that
this phenomenon is nothing but a
hoax amongst artistes in the rap
music circle. They have argued
that rappers throwing insults and
sometimes threatening violent
actions; cannot be interpreted in
literal terms – they are simply
‘Punchlines’. But what if some-
one dies in the process? At this
point, only one name resonates
in my head - 2Pac. What makes
this American Hip Hop artiste so
famous is not significantly about
his songs; neither is it about the
theories built around his death
- I think these theories are bo-
gus, they are just plots to keep
him immortalized. Far from my
opinion and back to the point I
am building, 2Pac hit his legend-
ary status after his death and his
life's story cannot be completely
narrated without the mentioning
of Biggie Smalls aka Notorious
B.I.G. These gentlemen are not
twins but fate intertwined their
destinies to the benefit of human-
ity – so to speak. Notorious B.I.G
and 2Pac have been known to be
at loggerheads with each other
till their demise. What ensued
between them exceeded lyrics
and bars.
60| Colossium . October 2018
Beef -
'The
War of
Words'
Why I
Don't
Like It
Beyond music, al-
tercations have
long been part
of our societies.
If for nothing at
all, these alter-
cations have es-
calated tensions
between rivals
By: Nana Kwasi
It escalated to the point of death.
In the end they both depart-
ed this world in their prime.
Amongst the many theories
surrounding their deaths, their
"beef" has not gone unnoticed.
It is easy to be convinced by this
when you have actually heard
them calling each other names
and exchanging violent threats. It
is easy to be convinced when they
are arch rivals on their songs -
when all that perhaps matters to
them most is themselves – “the
Battle of Egos”, I think to myself
at this point.
“
DO I NEED
TO CALL YOU
NAMES, RIDI-
CULE AND THREAT-
EN YOU FOR EI-
THER OF US TO
REMAIN RELE-
VANT? ”
I often find myself battling with
this assertion in modern music;
that an altercation is intended
to be a tool for promotion – be
it for an upcoming project or
event. Beyond music, alterca-
tions have long been part of our
societies. If for nothing at all,
these altercations have escalated
tensions between rivals. If such a
powerful tool is purported to be
bring people together rather than
separate them, then I can simply
not fathom such ideology. Do I
need to call you names, ridicule
and threaten you for either of us
to remain relevant? Altercations
in music is not new in our part of