Queens duo Capone-N-Noreaga burst onto the rap scene in 1997, right as the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry was reaching a fever pitch. Most listeners got their first taste of the group with “L.A., L.A.”—a blistering response to Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound’s “New York, New York”—featuring Mobb Deep’s Prodigy on the chorus. “L.A., L.A.” was less an explicit diss to the opposite coast, and more an attempt to capitalise on the rising tensions. And it worked: “L.A., L.A.” established Capone-N-Noreaga as the latest must-hear act in the Queens rap scene, which had recently been revitalised by such acts as Nas and Mobb Deep—and which would get an even bigger boost when the duo’s debut album, The War Report, was released in 1997. By that point, the two rappers had a long history together. Hailing from different Queens neighbourhoods, Capone and Noreaga met as incarcerated juveniles, bonding over their passion for hip-hop, their experiences on the street and their shared desire to change the trajectory of their lives. Capone had established a relationship with Queensbridge elder- statesman rapper Tragedy Khadafi, aka Intelligent Hoodlum. He took Capone and Noreaga under his wing, moulding the duo into an act strong enough to establish a new chapter in Queens thug-rap. With Tragedy’s guidance, the two rappers set themselves apart from the pack on The War Report, which imagined Queens as an embattled Middle East, recasting the Queensbridge Houses as “Kuwait” and LeFrak City as “Iraq”. The War Report also allowed Capone-N-Noreaga to present themselves as an alternative to the opulent rappers who then made up the roster of Bad Boy Records; if the Bad Boy sound was the equivalent of a shiny suit, then The War Report was the sound of grimy army fatigues. The duo even leaned on members of Bad Boy’s in-house producing team, the Hitmen: Nashiem Myrick and Carlos Broady—who’d steered Biggie bangers like “Who Shot Ya”—produced The War Report’s definitive single “T.O.N.Y. (Top of New York)” as well as the standout album cut “Drivers Seat”. Elsewhere on the album, Queensbridge’s Havoc contributes dark dramatic beats to “Parole Violators” and “Illegal Life”, while legendary producer Marley Marl provides a remix of “L.A., L.A.” Though The War Report wasn’t a major sales success, the album became a ’hood favourite in New York City, and set the stage for Noreaga’s eventual breakout as a solo artist.