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东海岸说唱/Hip-Hop 总的来说比其西海岸说唱保留了更多的老派风格。Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Run-D.M.C. 和其他精华的东海岸艺术家直接引鉴他们的前辈的简朴与直接性，与西海岸的华丽风格形成对比。由此产生了更有棱角的节奏和严谨而又有力的韵律。 随着东西海岸的融合，说唱成为两岸文化的合金，清晰明快的东海岸之声继续蓬勃发展，涌现了一批如Nas, Mobb Deep 和Juru the Damaja 之流的年轻有为的创新艺人。 说唱乐（Rap）一开始几乎全部来自美国东岸（East Coast），而早期重要的说唱歌手（Rappa）也大都出现在纽约，如老派说唱（Oldschool）的传奇人物DJ KoolHerc（来自牙买加的嘻哈之父）、“闪手大师”（GrandmasterFlash）、“祖鲁帮首领”（AfricaBambaataa）、“糖山帮”（The SugarhillGang）、柯蒂斯•布洛（Kurtis Blow）以及“饶舌先锋”（Run DMC）等，直到80年代说唱乐逐渐成长且变得更加多元化，也开始在美国各地萌芽。 虽然东岸的说唱开始并无统一性，但从80年代中期至晚期还是可以听的出来它们较倾向于强烈的音乐节奏及取样（Sample）技术。在说唱歌手部分，它们较擅长于反映时事政治并较能引人思考其主题，这也从一定程度上提升了说唱的层次。 东岸说唱的黄金时期知名的说唱歌手有“埃里克•比与拉基姆”（Eric b &Rakim）、“摇摆制造”（Boogie DownProduction）、“独眼里克”（Slick Rick）他们用老派说唱等自夸的文字写作并进行说唱，EPMD以及“人民公敌”（Public Enemy）强烈的音乐性和内容的批判性带领东岸说唱乐茁壮成长，“探索一族”（A Tribe Called Quest）、“追魂者”（De LaSoul）、“丛林兄弟”（Jungle Brothers）等多数来自纽约的团体，也是影响80年代后期的重要团体。 他们的特点是带有爵士味道的音乐性及正面的歌词；自90年代后期，东岸又涌现出一批更巩固东岸力量的“中坚分子”，如稳坐东岸头一把交椅的“声名狼藉先生”（Biggie）、街头诗人“纳斯”（Nas）、硬核（Hardcore）团体“武当派”（Wu-TangClan）、把爵士说唱进行到底的“根”（TheRoots），爵士说唱节奏（Jazz Beats）大师皮特•罗克（Pete Rock）以及吹牛老爹（PuffDaddy）的商业化的“派队说唱”（Party Rap）……这些人无不对东岸的嘻哈有着莫大的影响。在多样化的音乐发展下，东岸的说唱乐逐渐近化成一种音乐艺术文化，使得东岸说唱乐进而被划分出来，成为社会上倍受尊重且表现细腻的一种音乐。 At the dawn of the hip-hop era, all rap was East Coast rap. All ofrap's most important early artists were based in the New York City area —old-school legends like DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, theSugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, and Run-D.M.C. As rap grew and became more diverseover the course of the '80s, productive scenes began to spring up in otherlocations around the country; nonetheless, East Coast rap dominated throughmost of the '80s. Although the sound of East Coast rap wasn't completelyuniform, from the mid- to late '80s it tended to gravitate to more aggressivebeats and sample collages, and many MCs prided themselves on their technicaldexterity in crafting lyrics. In other words, with some exceptions East Coastrap became a music intended more for intense listening than for the dancefloor,helping develop the genre into a respected art form as it grew more elaborateand complex. Typifying this golden era of the East Coast sound were artistslike Eric B. & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, and Slick Rick, all of whomboasted immense lyrical skill rooted in old-school style, as well as theharder-hitting sounds of EPMD and Public Enemy. Also based on the East Coastwere the Native Tongues, a collective of positive, Afrocentric artistsassembled by Afrika Bambaataa; while De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, theJungle Brothers, and other, mostly New York-based groups had a major impact onhip-hop in the late '80s, they were more readily identified with their musicaleclecticism than any specific geographic location. N.W.A's 1989 album StraightOutta Compton served notice that the West Coast had toughened its sound to goalong with its already gritty, street-level subject matter; combined with WestCoast rap's ability to retain its primary function as party music, this helpedmake it the dominant force in hip-hop during the '90s. The rise of Southern rapfurther ensured that East Coast rap could no longer dominate as it once had,but the '90s were hardly a wash for the region. In addition to Puff Daddy'shugely lucrative, pop-accessible Bad Boy label, the East Coast produced itsshare of varied, highly acclaimed artists, including lyrical virtuoso Nas, theeclectic Fugees and Roots, and the hugely influential hardcore unit Wu-TangClan.
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