Beef (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, the film was written by Peter Alton and Spirer, and narrated by actor Ving Rhames.

Content

Beef takes a chronological look at battles dating back to rap music's infancy in the early 1980s. The notable rivalries discussed include KRS-One vs. MC Shan, Kool Moe Dee vs. Busy Bee, 50 Cent vs. Murder Inc Records, Tru Life vs. Mobb Deep, Common vs. Ice Cube & Westside Connection, the break-up of legendary group N.W.A, which includes Ice Cube's abrupt departure, and the later animosity between Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, the highly publicized Jay-Z vs. Nas rivalry and the most infamous feud of all, 2Pac vs. The Notorious B.I.G.. It was partly born out of producer Jones's belief that "Beefs are killing hip-hop".
Many prominent hip-hop personalities such as Russell Simmons, Snoop Dogg, Kool Moe Dee, Jay-Z, KRS-One, Mack 10, DMX and Ice-T also participate through interviews. Beef also features newly released performances by many musical artists.
The film also contains never-before-seen performances by many of the participants and many others, plus extended portions of interviews that did not make final cut. One portion of the extended interviews features part of an interview with Nate Dogg talking about an incident that occurred around 1995 at a Dogg Pound video shoot, in which entourage members representing Ruthless Records showed up and started a big brawl with members of then-rival Death Row Records. Although Dogg did not mention them by name, rappers B.G. Knocc Out and Dresta were among the alleged participants in the fight.

Critical reaction

The Los Angeles Times called it "engrossing" and "a moving lament for the way hip-hop once was".
Complex rated it number 10 in its 25 best hiphop documentaries, calling it a "classic hip hop doc".

Soundtrack

  1. "No Vaseline" by Ice Cube
  2. "Beef" by Tech N9ne featuring Krizz Kaliko
  3. "You Don't Really Want It" by KRS-One
  4. "Westside Slaughterhouse" by Westside Connection
  5. "Murder by #'s" by Skatterman & Snug Brim featuring Ricky Scarfo
  6. "Drama" by Prodigy featuring Twin
  7. "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" by Eazy-E featuring B.G. Knocc Out and Dresta
  8. "Caution" by Black Child
  9. "When The Rain Drops" by Kutt Calhoun featuring Snug Brim
  10. "That's It" by KRS-One featuring Mad Lion
  11. "Postman" by Poverty
  12. "Now I See" by MC Shan
  13. "Snake Ya" by Tech N9ne featuring Krizz Kaliko
  14. "Let's Go " by Warren G featuring KRS-One and Lil' AI
  15. "Witness Protection" by Jayo Felony
  16. "Day I Die" by Tru-Life
  17. "Fuck Tha Police" by N.W.A

    Legacy

Subsequent releases in this series include Beef II, Beef 3 and a BET series titled , which premiered in 2006. These sequels are a continuation of the original film, but cover lesser-known confrontations and developing beefs just prior to the release of each respective installment. They include LL Cool J vs. Canibus, Ja Rule vs. DMX, 50 Cent vs. The Game, Lil' Flip vs. T.I., Nelly vs. Chingy, and Erick Sermon vs. EPMD partner Parrish Smith. In 2011, Spirer speculated on the possibility of a fourth film, suggesting he was a little tired of the "he said/she said" drama but he might produce further specials in future.