"L.A., L.A." is a song about Los Angeles by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo Capone-N-Noreaga, featuring guest appearances from fellow American rappers

Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo formed in Queens, New York (state), New York in 1990. Consisting of rappers/songwriters/record producers Prodigy (rapper), Prodigy and Havoc (musician), Havoc, they are considered to be among the pr ...

and

Tragedy Khadafi Percy Lee Chapman (born August 13, 1971), known by his stage name Tragedy Khadafi (formerly Intelligent Hoodlum), is an American rapper and record producer. Hailing from the Queensbridge Housing Projects in Queens, New York City,Brown, Marisa. ...

. It was released in early 1996, as the second single from their debut album '' The War Report'' (1997). The original version with the "New York, New York" beat was released in 1995. Soon after,

Marley Marl Marlon Lu'Ree Williams (born September 30, 1962), better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge Houses, Queen ...

remixed both the Kuwait and Iraq versions and both were released together in 1996. The song was written as a response to West Coast hip hop duo

Tha Dogg Pound Tha Dogg Pound is an American hip-hop duo composed of West Coast rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger. They were among the first acts to sign to Death Row Records in 1992. Kurupt and Daz went on to release solo albums starting in 1998; they left th ...

's single "

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

", in which members of Tha Dogg Pound are seen knocking down buildings in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, in its

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

Background

Tha Dogg Pound is from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and at the height of the East Coast-West Coast Conflict many people in New York saw this as disrespect. The music video (which uses the Kuwait Mix albeit in shorter form) shows the rappers Capone N Noreaga kidnapping members of Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz Dillinger) and putting them in the trunk of a car. Capone throws Kurupt off a roof after he attempts to escape. At the end they torture Daz to death and throw his corpse off the 59th Street Bridge.

References

External links

mtv.com
1995 songs 1996 singles Capone-N-Noreaga songs Mobb Deep songs Songs about Los Angeles Diss tracks Answer songs Song recordings produced by Marley Marl Songs written by Havoc (musician) Songs written by Prodigy (rapper) Songs written by N.O.R.E. {{1990s-hiphop-song-stub