East Coast hip-hop in the context of "Get Rich or Die Tryin'"

Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap or backpack rap) is a subgenre of hip-hop defined by artists who reject the genre's traditional stereotypes, particularly those popularized by old-school hip-hop and gangsta rap. Originally emerging in the mid-to-late 1980s, the style was spearheaded by the Native Tongues collective in the East Coast which included acts like the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, X Clan, Brand Nubian, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Monie Love, Queen Latifah and later Busta Rhymes and Mos Def. These artists emphasized positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, while pioneering and popularizing the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats in hip-hop, drawing influences from political, progressive and conscious hip-hop artists such as Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy.

During the 1990s, the alternative hip-hop movement expanded with West Coast artists such as the Pharcyde, Digital Underground, Souls of Mischief, Del the Funky Homosapien, Jurassic 5, Styles of Beyond and Freestyle Fellowship as well as certain Southern acts which included Arrested Development, Goodie Mob, and Outkast. The commercial and cultural momentum of the movement was impeded by the rise and popularity of West Coast gangsta rap, though experienced a degree of mainstream recognition through the success of the Fugees, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast and Arrested Development. The Native Tongues movement inspired later alt rap artists such as the Roots, Lupe Fiasco, Digable Planets, Common, Little Brother, Black Eyed Peas, Dead Prez, Camp Lo, Jean Grae, Nappy Roots, Black Star, J Dilla, Lauryn Hill, MF Doom, Pharrell Williams, and Kanye West.

G-Unit (short for Guerilla-Unit) was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released their debut album Beg for Mercy in 2003; the album went on to sell over two million copies in the US and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

During Tony Yayo's imprisonment in 2003, the group recruited Tennessee-based rapper Young Buck as a temporary replacement and later an official member. Californian rapper The Game was also made a member in late 2003 after Beg for Mercy, in an effort to promote him after he was signed to Aftermath/Interscope; he was ousted from the group in February 2005 for alleged disloyalty according to 50 Cent. In April 2008, Young Buck was ousted from the group due to his problematic behavior. In July 2008, the group released their second studio and final album, T·O·S (Terminate on Sight), featuring the original trio.

Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip-hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo in 1999. After the release of their debut album Beg for Mercy (2003), Banks released his debut solo album, The Hunger for More (2004) the following year. Met with critical and commercial success, it peaked atop the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single, "On Fire", as well as the top 20 single "Karma" (featuring Avant or Kevin Cossom). His second album, Rotten Apple (2006) peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and saw mixed reviews. Banks then left Interscope Records and signed with EMI in 2010—along with his G-Unit cohorts—to release his third album, H.F.M. 2 (The Hunger for More 2) in November that year, which saw a critical rebound and peaked at number 26 on the chart.

Over a decade later, he independently released his fourth album, The Course of the Inevitable (2021) to critical acclaim.

The East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry is a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip-hop and West Coast hip-hop scenes in the United States, especially from the mid-1990s. A focal point of the rivalry was the feud between East Coast–based rapper the Notorious B.I.G. signed by Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label, Bad Boy Records, and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur signed by Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label, Death Row Records. Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were murdered in drive-by shootings within six months of each other, after which the feud entered a truce with a "peace" summit in 1997 at the behest of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.