Media beat up? Record company propaganda? Or real-life vendettas? The tale of hip hop's 'East vs West' conflict - with the death of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. at its centre - has a lot of ins, lot of outs. Biggie biopic Notorious is now playing in cinemas, and so we present this prelude - a brief history of music's most intriguing drama...

The root of America's 'East' and 'West' hip hop conflicts can be traced back to the beginnings of rap itself. Depending on who you talk to, hip hop came from New York, a few decades ago. It was not just the music genre we label it as today, rather it was a subculture like the hippie and punk movements. 'Hip hop' was spraying paint on walls, scratching records, MC'ing and breakdancing. Doing moves like the caterpillar or a skyscraper made you as cool as the night's lead rapper. DJs shared a show's billing with all involved and, for a fleeting moment, a community thrived.

Nothing lasts forever. Rappers became more famous than their producers and graffiti became the scourge of suburbia. With huge success came rivalry and eventually murder.

Read on as Flicks takes you through the tangled narrative that began in the 80s...