>I feel like you bought that East/West bullshit.
>
>I'm speaking from a consumer's perspective
>
>Do you think all those acts I named get deals, videos,
>etc...if they aren't going to sell any records in half the
>country?

Selling records to half of the country would be a dream for any record label. That's millions of people! That's the majority of the damn country. NY bias was very real so it's not about buying East vs West bullshit. Hip Hop started in NY and they were very protective of it for a long time. You actually think Compton's most wanted sold a lot of records East of the Mississippi? Those artists didn't need to because there are plenty of people out West in the Midwest and in the South to support those artists. The same is true in reverse nowadays. You weren't about to hear Mobb Deep or Jeru down South. You think every artist that gets signed to a deal sells everywhere? All artists have markets they do well in and markets that they don't do well in...that doesn't mean they can't have a career.
>
>Take the Geto Boyz for example
>
>When my minds playin tricks broke, nobody was like, oh wait a
>minute, these boyz aren't from around here, they might be from
>that other coast, let's not buy their stuff

You do realize that the song you are using as an example was from their FOURTH album. You want to honestly argue that "Read These Nikes" and "Mind Of A Lunatic" were getting major attention in New York back then? Mind Playing Tricks was a hit song that crossed over and got played everywhere eventually but all you need to do to realize the point I'm making is actually listen to early Geto Boy records like Do It Like It G.O. where they are complaining about the lack of respect and play they get on the East Coast.

>HELL NO. That shit was dope, and that's all it had to be
>
>My bol had a DJ Magic Mike tape, i can still hear the
>
>Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, Bass, Bass
>
>"A few kids liking an album does not equal Hip Hop unification
>during those times. That's just not the case. NWA in general
>got no radio play back then and certainly didn't get the type
>of attention on the East Coast that they did in the West or
>South. It was extremely rare back then for a Hip Hop group
>from the West to even play venues in NY."
>
>And I'm telling you you're wrong.
>
>NWA DID get play out here.
>
>I can't speak on what the West and the South was playing to
>compare so I'm not going to get into a pissing contest with
>about who gave them more attention.
>
>I still remember this girl gettin dissed because everytime she
>came around my bol would start singin...I got a fat girl on my
>jock
>
>Everybody was rocking Raiders gear.
>
>Don't even get me started on 2 Live Crew
>
>As far as getting booked at venues, media, and print
>etc...there was a stigma over the entire genre
>
>Folks thought going to a hip-hop show was like going to
>Vietnam
>
>Couple that with the imagery of west coast videos, and I think
>it might be easy to infer the reason why a club owner might be
>hesitant to book them
>
>You act like acts other than RUN DMC were getting booked for
>arena shows

Whodini, Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, Beastie Boys, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, PE, Fresh Fest...I could on and on. Plenty of Hip Hop acts played big venues.
>
>Hip-hop shows were done in hole in the wall clubs, and an act
>flyin out to the east from the west would definitely be losing
>money

Lose money? By 1992? Come on man. Look I'm not talking about all of the hype about East or West but the reality is in general NY Radio, press, etc were not fucking with West Coast or Southern artists back then. There was not this unified Hip Hop nation where region didn't matter. Of course their are always going to be pockets of people who go against that and eventually those barriers came down but don't act as if they weren't there. Shit New York used to give shit to Philly and even other areas of New York like Long Island so they certainly weren't fucking with people they perceived to be country and rocking jeri curls especially when they were coming with what was seen as negative records back then when most NY artists were promoting unity and some sense of Black pride. NWA, Geto Boys, Too Short, were perceived as taking Hip Hop back lyrically and socially. Tim Dog's only hit was Fuck Compton a song basically dissing the entire West Coast. There's a reason for that...he wasn't alone in how he felt. The shit came up all the time at the New Music Seminar, in interviews and magazines. You ask any Southern or West Coast artist who was around then about how hard it was to break into that NY East Coast fan base and they will tell you. Quik, Cube, Dre, Too Short, Scarface will all tell you how hard it was back then.
>
>