Beef II

Last updated
Beef II
BeefIIcover.jpg
Directed byPeter Spirer
Written byPeter Alton
Peter Spirer
Produced byPeter Spirer
Denis Hennelly
Casey Suchan
Narrated by Keith David
CinematographySean Adair
Jeff Bollman
Dean Raimondo
Edited byPeter Alton
Music byJ-Force
Quincy Jones III
Distributed by Image Entertainment
Release date
  • August 30, 2004 (2004-08-30)
Running time
140 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Beef II is a 2004 American documentary film and the sequel to the 2003 documentary Beef , which continued to document the history of rivalries in hip-hop and rap music. Like its prequel, the film was executive produced by Quincy Jones III (QD3), written by Peter Alton and Peter Spirer (who also directed), and was this time narrated by actor Keith David.

Contents

Beef II shows a chronological look of battles (some friendly, but many personal), dating back to rap music's infancy in the early 1980s. Among the rivalries that were profiled, they include

Once again, similar to the first film, Russell Simmons, Snoop Dogg, Kool Moe Dee, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Mack 10, DMX, Big Daddy Kane, Redman, Method Man and Ice-T participate in the film through interviews (new interviews for the film itself), as well as archived interviews from footage of other sources.

Beef II also features never-before seen performances of many of the film's participants, plus extended portions of interviews that did not make the final cut of the film. One portion of the extra interviews features Grandmaster Caz discussing his animosity towards Big Bank Hank from the rap group The Sugar Hill Gang for him using Caz's rhymes for the hit song "Rapper's Delight" and then not being properly compensated. Other portions include Violent J from the rap group Insane Clown Posse discussing the birth of the beef between his group and superstar rapper Eminem and KRS-One talking about the incident that occurred between him and rapper Prince Be from the group P.M. Dawn and includes a segment of the well-publicized rivalry with record labels G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath artists 50 Cent, G-Unit, Dr. Dre, Eminem, D12, Obie Trice and XXL magazine squaring off against Ja Rule, Irv Gotti, Murder Inc. Records, Benzino and The Source magazine in an all out battle royal. A bonus disc included with the Beef II DVD contains the uncut interview of D12 and their beef with rapper Royce da 5'9".

Production information

See also


Related Research Articles

Ja Rule American rapper and actor (born 1976)

Jeffrey Bruce Atkins, better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its lead single "Holla Holla". During the 2000s, Ja Rule was signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, formerly known as The Inc. From 1999 to 2005, Ja Rule had multiple hits that made the top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, including "Between Me and You", "I'm Real " and "Ain't It Funny" —which both topped the Hot 100—the number 1 hit "Always on Time", "Mesmerize", and "Wonderful".

Roxanne Shante American rapper

Lolita Shante Gooden, better known by her stage name Roxanne Shante, is an American rapper. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects of Queens, New York City, Shante first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and was part of the Juice Crew. The 2017 film, Roxanne Roxanne, is a dramatization of Shante's life.

Mohandas Dewese, better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one of the pioneering groups in hip hop music, the Treacherous Three, and for his later solo career. During his career he released a total of seven studio albums, with 1994's Interlude being the last to date.

Benzino American media proprietor, television personality, and rapper

Raymond Leon Scott, better known by his stage name Ray Benzino, is an American urban media proprietor, television personality, rapper, and record producer. He produced records and co-owned the magazine The Source.

Shady Records American record label

Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg, after the highly successful release of Eminem's The Slim Shady LP (1999).

Royce da 59" American rapper from Michigan

Ryan Daniel Montgomery, known professionally as Royce da 5'9", is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Montgomery is currently one half of the rap duo Bad Meets Evil with fellow Detroit rapper Eminem, and is one half of the hip hop duo PRhyme with producer DJ Premier. He was also one quarter of the Shady Records hip hop group Slaughterhouse with Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Kxng Crooked. Alongside his recording career, Montgomery served as a ghostwriter for the likes of Puff Daddy and Dr. Dre. Online magazine About.com ranked the rapper as one of the "Top 50 MCs of Our Time (1987–2007)".

DJ Green Lantern American DJ and producer

James Christopher D'Agostino, professionally known as DJ Green Lantern, is an American hip hop DJ and producer from Rochester, New York. In 2002, D'Agostino was signed by American rapper Eminem, to become the official DJ for Shady Records, after DJ Head stepped down for undisclosed reasons.

Quincy Jones III Musical artist

Quincy Delight Jones III, better known as QDIII, QD3 and Snoopy, is an English-born Swedish-American music producer and film producer.

The Bridge Wars was a hip hop music rivalry during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s, that arose from a dispute over the true birthplace of hip hop music and retaliation over the rejecting of a record for airplay. The Bridge Wars originally involved the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, led by KRS-One, and Marley Marl's Juice Crew, hailing from Queensbridge. KRS-One and Marley Marl have since officially retired the feud, with the release of their collaborative 2007 album Hip-Hop Lives.

Juice Crew American hip hop collective

The Juice Crew was an American hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge, New York-based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew helped introduce New School artists MC Shan, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shante, Masta Ace, Tragedy, Craig G and Kool G Rap. The crew produced many answer records and engaged with numerous "beefs" – primarily with rival radio jock Kool DJ Red Alert and the South Bronx's Boogie Down Productions, as well as the "posse cut", "The Symphony".

<i>Beef</i> (film) 2003 American film

Beef is a 2003 American documentary film directed by Peter Spirer about the history of hip-hop feuds. Produced by Peter Spirer, Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly and executive produced by Quincy Jones III (QD3), the film was written by Peter Alton and Spirer, and narrated by actor Ving Rhames.

Eminem American rapper from Michigan (born 1972)

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclaimed as one of the greatest rappers of all time. Eminem's global success and acclaimed works are widely regarded as having broken racial barriers for the acceptance of white rappers in popular music. While much of his transgressive work during the late 1990s and early 2000s made him widely controversial, he came to be a representation of popular angst of the American underclass and has been cited as an influence for many artists of various genres.

A diss track, diss record or diss song is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the two people; for example, the artists involved may be former members of a group, or artists on rival labels.

K-Solo Musical artist

Kevin Madison, also known as K-Solo is an American rapper from Brentwood, New York who, along with Redman, EPMD, Das EFX, and Keith Murray, was part of the Hit Squad in the 1990s.

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2008.

<i>Rhyme & Reason</i> (film) 1997 American film

Rhyme & Reason is a 1997 documentary film about rap and hip hop. Documentary filmmaker Peter Spirer interviewed over 80 significant artists in rap and hip hop music. The film explores the history of hip hop culture, how rap evolved to become a major cultural voice, and what the artists have to say about the music's often controversial images and reputation. Interview subjects range from veteran old-school rappers, such as Kurtis Blow, KRS-One and Chuck D, to rap icons Ice-T, Dr. Dre, and MC Eiht, to several current rap hitmakers, including Wu-Tang Clan, Tupac Shakur, and The Notorious B.I.G., less than four days before he was murdered.

Battle rap Type of rapping

Battle rap is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live battles, "where MCs will perform on the same stage to see who has the better verses", although it can also appear on studio albums.

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2011.

<i>Hell: The Sequel</i> 2011 EP by Bad Meets Evil

Hell: The Sequel is the debut extended play by Bad Meets Evil, an American hip hop duo composed of Royce da 5'9" and Eminem. It was released on June 13, 2011, in some countries, by Shady Records and Interscope Records and it was released on June 14, 2011, in the United States. The EP incorporates various styles such as hardcore hip hop and horrorcore. In May 2011, the album's title and artwork was revealed. The EP features the executive producers Eminem and Mr. Porter, with production handled by Bangladesh, Sid Roams, Havoc, DJ Khalil, The Smeezingtons and Supa Dups, among others.

<i>Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap</i> 2012 American film

Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap is a 2012 American documentary film directed and executive produced by Ice-T and co-directed by Andy Baybutt. It focuses on the craft of writing and performing rap verses, and all the interviewees are musicians of the genre and friends of Ice-T. Producer Paul Toogood states on the DVD release that the genesis of the project stemmed from a conversation he had with Ice-T in which he asked him how he wrote "seminal tracks" such as "6 in the Mornin'" and "Colors".