Beef, defined as Hip Hop feuds and Hip Hop rivalries, this is the way rappers/emcees do battle against each other to see who's the best at their craft. Through out the years, many artist would engage in this war of words and the outcomes would vary, some would go on to become mega stars (LL Cool J, 50 Cent), while others careers would either never be the same again (MC Shan), or they would completely be destroyed (Ja Rule). Beef II which was released in 2004 is a documentary on Hip Hop feuds, and it's the direct sequel to Beef. It's directed once again by Peter Spirer and this time it's narrated by Keith David.This feature follows a different format though, as it not only takes a look at the classic way of battling, but it's more focused on the business aspect, as well as how the beef can effect and break up friendships.
The documentary begins with one of the most interesting battles; the Roxanne Wars. Although the Kool Moe Dee and Busy Bee battle is recognized as the earliest and a very influential battle, it was Roxanne Shante's feud that clearly influenced dissing people on record. The record companies took notice of this, and saw how it propelled record sales. The battle featured some good music and the Roxanne War triggered a mass response and became a phenom. The business aspect is looked into when EPMD comes into the picture. This wasn't a feud between two strangers, Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith were very good friends, best friends actually. These two came to blows because of the business part and nothing more. This is among the most interesting on the feature.
Cypress Hill vs. Ice Cube is by the far most interesting on the DVD, since this had more to do with betrayal, when real good friends became enemies. This feud was the scariest, because it didn't only rile up communities, but it was forcing races to join different sides, and since this was taking place in Los Angeles, with the Mexican Mafia even attempting to get involved in Cypress Hill favor, this shit could have gotten real out of hand and the Tupac and Biggie thing could have been a walk in the park compared to this.
KRS takes on Nelly, and this beef shows how terribly the record companies have polluted the industry, to the point, where the quality of the diss record has almost no influence in the outcome of the battle. The same thing can be said in a way in the Canibus vs. LL Cool J battle which is also very well covered.
The feature once again contains many interviews both exclusive and archived, with video and song clips of the disses. It's uncensored and the viewer gets a front row seat for it all. It was also a good move to show the outcome of these feuds, and noting that some things can be solved without the use of violence. Two sides can come together and talk, putting an end to whatever their issue could have been. Now I have several issues with this volume. First of all, the whole pimping thing could have been left out completely, it's nothing but filler and useless filler at that. Number two, the D12 and Royce feud could have either been left on the cutting room floor for the next sequel, or there could have been more added. Now I'm not saying these artist aren't important, but there were other more noteworthy feuds that should have made it; with DJ Quik vs. MC Eiht being one of them.
Overall, Beef II is a very solid follow up with some good features as well. I highly recommend this as an immediate companion to the first volume. In the eyes of serious Hip Hop fans, the feature has an unfinished feel, to others however, it can end up being a very good serving. The feature has an 85 minute run time.
Pros:
-Interesting story with some good info, and a few notable feuds
Cons:
-Some unentertaining filler
