This is part of Complex's 'The 1996 Project: Looking Back at the Year Hip-Hop Embraced Success.'
In 2016, it seems that most conflicts between rappers go down on Twitter or Instagram, but this hasn't always been the case. In Complex TV's new interview with Consequence, he recounts a showdown that took place between Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's Wish Bone at the 1996 Def Jam holiday party. This video is a part of a larger Complex series about why 1996 was a crucial year in rap history (called the 1996 Project), and it's clear from Consequence's tale that things were pretty different back then.
Consequence starts the story with some necessary context: West Coast rappers weren't welcomed in NYC and East Coast rappers weren't welcomed in California. Ghostface, as a member of Wu-Tang, felt himself to be a representative of the East Coast scene, and when he saw Cleveland rapper Wish Bone at the club (signed to Compton, Calif., native Eazy-E's Ruthless Records), he took matters into his own hands. Ghostface threw a bottle at Wish Bone who promptly ducked, causing the bottle to connect with the face of someone in Consequence's crew. This started a multi-crew melee at the club that ended in a costume change by Ghostface that you have to hear about to believe.
You can listen to the story for yourself in the full clip (above), complete with Consequence's shadow-boxing reenactments and a first-person account.
