Jay Z and 50 Cent Killed New York Hip Hop

Everybody know the Mecca of hip hop is New York, but East Coast rap has been on the low lately. The East don't have the hold on Hip Hop like they once did in the 90's and early 2000's. People have given many reasons for this, but personally I believe Jay Z and 50 Cent killed New York rap...they killed East Coast rap. It is now so bad that you have east coast rappers like A$AP Rocky & French Montana sounding southern.

So what happened? Around 2001, Jay Z orchestrated the first assassination of some of the most lyrically respected rappers on the East Coast. Some survived and others lost their status afterwards. Of course competition is sometimes good for Hip Hop, but Jay Z made it all about money and record sales...rapping- 'I sold what your whole album sold in my first week.' He was speaking to Mobb Deep with that line. He also had the line- 'I got money stacks bigger than you' aimed at them. The same track also has a whole verse aimed at assassinating Nas's character. As he was one of the most successful rappers at the time, Jay had a big influence in Hip Hop, and made most of his New York peers less relevant. He also succeeded in making album sales the benchmark for what is considered a dope rap album. At the time, he and his whole camp were going at The L.O.X (Styles P, Jadakiss & Sheek Louch). He also had a cold war with Fat Joe at the time. In fact, Jay went at New York rappers to eliminate all competition, but succeeded in making New York Hip Hop lose its relevance.