Hip-hop rivalry
Encyclopedia
"Hip hop rivalries" have existed since the dawn of hip hop music
, which originated in the 1970s in New York City
, United States. Originally, it came to block parties, where DJs would play records and isolate the percussion breaks for the dancing masses. Soon, MCs began speaking over the beats, usually simply exhorting the audience to continue dancing. Eventually, MCs began incorporating more varied and stylistic speech, and focused on introducing themselves, shouting out to friends in the audience, boasting about their own skills, and criticizing their rivals. While this was often done in good humor, the deaths of 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G. have meant that in today's hip hop scene it is always feared that lyrical rivalries will develop into offstage feuds that become violent. Observers have claimed that the media feed on such rivalries for headlines and blow situations out of proportion, a good example of which was the infamous East Coast–West Coast rivalry of the 1990s. One prominent example used as contrast by those who feel that the media manipulate and intensify hip hop rivalries was the 1980s hit "Roxanne, Roxanne" by U.T.F.O., which sparked several hundred "answer records" in response, some of which were quite vituperative (see the Roxanne Wars
). At the time, hip hop was nowhere as widespread as it would eventually become, and as such there was little media response to that record. The beef never made it onto the streets. The recent high-profile beef between Nas
and Jay-Z
was carried out without ever threatening to become violent.
, led by KRS-One
, were involved in a long-running feud with Marley Marl
's Juice Crew
during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s that was predominantly a dispute over boroughs of New York. The feud began with Queensbridge-based Marley Marl & MC Shan
's track "The Bridge" in late 1985, in which they sung the praises of their home borough and loosely implied that Queensbridge was where hip hop "all got started". Taking offense, South Bronx-based KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions (BDP) recorded and released the track "South Bronx", which was effectively identical in terms of content to Shan and Marl's track except singing the praises of South Bronx rather than Queensbridge, and made the argument for it being the true home and birthplace of hip hop. The Juice Crew soon responded with the track "Kill The Noise" on Shan's album Down By Law which took various shots at KRS-One and mocked his taking offense in the first place: "Yo Shan, I didn't hear you say hip hop started in the Bridge on your record." "I didn't. They wanted to get on the bandwagon." KRS's main response was the Jamaican-influenced "The Bridge Is Over", and lyrics spoofing Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me":
What's the matter with your MC, Marley Marl?: Don't know you know that he's out of touch?: What's the matter with your DJ, MC Shan?: On the wheels of steel, Marlon sucks:You'd better change what comes out your speaker:You're better off talkin' 'bout your whack Puma sneaker: 'Cause Bronx created hip hop, Queens will only get dropped: You're still tellin' lies to me: Everybody's talkin' 'bout the Juice Crew funny: But you're still tellin' lies to me
Most of KRS's fire was directed at Marley Marl and MC Shan specifically, though he occasionally exchanged insults with other Juice Crew members such as Mr. Magic and Roxanne Shante. Shante responded with a song aimed at Boogie Down Productions titled "Have A Nice Day" in which she rapped:
Scott La Rock
, you should be ashamed, :when T La Rock
said it's yours, he didn't mean his name, and KRS One, you should go on vacation, with your name sounding like a wack radio station
The feud quickly died down after BDP's Scott La Rock was shot dead in 1987 after attempting to calm down a domestic dispute involving BDP colleague D-Nice. With his new Stop The Violence movement, KRS-One had his attention elsewhere, and the Juice Crew did not release any further dis records for a long period after La Rock's death out of respect. However, in 1989, MC Shan attempted to restart the rivalry on his song Juice Crew Law which contained several shots at KRS. KRS took more than a year to respond, but eventually did so in 1990 on the song Black Man In Effect from the BDP (which at that point was basically only KRS-One, D-Nice having left earlier the same year) album Edutainment
.
During the nineties, the beef was not forgotten by fans or the participants, but rather fondly remembered as a classic hip hop duel, and the rivalry has since been referenced in hip hop lyrics by the likes of Cormega, Nas, Cunninlynguists, Big Punisher, Supernatural and Chino XL. MC Shan and KRS-One themselves acknowledged the beef's important place in hip hop history when they appeared together in a commercial for the Sprite soft drink in the mid-nineties, in which they exchanged battle rhymes inside a boxing ring. However, the respective fortunes of the pair in the nineties were very different: MC Shan, widely seen by hip hop listeners as the loser of the conflict if there had to be one, never really recovered his reputation and later effectively retired, while KRS forged out a successful solo career and remained an important figure in hip hop. Nevertheless, on the QB's Finest compilation (which showcased the finest Queensbridge hip hop artists) in 2001, MC Shan took one last parting shot at KRS-One: "Hip hop was set out in the dark / The Bridge was never Over, we left our mark."
left N.W.A in December 1989 after making claims that Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and the group's manager, Jerry Heller
, were cheating him along with the rest of the group members. The remaining group members fired the first shots by insulting Ice Cube on the two albums they recorded after his departure. On 100 Miles and Runnin', Dr. Dre
told the public:
"It started with five but one couldn't take it."
/"So now there's four 'cause the fifth couldn't make it."
"The number's even."
/"And now I'm leaving"
On Efil4zaggin
, the group called Ice Cube "Benedict Arnold
", after the notorious traitor of the American Revolutionary War. N.W.A. insulted Cube further on the album by claiming he was "...sucking New York dick", a direct reference to Ice Cube's new production team, the New York-based Bomb Squad. They also made a reference to Cube's September 1990 incident with Ruthless Records' then-current act Above the Law, saying that he "got his ass beat by ATL." On these albums, N.W.A. dedicated entire tracks insulting and attacking Ice Cube.
Cube's first solo album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted made no direct response to the N.W.A. feud, although he did use the album to make subtle references to his old crew. The closest to a response Cube mounted on the first album was Flavor Flav
's exhortation at the end of I'm Only Out For One Thang: "This is for my boy Ice Cube, yo, stay off his dick!" On the EP Kill At Will, released later the same year, Cube sets the stage for his response on the track Jackin' Fo' Beats. At the end of this track he includes the exclamation:
"And if I jack you and you keep comin/I'll have you marks a 100 Miles and Running!"
In 1991, Ice Cube took the fight to the big screen in his first feature film starring role, in Boyz N the Hood
. According to movie director John Singleton, Cube suggested changes to one scene in particular where a chain snatcher is beaten up by neighborhood teens. Cube's recommendations were to give the thief a Jheri curl
and sunglasses (reminiscent of Eazy-E's personal style) and a "We Want Eazy" sweatshirt while being beaten.
On his second album Death Certificate, Ice Cube fired back at his former group by releasing the song No Vaseline
, proclaiming N.W.A. to be "phonies" and declaring Eazy-E to be a "snitch", in reference to a publicity stunt Eazy pulled in attending a fundraising luncheon with then-President George H.W. Bush, also on the song repeating "I never have dinner with the president" 3 times. He also made remarks about N.W.A.'s manager Jerry Heller that were instantly declared anti-Semitic, including "you can't be the Niggaz 4 Life Crew/with a white Jew/telling you what to do", "you let a Jew break up my crew", and "get rid of that Devil real simple/put a bullet in his temple."
found that Cube's words were true: Wright and Heller were in fact skimming money off the top, and Dre left the crew behind as well. This, more than anything else, meant the end of N.W.A; Dre began his solo career, forming the highly influential Death Row Records
with former bodyguard Suge Knight
. When he released his first solo album The Chronic
, he began a well-publicized feud with his ex-band mate by constantly poking fun of Eazy-E on the song and the video for Dre Day where Eazy was a money hungry character called Sleazy E who eventually ended up on the streets begging for money, and Bitches Ain't Shit—referring to Eric Wright as a bitch Dre once knew.
Dre and Snoop Dogg
were both heard dissing the label on The Chronic; later, Tha Dogg Pound would take shots on their own debut, Dogg Food, such as the line "Ain't got no love for no hoes in harmony": a reference to Ruthless Records successful new act, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Dogg Pound's What Would You Do included some lines aimed at Ruthless Records and BG Knocc Out: "Oh yeah fuck BG Knocc Out and every nigga down with him" and "For instance, let's take these Ruthless fools, these Ruthless fools and the Pound in one room", which resulted with Knocc Out and Dresta's song DPG Killa. More tensions between Death Row and Ruthless sprung up when the latter label's act Above the Law accused Dre of stealing their G-Funk sound for his album and taking credit for it. There was also an episode on a golf course
when Nate Dogg
and some other people from Tha Dogg Pound were attacked by Eazy's crew and they started hitting each other with golf-clubs.
Eazy-E responded directly by releasing the EP It's On (Dr. Dre) 187 um Killa. The single released from this album, "Real Muthaphuckkin G's," featured lyrics filled with disses towards Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and it's video showed pictures of Dr. Dre in makeup and a glitter suit taken during the days he was in the "World Class Wreckin' Cru". But before Eazy died, he had made amends with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. They were actually talking about an N.W.A reunion, but Eazy died not long after. In 1996, prominent Death Row artist 2Pac was featured on the Bone Thugs' second album The Art Of War, signaling to many the end of the feud.
and the West Coast's Death Row Records. Though the beef mostly consisted of shots from Death Row towards various acts and, more specifically, Bad Boy, the media billed it as a "rap war" between two coasts. This led to fans of and from both scenes denouncing each others' native artists, causing a huge impact on the rap culture as a whole.
Hip hop had originated in the streets of New York, and the city remained the undisputed capital of hip hop until the late '80s, when N.W.A. & others put the west on the map. Dr. Dre's The Chronic became one of the biggest-selling hip hop albums in history, followed shortly by Snoop Doggy Dogg's breakout album Doggystyle in 1993. Dre was on Death Row Records, headed by Suge Knight, and he soon built up a roster of stars like - 2Pac, Tha Dogg Pound and Snoop Doggy Dogg that reigned on the charts, and Los Angeles begun to rival New York for its place as the center for mainstream hip hop. This had already, and somewhat inevitably, created a tension between certain industry heavyweights on both coasts, each hungry for control of an increasingly lucrative market. The biggest stars on the East Coast at this time were Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records crew, which was founded in 1993 and at the time included Craig Mack
and The Notorious B.I.G..
Bad Boy and Death Row were thrown into conflict with one another after 2Pac was shot five times at a New York recording studio on November 30, 1994, and publicly blamed his former close friend Notorious B.I.G and his Bad Boy Records cohorts. This feud escalated after Suge Knight mocked Puff Daddy at the Source Awards in August 1995, announcing to the assembly of artists and industry figures: "If you don't want the owner of your label on your album or in your video or on your tour, come sign with Death Row." Despite Puff Daddy himself attempting to defuse the situation with a speech later in the evening, a later performance by Death Row's Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg was booed (to which Snoop famously responded "The East Coast ain't got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg?").
The feud continued to escalate through numerous incidents. First, in September 1995, a close friend of Knight's was gunned down at a birthday party thrown for producer Jermaine Dupri
in Atlanta, Georgia
, for which Knight publicly blamed Bad Boy Records. Then, in December, while filming the video for the Dogg Pound's song "New York, New York" in Manhattan
, Snoop Dogg's trailer was shot at numerous times (though the trailer was in fact empty at the time). The video itself then become the source of further controversy on its release, featuring Death Row artists knocking over New York skyscrapers and landmarks, to which many East Coast artists and fans took offense. There was also suspicion that the song itself was also targeted at Bad Boy Records and New York in general, though this is unlikely as the song is in fact a remake of a Grandmaster Flash
song, features only generic, non-specific braggadocio/battle rhymes with nothing that could be interpreted as a specific attack on any specific individuals, and was written and recorded before the Bad Boy/Death Row feud got off the ground. Capone-N-Noreaga also made the song "LA, LA" with Mobb Deep
to respond to "New York, New York" which got them involved in the feud.
In 1995, The Notorious B.I.G. released the track "Who Shot Ya." 2Pac interpreted it as B.I.G. mocking his '94 shooting, and claimed it proved that Bad Boy had set him up. In early 1996, 2Pac released the infamous dis track "Hit 'Em Up," in which he claimed to have had sex with the Notorious B.I.G's wife Faith Evans
and that "this ain't no freestyle battle, y'all niggas getting killed" and was viewed as taking the feud to another level and critics today look on the song as one of the defining moments of the rivalry. Tupac dissed B.I.G., Puffy, and Bad Boy Records for the remainder of his career, coming at Big with, "Ambition Az A Ridah," "No More Pain," "2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted," "Made N.I.G.G.A.," "Bomb First, Second Reply," "Against All Odds," "All Eyez On Me," "Holla At Me," "This Time Around,"(With Michael Jackson,) "Can't C Me," and "Heartz Of Men."
B.I.G. soon responded on Jay-Z's track "Brooklyn's Finest" ("If Fay have twins, she'd probably have Tupacs. Get it, 2-Pac's.) This was a move which also caused Jay-Z to become embroiled in the dispute. In March 1996, at the Soul Train Awards in L.A., there was a confrontation in the parking lot between the respective entourages of Bad Boy and Death Row in which guns were drawn. Southside Crips bodyguards were at Biggie's side. Blood bodyguards were with Tupac and Suge. Although an armed staring contest was all this confrontation eventually amounted to, it was readily apparent to hip hop fans and artists that this rivalry was getting very out of hand, and going far beyond the heated, but never violent, lyrical battles for superiority of the past. On B.I.G.'s, "Life After Death," album, Biggie got back at Tupac with the following songs: "Somebody Got To Die," "Playa Hater," "Long Kiss Goodnight," "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Kills U," "My Downfall," "Going Back To Cali," "Notorious," "Dangerous MC's," "Notorious Thugs," and "Kick In the Door."
On September 7, 1996 2Pac was shot several times in Las Vegas
, dying a six days later on September 13. On March 9, 1997, Notorious B.I.G. was shot and killed in California. Both murders remain unsolved, and numerous theories (some of them conspiracy theories) have sprung up, saying they were killed by Marion Suge Knight, or the Blood and Crips killed them, or the LAPD, hired as off-duty bodyguards, killed them, really from the Blood gang.
In 1997, several rappers, including Bizzy Bone
, Doug E. Fresh
and Snoop Dogg met at the request of Louis Farrakhan
, leader of the Nation of Islam
and pledged to forgive any slights that may be related to the rivalry and deaths of 2Pac and Biggie.
Prior to his death, 2pac had also come into separate disputes with several other East Coast rappers. Some friends of 2Pac had been apparently snubbed by the group Mobb Deep at one of their concerts, and when word of the incident reached a then-jailed Tupac he sent out a message to Mobb Deep threatening violence. Mobb Deep immediately responded with the track "Drop a Gem on 'Em" which, although its official release on the Hell On Earth album occurred after 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up" single which mocked Mobb Deep, it had been circulating on mixtapes and radio in New York long before. This is only official diss aimed back at 2Pac by other members. Nas also angered Tupac by appearing to mock 2Pac with the line "Fake thug, no love, you get the slug, CB4
gusto your luck blow..." in the track "The Message," although Nas denied that this line was ever aimed at Pac. Even Chino XL, an underground rapper from New Jersey with no eye on mainstream domination and no ties to Bad Boy Records, Nas or Mobb Deep, incurred 2pac's wrath on "Hit Em Up" by using him in a somewhat ambiguous simile "By this industry, I'm trying not to get fucked like 2Pac in jail" (ironically, the track to which this line belongs is a duet with proud West Coast representative Ras Kass). Chino soon responded with a freestyle on live radio, but it was either ignored or not heard by Tupac.
In 1997, Jay-Z (a former friend and collaborator of B.I.G.) released a song titled "The City Is Mine" which seemed to many people to be making a claim to the empty throne. This attitude also seems to be evident in the fact that Jay-Z's album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 was originally titled Heir To The Throne, Vol. 1. Nas, the only rapper in New York at the time who had a reputation capable of rivaling Jay-Z but who had never received the same amount of commercial success, apparently responded to Jay-Z on his track "We Will Survive" (which released in 1999, on his album I Am...), which appears to dismiss Jay-Z as a serious rival as well as attacking both his claims of superiority and his continual evoking of B.I.G's legacy (the verse in question is in the form of a letter to the deceased rapper):
It used to be fun, makin records to see your response/But, now competition is none, now that you're gone/And these niggaz is wrong—usin your name in vain And they claim to be New York's king? It ain't about that
There was definite tension between the pair but no action for approximately a year, until in 2001 the beef exploded into the public eye as Jay-Z publicly mocked Nas on stage at the Hot 97 radio station's Summer Jam hip hop festival. Nas responded by delivering a calculated, personal attack on Jay-Z during a radio freestyle over Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid In Full" beat, and effectively dissing most of the R.O.C. members subliminally:
And bring it back up top, remove the fake king of New York:You show off, I count dough off when you sampled my voice/I rule you, before, you used to rap like the Fu-Schnickens
/Nas designed your Blueprint, who you kidding?/Is he H To The Izzo, M To The Izzo? For shizzle you phony, the rapping version of Sisqo
The freestyle was untitled but was later titled "Stillmatic", perhaps aimed to promote his new album Stillmatic. It is also called "H To The Omo". The "sample my voice" line refers to Jay-Z's use of a vocal sample of Nas for the hook of his song "Dead Presidents".
Jay-Z responded with the track "Takeover" from his album The Blueprint, on which he attacked Nas for never matching the critical success of his debut Illmatic and questioned his authenticity as an artist. The song was very well-received by hip hop listeners, and many listeners and reviewers immediately dismissed NaS as a contender and feared for the end of his career. Therefore, it was a surprise to many when NaS responded with an equally well-received track titled "Ether" from his album "Stillmatic", in which he mocked Jay-Z's early years as an aspiring young rapper (in which he supposedly idolized Nas) and attacked him for being a misogynist and for exploiting the Notorious B.I.G's legacy.Track starts like this:
("Fuck Jay-Z")
This is Tupac's voice sampled from his song "Fuck Friendz" and slowed down, then Nas starts with hook:
(I) Fuck with your soul like ether/(Will) Teach you the king you know you/(Not) "God's son" across the belly/(Lose) I prove you lost already
... And Nas claims the title King of New York
by mentioning the following line after Second Verse:
The king is back, where my crown at?
The positive response to "Ether" created enormous interest in the rivalry throughout the hip hop community, the music media and even mainstream news outlets. On Takeover, Jay-Z issued a warning that goes as follows:
Don't be the next contestant on that Summer Jam screen/Because you know who (who) did you know what (what)with you know who (yeah) but just keep that between me and you
Many speculated what Jay-Z was talking about while others dismissed it, believing it to be nothing of importance. Those questions would be answered as the rapper's response was prompted in a radio freestyle that became known as "Super Ugly" Jay-Z offered:
Me and the boy A.I. got more in Common than just ballin and rhyming...get it? More in Carmen
and later/
And since you infatuated with sayin that gay shit/Yes, you was kissin my dick when you was kissin that bitch/Nasty shit, you though I was bonin Vanette/You callin Carmen a hundred times I was bonin her neck/You got a baby by the broad you can't disown her yet/When does your lies end? When does the truth begins?/When does reality set in or does it not matter? Gotta hurt I'm your baby mama's favorite rapper
In the song, Jay-Z alluded, accusations that were later proven true, that he had an ongoing sexual relationship with the mother of Nas's child, Carmen Bryan. The song also alleges that Bryan also had a relationship with Philadelphia NBA star Allen Iverson
(A.I.). This release was not as well received as the previous three tracks had been. The feud continued to simmer, and rumors of a live pay-per-view freestyle battle began to circulate but never came to fruition.
After the promoters of Hot 97's Summer Jam festival refused to allow headlining Nas to hang an effigy of Jay-Z during his performance at 2002's show, he appeared on Hot 97's rival Power 105 and attacked both the music industry's control over hip hop and the rappers who he saw as submitting to it, including Jay-Z, Nelly, N.O.R.E. and Jay-Z's label mate Cam'ron : "Y'all brothers gotta start rapping about something that's real. [...] Rappers are slaves." This also embroiled Cam'ron into the Jay-Z/Nas feud, in which Cam'ron controversially made disparaging remarks about Nas' mother. It is quite ironic to remark, however, after Cam'ron was able to receive his label after his group the Diplomats, Cam'ron turned around and attacked Jay-Z in Winter 2005. After this incident both continued to go against one another on various tracks, the shots taken including Jay-Z criticizing Nas for his apparent hypocrisy on his The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse album's title track. Jay-Z also disses many other people and mass media in this track:
And y'all buy the shit, caught up in the hype/Cause the nigga wear a kufi, it don't mean that he bright/Cause you don't understand him, it don't mean that he nice/It just means you don't understand all the bullshit that he write
But he goes immediately back to his feud...:
Is it "Oochie Wally Wally" or is it "One Mic"?:/Is it "Black Girl Lost" or shorty owe you for ice?/... (omitted four lines)/When the grass is cut, the snakes will show/I gotta thank the little homie Nas for that though/Saving me the hassle of speaking to half of these assholes/And I'ma let karma catch up to Jaz-O, whoa/I'm back before you had a chance to miss me/My mama can't save you this time, niggas is history/Who you know flow vicious as me?/Yet so religiously, that's why they call me Hov/I get the spoils cause the victor is me (me, nigga)/You're an actor, you're not who you're depicted to be/The street dreamin, all y'all niggas living through me/I gave you life when niggas was forgetting you emcee/I'm a legend, you should take a picture with me/You should be happy to be in my presence, I should charge you a fee
Jay-Z is mentioning in lyric, the Public apology he had to make because of the few lines in song Super Ugly upset Jay-Z's mother, making him forcefully apologize after track played over the New York City's radio stations. He also mentions that Nas's album God's Son is too "religious", and not him. Street Dreams is a track from I Am..., which also samples 2Pac's beat (like Bonnie and Clyde
'03). Jay-Z explicitly claims that he gets the spoils, in this case, The Throne of New York, because he's simply better.
Meanwhile, Nas compared himself and Jay-Z to the characters Tony Montana
and Manolo respectively from the film Scarface
, on his track "Last Real Nigga Alive" from his God's Son album. However, the feud died down somewhat towards the end of 2002, with no real winner decided (arguments go on to this day in the hip hop community about who came out on top overall, with the results of a Hot 97 radio phone-in revealing a 58% - 42% split in favour of Nas), and both Nas & Jay-Z have since paid tribute to each other in interviews, likening the battle to a world title boxing match that pitched the best against the best, and pleased with the entertainment it provided fans.
The rivalry also benefited both of their careers immensely, critically and commercially. The battle was significant, in that it revived the trend of using ‘beef' as a source for publicity and promotion for hip hop artists. This was a trend that became somewhat unpopular following the tragic deaths of 2Pac and Biggie, yet has become recently prevalent within the hip hop community. Ever since this particular rivalry, hip hop feuds have become noticeably prolific, and have been publicized within the mainstream media more than they previously had been in the past.
In what may be perhaps a pivotal moment in hip hop history, the feud was formally ended in October 2005 at Jay-Z's I Declare War" concert, where Nas made a special guest appearance and performed the hook to "Dead Presidents" and a few of his own tracks such as "NY State of Mind" and "Hate Me Now". In 2005 at another 105.1 concert Jay and Nas reunited on stage and performed a song together. In January 2006, Nas signed with Jay-Z's Def Jam, further emphasizing the truce and raising expectations for a possible collaboration. Nas and Jay-Z are now best friends and are coming out with a new single called "There's more than One King" expected to release September 2006.
magazine attempted to "destroy" Eminem
and his Aftermath counterparts
Although it is not clear why Benzino
, then co-owner of The Source Magazine, decided to air out his issues with multi-platinum rapper Eminem, he claims that Eminem's success was hurting Black and Latino artists. He started a campaign against the corporations that are controlling and supporting Eminem. Benzino stated that Eminem can talk about dark emotions, while Black rappers are forced to talk about bling-bling (materialistic things).
One possible contributing factor for Eminem's concerns was Benzino's rating of his critically acclaimed and 9x platinum second album The Marshall Mathers LP. The Source gave him a 2-mic rating (changed to 4 mics following protests) for his critically acclaimed album, while Benzino's Made Men were given 4.5 mics. Eminem was upset and he blasted the magazine on the track "Say What You Say" from his follow-up album The Eminem Show, rapping in the final verse, "Five mics in The Source ?, ain't holdin' my fuckin' breath/But I'll suffocate for the respect 'fore I breathe to collect a fuckin' check."
Benzino released two songs directed at Eminem, titled "Pull Ya Skirt Up" and "Die Another Day", the latter of which included the lyrics "You're the rap David Duke/The rap Hitler... I'm the rap Malcolm, the rap Martin". Benzino has explained in interviews that he fears Eminem's fame is the beginning of the end for the Black domination of hip hop; he has also linked Eminem with the consumerism of modern hip hop, complaining that while Eminem is allowed to rap about deeply personal issues he has to "talk about bling-bling
because that's all the people who control the images want to hear from us". However, many observers noted that not only is Benzino bi-racial himself, but that Dave Mays, co-owner and founder of The Source, is white.
Eminem responded quickly to Benzino's track with the songs "Nail In The Coffin" and "The Sauce", calling him an "83-year-old fake Pacino", and questioning the credibility of both Benzino as a rapper and The Source as a magazine. Most of the hip hop community stood behind Eminem (including most famously Russell Simmons
), and many accused Benzino of criticizing and slandering hip hop's biggest star solely to both boost his unsuccessful career as a rapper and to boost the profile of The Source magazine, which unsurprisingly sided unequivocally with Benzino during the feud and ran a series of anti-Eminem and anti-Shady/Aftermath articles and features. The Source coverage no doubt aided Benzino's cause among many, for many others it further soured the name of a magazine which already had a reputation for being corrupt. Despite criticizing Eminem and his label-mates such as Dr Dre and 50 Cent within its pages, The Source continued to put these prolific record-selling artists on the cover of the magazine.
Interscope artists began to flock to XXL, who happily granted them increased coverage, which in turn boosted sales for the magazine.
The Source tried to score an advancement by released details of two tapes of a young Eminem it had received, featuring the future star rapping about how black women are "only after your money" in romantic relationships (he had apparently just suffered an acrimonious split from a black girlfriend) and in another song using the word "nigger". This caused considerable outcry among many rappers, though few said anything more damning than asking for a public apology. Eminem did in fact publicly apologize quite promptly, and later elaborated further on the incident in the song "Yellow Brick Road" from his Encore album.
But I've heard people say they heard the tape, and it ain't that bad:But it was, I singled out a whole race:And for that I apologize, I was wrong Cause no matter what color a girl is she's still a hoe
The Source did not gain anything from the long-running feud: not only were they forced to pay a substantial sum of money to Eminem for defamation and copyright infringement, but The Source lost major advertising as a result, most notably from major labels Virgin, Elektra, Interscope, Motown, and more recently Def Jam. It's noted that Benzino has recorded an album from each of the labels before they pulled out of The Source Magazine. The hip hop magazine XXL also became involved in the Eminem/Benzino/Source rivalry. XXL
, formerly an enemy of Eminem, decided to join forces with Shady Records to discredit The Source. The magazine that launched in 1997, has always been in competition with The Source for readership, and indeed was initially started by former Source employees. Dissing Benzino on "Nail In The Coffin", Eminem tells the Source co-owner "I don't need your little fucking magazine / I got XXL's number anyways...". With the entire Interscope label effectively involved in Eminem's feud with The Source, Interscope artists began to flock to XXL, who happily granted them increased coverage, which in turn boosted sales for the magazine.
Lots of Benzino's diss was aimed not only at Eminem, but also to Aftermath and Eminem's own Shady Records
's artists. The only Aftermath's rappers who referenced to the Source's CEO were, cronologically, 50 Cent
("Fuck The Source, I'm on the cover of Rolling Stone", from the song "The Realist Killaz"), Young Buck
("G-Unit that's what it is, that's what it's gon' be/Benzino or ohe Source can't hold me" from "Prices on my Head") and Game ("Picture this, The Source suckin Benzino's dick" from "Start from Scratch").
It has been accepted that Eminem won the battle. Also, it was obvious to many that Benzino had started the feud as nothing more than a publicity stunt to bolster his non-existent reputation in Hip-Hop. He and Dave Mays were recently fired from the staff of The Source(The magazine even saying on the top of the front page "Now 100% Benzino free"). The magazine, under new leadership, reported in the April 2006 issue about Benzino and Mays' ouster that they currently are patching up many relationships damaged by the actions of Mays and Benzino, including that with Interscope Records.
was a member of one of the earliest hip hop crews, the Treacherous Three
, and claimed that LL Cool J
stole his style, thus causing a long-running feud between the pair. From different interviews and magazines at the time, Kool Moe Dee felt that LL was getting a bit too big headed and actually believing his own hype, particularly when LL was rising to popularity with the Bigger and Deffer
album. Supposedly, Moe Dee approached LL and talked to him, and LL either brushed him off, or went back to his old ways after the talk. There also arose rumors that Moe Dee felt that LL was imitating his rhyme style. Whatever the cause, Kool Moe Dee took the first shots with, "How Ya Like Me Now," the title song from his second solo album that featured on the cover Kool Moe Dee leaning against a Jeep
and a LL trademark Kangol
underneath the tire. The album contained the indirect diss track of the same name. While the album cover was a clear shot, "How Ya Like Me Now," was more subtle. Although he did not refer to any specific name, Kool Moe Dee made it clear that he felt bitten by what he viewed as an amateur. Taking this as a sign of disrespect, the then teenaged LL responded with the energetic "Jack the Ripper." In the song LL playfully taunts Kool Moe Dee by repeatedly asking the rhetorical question "How you like me now?" He then precedes to call Kool Moe Dee a "washed up rapper" and an "old school sucker punk."
It was then that Kool Moe Dee released his famous diss record, "Let's Go", rhyming: :"Tryna be me, now LL stands for/Lower Level, Lack Luster/Last Least, Limp Lover/Lousy Lame, Latent Lethargic/Lazy Lemon, Little Logic/Lucky Leech, Liver Lipped/Laborious Louse on a Loser's Lips/Live in Limbo, Lyrical Lapse/Low Life with the loud raps, boy
The sequence ended with the following:
"...Now look what you done did:just using your name I took those L's,hung 'em on your head and rocked your bells...
The song's technical skill level and wittiness were of such high caliber that many felt Moe Dee had become the victor in the battle. In effect, he had; as LL did not release a response for a full two years. By not responding to Moe Dee and choosing to ignore him, despite being badly insulted on a whole record, LL opened himself up to be dissed by everyone, including MC Hammer and Ice-T. It was during this time that LL abandoned his hardcore image that popularized him, and instead, embarked on a different musical direction towards a more commercial fare (which emphasized New Jack Swing-love ballads). However, critics scoffed at this new direction with the release of Walking With a Panther
(1989). These events coincided with the major stylistic change hip hop began experiencing during the late-1980s. The genre was becoming increasingly socially conscious, abandoning the music's early themes of partying and braggadocio, and adopting more socially aware issues such as drug abuse, poverty
, racism
, and African American empowerment. LL Cool J, as a result, experienced a drop in popularity due to the view that his music was behind the times, materialistic and narcissistic. All this, coupled with a lot of criticism towards Walking With a Panther, and LL's apparent disregard for the overall changing of the Hip Hop collective to social awareness and consciousness, resulted in the deterioration of LL's credibility within the hip hop community. In one instance, he was booed off the stage at the Apollo Theater in New York City. However, in 1990, the older and wiser LL released the highly anticipated comeback album, Mama Said Knock You Out, thus reasserting his status and reviving his credibility amongst hip hop purists. Showing his resiliency, LL re-ignited his feud with Kool Mo Dee with the comical diss track, "To The Break Of Dawn".
Homeboy hold on, my rhymes are so strong/Nothing can go wrong. So why do you prolong/songs that ain't strong, brother you're dead wrong/and got the nerve to have them Star Trek shades on.../heh, you can't handle the whole weight/Skin needs lotion
/Teeth need Colgate
/Wise up, you little burnt up French fry/I'm That Type of Guy
In essence, LL became the first emcee beaten in battle, to ask for a rematch. LL followed the song with several subliminal attacks in other records (a battle practice for which he is known), including the title track, as well as "Jingling Baby
," and "Murdergram." Moe Dee soon responded to all of the tracks with the single, "Deathblow,".
The battle began when LL brought in Canibus
, Method Man
, DMX
and Redman for the Phenomenon song "4,3,2,1" in 1997. Canibus contributed a verse, which included the line "L, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that" (referring to the tattoo of a microphone LL did indeed have on his arm). LL wrote a response into his own verse, claiming he felt disrespected: "The symbol on my arm is off limits to challengers...You don't wanna borrow that, you wanna idolize." Before the song was released, Cool J asked Canibus to change the line. Canibus claims that LL also promised to remove his lines as well. LL denies this, claiming that he told Canibus that no one would know who he was talking about if Canibus' verse was changed.
Nevertheless, Canibus complied, and the song was released. However, the original version began surfacing, and people started piecing together what had happened. Canibus began telling fans the full story, saying he was mad that Cool J had not removed his response. He went on to diss LL with the single "Second Round K.O.," featuring LL Cool J's one-time friend Mike Tyson
cheering Canibus on in the background.
LL's response was titled "The Ripper Strikes Back," where he attacks not only Canibus, but Mike Tyson, Canibus' producer Wyclef Jean
and the rest of The Fugees
. LL then followed that with another track entitled "Back Where I Belong," where he accused Canibus of biting his rhymes and saying Bis was a Canadian claiming to be from New York City. Canibus responded to both songs with the track "Rip the Jacker." This would later spawn his alter-ego, an aggressive battle-rapper by the same name.
Wyclef responded to LL's initial attacks in "The Ripper Strikes Back" with his own song "What's Clef Got to Do With It;" LL retaliated with the underground track "Rasta Imposter." Wyclef and Cool J have ended their own feud; the main beef has since declined to subliminal potshots, with neither directly and openly dissing the other, and seems unlikely to heat back up.
was engaged in a well-publicized dispute with rapper Ja Rule
and his label Murder Inc. Records. The conflict's origin remains a mystery. Accounts have ranged from an alleged robbery of Ja Rule's jewelry by a friend of 50's, to Ja Rule and Murder Inc. supposedly snubbing a young and star-struck 50 Cent at a video shoot. Whatever the case, the hostility did not reach public ears until 50 Cent released his fiery, but subliminal, diss track, "Life's On The Line." This led to two violent confrontations between the rappers. The first a meeting where 50 Cent punched Ja and snatched his chain. The second confrontation occurred in a New York studio, where rapper Black Child, a member of Murder, Inc. stabbed 50 Cent. Black Child claimed that 50 Cent was reaching for a gun
during the fight.
Regardless of the physical repercussions, 50 Cent continued to make the rivalry a cornerstone of his music career. He released numerous mixtapes, clowning and insulting Ja Rule and Murder Inc. Before the release of Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
, Murder, Inc. began a smear campaign against the rapper. A restraining order document began floating around the Internet stating that 50 Cent had filed an order of protection against label CEO, Irv Gotti and Black Child. This helped forge the belief that 50 Cent is a "snitch" or a police informant.
Although 50 Cent dismissed the claims, the bad publicity continues to be a tool used among various rappers who engage in beef with his rap collective G-Unit
. In fact, further investigation from New York lawyers found that the document could have been, and was most likely, signed by a judge without 50 Cent's consent or knowledge. The practice is common place in New York for victims of multiple attacks when their assaulters are released from jail
.
The rivalry reached a boiling point for Murder Inc., which had remained silent for the most part, when 50 Cent released his second album-length battle rap, entitled "Back Down." In the song 50, who was always known for his hold-no-tongue approach to battling, insulted, joked and dissed Ja Rule and his label into action. In response, Black Child, along with fellow Murder Inc. rapper Cadillac Tah, countered with their own mix tape disses. Ja Rule, however, remained quiet. 50 Cent continued his barrage, releasing the Tupac assisted "Realest Killas" where he addressed Ja Rule's penchant for imitating the slain rapper. This prompted Ja Rule to finally respond with the songs "War is On," "Guess Who Shot Ya" and "Loose Change." This all culminated into Ja Rule releasing "Blood In My Eye," which was, in effect, a 50 Cent diss album.
Ja Rule eventually tried to squash the beef with 50 Cent by using Minister Louis Farrakhan in a televised interview. However, the attempt at peace lost credibility as the interview was scheduled a day before Blood In My Eye was released. As a result most fans, along with 50 Cent dismissed the interview as a blatant publicity stunt.
Ja Rule also had a small rivalry with 50's label-mate, Eminem. Ja Rule insulted Eminem's ex-wife and daughter in a song titled "Loose Change" and Eminem responded on a mix tape by DJ Kay Slay
with a freestyle collaboration with 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes
in a Tupac parody titled "Hail Mary 2003" - a remake of "Hail Mary
" by Tupac (another motivation for this song was "So Much Pain", Ja Rule's remake of the Tupac song "Pain") - "Doe Ray Me (Hailie's Revenge)" also was made in response to "Loose Change". Although they exchanged heated words, most fans did not take it seriously in the shadow of 50 vs. Ja Rule. Eminem also dissed him with another underground song with G-unit entitled "Bump Heads" (and various other songs with out the G-Unit).
Since then, 50 Cent's second album, "The Massacre," sold millions, yet has been criticized for not being able to recapture the level of hype "Get Rich or Die Trying" set. Ja Rule released "R.U.L.E" with the successful single, "New York," featuring Jadakiss
and Fat Joe
. Interestingly enough, this single prompted 50 Cent to enter a feud with the two featured artists (See article on Piggy Bank for details). When Eminem called it quits in "Like Toy Soldiers," Ja agreed, saying that he was exhausted with feuds and has recently released a greatest hits album entitled, "Exodus."
Although it seemed as the feud was over, Ja Rule has returned to the beef with "21 Gunz" which is to debut on the Murder Inc Mix tape: MI:3 Friday, May 12, 2006[1]. It can be heard, along with some of his other new songs on his Myspace
site[2]. On the mix tape Mo Money in da Bank Pt 4, Lloyd Banks
and 50 Cent replied with "Return of Ja Fool".
'Tracks Released'
However, the sudden feud between the pair (who had been marketed as close associates, almost in a mentor/protege relationship) started from alleged rumors that The Game had recorded with former G-Unit nemesis Joe Budden on a track that was released in 2004. Things escalated after 50's second album, The Massacre, was released and had several lyrics dissing other rappers; among them Nas, Fat Joe and Jadakiss; The Game soon appeared on New York radio claiming he had no beef with any of the rappers 50 Cent targeted, and was not involved. Taking offense at what he perceived as Game's disloyalty, 50 Cent appeared on the radio soon after to announce that he had officially dropped The Game from G-Unit, claiming that The Game owed him more credit for songs that he had helped in writing and recording, and that Game should have openly supported 50 in his feuds.
The Game refuted this explanation however, stating that 50's alleged jealousy over the success of The Documentary (which resulted in 50's album "The Massacre" being pushed back from February to March) caused them to feud while on tour. The beef escalated as one member of The Game's entourage was shot outside of the Hot 97 radio station in New York, landing him in the hospital. The battle appeared to be escalating dangerously, but within a few weeks, The Game and 50 Cent ended their feud, deciding to give money to charity and apologizing for their actions.
Many fans felt that the supposed feud, and particularly the incident at the radio station was a publicity stunt designed to boost the sales of the two albums the pair had just released. Nevertheless, even after the situation had apparently deflated, 50 Cent and G-Unit continued to feud with The Game, denouncing his street credibility in the media and claiming that without their support, he will not score a hit from his second album. 50 Cent also sued The Game's manager Jimmy Henchmen over unauthorized filming for a documentary about Kelvin Martin. The Game was then highly critical of 50 Cent during a performance at the Summer Jam festival, leading chants of "G-Unot". After the performance at Summer Jam, The Game responded with a hard hitting diss titled "300 Bars and Runnin'" in which it address 50 Cent and G-Unit. 50 Cent has mixed feelings towards the diss but nevertheless he responded through his "Piggybank" video. The video features The Game dressed as a Mr. Potato Head and his many other nemesis named in the song in parodies of major characters on television. The feud continued escalating, as former Bloods and fans of The Game began protesting events that feature 50 Cent and G-Unit. Recently it had been looking like more of a one sided beef with all diss track's being released by The Game. He dropped tracks such as "120 Bars" "G-Unit Crip" "360" and "Red Bandana". At the end of "Red Bandana" The Game claims 50 Cent is stealing Eminem's style by just talking and he says:
That knockoff 8 Mile shit:You can never be Eminem motherfucker:You ain't lyrically inclined enough to be Nas, Jay-Z, BIG, or Pac:And in the modern day...today, tomorrow...next week:You can't fuck with The Game nigga!:...out
In January 2006, The Game took the beef to whole a new level by releasing an entire DVD devoted to the fall out entitled "Stop Snitchin' Stop Lyin'" along with a mix tape, with a lot of claims that this would be his final involvement with the beef. After this many Game fans started stating that The Game had won the beef, until 50 Cent came out with the track "Not Rich, Still Lyin'" which featured 50 Cent imitating The Game. The G-Unit has started to respond on numerous underground mixtapes. The Recent G-Unit Radio 21 Mixtape shows a picture of Game as a stripper, which has made Game fight back again.
The people at Interscope are once again trying to deflate the situation. This feud is the first of many feuds whereas, two rappers from the same label currently engaged in rap feuds with one another.
emerged to become one of the most successful female rappers of her time, and she quickly broke onto the mainstream scene. Despite her success, Minaj was accused of copying rapper Lil' Kim
's fashion style. Furthermore, Minaj made a cover of Kim's The Jump Off
(2003) in 2007 and presented herself as a "barbie" in Mariah Carey
's 2010 video to Up Out My Face
, similar to what Kim did on the song How Many Licks?
(2000). Minaj admitted to being influenced by Kim, but did not consider herself to be stealing her style.
In June 2010, R&B artist Ray J
, a friend of Lil' Kim's, addressed Minaj by stating "[There are] a lot of people trying to bite styles and sh**. I ain't saying no names, but you know who…" Kim also contributed to his statement by saying "We love her! We just want [her] to pay homage, so we could all rock together. It’s all about respect. You respect me, I respect you. If you don’t respect me, then f**k you." Lil' Kim and Baltimore MC Keys (who has also been attacking Minaj, to which Minaj will not respond directly) have collaborated on stage to further diss Minaj. Drake, label mate of Nicki Minaj
, commented on the situation by saying "I didn't respect that at all," he continued by saying "[these things] are just signs that you are losing it" and "[Kim is] supposed to be a 'G,' but that wasn't 'G' to me at all" Also 50 Cent
addressed the beef in June 2010, stating that he sees how Minaj is influenced by Kim and that it was right for rapper Diddy to call Rick Ross
and Nicki Minaj
the "new Notorious B.I.G. and Lil' Kim." Diddy had the following to say about the situation: "[Nicki Minaj] ain't trying to swagger-jack or say nothing negative about [Lil' Kim]. I just think that Kim needs to just understand that Nicki as a whole has always been respectful of her and Nicki's not trying to be her," adding "I ain't gonna make no apologies for working with Nicki Minaj. [She is] somebody that's never said anything negative about Kim and just really has always, in my eyes, has paid homage to Kim. She's a different MC. They don't even talk about the same thing. If you're like a connoisseur of MCs and you a specialist, like what Kim has talked about and what Nicki talks about, they don't talk about the same things."
Lil' Kim answered to Drake by calling him a "straight pussy" and added that "this nigga" did not distinguish between he and Ray J disrespecting Minaj, when it really was Ray J. She explained that she was only being loyal to Ray J when he talked bad about Minaj. She also did not appreciate Drake attacking her as a female. Also, in an interview with "ThisIs50.com" she agreed with 50 Cent
that "Diddy sucked." She was upset at Diddy and considered him to be unloyal. She also mentioned that she was irritated because Minaj kept "busting shots" at her instead of giving her the respect she deserved. In that interview she also disrespected Faith Evans
, Drake and Voletta Wallace.
Nicki Minaj
and rapper Eminem
replied to the situation with the song Roman's Revenge
. Many critics considered this song a "diss" towards Lil' Kim. Mariel Concepcion of Billboard
dissected the song stating "Nicki Minaj's highly-talked about 'Roman's Revenge' track hits the net over the weekend, and the Harajuku Barbie appears to be taking jabs at Lil' Kim." Lil' Kim fired back at the song at a club-concert, stating "I will erase this b*tch’s social security number. First of all, I don’t even need a record right now and I’d kill that b*tch with my old sh**. My records ain’t just enter the charts, they made history. What the f**k is this bullsh**, this sh** come and go!" Minaj later responded in an interview on The Wendy Williams Show
by stating "they know what I'm talking about. See that's the thing when you put out records; you know only the 'guilty ones' feel like you're talking about them. So you know, if you have nothing to worry about, if you haven't came out saying stuff, if you never came out saying your ungrateful bullsh** then you wouldn't worry about it."
The first time Minaj explicitly addressed the feud was in November when she attended a radio interview with rapper and radio host Angie Martinez
. Martinez collaborated with Lil' Kim on her song "Not Tonight" in 1996. Minaj said "when I see your(Martinez') name on [the] Billboard I’ll respond to you." Also, Minaj claims that rapper Foxy Brown told her about Lil' Kim not liking her in 2009. However, Brown has denied this through twitter
.
In November 2010, Lil' Kim's "diss" track "Black Friday," in reference to Minaj's Pink Friday
, surfaced. It served as a response to the interview done by Minaj and Martinez.
On April 5, 2011, after most thought the beef had been settled, Nicki Minaj released a fragment of a new track she made, called "Tragedy." It was allegedly scheduled to be featured on Lil' Wayne's album, Tha Carter IV
, however the song is not listed on the album. This song has been acclaimed to have a more direct attack than "Roman's Revenge
" did.
Today's feuds
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, which originated in the 1970s in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States. Originally, it came to block parties, where DJs would play records and isolate the percussion breaks for the dancing masses. Soon, MCs began speaking over the beats, usually simply exhorting the audience to continue dancing. Eventually, MCs began incorporating more varied and stylistic speech, and focused on introducing themselves, shouting out to friends in the audience, boasting about their own skills, and criticizing their rivals. While this was often done in good humor, the deaths of 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G. have meant that in today's hip hop scene it is always feared that lyrical rivalries will develop into offstage feuds that become violent. Observers have claimed that the media feed on such rivalries for headlines and blow situations out of proportion, a good example of which was the infamous East Coast–West Coast rivalry of the 1990s. One prominent example used as contrast by those who feel that the media manipulate and intensify hip hop rivalries was the 1980s hit "Roxanne, Roxanne" by U.T.F.O., which sparked several hundred "answer records" in response, some of which were quite vituperative (see the Roxanne Wars
Roxanne Wars
The Roxanne Wars is a well-known series of hip hop rivalries during the mid-1980s, yielding perhaps the most answer records in history. It arose from a dispute over a failed appearance at a radio promotional show...
). At the time, hip hop was nowhere as widespread as it would eventually become, and as such there was little media response to that record. The beef never made it onto the streets. The recent high-profile beef between Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
and Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
was carried out without ever threatening to become violent.
Boogie Down Productions vs. The Juice Crew
Boogie Down ProductionsBoogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...
, led by KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
, were involved in a long-running feud with Marley Marl
Marley Marl
Marlon Williams , better known as Marley Marl, is an American DJ and record producer, who is considered one of the most important and influential hip-hop producers in the history of hip hop.-Biography:...
's Juice Crew
Juice Crew
The Juice Crew was a hip hop collective of largely Queensbridge-based artists in the mid- to late-1980s. Founded by producer Marley Marl and radio DJ Mr. Magic and housed by Tyrone William's Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew would introduce New School artists Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie,...
during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s that was predominantly a dispute over boroughs of New York. The feud began with Queensbridge-based Marley Marl & MC Shan
MC Shan
MC Shan is an American rapper. He is perhaps best known for collaborating with Snow in "Informer", an international number one hit single.-Biography:...
's track "The Bridge" in late 1985, in which they sung the praises of their home borough and loosely implied that Queensbridge was where hip hop "all got started". Taking offense, South Bronx-based KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions (BDP) recorded and released the track "South Bronx", which was effectively identical in terms of content to Shan and Marl's track except singing the praises of South Bronx rather than Queensbridge, and made the argument for it being the true home and birthplace of hip hop. The Juice Crew soon responded with the track "Kill The Noise" on Shan's album Down By Law which took various shots at KRS-One and mocked his taking offense in the first place: "Yo Shan, I didn't hear you say hip hop started in the Bridge on your record." "I didn't. They wanted to get on the bandwagon." KRS's main response was the Jamaican-influenced "The Bridge Is Over", and lyrics spoofing Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me":
What's the matter with your MC, Marley Marl?: Don't know you know that he's out of touch?: What's the matter with your DJ, MC Shan?: On the wheels of steel, Marlon sucks:You'd better change what comes out your speaker:You're better off talkin' 'bout your whack Puma sneaker: 'Cause Bronx created hip hop, Queens will only get dropped: You're still tellin' lies to me: Everybody's talkin' 'bout the Juice Crew funny: But you're still tellin' lies to me
Most of KRS's fire was directed at Marley Marl and MC Shan specifically, though he occasionally exchanged insults with other Juice Crew members such as Mr. Magic and Roxanne Shante. Shante responded with a song aimed at Boogie Down Productions titled "Have A Nice Day" in which she rapped:
Scott La Rock
Scott La Rock
Scott "La Rock" Sterling was the original DJ of the hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.-BDP:Sterling, a social worker, met rapper KRS-One in 1986 at the Franklin Men's Shelter in the Bronx where KRS lived. The pair, together with DJ D-Nice, formed Boogie Down Productions...
, you should be ashamed, :when T La Rock
T La Rock
Clarence "Terry" Ronnie Keaton , known by the stage name T La Rock, is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours." He disappeared from the hip hop scene after a traumatic brain injury in 1994, but as...
said it's yours, he didn't mean his name, and KRS One, you should go on vacation, with your name sounding like a wack radio station
The feud quickly died down after BDP's Scott La Rock was shot dead in 1987 after attempting to calm down a domestic dispute involving BDP colleague D-Nice. With his new Stop The Violence movement, KRS-One had his attention elsewhere, and the Juice Crew did not release any further dis records for a long period after La Rock's death out of respect. However, in 1989, MC Shan attempted to restart the rivalry on his song Juice Crew Law which contained several shots at KRS. KRS took more than a year to respond, but eventually did so in 1990 on the song Black Man In Effect from the BDP (which at that point was basically only KRS-One, D-Nice having left earlier the same year) album Edutainment
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
.
During the nineties, the beef was not forgotten by fans or the participants, but rather fondly remembered as a classic hip hop duel, and the rivalry has since been referenced in hip hop lyrics by the likes of Cormega, Nas, Cunninlynguists, Big Punisher, Supernatural and Chino XL. MC Shan and KRS-One themselves acknowledged the beef's important place in hip hop history when they appeared together in a commercial for the Sprite soft drink in the mid-nineties, in which they exchanged battle rhymes inside a boxing ring. However, the respective fortunes of the pair in the nineties were very different: MC Shan, widely seen by hip hop listeners as the loser of the conflict if there had to be one, never really recovered his reputation and later effectively retired, while KRS forged out a successful solo career and remained an important figure in hip hop. Nevertheless, on the QB's Finest compilation (which showcased the finest Queensbridge hip hop artists) in 2001, MC Shan took one last parting shot at KRS-One: "Hip hop was set out in the dark / The Bridge was never Over, we left our mark."
N.W.A. vs. Ice Cube
Ice CubeIce Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
left N.W.A in December 1989 after making claims that Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and the group's manager, Jerry Heller
Jerry Heller
Jerry Heller is best known for managing West Coast rap group N.W.A. and rapper Eazy-E. He is co-founder and CEO of Ruthless Records. Heller managed War, Average White Band, Marvin Gaye, Michel'le, A.L.T...
, were cheating him along with the rest of the group members. The remaining group members fired the first shots by insulting Ice Cube on the two albums they recorded after his departure. On 100 Miles and Runnin', Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
told the public:
"It started with five but one couldn't take it."
/"So now there's four 'cause the fifth couldn't make it."
"The number's even."
/"And now I'm leaving"
On Efil4zaggin
Efil4zaggin
- Samples :Prelude* "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" by Isaac HayesReal Niggaz Don't Die* "UFO" by ESG* "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson* "Die Nigger!!!" by The Last Poets* "Rise Above" by Black Flag* "Long Red" by Mountain...
, the group called Ice Cube "Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
", after the notorious traitor of the American Revolutionary War. N.W.A. insulted Cube further on the album by claiming he was "...sucking New York dick", a direct reference to Ice Cube's new production team, the New York-based Bomb Squad. They also made a reference to Cube's September 1990 incident with Ruthless Records' then-current act Above the Law, saying that he "got his ass beat by ATL." On these albums, N.W.A. dedicated entire tracks insulting and attacking Ice Cube.
Cube's first solo album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted made no direct response to the N.W.A. feud, although he did use the album to make subtle references to his old crew. The closest to a response Cube mounted on the first album was Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav
William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. , better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper and television personality who rose to prominence as a member of the rap group Public Enemy...
's exhortation at the end of I'm Only Out For One Thang: "This is for my boy Ice Cube, yo, stay off his dick!" On the EP Kill At Will, released later the same year, Cube sets the stage for his response on the track Jackin' Fo' Beats. At the end of this track he includes the exclamation:
"And if I jack you and you keep comin/I'll have you marks a 100 Miles and Running!"
In 1991, Ice Cube took the fight to the big screen in his first feature film starring role, in Boyz N the Hood
Boyz N the Hood
Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American hood film written and directed by John Singleton. Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long, Angela Bassett and Regina King, the film depicts life in poor South Central Los Angeles, California and was filmed and released...
. According to movie director John Singleton, Cube suggested changes to one scene in particular where a chain snatcher is beaten up by neighborhood teens. Cube's recommendations were to give the thief a Jheri curl
Jheri curl
The Jheri curl is a hairstyle that was common and popular in the African American community especially during the 1970s and 1980s . Invented by and named for Jheri Redding, the Jheri curl gave the wearer a glossy, loosely curled look...
and sunglasses (reminiscent of Eazy-E's personal style) and a "We Want Eazy" sweatshirt while being beaten.
On his second album Death Certificate, Ice Cube fired back at his former group by releasing the song No Vaseline
Vaseline
Vaseline is a brand of petroleum jelly based products owned by Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soaps, lotions, cleansers, deodorants and personal lubricants....
, proclaiming N.W.A. to be "phonies" and declaring Eazy-E to be a "snitch", in reference to a publicity stunt Eazy pulled in attending a fundraising luncheon with then-President George H.W. Bush, also on the song repeating "I never have dinner with the president" 3 times. He also made remarks about N.W.A.'s manager Jerry Heller that were instantly declared anti-Semitic, including "you can't be the Niggaz 4 Life Crew/with a white Jew/telling you what to do", "you let a Jew break up my crew", and "get rid of that Devil real simple/put a bullet in his temple."
Eazy-E vs. Dr. Dre
Soon after No Vaseline, The D.O.C.The D.O.C.
Tracy Lynn Curry , primarily known by his stage name The D.O.C., is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas. In addition to a solo career, he was a member of the hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew, and a creative force behind the gangsta rap group N.W.A, where he co-wrote many of their releases. He has...
found that Cube's words were true: Wright and Heller were in fact skimming money off the top, and Dre left the crew behind as well. This, more than anything else, meant the end of N.W.A; Dre began his solo career, forming the highly influential Death Row Records
Death Row Records
Death Row Records is a record label founded in 1991 by Marion "Suge" Knight Jr., Andre Young , Tracy Lynn Curry and Michael Harris . It is known to have been home to many popular West Coast hip hop artists such as Dr...
with former bodyguard Suge Knight
Suge Knight
Marion "Suge" Knight, Jr. is the founder and CEO of Black Kapital Records and co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Death Row Records rose to dominate the rap charts after Dr. Dre's breakthrough album The Chronic in 1992. After several years of chart successes for artists including...
. When he released his first solo album The Chronic
The Chronic
The Chronic is the solo debut album of American hip hop artist Dr. Dre, released December 15, 1992, on his own record label Death Row Records, and distributed by Priority Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in June 1992 at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles and at Bernie Grundman...
, he began a well-publicized feud with his ex-band mate by constantly poking fun of Eazy-E on the song and the video for Dre Day where Eazy was a money hungry character called Sleazy E who eventually ended up on the streets begging for money, and Bitches Ain't Shit—referring to Eric Wright as a bitch Dre once knew.
Dre and Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
were both heard dissing the label on The Chronic; later, Tha Dogg Pound would take shots on their own debut, Dogg Food, such as the line "Ain't got no love for no hoes in harmony": a reference to Ruthless Records successful new act, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Dogg Pound's What Would You Do included some lines aimed at Ruthless Records and BG Knocc Out: "Oh yeah fuck BG Knocc Out and every nigga down with him" and "For instance, let's take these Ruthless fools, these Ruthless fools and the Pound in one room", which resulted with Knocc Out and Dresta's song DPG Killa. More tensions between Death Row and Ruthless sprung up when the latter label's act Above the Law accused Dre of stealing their G-Funk sound for his album and taking credit for it. There was also an episode on a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
when Nate Dogg
Nate Dogg
Nathaniel Dwayne Hale , better known by his stage name Nate Dogg, was an American musician. He is noted for his membership of rap trio 213 and his solo career in which he collaborated with Dr. Dre, Warren G, Tupac and Snoop Dogg on many hit releases. Nate Dogg released three solo albums, G-Funk...
and some other people from Tha Dogg Pound were attacked by Eazy's crew and they started hitting each other with golf-clubs.
Eazy-E responded directly by releasing the EP It's On (Dr. Dre) 187 um Killa. The single released from this album, "Real Muthaphuckkin G's," featured lyrics filled with disses towards Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and it's video showed pictures of Dr. Dre in makeup and a glitter suit taken during the days he was in the "World Class Wreckin' Cru". But before Eazy died, he had made amends with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. They were actually talking about an N.W.A reunion, but Eazy died not long after. In 1996, prominent Death Row artist 2Pac was featured on the Bone Thugs' second album The Art Of War, signaling to many the end of the feud.
"East Coast vs. West Coast"
Probably the most famous rap feud of recent times is the early to mid-1990s rivalry between the East Coast's Bad Boy RecordsBad Boy Records
Bad Boy Records is a record label founded in 1993 by producer/rapper/entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records.-Beginnings:...
and the West Coast's Death Row Records. Though the beef mostly consisted of shots from Death Row towards various acts and, more specifically, Bad Boy, the media billed it as a "rap war" between two coasts. This led to fans of and from both scenes denouncing each others' native artists, causing a huge impact on the rap culture as a whole.
Hip hop had originated in the streets of New York, and the city remained the undisputed capital of hip hop until the late '80s, when N.W.A. & others put the west on the map. Dr. Dre's The Chronic became one of the biggest-selling hip hop albums in history, followed shortly by Snoop Doggy Dogg's breakout album Doggystyle in 1993. Dre was on Death Row Records, headed by Suge Knight, and he soon built up a roster of stars like - 2Pac, Tha Dogg Pound and Snoop Doggy Dogg that reigned on the charts, and Los Angeles begun to rival New York for its place as the center for mainstream hip hop. This had already, and somewhat inevitably, created a tension between certain industry heavyweights on both coasts, each hungry for control of an increasingly lucrative market. The biggest stars on the East Coast at this time were Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records crew, which was founded in 1993 and at the time included Craig Mack
Craig Mack
Craig Mack is an American Grammy nominated rapper, who gained fame on Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Entertainment record label in the 1990s. Although his first single was released under the name MC EZ in 1988, he is best known for his 1994 hit single "Flava In Ya Ear", which was released under his real name...
and The Notorious B.I.G..
Bad Boy and Death Row were thrown into conflict with one another after 2Pac was shot five times at a New York recording studio on November 30, 1994, and publicly blamed his former close friend Notorious B.I.G and his Bad Boy Records cohorts. This feud escalated after Suge Knight mocked Puff Daddy at the Source Awards in August 1995, announcing to the assembly of artists and industry figures: "If you don't want the owner of your label on your album or in your video or on your tour, come sign with Death Row." Despite Puff Daddy himself attempting to defuse the situation with a speech later in the evening, a later performance by Death Row's Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg was booed (to which Snoop famously responded "The East Coast ain't got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg?").
The feud continued to escalate through numerous incidents. First, in September 1995, a close friend of Knight's was gunned down at a birthday party thrown for producer Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin , known as Jermaine Dupri or JD, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper.- Early life and career :...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, for which Knight publicly blamed Bad Boy Records. Then, in December, while filming the video for the Dogg Pound's song "New York, New York" in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, Snoop Dogg's trailer was shot at numerous times (though the trailer was in fact empty at the time). The video itself then become the source of further controversy on its release, featuring Death Row artists knocking over New York skyscrapers and landmarks, to which many East Coast artists and fans took offense. There was also suspicion that the song itself was also targeted at Bad Boy Records and New York in general, though this is unlikely as the song is in fact a remake of a Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
song, features only generic, non-specific braggadocio/battle rhymes with nothing that could be interpreted as a specific attack on any specific individuals, and was written and recorded before the Bad Boy/Death Row feud got off the ground. Capone-N-Noreaga also made the song "LA, LA" with Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep is an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, U.S., that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast hip-hop groups." The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery, as exemplified by the single "Shook Ones...
to respond to "New York, New York" which got them involved in the feud.
In 1995, The Notorious B.I.G. released the track "Who Shot Ya." 2Pac interpreted it as B.I.G. mocking his '94 shooting, and claimed it proved that Bad Boy had set him up. In early 1996, 2Pac released the infamous dis track "Hit 'Em Up," in which he claimed to have had sex with the Notorious B.I.G's wife Faith Evans
Faith Evans
Faith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
and that "this ain't no freestyle battle, y'all niggas getting killed" and was viewed as taking the feud to another level and critics today look on the song as one of the defining moments of the rivalry. Tupac dissed B.I.G., Puffy, and Bad Boy Records for the remainder of his career, coming at Big with, "Ambition Az A Ridah," "No More Pain," "2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted," "Made N.I.G.G.A.," "Bomb First, Second Reply," "Against All Odds," "All Eyez On Me," "Holla At Me," "This Time Around,"(With Michael Jackson,) "Can't C Me," and "Heartz Of Men."
B.I.G. soon responded on Jay-Z's track "Brooklyn's Finest" ("If Fay have twins, she'd probably have Tupacs. Get it, 2-Pac's.) This was a move which also caused Jay-Z to become embroiled in the dispute. In March 1996, at the Soul Train Awards in L.A., there was a confrontation in the parking lot between the respective entourages of Bad Boy and Death Row in which guns were drawn. Southside Crips bodyguards were at Biggie's side. Blood bodyguards were with Tupac and Suge. Although an armed staring contest was all this confrontation eventually amounted to, it was readily apparent to hip hop fans and artists that this rivalry was getting very out of hand, and going far beyond the heated, but never violent, lyrical battles for superiority of the past. On B.I.G.'s, "Life After Death," album, Biggie got back at Tupac with the following songs: "Somebody Got To Die," "Playa Hater," "Long Kiss Goodnight," "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Kills U," "My Downfall," "Going Back To Cali," "Notorious," "Dangerous MC's," "Notorious Thugs," and "Kick In the Door."
On September 7, 1996 2Pac was shot several times in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, dying a six days later on September 13. On March 9, 1997, Notorious B.I.G. was shot and killed in California. Both murders remain unsolved, and numerous theories (some of them conspiracy theories) have sprung up, saying they were killed by Marion Suge Knight, or the Blood and Crips killed them, or the LAPD, hired as off-duty bodyguards, killed them, really from the Blood gang.
In 1997, several rappers, including Bizzy Bone
Bizzy Bone
Bryon Anthony McCane II , better known by his stage name Bizzy Bone, is an American rapper and a member of the Cleveland rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.- Solo career :Bizzy Bone started his solo career in 1998...
, Doug E. Fresh
Doug E. Fresh
Douglas E. Davis , better known by the stage name Doug E. Fresh, is an American rapper, record producer, and beat boxer, also known as the Human Beat Box...
and Snoop Dogg met at the request of Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
, leader of the Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
and pledged to forgive any slights that may be related to the rivalry and deaths of 2Pac and Biggie.
Prior to his death, 2pac had also come into separate disputes with several other East Coast rappers. Some friends of 2Pac had been apparently snubbed by the group Mobb Deep at one of their concerts, and when word of the incident reached a then-jailed Tupac he sent out a message to Mobb Deep threatening violence. Mobb Deep immediately responded with the track "Drop a Gem on 'Em" which, although its official release on the Hell On Earth album occurred after 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up" single which mocked Mobb Deep, it had been circulating on mixtapes and radio in New York long before. This is only official diss aimed back at 2Pac by other members. Nas also angered Tupac by appearing to mock 2Pac with the line "Fake thug, no love, you get the slug, CB4
CB4
CB4 is a 1993 comedy film directed by Tamra Davis, and starring Chris Rock. The film follows a fictional rap group named 'CB4', named after the prison block in which the group was allegedly formed...
gusto your luck blow..." in the track "The Message," although Nas denied that this line was ever aimed at Pac. Even Chino XL, an underground rapper from New Jersey with no eye on mainstream domination and no ties to Bad Boy Records, Nas or Mobb Deep, incurred 2pac's wrath on "Hit Em Up" by using him in a somewhat ambiguous simile "By this industry, I'm trying not to get fucked like 2Pac in jail" (ironically, the track to which this line belongs is a duet with proud West Coast representative Ras Kass). Chino soon responded with a freestyle on live radio, but it was either ignored or not heard by Tupac.
Nas vs. Jay-Z
The Nas versus Jay-Z rivalry pitted two hip hop legends against each other, in what is widely considered as the most exhilarating and invigorating hip hop battle of recent times. Supposedly, tension between Jay-Z and Nas dates as far back as 1996, when Nas refused to make a guest appearance on Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt. However, the relationship between the two rappers remained peaceful (Jay-Z even giving a shoutout to Nas in his album liner notes), and the tension never became a full-blown rivalry until after the death of Notorious B.I.G. The position of best rapper in New York (also known as the King of New York) seemed eerily vacant after the death of Biggie, and fans were eager to see who would take over his role.In 1997, Jay-Z (a former friend and collaborator of B.I.G.) released a song titled "The City Is Mine" which seemed to many people to be making a claim to the empty throne. This attitude also seems to be evident in the fact that Jay-Z's album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 was originally titled Heir To The Throne, Vol. 1. Nas, the only rapper in New York at the time who had a reputation capable of rivaling Jay-Z but who had never received the same amount of commercial success, apparently responded to Jay-Z on his track "We Will Survive" (which released in 1999, on his album I Am...), which appears to dismiss Jay-Z as a serious rival as well as attacking both his claims of superiority and his continual evoking of B.I.G's legacy (the verse in question is in the form of a letter to the deceased rapper):
It used to be fun, makin records to see your response/But, now competition is none, now that you're gone/And these niggaz is wrong—usin your name in vain And they claim to be New York's king? It ain't about that
There was definite tension between the pair but no action for approximately a year, until in 2001 the beef exploded into the public eye as Jay-Z publicly mocked Nas on stage at the Hot 97 radio station's Summer Jam hip hop festival. Nas responded by delivering a calculated, personal attack on Jay-Z during a radio freestyle over Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid In Full" beat, and effectively dissing most of the R.O.C. members subliminally:
And bring it back up top, remove the fake king of New York:You show off, I count dough off when you sampled my voice/I rule you, before, you used to rap like the Fu-Schnickens
Fu-Schnickens
Fu-Schnickens was an American hip-hop trio. Similar to Das EFX for their cartoonish lyrics and near-constant allusions to pop culture staples, they were the first Hip Hop artists to rap in backwards fashion. The Fu-Schnickens' popularity was brief but significant in hip hop history...
/Nas designed your Blueprint, who you kidding?/Is he H To The Izzo, M To The Izzo? For shizzle you phony, the rapping version of Sisqo
The freestyle was untitled but was later titled "Stillmatic", perhaps aimed to promote his new album Stillmatic. It is also called "H To The Omo". The "sample my voice" line refers to Jay-Z's use of a vocal sample of Nas for the hook of his song "Dead Presidents".
Jay-Z responded with the track "Takeover" from his album The Blueprint, on which he attacked Nas for never matching the critical success of his debut Illmatic and questioned his authenticity as an artist. The song was very well-received by hip hop listeners, and many listeners and reviewers immediately dismissed NaS as a contender and feared for the end of his career. Therefore, it was a surprise to many when NaS responded with an equally well-received track titled "Ether" from his album "Stillmatic", in which he mocked Jay-Z's early years as an aspiring young rapper (in which he supposedly idolized Nas) and attacked him for being a misogynist and for exploiting the Notorious B.I.G's legacy.Track starts like this:
("Fuck Jay-Z")
This is Tupac's voice sampled from his song "Fuck Friendz" and slowed down, then Nas starts with hook:
(I) Fuck with your soul like ether/(Will) Teach you the king you know you/(Not) "God's son" across the belly/(Lose) I prove you lost already
... And Nas claims the title King of New York
King of New York
King of New York is a 1990 American crime drama film, starring Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Victor Argo, and Giancarlo Esposito. It was directed by independent filmmaker Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St...
by mentioning the following line after Second Verse:
The king is back, where my crown at?
The positive response to "Ether" created enormous interest in the rivalry throughout the hip hop community, the music media and even mainstream news outlets. On Takeover, Jay-Z issued a warning that goes as follows:
Don't be the next contestant on that Summer Jam screen/Because you know who (who) did you know what (what)with you know who (yeah) but just keep that between me and you
Many speculated what Jay-Z was talking about while others dismissed it, believing it to be nothing of importance. Those questions would be answered as the rapper's response was prompted in a radio freestyle that became known as "Super Ugly" Jay-Z offered:
Me and the boy A.I. got more in Common than just ballin and rhyming...get it? More in Carmen
and later/
And since you infatuated with sayin that gay shit/Yes, you was kissin my dick when you was kissin that bitch/Nasty shit, you though I was bonin Vanette/You callin Carmen a hundred times I was bonin her neck/You got a baby by the broad you can't disown her yet/When does your lies end? When does the truth begins?/When does reality set in or does it not matter? Gotta hurt I'm your baby mama's favorite rapper
In the song, Jay-Z alluded, accusations that were later proven true, that he had an ongoing sexual relationship with the mother of Nas's child, Carmen Bryan. The song also alleges that Bryan also had a relationship with Philadelphia NBA star Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson
Allen Ezail Iverson is an American professional basketball point guard and shooting guard. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the number one pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1996–97 season...
(A.I.). This release was not as well received as the previous three tracks had been. The feud continued to simmer, and rumors of a live pay-per-view freestyle battle began to circulate but never came to fruition.
After the promoters of Hot 97's Summer Jam festival refused to allow headlining Nas to hang an effigy of Jay-Z during his performance at 2002's show, he appeared on Hot 97's rival Power 105 and attacked both the music industry's control over hip hop and the rappers who he saw as submitting to it, including Jay-Z, Nelly, N.O.R.E. and Jay-Z's label mate Cam'ron : "Y'all brothers gotta start rapping about something that's real. [...] Rappers are slaves." This also embroiled Cam'ron into the Jay-Z/Nas feud, in which Cam'ron controversially made disparaging remarks about Nas' mother. It is quite ironic to remark, however, after Cam'ron was able to receive his label after his group the Diplomats, Cam'ron turned around and attacked Jay-Z in Winter 2005. After this incident both continued to go against one another on various tracks, the shots taken including Jay-Z criticizing Nas for his apparent hypocrisy on his The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse album's title track. Jay-Z also disses many other people and mass media in this track:
And y'all buy the shit, caught up in the hype/Cause the nigga wear a kufi, it don't mean that he bright/Cause you don't understand him, it don't mean that he nice/It just means you don't understand all the bullshit that he write
But he goes immediately back to his feud...:
Is it "Oochie Wally Wally" or is it "One Mic"?:/Is it "Black Girl Lost" or shorty owe you for ice?/... (omitted four lines)/When the grass is cut, the snakes will show/I gotta thank the little homie Nas for that though/Saving me the hassle of speaking to half of these assholes/And I'ma let karma catch up to Jaz-O, whoa/I'm back before you had a chance to miss me/My mama can't save you this time, niggas is history/Who you know flow vicious as me?/Yet so religiously, that's why they call me Hov/I get the spoils cause the victor is me (me, nigga)/You're an actor, you're not who you're depicted to be/The street dreamin, all y'all niggas living through me/I gave you life when niggas was forgetting you emcee/I'm a legend, you should take a picture with me/You should be happy to be in my presence, I should charge you a fee
Jay-Z is mentioning in lyric, the Public apology he had to make because of the few lines in song Super Ugly upset Jay-Z's mother, making him forcefully apologize after track played over the New York City's radio stations. He also mentions that Nas's album God's Son is too "religious", and not him. Street Dreams is a track from I Am..., which also samples 2Pac's beat (like Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow were well-known outlaws, robbers, and criminals who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. Their exploits captured the attention of the American public during the "public enemy era" between 1931 and 1934...
'03). Jay-Z explicitly claims that he gets the spoils, in this case, The Throne of New York, because he's simply better.
Meanwhile, Nas compared himself and Jay-Z to the characters Tony Montana
Tony Montana
Antonio Raimundo "Tony" Montana is a fictional character from the 1983 film Scarface. He is portrayed by Al Pacino in the movie, and is voiced by André Sogliuzzo in the 2006 video game Scarface: The World Is Yours. Tony Montana has become a cultural icon and is one of the most famous movie...
and Manolo respectively from the film Scarface
Scarface (1983 film)
Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
, on his track "Last Real Nigga Alive" from his God's Son album. However, the feud died down somewhat towards the end of 2002, with no real winner decided (arguments go on to this day in the hip hop community about who came out on top overall, with the results of a Hot 97 radio phone-in revealing a 58% - 42% split in favour of Nas), and both Nas & Jay-Z have since paid tribute to each other in interviews, likening the battle to a world title boxing match that pitched the best against the best, and pleased with the entertainment it provided fans.
The rivalry also benefited both of their careers immensely, critically and commercially. The battle was significant, in that it revived the trend of using ‘beef' as a source for publicity and promotion for hip hop artists. This was a trend that became somewhat unpopular following the tragic deaths of 2Pac and Biggie, yet has become recently prevalent within the hip hop community. Ever since this particular rivalry, hip hop feuds have become noticeably prolific, and have been publicized within the mainstream media more than they previously had been in the past.
In what may be perhaps a pivotal moment in hip hop history, the feud was formally ended in October 2005 at Jay-Z's I Declare War" concert, where Nas made a special guest appearance and performed the hook to "Dead Presidents" and a few of his own tracks such as "NY State of Mind" and "Hate Me Now". In 2005 at another 105.1 concert Jay and Nas reunited on stage and performed a song together. In January 2006, Nas signed with Jay-Z's Def Jam, further emphasizing the truce and raising expectations for a possible collaboration. Nas and Jay-Z are now best friends and are coming out with a new single called "There's more than One King" expected to release September 2006.
Benzino vs. Eminem
For further information see Benzino article (more information at The Source article). The SourceThe Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...
magazine attempted to "destroy" Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
and his Aftermath counterparts
Although it is not clear why Benzino
Benzino
Raymond Scott from Boston Massachusetts, better known by hisstage name Benzino is an American hip hop media executive, and record producer....
, then co-owner of The Source Magazine, decided to air out his issues with multi-platinum rapper Eminem, he claims that Eminem's success was hurting Black and Latino artists. He started a campaign against the corporations that are controlling and supporting Eminem. Benzino stated that Eminem can talk about dark emotions, while Black rappers are forced to talk about bling-bling (materialistic things).
One possible contributing factor for Eminem's concerns was Benzino's rating of his critically acclaimed and 9x platinum second album The Marshall Mathers LP. The Source gave him a 2-mic rating (changed to 4 mics following protests) for his critically acclaimed album, while Benzino's Made Men were given 4.5 mics. Eminem was upset and he blasted the magazine on the track "Say What You Say" from his follow-up album The Eminem Show, rapping in the final verse, "Five mics in The Source ?, ain't holdin' my fuckin' breath/But I'll suffocate for the respect 'fore I breathe to collect a fuckin' check."
Benzino released two songs directed at Eminem, titled "Pull Ya Skirt Up" and "Die Another Day", the latter of which included the lyrics "You're the rap David Duke/The rap Hitler... I'm the rap Malcolm, the rap Martin". Benzino has explained in interviews that he fears Eminem's fame is the beginning of the end for the Black domination of hip hop; he has also linked Eminem with the consumerism of modern hip hop, complaining that while Eminem is allowed to rap about deeply personal issues he has to "talk about bling-bling
Bling-bling
Bling is a slang term popularized in hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious or elaborate jewelry and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn or installed, such as cell phones or tooth caps....
because that's all the people who control the images want to hear from us". However, many observers noted that not only is Benzino bi-racial himself, but that Dave Mays, co-owner and founder of The Source, is white.
Eminem responded quickly to Benzino's track with the songs "Nail In The Coffin" and "The Sauce", calling him an "83-year-old fake Pacino", and questioning the credibility of both Benzino as a rapper and The Source as a magazine. Most of the hip hop community stood behind Eminem (including most famously Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
), and many accused Benzino of criticizing and slandering hip hop's biggest star solely to both boost his unsuccessful career as a rapper and to boost the profile of The Source magazine, which unsurprisingly sided unequivocally with Benzino during the feud and ran a series of anti-Eminem and anti-Shady/Aftermath articles and features. The Source coverage no doubt aided Benzino's cause among many, for many others it further soured the name of a magazine which already had a reputation for being corrupt. Despite criticizing Eminem and his label-mates such as Dr Dre and 50 Cent within its pages, The Source continued to put these prolific record-selling artists on the cover of the magazine.
Interscope artists began to flock to XXL, who happily granted them increased coverage, which in turn boosted sales for the magazine.
The Source tried to score an advancement by released details of two tapes of a young Eminem it had received, featuring the future star rapping about how black women are "only after your money" in romantic relationships (he had apparently just suffered an acrimonious split from a black girlfriend) and in another song using the word "nigger". This caused considerable outcry among many rappers, though few said anything more damning than asking for a public apology. Eminem did in fact publicly apologize quite promptly, and later elaborated further on the incident in the song "Yellow Brick Road" from his Encore album.
But I've heard people say they heard the tape, and it ain't that bad:But it was, I singled out a whole race:And for that I apologize, I was wrong Cause no matter what color a girl is she's still a hoe
The Source did not gain anything from the long-running feud: not only were they forced to pay a substantial sum of money to Eminem for defamation and copyright infringement, but The Source lost major advertising as a result, most notably from major labels Virgin, Elektra, Interscope, Motown, and more recently Def Jam. It's noted that Benzino has recorded an album from each of the labels before they pulled out of The Source Magazine. The hip hop magazine XXL also became involved in the Eminem/Benzino/Source rivalry. XXL
XXL (magazine)
XXL is a Hip-Hop magazine, published by Harris Publications.In 1997, XXL was founded by former Source staffers as well as other Harris Publication employees, who wanted to create their own magazine about the hip-hop music and culture using the model developed by the founders of The Source...
, formerly an enemy of Eminem, decided to join forces with Shady Records to discredit The Source. The magazine that launched in 1997, has always been in competition with The Source for readership, and indeed was initially started by former Source employees. Dissing Benzino on "Nail In The Coffin", Eminem tells the Source co-owner "I don't need your little fucking magazine / I got XXL's number anyways...". With the entire Interscope label effectively involved in Eminem's feud with The Source, Interscope artists began to flock to XXL, who happily granted them increased coverage, which in turn boosted sales for the magazine.
Lots of Benzino's diss was aimed not only at Eminem, but also to Aftermath and Eminem's own Shady Records
Shady Records
Shady Records is an American record label specializing in hip hop music. Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg founded the label in 1999 after the release of The Slim Shady LP.Since the formation, the label has signed nine acts...
's artists. The only Aftermath's rappers who referenced to the Source's CEO were, cronologically, 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
("Fuck The Source, I'm on the cover of Rolling Stone", from the song "The Realist Killaz"), Young Buck
Young Buck
David Darnell Brown , also known as Young Buck, is an American Southern rapper. Buck is a former member of the New York City Hip-Hop group G-Unit, also a former artist of G-Unit Records as of Nov 26, 2011...
("G-Unit that's what it is, that's what it's gon' be/Benzino or ohe Source can't hold me" from "Prices on my Head") and Game ("Picture this, The Source suckin Benzino's dick" from "Start from Scratch").
It has been accepted that Eminem won the battle. Also, it was obvious to many that Benzino had started the feud as nothing more than a publicity stunt to bolster his non-existent reputation in Hip-Hop. He and Dave Mays were recently fired from the staff of The Source(The magazine even saying on the top of the front page "Now 100% Benzino free"). The magazine, under new leadership, reported in the April 2006 issue about Benzino and Mays' ouster that they currently are patching up many relationships damaged by the actions of Mays and Benzino, including that with Interscope Records.
LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee
Kool Moe DeeKool Moe Dee
Mohandas Dewese , better known as Kool Moe Dee, is an American Hip Hop MC prominent in the late 1970s through the early 1990s. He was born in Manhattan, New York...
was a member of one of the earliest hip hop crews, the Treacherous Three
Treacherous Three
The Treacherous Three was a pioneering hip hop group that was formed in 1978 and consisted of DJ Easy Lee, Kool Moe Dee, L.A. Sunshine, Special K and Spoonie Gee , with occasional contributions from DJ Dano B, DJ Reggie Reg and DJ Crazy Eddie...
, and claimed that LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
stole his style, thus causing a long-running feud between the pair. From different interviews and magazines at the time, Kool Moe Dee felt that LL was getting a bit too big headed and actually believing his own hype, particularly when LL was rising to popularity with the Bigger and Deffer
Bigger and Deffer
Bigger And Deffer , is the second studio album by rapper LL Cool J and is remembered most for containing the first commercially successful "rap ballad", "I Need Love". It also contains the single "Go Cut Creator Go", which paid homage to his DJ, and the breakthrough single in the U.K. "I'm Bad"...
album. Supposedly, Moe Dee approached LL and talked to him, and LL either brushed him off, or went back to his old ways after the talk. There also arose rumors that Moe Dee felt that LL was imitating his rhyme style. Whatever the cause, Kool Moe Dee took the first shots with, "How Ya Like Me Now," the title song from his second solo album that featured on the cover Kool Moe Dee leaning against a Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
and a LL trademark Kangol
Kangol
Kangol is a British clothing company famous for its headwear.Founded in Cleator, Cumbria, England in 1938 by Jaques Spreiregen, Kangol produced hats for workers, golfers, and especially soldiers...
underneath the tire. The album contained the indirect diss track of the same name. While the album cover was a clear shot, "How Ya Like Me Now," was more subtle. Although he did not refer to any specific name, Kool Moe Dee made it clear that he felt bitten by what he viewed as an amateur. Taking this as a sign of disrespect, the then teenaged LL responded with the energetic "Jack the Ripper." In the song LL playfully taunts Kool Moe Dee by repeatedly asking the rhetorical question "How you like me now?" He then precedes to call Kool Moe Dee a "washed up rapper" and an "old school sucker punk."
It was then that Kool Moe Dee released his famous diss record, "Let's Go", rhyming: :"Tryna be me, now LL stands for/Lower Level, Lack Luster/Last Least, Limp Lover/Lousy Lame, Latent Lethargic/Lazy Lemon, Little Logic/Lucky Leech, Liver Lipped/Laborious Louse on a Loser's Lips/Live in Limbo, Lyrical Lapse/Low Life with the loud raps, boy
The sequence ended with the following:
"...Now look what you done did:just using your name I took those L's,hung 'em on your head and rocked your bells...
The song's technical skill level and wittiness were of such high caliber that many felt Moe Dee had become the victor in the battle. In effect, he had; as LL did not release a response for a full two years. By not responding to Moe Dee and choosing to ignore him, despite being badly insulted on a whole record, LL opened himself up to be dissed by everyone, including MC Hammer and Ice-T. It was during this time that LL abandoned his hardcore image that popularized him, and instead, embarked on a different musical direction towards a more commercial fare (which emphasized New Jack Swing-love ballads). However, critics scoffed at this new direction with the release of Walking With a Panther
Walking with a Panther
Walking with a Panther is the third studio album by high-selling hip-hop artist LL Cool J. Released in 1989, the album was a commercial success, with several charting singles...
(1989). These events coincided with the major stylistic change hip hop began experiencing during the late-1980s. The genre was becoming increasingly socially conscious, abandoning the music's early themes of partying and braggadocio, and adopting more socially aware issues such as drug abuse, poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, and African American empowerment. LL Cool J, as a result, experienced a drop in popularity due to the view that his music was behind the times, materialistic and narcissistic. All this, coupled with a lot of criticism towards Walking With a Panther, and LL's apparent disregard for the overall changing of the Hip Hop collective to social awareness and consciousness, resulted in the deterioration of LL's credibility within the hip hop community. In one instance, he was booed off the stage at the Apollo Theater in New York City. However, in 1990, the older and wiser LL released the highly anticipated comeback album, Mama Said Knock You Out, thus reasserting his status and reviving his credibility amongst hip hop purists. Showing his resiliency, LL re-ignited his feud with Kool Mo Dee with the comical diss track, "To The Break Of Dawn".
Homeboy hold on, my rhymes are so strong/Nothing can go wrong. So why do you prolong/songs that ain't strong, brother you're dead wrong/and got the nerve to have them Star Trek shades on.../heh, you can't handle the whole weight/Skin needs lotion
Lotion
A lotion is a low- to medium-viscosity, topical preparation intended for application to unbroken skin. By contrast, creams and gels have higher viscosity.Lotions are usually applied to external skin with bare hands, a clean cloth, cotton wool or gauze...
/Teeth need Colgate
Colgate (toothpaste)
Colgate is an oral hygiene product line of toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes and dental floss.-Duraphat:Duraphat is a professional strength paste intended for the treatment and prevention of dental caries....
/Wise up, you little burnt up French fry/I'm That Type of Guy
In essence, LL became the first emcee beaten in battle, to ask for a rematch. LL followed the song with several subliminal attacks in other records (a battle practice for which he is known), including the title track, as well as "Jingling Baby
Jingling Baby
Jingling Baby was the final single released from LL Cool J's third album, Walking with a Panther. It was released on January 8, 1990 for Def Jam Recordings and was produced by LL Cool J, The L.A. Posse and Marley Marl. Jingling Baby peaked at #32 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs...
," and "Murdergram." Moe Dee soon responded to all of the tracks with the single, "Deathblow,".
LL Cool J vs. Canibus
After the large-scale beef between 2Pac and various East Coast artists, and the resulting deaths of 2Pac and Biggie, many MCs and fans began to feel paranoid that any further battles might escalate to the same level. The first high-profile battle since then became the late '90's Canibus/LL rivalry, which gained much attention partially because fans were afraid things might get out of hand.The battle began when LL brought in Canibus
Canibus
Germaine Williams , better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-born American rapper. He is a part of supergroup The HRSMN. Canibus rose to fame in the mid-nineties...
, Method Man
Method Man
Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
, DMX
DMX (rapper)
Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...
and Redman for the Phenomenon song "4,3,2,1" in 1997. Canibus contributed a verse, which included the line "L, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that" (referring to the tattoo of a microphone LL did indeed have on his arm). LL wrote a response into his own verse, claiming he felt disrespected: "The symbol on my arm is off limits to challengers...You don't wanna borrow that, you wanna idolize." Before the song was released, Cool J asked Canibus to change the line. Canibus claims that LL also promised to remove his lines as well. LL denies this, claiming that he told Canibus that no one would know who he was talking about if Canibus' verse was changed.
Nevertheless, Canibus complied, and the song was released. However, the original version began surfacing, and people started piecing together what had happened. Canibus began telling fans the full story, saying he was mad that Cool J had not removed his response. He went on to diss LL with the single "Second Round K.O.," featuring LL Cool J's one-time friend Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
cheering Canibus on in the background.
LL's response was titled "The Ripper Strikes Back," where he attacks not only Canibus, but Mike Tyson, Canibus' producer Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean is a Haitian musician, record producer, and politician. At age nine, Jean moved to the United States with his family and has spent much of his life in the country...
and the rest of The Fugees
The Fugees
Fugees were a Haitian American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of Hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel...
. LL then followed that with another track entitled "Back Where I Belong," where he accused Canibus of biting his rhymes and saying Bis was a Canadian claiming to be from New York City. Canibus responded to both songs with the track "Rip the Jacker." This would later spawn his alter-ego, an aggressive battle-rapper by the same name.
Wyclef responded to LL's initial attacks in "The Ripper Strikes Back" with his own song "What's Clef Got to Do With It;" LL retaliated with the underground track "Rasta Imposter." Wyclef and Cool J have ended their own feud; the main beef has since declined to subliminal potshots, with neither directly and openly dissing the other, and seems unlikely to heat back up.
50 Cent & G-Unit vs. Ja Rule & Murder Inc.
Before even signing to Eminem's and Dr. Dre's labels, 50 Cent50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
was engaged in a well-publicized dispute with rapper Ja Rule
Ja Rule
Jeffrey Atkins , better known by his stage name Ja Rule, is an American rapper, singer, and actor.Born in Hollis, Queens, he began his career in the group Cash Money Click and debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single "Holla Holla"...
and his label Murder Inc. Records. The conflict's origin remains a mystery. Accounts have ranged from an alleged robbery of Ja Rule's jewelry by a friend of 50's, to Ja Rule and Murder Inc. supposedly snubbing a young and star-struck 50 Cent at a video shoot. Whatever the case, the hostility did not reach public ears until 50 Cent released his fiery, but subliminal, diss track, "Life's On The Line." This led to two violent confrontations between the rappers. The first a meeting where 50 Cent punched Ja and snatched his chain. The second confrontation occurred in a New York studio, where rapper Black Child, a member of Murder, Inc. stabbed 50 Cent. Black Child claimed that 50 Cent was reaching for a gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
during the fight.
Regardless of the physical repercussions, 50 Cent continued to make the rivalry a cornerstone of his music career. He released numerous mixtapes, clowning and insulting Ja Rule and Murder Inc. Before the release of Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (album)
Get Rich or Die Tryin is the debut studio album of American rapper 50 Cent, released February 4, 2003, on Aftermath Entertainment under a joint venture with Shady Records and distribution by Interscope Records. Its initially planned release was pushed seven days ahead due to heavy bootlegging and...
, Murder, Inc. began a smear campaign against the rapper. A restraining order document began floating around the Internet stating that 50 Cent had filed an order of protection against label CEO, Irv Gotti and Black Child. This helped forge the belief that 50 Cent is a "snitch" or a police informant.
Although 50 Cent dismissed the claims, the bad publicity continues to be a tool used among various rappers who engage in beef with his rap collective G-Unit
G-Unit
G-Unit is an American hip hop group originating from New York City formed by 50 Cents. G-Unit emerged on the New York scene by independently releasing several mix tapes...
. In fact, further investigation from New York lawyers found that the document could have been, and was most likely, signed by a judge without 50 Cent's consent or knowledge. The practice is common place in New York for victims of multiple attacks when their assaulters are released from jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
.
The rivalry reached a boiling point for Murder Inc., which had remained silent for the most part, when 50 Cent released his second album-length battle rap, entitled "Back Down." In the song 50, who was always known for his hold-no-tongue approach to battling, insulted, joked and dissed Ja Rule and his label into action. In response, Black Child, along with fellow Murder Inc. rapper Cadillac Tah, countered with their own mix tape disses. Ja Rule, however, remained quiet. 50 Cent continued his barrage, releasing the Tupac assisted "Realest Killas" where he addressed Ja Rule's penchant for imitating the slain rapper. This prompted Ja Rule to finally respond with the songs "War is On," "Guess Who Shot Ya" and "Loose Change." This all culminated into Ja Rule releasing "Blood In My Eye," which was, in effect, a 50 Cent diss album.
Ja Rule eventually tried to squash the beef with 50 Cent by using Minister Louis Farrakhan in a televised interview. However, the attempt at peace lost credibility as the interview was scheduled a day before Blood In My Eye was released. As a result most fans, along with 50 Cent dismissed the interview as a blatant publicity stunt.
Ja Rule also had a small rivalry with 50's label-mate, Eminem. Ja Rule insulted Eminem's ex-wife and daughter in a song titled "Loose Change" and Eminem responded on a mix tape by DJ Kay Slay
DJ Kay Slay
DJ Kay Slay is an American hip hop deejay. He was referred to by the New York Times as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults". He has sold 350,000 copies of his two official albums.-Early life:...
with a freestyle collaboration with 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
in a Tupac parody titled "Hail Mary 2003" - a remake of "Hail Mary
Hail Mary (2Pac song)
"Hail Mary" is Makaveli 's last single from his final album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory featuring Kastro, Young Noble and Yaki Kadafi of The Outlawz & Prince Ital Joe. A music video was shot for the song....
" by Tupac (another motivation for this song was "So Much Pain", Ja Rule's remake of the Tupac song "Pain") - "Doe Ray Me (Hailie's Revenge)" also was made in response to "Loose Change". Although they exchanged heated words, most fans did not take it seriously in the shadow of 50 vs. Ja Rule. Eminem also dissed him with another underground song with G-unit entitled "Bump Heads" (and various other songs with out the G-Unit).
Since then, 50 Cent's second album, "The Massacre," sold millions, yet has been criticized for not being able to recapture the level of hype "Get Rich or Die Trying" set. Ja Rule released "R.U.L.E" with the successful single, "New York," featuring Jadakiss
Jadakiss
Jason Phillips , better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records.-Early life:By the age of 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle...
and Fat Joe
Fat Joe
Joseph Antonio Cartagena , better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad....
. Interestingly enough, this single prompted 50 Cent to enter a feud with the two featured artists (See article on Piggy Bank for details). When Eminem called it quits in "Like Toy Soldiers," Ja agreed, saying that he was exhausted with feuds and has recently released a greatest hits album entitled, "Exodus."
Although it seemed as the feud was over, Ja Rule has returned to the beef with "21 Gunz" which is to debut on the Murder Inc Mix tape: MI:3 Friday, May 12, 2006[1]. It can be heard, along with some of his other new songs on his Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
site[2]. On the mix tape Mo Money in da Bank Pt 4, Lloyd Banks
Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd , better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Raised in South Jamaica, Queens, he dropped out of high school in 1998. G-Unit released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. in 2008...
and 50 Cent replied with "Return of Ja Fool".
'Tracks Released'
- G-Unit's Side
- G-UnitG-UnitG-Unit is an American hip hop group originating from New York City formed by 50 Cents. G-Unit emerged on the New York scene by independently releasing several mix tapes...
- Cocaine Dreams
- Order Of Protection
- 50 Cent50 CentCurtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
- Back Down
- Life's On The Line
- Wanksta
- I Run NY (Feat. Tony YayoTony YayoMarvin Bernard , better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is a Haitian American rapper and member of the hip hop group G-Unit...
)
- Lloyd BanksLloyd BanksChristopher Charles Lloyd , better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Raised in South Jamaica, Queens, he dropped out of high school in 1998. G-Unit released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. in 2008...
- Return Of Ja Fool (Feat. 50 Cent)
- EminemEminemMarshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
- Bump Heads (Feat. G-Unit)
- Doe Rae Me (Feat. D12D12D12, an acronym for The Dirty Dozen, is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. D12 has had chart-topping albums in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia...
& Obie TriceObie TriceObie Trice III is an American rapper and songwriter. He began rapping at the age of 11, and is most known for his time spent signed to Shady Records. Obie Trice has formed his own record label, Black Market Entertainment.-Biography:...
) - Hail Mary 2003 (Feat. 50 Cent & Busta RhymesBusta RhymesTrevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
) - Bully
- Go To Sleep (Feat. Obie Trice & DMXDMX (rapper)Earl Simmons , better known by his stage name DMX, is a multiplatinum American rapper and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s. His stage name pays tribute to the Oberheim DMX drum machine, an instrument he used when he made his own rap beats in the 80's...
) - Like Toy SoldiersLike Toy Soldiers"Like Toy Soldiers" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fifth album Encore. The song samples 1989 song "Toy Soldiers" by Martika and the title theme from 1972 film The Hot Rock...
(Truce Song)
- Obie TriceObie TriceObie Trice III is an American rapper and songwriter. He began rapping at the age of 11, and is most known for his time spent signed to Shady Records. Obie Trice has formed his own record label, Black Market Entertainment.-Biography:...
- Shit Hit's The Fan (Feat. Eminem & Dr.Dre)
- We All Die One Day (Feat. Lloyd Banks, 50 Cent & Eminem)
- Outro (Feat. D12)
G-Unit vs. The Game
Not long before this feud began, The Game had been signed to G-Unit Records (while simultaneously signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment), and had subsequently achieved great success with his album The Documentary and the singles "How We Do" and "Hate It Or Love It", both of which featured 50 Cent.However, the sudden feud between the pair (who had been marketed as close associates, almost in a mentor/protege relationship) started from alleged rumors that The Game had recorded with former G-Unit nemesis Joe Budden on a track that was released in 2004. Things escalated after 50's second album, The Massacre, was released and had several lyrics dissing other rappers; among them Nas, Fat Joe and Jadakiss; The Game soon appeared on New York radio claiming he had no beef with any of the rappers 50 Cent targeted, and was not involved. Taking offense at what he perceived as Game's disloyalty, 50 Cent appeared on the radio soon after to announce that he had officially dropped The Game from G-Unit, claiming that The Game owed him more credit for songs that he had helped in writing and recording, and that Game should have openly supported 50 in his feuds.
The Game refuted this explanation however, stating that 50's alleged jealousy over the success of The Documentary (which resulted in 50's album "The Massacre" being pushed back from February to March) caused them to feud while on tour. The beef escalated as one member of The Game's entourage was shot outside of the Hot 97 radio station in New York, landing him in the hospital. The battle appeared to be escalating dangerously, but within a few weeks, The Game and 50 Cent ended their feud, deciding to give money to charity and apologizing for their actions.
Many fans felt that the supposed feud, and particularly the incident at the radio station was a publicity stunt designed to boost the sales of the two albums the pair had just released. Nevertheless, even after the situation had apparently deflated, 50 Cent and G-Unit continued to feud with The Game, denouncing his street credibility in the media and claiming that without their support, he will not score a hit from his second album. 50 Cent also sued The Game's manager Jimmy Henchmen over unauthorized filming for a documentary about Kelvin Martin. The Game was then highly critical of 50 Cent during a performance at the Summer Jam festival, leading chants of "G-Unot". After the performance at Summer Jam, The Game responded with a hard hitting diss titled "300 Bars and Runnin'" in which it address 50 Cent and G-Unit. 50 Cent has mixed feelings towards the diss but nevertheless he responded through his "Piggybank" video. The video features The Game dressed as a Mr. Potato Head and his many other nemesis named in the song in parodies of major characters on television. The feud continued escalating, as former Bloods and fans of The Game began protesting events that feature 50 Cent and G-Unit. Recently it had been looking like more of a one sided beef with all diss track's being released by The Game. He dropped tracks such as "120 Bars" "G-Unit Crip" "360" and "Red Bandana". At the end of "Red Bandana" The Game claims 50 Cent is stealing Eminem's style by just talking and he says:
That knockoff 8 Mile shit:You can never be Eminem motherfucker:You ain't lyrically inclined enough to be Nas, Jay-Z, BIG, or Pac:And in the modern day...today, tomorrow...next week:You can't fuck with The Game nigga!:...out
In January 2006, The Game took the beef to whole a new level by releasing an entire DVD devoted to the fall out entitled "Stop Snitchin' Stop Lyin'" along with a mix tape, with a lot of claims that this would be his final involvement with the beef. After this many Game fans started stating that The Game had won the beef, until 50 Cent came out with the track "Not Rich, Still Lyin'" which featured 50 Cent imitating The Game. The G-Unit has started to respond on numerous underground mixtapes. The Recent G-Unit Radio 21 Mixtape shows a picture of Game as a stripper, which has made Game fight back again.
The people at Interscope are once again trying to deflate the situation. This feud is the first of many feuds whereas, two rappers from the same label currently engaged in rap feuds with one another.
Lil' Kim vs. Nicki Minaj
In 2009, rap artist Nicki MinajNicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
emerged to become one of the most successful female rappers of her time, and she quickly broke onto the mainstream scene. Despite her success, Minaj was accused of copying rapper Lil' Kim
Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones , better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and actress who was a member of the group Junior M.A.F.I.A.....
's fashion style. Furthermore, Minaj made a cover of Kim's The Jump Off
The Jump Off
"The Jump Off" is a Lil' Kim song. It is the first single on her multi-platinum album La Bella Mafia . The song is produced by Timbaland and features Mr. Cheeks for background vocals. The single debuted at number 95 and climbed into the Top 20 at #16....
(2003) in 2007 and presented herself as a "barbie" in Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's 2010 video to Up Out My Face
Up Out My Face
"Up Out My Face" is a song performed by American R&B singer Mariah Carey. Written by Carey, Terius Nash, Christopher Stewart the song features on her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel...
, similar to what Kim did on the song How Many Licks?
How Many Licks?
"How Many Licks?" is a Rap-R&B song with electronic hop influences released as the second single from Lil' Kim's 2000 Lil' album The Notorious K.I.M.. The song is about Lil' Kim bragging about the various men she's been with and the effects her "dolls" have on men...
(2000). Minaj admitted to being influenced by Kim, but did not consider herself to be stealing her style.
In June 2010, R&B artist Ray J
Ray J
William Ray Norwood Jr. , better known by his stage name Ray J, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.-Early life:...
, a friend of Lil' Kim's, addressed Minaj by stating "[There are] a lot of people trying to bite styles and sh**. I ain't saying no names, but you know who…" Kim also contributed to his statement by saying "We love her! We just want [her] to pay homage, so we could all rock together. It’s all about respect. You respect me, I respect you. If you don’t respect me, then f**k you." Lil' Kim and Baltimore MC Keys (who has also been attacking Minaj, to which Minaj will not respond directly) have collaborated on stage to further diss Minaj. Drake, label mate of Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
, commented on the situation by saying "I didn't respect that at all," he continued by saying "[these things] are just signs that you are losing it" and "[Kim is] supposed to be a 'G,' but that wasn't 'G' to me at all" Also 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
addressed the beef in June 2010, stating that he sees how Minaj is influenced by Kim and that it was right for rapper Diddy to call Rick Ross
Rick Ross (rapper)
William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
and Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
the "new Notorious B.I.G. and Lil' Kim." Diddy had the following to say about the situation: "[Nicki Minaj] ain't trying to swagger-jack or say nothing negative about [Lil' Kim]. I just think that Kim needs to just understand that Nicki as a whole has always been respectful of her and Nicki's not trying to be her," adding "I ain't gonna make no apologies for working with Nicki Minaj. [She is] somebody that's never said anything negative about Kim and just really has always, in my eyes, has paid homage to Kim. She's a different MC. They don't even talk about the same thing. If you're like a connoisseur of MCs and you a specialist, like what Kim has talked about and what Nicki talks about, they don't talk about the same things."
Lil' Kim answered to Drake by calling him a "straight pussy" and added that "this nigga" did not distinguish between he and Ray J disrespecting Minaj, when it really was Ray J. She explained that she was only being loyal to Ray J when he talked bad about Minaj. She also did not appreciate Drake attacking her as a female. Also, in an interview with "ThisIs50.com" she agreed with 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
that "Diddy sucked." She was upset at Diddy and considered him to be unloyal. She also mentioned that she was irritated because Minaj kept "busting shots" at her instead of giving her the respect she deserved. In that interview she also disrespected Faith Evans
Faith Evans
Faith Renée Evans is an American singer-songwriter, recording artist, record producer, actress and author. Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, Evans relocated to Los Angeles during 1993 for a career with the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B...
, Drake and Voletta Wallace.
Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
and rapper Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
replied to the situation with the song Roman's Revenge
Roman's Revenge
"Roman's Revenge" is a song performed by Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj from her debut studio album Pink Friday. It was written by Minaj and rapper Eminem, who is also featured in the song, and was produced by Swizz Beatz. It was released exclusively on October 30, 2010 through the US iTunes store,...
. Many critics considered this song a "diss" towards Lil' Kim. Mariel Concepcion of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
dissected the song stating "Nicki Minaj's highly-talked about 'Roman's Revenge' track hits the net over the weekend, and the Harajuku Barbie appears to be taking jabs at Lil' Kim." Lil' Kim fired back at the song at a club-concert, stating "I will erase this b*tch’s social security number. First of all, I don’t even need a record right now and I’d kill that b*tch with my old sh**. My records ain’t just enter the charts, they made history. What the f**k is this bullsh**, this sh** come and go!" Minaj later responded in an interview on The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show
The Wendy Williams Show is a syndicated talk show hosted by Wendy Williams that premiered on July 14, 2008, as six-week sneak peek, in Detroit, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York City. The test run was picked up for a full season that began its run on July 13, 2009 in over 70% of the country in...
by stating "they know what I'm talking about. See that's the thing when you put out records; you know only the 'guilty ones' feel like you're talking about them. So you know, if you have nothing to worry about, if you haven't came out saying stuff, if you never came out saying your ungrateful bullsh** then you wouldn't worry about it."
The first time Minaj explicitly addressed the feud was in November when she attended a radio interview with rapper and radio host Angie Martinez
Angie Martinez
Angela "Angie" Martinez is an American radio personality and occasional rapper.-Radio career:Angie Martinez got her first break in radio at the age of 16 answering hot lines at the urban radio station WQHT . There she met popular DJ Funkmaster Flex, and began working as his protégé...
. Martinez collaborated with Lil' Kim on her song "Not Tonight" in 1996. Minaj said "when I see your(Martinez') name on [the] Billboard I’ll respond to you." Also, Minaj claims that rapper Foxy Brown told her about Lil' Kim not liking her in 2009. However, Brown has denied this through twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
In November 2010, Lil' Kim's "diss" track "Black Friday," in reference to Minaj's Pink Friday
Pink Friday
Pink Friday is the debut studio album by hip hop recording artist Nicki Minaj. It was released on November 19, 2010 in both standard and deluxe editions through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown. The intended lead single from the album, "Massive Attack", flopped...
, surfaced. It served as a response to the interview done by Minaj and Martinez.
On April 5, 2011, after most thought the beef had been settled, Nicki Minaj released a fragment of a new track she made, called "Tragedy." It was allegedly scheduled to be featured on Lil' Wayne's album, Tha Carter IV
Tha Carter IV
Tha Carter IV is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011 through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records...
, however the song is not listed on the album. This song has been acclaimed to have a more direct attack than "Roman's Revenge
Roman's Revenge
"Roman's Revenge" is a song performed by Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj from her debut studio album Pink Friday. It was written by Minaj and rapper Eminem, who is also featured in the song, and was produced by Swizz Beatz. It was released exclusively on October 30, 2010 through the US iTunes store,...
" did.
Other known rivalries
- MF DOOMMF DoomDaniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for metal face, and for tracks he has produced, metal fingers...
vs. GM GrimmGM GrimmPercy Carey , also known by the stage names MF Grimm and originally Build and Destroy, is an American underground rapper, music producer and Eisner Award-nominated comic book writer from New York City.-Early life:...
DOOM and Grimm have had beef for 10 years now. They had collaborated on two albums together, but Grimm got mad at DOOM a few years ago for "mishandling money". That beef was reportedly squashed, but it is apparently back on again as DOOM recently dissed Grimm in the DANGERDOOM song "El Chupa Nibre" by referring to the Monsta Island Czars (aka M.I.C.) as "Midgets Into Crunk". Grimm responded to this by recording an entire DOOM diss track entitled "Book of Daniel" in which he rhymes "Bitch I'll pull your file". The feud remains to this day.
- MC Lyte vs. Antoinette: Antoinette was an aspiring female rapper who, presumably in order to attract attention, went after the leading female rapper of the time. The two traded insults for a year or two. Lyte's response was also fueled by claims that her rival had stolen the beat from Top Billin, by Audio Two (which included her relative, Milk D).
- Queen Latifah vs. Foxy Brown vs. Queen Pen: Its is said that Foxy Brown was spreading rumors that Queen Latifah was checking MC Foxy Brown out. Latifah was denying those rumors until Foxy dissed her in a track named "10% diss." Foxy was calling Latifah gay, and was accusing her at looking at her breasts. Queen Latifah then responded to Foxy Brown with "Name Callin' pt. 2." Latifah saying that she will "reincarnate into a pimp and slap the sh** outta these peep hoes." After that diss, Foxy then retaliated with "Talk to me." Although Foxy was dissing female rapper Queen Pen, Pen did not respond as much. She made a subliminal diss towards Foxy in "I got cha." Foxy then made up with both female Mc's later on.
- Foxy Brown vs. Eve: Foxy was claiming that Eve was saying that rapper DMX had a secret relationship with Foxy Brown. Foxy Brown had a boyfriend that was the rapper Kurrupt at the time and was denying reports that DMX had a secret relationship with her. Eve was subliminally dissing female MC Foxy Brown in the span of her 3 Cd's and claiming that Foxy has a ghostwriter as well. Foxy then responded with "Get Off" rapping "How dare you question who write my s**t Now don't forget I signed your autograph in '96."" Eve then collaborated with DMX, and Jadakiss in a track named "Were Back" and subliminally dissed her. She was rapping "I hear your rumors and your so called beefs/but it's a different story anytime we meet in the streets." The beef was squashed over the years, but the 2 female MC's are not in good terms.
- Tim Dog vs. N.W.A.: Tim Dog made "Fuck ComptonFuck Compton"Fuck Compton" is a diss track aimed at the West Coast hip hop scene in general by East Coast hip hop artist, Tim Dog.-Background:Tim Dog, frustrated at being overlooked because of the popularity of the West Coast at the time and at the apparent lack of interest in East Coast artists from record...
" to express his dismay at the rising popularity of gangsta rappers such as N.W.A. in the '90s, whom he felt were wack, but also for the same reason 50 Cent dropped How To Rob which was that rappers who dissed other rappers got more publicity. Dr. Dre responded with a skit (The $20 Dollar Sack Pyramid) on his album "The Chronic" in which it is insinuated that Dog enjoyed performing fellatio and on "Dre Day" with Snoop talking about Tim's rhyming skills: Your bark was loud, but your bite wasn't vicious, And them rhymes you were kickin were quite bootylicious. Tim Dog responded with "Bitch With A Perm" which was a remix of Snoop Dogg's hit "Gin & Juice" and "Dog Baby", a track that has a beginning similar to Dre Day.
- MC Shan vs. LL Cool J: While on tour together, a young LL played MC Shan his new single "Rock The Bells." It was not until later that Shan realized the beat LL had used was one of Shan's own. Feeling violated, Shan released the song "Beat Biter" directly calling LL Cool J out for plagiarism. LL responded, but only subliminally with "The Breakthrough."
- X-Clan vs. KRS-One: This is believed to stem from remarks KRS-One made onstage after an X-Clan concert. X-Clan responded in the song "Fire & Earth", criticizing KRS for being a humanist, among other things. KRS eventually responded in a Source magazine interview and then with the song "Build & Destroy", by which time X-Clan had disbanded.
- X-Clan vs. 3rd Bass: Militant Afro centric group X-Clan targeted the White group 3rd Bass in several songs, referring to them as "cave boys". X-Clan member Brother J has said his reason for going after 3rd Bass was not simply because they were White, but because "the corporation that was pushing them made people think that the group was Black . . . it was hard enough (for actual Black artists) to get in the door to get a decent deal in the 90s (so) do you think I am going to sit back and allow someone to bamboozle the audience and take position (ahead of those other struggling Black artists)?" 3rd Bass never clearly responded, though it is often rumored that they responded subliminally on their second album Derelicts Of Dialect (the tracks rumored to contain disses being "Herbalz In Your Mouth" and "Green Eggs & Swine").
- MC Eiht vs. DJ Quik: DJ Quik and MC Eiht were constantly dissing each other, while both had growing popularity at the time. The feud was also fueled by the fact that Eiht had ties to the Crips while Quik had ties to the Bloods. Songs Involved: DJ Quik - Dollaz & Sense, DJ Quik - Let Yo Havit, MC Eiht - Def Wish 3.
- Jay-Z vs. Terror Squad: While the beef between Jay-Z and Terror Squad member Big Pun is only rumored, the bad blood between him and Fat Joe has become increasingly publicized. Rumors state that Jay, Dame Dash and Sauce Money had an altercation with Big Pun, Fat Joe and Cuban Link in a New York club. The story goes that Jay-Z was performing drunk, and Terror Squad walked on stage and told him to get off for their set. Jay-Z punched Fat Joe and was then hit with a bottle of champagne in the head by Big Pun. After this, several subliminal disses may have been traded before Pun's death; afterward, and on up to the present, Jay and Fat Joe have sent more thinly-veiled subliminal at each other, some referencing a Roc-a-Fella/Terror Squad truce basketball game which the Roc forfeited.
- Jay-Z vs. Mobb Deep: In 2000-2001, Jay and Prodigy began a series of disses that would grow to culminate in a Summer Jam concert. While on-stage, Jay projected old pictures of a young Prodigy dressed and emulating the dance moves of Michael Jackson. According to MTV News, the long feud between Mobb Deep and Jay-Z is dead. Prodigy and Hov recently sat down to discuss doing business together. "We got friends in common," Prodigy explained about how the meeting came about. It looks like the Mobb are going to be executive producing the debut by Sam Scarfo, one of Jay's first signings upon becoming Def Jam president.
- Jay-Z vs. Cam'ron- Formerly signed to Roc-a-Fella Records, Cam'ron and Jay-Z's relationship was never more than cordial; when Jay announced retirement, Damon Dash reportedly offered Cam'ron the presidency of Roc-a-Fella. However, when Jay announced he had sold the Roc to Def Jam and was taking the offered ownership in 2005, Cam left with Dame and Biggs. In early 2006, he claimed Jay was to diss him at the I Declare War concert and released a diss to Jay. Currently Jay-Z and his representatives say he has no plans to respond but also says anything is possible. Cam'ron also released a diss called "Swagger Jacker" (also known as "I'm Not A Writer, I'm A Biter" which had Jay-Z as the artist). It showed all the lines that Jay-Z Borrowed or stole from Notorious B.I.G., 2Pac, Big L, Rakim, B.G., Snoop Dogg, Slick Rick, Nas,& Big Daddy Kane. Afterwards Jay-Z Responded With "Swagger Jacker Part 2" (Also Known As "I Don't Write Shit" By Cam'ron) where he did basically the same thing like in part one but with not only Cam'ron but also Juelz Santana (another member of the Diplomats that was signed to Def Jam). Cam'ron released 2 Disses back to Jay-Z. One on Yung Joc's "It's Going Down Remix", but only Cam'ron's verse had disses & Yung Joc's verse stayed the same. The Other diss was "Laughing At You" with fellow Diplomats member Hell Rell. They claimed that Tearra Mari's & Memphis Bleek's albums did not sell that much. Cam'ron (due to his new "killa Season" album coming out) decides to Fire more shots by Having an old person with open toe sandals, long jeans, a button-up shirt (the kind with the stripes & long sleeves), and a navy Yankee hat appear in his video for "Touch It Or Not/Wet Wipes". The most recent diss to Jay-Z was by J.R. Writer (another Diplomats member) in a song called "Serious Business" where he says that Jay-Z is biting a wrestler by making the diamond sign with his hands (the Roc-A-Fella sign), the wrestler (Diamond Dallas Paige aka DDP) in fact, has filed a lawsuit against him for taking his sign but no official claims had been made of the outcome of the case. The other claim in this song was that if Jay-Z sent Memphis Bleek against him he would beat him in a battle.
- Jay-Z vs. R. Kelly: In 2004, Jay-Z and R. Kelly commenced on what was to be a 40-date concert tour. Plagued by a string of cancelled and brief shows, the tension between the two artists reached a plateau at October 2004 show in New York's Madison Square Garden. Kelly abruptly left the stage mid-performance when he believed several fans were waving guns at him. In the ensuing backstage melee, R. Kelly and two of his bodyguards received a dousing of pepper spray from a member of Jay-Z's entourage. All dates of the tour were subsequently cancelled. R. Kelly responded by filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Jay-Z. A counter suit by Jay-Z against R. Kelly relating to the tour was later dismissed. Then, In Early 2005 Jay-Z Released a diss to R.Kelly Named "Drop It" (Which was Recorded over Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot Remix" Beat). It was a song talking about R. Kelly getting his lawyers to sue Jay-Z over the incident in Madison Square Garden. The finishing line was as follows: "You're wasting your time trying to sue S dot. Take that civil case and drop it like it's hot." Then, in response R. Kelly released the first R&B diss record "The Truth", on which R. Kelly sang about Jay-Z only caring about what can people do for him. This dispute has eventually died out.
- Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg vs. Luke: One of Dr. Dre's tracks on The Chronic was directed toward Luke in the hit single Dre Day. Luke responded with his own track "Cowards in Compton", the video for the song was parodying "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang".
- Westside Connection vs. Common: Ice Cube interpreted the Common song I Used To Love H.E.R.I Used to Love H.E.R."I Used to Love H.E.R." is a hip hop song by the Chicago-born rapper Common. Released on the 1994 album Resurrection, "I Used to Love H.E.R." has since become one of Common's best known songs. Produced by No I.D., its jazzy beat samples "The Changing World" by George Benson. A video directed by...
(which details the history of hip hop through an elaborate extended metaphor) as disrespectful towards the West Coast's contribution to hip hop. In response, Cube, along with his crew The Westside Connection, released "Westside Slaughter House," which included a Common Sense diss. Common responded with the track "The Bitch In YooThe Bitch in Yoo"The Bitch in Yoo" is a single and diss song released by rapper Common in 1996. The song first appeared on the Relativity Records compilation Relativity Urban Assault and later on Roc Raida's Crossfaderz. It was also performed live alongside De La Soul on their album Live at Tramps, NYC, 1996...
", this all of a sudden seemed to be the spark of the East Coast Vs. West Coast Beef but the beef was squashed by Minister Farrakan after Tupac & Biggie's Deaths.
- The Luniz vs. Too $hort:The Luniz had an early beef with fellow Oakland rapper Too $hort over a misunderstood lyric in one of The Luniz' songs. The artists later "squashed" their beef by appearing on a track together called "Funkin' Over Nothing." Yukmouth may be beefing with Too Short again, however, and mentions him (although not by name) On the track "Fuck Friends" from the United Ghettos of America Volume 1 CD.
- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony vs. Do Or Die & Twista: This Midwestern feud started some time between Bone Thugs's 2nd and 3rd albums, with each faction accusing the other of stealing the others style. The beef eventually dissolved, not lasting too long.
- Westside Connection vs. Cypress Hill: Cypress Hill accused Ice Cube of stealing beats, lyrics and choruses for his Friday soundtrack that they had planned to use on their Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom album. They recorded the dis track "No Rest For The Wicked" as a result. Ice Cube responded with "King Of The Hill" (credited to his Westside Connection group) to which Cypress Hill released "Ice Cube Killa" in response.
- Lil' Kim vs. Foxy Brown: Brown accused Kim of slavishly imitating her style, and Kim accused Brown of the same. Kim responded on Mobb Deep's remix of their single "Quiet Storm" and criticized Brown for using a ghostwriter. Brown responded on the Capone & Noreaga track "Bang Bang," in a verse, which unlike Kim's initial verse, included a much more direct attack. The beef reached its climax in 2001 when Kim's entourage traded gunfire with Capone-N-Noreaga's entourage outside of the Hot 97 studio in New York City. In 2005 Lil' Kim was convicted of Perjury and lying before a Grand Jury when questioned regarding the incident. She was sentenced to a year and one day at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, which she reported to on Monday, September 19.On Lil' Kim's latest album, The Naked Truth, Kim attacks Foxy Brown once again on the track "Quiet", mentioning an alleged incident where Jacki-O beat up Foxy Brown in a Florida studio, thus implying that Foxy's bad girl status is null and void. Kim aggravates the sore by threatening to go after Foxy's alleged ghostwriters.[3]
- DMX vs. Kurupt: This feud stems from DMX sleeping with Kurupt's then girlfriend Foxy Brown. Kurupt would release an attack on DMX, his record label Ruff Ryders, the rap super group The Firm, Ja Rule and producer Irv Gotti on a song called Calling Out Names which was later released on album Tha Streetz Iz A Mutha. DMX's diss track towards Kurrupt came in the form of Bring Your Whole Crew from the album Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. There has been no visible conclusion to this rivalry.
- DMX vs. Ja Rule: DMX claimed his one-time ally Ja Rule had copied his rap style, and gotten very rich as a result. Ja Rule responded by bringing up DMX's drug abuse and questioning his sexuality. DMX jumped on bandwagon when Shady Records artist were having feud with Ja Rule, releasing few diss tracks on Cradle to the Grave OST, one most well-known, Go To Sleep (Feat. Eminem and Obie Trice).
- Shady/Aftermath vs. Jermaine Dupri: Jermaine stated in an interview that he was a more capable producer than Dr. Dre or Timbaland. Dre and Timbaland took offense, although Jermaine tried to rationalize that what he meant was that he simply did more as a music producer than the other two (writing R&B song lyrics for Usher, in addition to creating his instrumentals, for example). Dre then recorded a verse ("Say What You Say") dissing Jermaine on Eminem's album The Eminem Show, mocking Jermaine for, amongst other things, achieving his initial successes with "10 and 11 year olds" (referencing Jermaine's first signed act Kriss Kross, and recent artist Bow Wow). Xzibit, at the time an artist readily affiliated with Aftermath, also mocked Jermaine Dupri in a radio freestyle, and the Atlanta producer then traded diss tracks with Dr. Dre, Eminem and Xzibit for approximately a year.
- Nas vs. Cormega: In 1996, Nas started a rap supergroup called The Firm consisting of Foxy Brown, AZ, Cormega and obviously Nas. Steve Stoute, Nas' manager and owner of Trackmasters Entertainment would only allow Cormega, Nas' longtime friend into the group if he joined Trackmasters Entertainment. Cormega refused to join and was replaced by a rapper named Nature. On tracks by Cormega off of The Realness such as "Thun & Kicko" with Mobb Deep and "You Don't Want It," Nas gets dissed. Nas responded to these disses on the track "Destroy & Rebuild" off of Stillmatic where he attacked many Queensbridge rappers. Some believe that Nas extended the beef to Mobb Deep and Nature. Cormega however made disses to Prodigy of Mobb Deep and Nas on his album The True Meaning also. Mega also released underground track "A Slick Response" that makes fun of Nas' Slick Rick-like delivery on "Destroy & Rebuild". The main diss tracks were "Love In / Love Out," "A Thin Line" and "Take These Jewels" which makes fun of Prodigy getting his jewelry stolen. Nas and Cormega have reportedly squashed their beef.
- Mobb Deep vs. Nas: In 2001, to the surprise of many, Nas shocked fans when he mentioned Prodigy on his QB diss track Destroy & Rebuild (on which he also disses former friends like Cormega, Nature, and Noreaga). Prodigy and Havoc dissed back on RIP Nas and Point Out the Clowns (on which they also diss Jay-Z). The beef was ended, briefly, in 2005; Nas brought Prodigy out at a show to promote the release of his album Street's Disciple, then dissed them again later that year on The Storm when Mobb Deep signed with Nas' rival 50 Cent's G-Unit Records.
- Wu-Tang Clan vs. Slaughterhouse: In 2009, Slaughterhouse member Joe Budden stated on a his youtube channel that he would be victorious if he got in a rap battle with Method Man. He later went on a radio station in New Jersey stating the same claim. Immediately Method Man responded saying that "I would love for Joe Budden to come at me face to face. Be a man about it Joe, come see me face to face nigga." Later Joe Budden claimed that Inspectah Deck was the weakest link in the Wu-Tang Clan. Inspectah Deck responded with the diss track "House Nigga." After hearing what Joe Budden was saying about Method Man, Raekwon came in and starting attacking the whole of Slaughterhouse. At Rock the Bells Raekwon punched Joe Budden, later Royce Da 5'9 confronted Raekwon, not much is known about what happened. Later at Rock the Bells, Royce Da 5'9 claimed they had squashed the beef.
- Eminem vs. Canibus: Eminem released the song "Role ModelRole Model (song)"Role Model" is a rap song by Eminem on his second studio album The Slim Shady LP. The song also appears on Curtain Call: The Hits bonus disc Stan's Mixtape. Eminem claimed the song is essentially about suicide, which may be mocking his own experiences in 1996. During the song, he also mocks...
" on his first LP where he mentioned Canibus in passing. Part of this resulted from LL Cool J's and Canibus's beef. Canibus believed that LL Cool J's response The Ripper Strikes Back to have been too well written and approached Eminem and asked whether he had acted as ghostwriter, which Eminem denied. They talked about collaborating which culminated in Canibus's offering a guest appearance on his with his album 2000 B.C. but Eminem declined. Later, Canibus released a song on his C True Hollywood Stories album that retold Eminem's song "Stan." In Canibus' version, the character had survived (contrary to Eminem's original track) and was bitter toward Eminem for how the rapper had treated the fictional character. The two traded diss tracks for a period, including "Can-I-Bitch" by Eminem from his Straight From the LabStraight from the LabTrivia* "We Are Americans", retitled to "We As Americans" and shortened by approximately 20 seconds, appeared on a bonus disc packaged with Encore.* "Love You More" also appeared on Encore's bonus....
EP circulating underground, before the beef appeared to fizzle out.
- EminemEminemMarshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
vs. Insane Clown PosseInsane Clown PosseInsane Clown Posse is an American hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan. The group is composed of Joseph Bruce and Joseph Utsler, who perform under the respective personas of the "wicked clowns" Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. Insane Clown Posse performs a style of hardcore hip hop known as horrorcore...
: In late 1997, EminemEminemMarshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, then an unknown local emcee, approached ICP member Joseph BruceJoseph BruceJoseph Frank "Joe" Bruce is an American rapper, record producer, professional wrestler and actor. Bruce is most commonly known as Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse . He is the co-founder of the record label Psychopathic Records, with fellow ICP rapper Joseph Utsler and their former manager,...
and handed him a flyer advertising the release party for The Slim Shady EPThe Slim Shady EPThe Slim Shady EP is a debut EP by American rapper Eminem, released on the Detroit-based record label Web Entertainment in 1997. The Slim Shady EP was released on cassette, vinyl, and CD .Eminem first introduced his "Slim Shady" persona on this EP,...
. The flyer read, "Featuring appearances by Esham, Kid Rock, and ICP (maybe)." Bruce asked why Eminem was promoting a possible Insane Clown Posse appearance without first contacting the group. Eminem explained, "It says 'maybe.' Maybe you will be there; I don't know. That's why I'm asking you right now. You guys comin' to my release party, or what?" Bruce, upset over not being consulted, responded, "Fuck no, I ain't coming to your party. We might have, if you would've asked us first, before putting us on the fuckin' flyer like this." Eminem took Bruce's response as a personal offense, subsequently attacking the group in radio interviews. Bruce and Utsler responded later in 1999 by releasing a parody of Eminem's "My Name IsMy Name Is"My Name Is" is a song by Eminem released in 1999. It is the debut single overall from his major label debut album, The Slim Shady LP. The song was ranked at #26 on "VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90's". "My Name Is" also was ranked #6 on Q Magazine's "1001 Best Songs Ever"...
" entitled "Slim Anus". Barbs between Insane Clown Posse and Eminem continued. In June 2000, Eminem physically attacked Douglas Dail, an Insane Clown Posse affiliate, threatening him with a gun in the parking lot of a car audio store in Royal Oak, MichiganRoyal Oak, MichiganRoyal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
. Eminem pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for two years probation and a US$10,000 fine. In the spring of 2001, Insane Clown Posse's road manager William Dail was arrested in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
for allegedly choking a man who waved an Eminem t-shirt in front of the band. Dail was charged for misdemeanor assault and battery. The charges were reduced to a US$100 fine after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Attempts to officially end the feud between Eminem and Insane Clown Posse have been unsuccessful, but Bruce states that the rivalry has ended.
- Nelly vs. KRS-One: The feud started with Nelly's song "#1" of his album "Nellyville" in 2002. Nelly was accused of subliminally dissing KRS-One on other songs also. KRS-One struck Nelly back with a diss in his song "Clear Em Out". Then, Nelly responded With his Verse on Beanie Siegel's "Roc The Mic Remix". KRS continued with "The Real Hip-Hop Is Ova Here" (in both the original & the remix) & he started a boycott of Nelly's "Nellyville" album but it still did not stop the sales of the album. KRS was thought to have been the loser but on Hot 97's Summer Jam On 2003, Nelly was booed off stage with people saying he was actually the loser of the battle.
- Capone vs. Mr. Capone-E: This feud started in 2000 when Capone owner of Latino Jam Records heard a song with a rapper also calling himself Capone. Capone heard rumors of Capone-E saying that Capone from is a White Correctional Officer. Capone confronted Capone-E on these rumors and Capone-E denied it, but death threats and disturbing phone calls from supposed "Hi-Power associates" say otherwise. Capone has stated in an interview that Capone-E is not even Latino, but Middle Eastern along with other members of his Hi-Power label. These statements have fueled the feud between the two rappers and their labels.
- Don Omar vs. Daddy Yankee: Former partners are feuding because Don Omar was supposed to perform after Daddy Yankee in a concert. But Daddy Yankee took his spot to get paid more. They have feuded ever since.
- Royce Da 5'9" vs. D12: In 2002, Royce called his partner Eminem and asked to be signed to Shady Records. Busy with his movie 8 Mile at the time, Eminem refused, but about a week later signed 50 Cent. Royce took this in stride, and even agreed to do the Anger Management Tour with his crew D-Elite. While on tour, D12 took offense to a line Royce had written: "Fuck Anger Management, I need someone to manage my anger". They took the line to Eminem, and from there a series of misunderstandings escalated the beef. A barfight between D12 and D-Elite culminated in Eminem and Royce not speaking, and a rekindled beef between Royce and all of D12, including his friend Proof. Detroit's radio stations were alive with the controversy, playing diss tracks back and forth which included "Smack Down"â€" D12 minus Eminem over 50 Cent's "Back Down" beatâ€" and Royce's "Shit On You" over D-12's beat of the same name. Then, He used "Malcolm X" over Capone-N-Noreaga's "Bang Bang" beat. While Royce and Eminem never directly dissed each other, the rap world focused on their relationship, mostly overlooking the friction between Royce and Proof, who had been even closer friends. In 2003, his conflict with Proof finally boiled over in a confrontation on the streets of Detroit. The two rappers' entourages gathered around them, as they spoke heatedly and brandished guns. The police arrested them, and they spent the night in neighboring cells, working out their differences. The two have since ended their beef and have been in the studio.
- Young Jeezy vs. Gucci Mane: The feud started in 2004 after Young Jeezy partially wrote and performed on Gucci Mane's hit single, "Icy". Supposedly, Jeezy was never paid properly for his services. Those in Mane's camp are said that gang members from the Macon area attacked Mane in response. Then, in 2005 Young Jeezy put a song out called "Stay Strapped" dissing Gucci Mane. Mane then responded with his song "745". Jeezy disses Mane on "Break It Down" featuring Red Cafe. Later Gucci Mane released "Round 1". The feud is still going on.
Today's feuds
- G-Unit vs. P. Diddy: This feud started when Mase was signing onto G-unit . Diddy demanded 2 million dollars from 50 Cent but refused . So far Mase has sent disses towards Diddy in mixtapes and freestyles.
- 50 Cent vs. Silverback Guerillas: Bang 'Em Smurf, and Domination were once original members of G-Unit and . Bang'Em Smurf was a good friend of 50 Cent was ready to put his life on stake for him. When 50 Cent signed to Interscope, Bang 'Em Smurf was arrested on a weapons charge. 50 Cent refused to bail Bang 'Em Smurf out of jail, even though Get Rich Or Die Tryin' had sold over 8 million copies, it eventually led to Domination & Bang 'Em Smurf leaving and conflicts between them. Both formed their own group known as Silverback Guerillas, signed to Koch Records Thru Their Own Imprint, Gangsta Flip Records. The Label Was Originally Called Silverback Guerillas, But 50 Trademarked The Name So SBG Couldn't Use It. 50 Cent nor rest of the G-Unit takes accounts of them anymore, espically after the first album for the Silverback Guerillas dropped, but Bang 'em Smurf claims he still has respect for 50 Cent.
- G-Unit vs. D-Block: Underground basis, both G-Unit and D-Block were pretty peaceful, due to Eminem's ex-DJ and Jadakiss's best friend DJ Green Lantern. However, the feud started after 50 Cent dissed Jadakiss for appearing on 50's nemesis', Ja Rule, single, "New York". The feud has grown to encompass both groups. Jadakiss responded to 50's "Piggy Bank" with "Checkmate". 50 Cent responded to Jada's "Checkmate" with "I Run New York". Jae Hood, Styles P, and Jadakiss fired back, freestyling on 50 Cent and G-Unit's beat, most notably, In My Hood Freestyle by Styles P, Problem Child Freestyle by Jadakiss and Styles P, and Be A Gentleman Freestyle by Jae Hood. Both side has been freestyling and fighting since.
- The Diplomats vs. Ma$e: His recent feud started with fellow Harlem based rapper Cam'Ron. After returning to Bad Boy to record his album, he had made comments directly at Cam'Ron, and Jim Jones of The Diplomats (known also as Dip-Set). On radio, the rappers had verbal exchanges disputing his previous comments about Ma$e's dissent towards rap. Since then, Ma$e has recorded songs discrediting Cam'Ron and Dip Set. Cam'Ron has blasted Ma$e as being a hypocrite and sinner for his "glorifying" return to gangster rap. Jim Jones blasted a song at the end of Dear Summerat him, well he might be talking to Jay-Z. Jim Jones Released a Freestyle over 50 Cent's "I Run NY" dissing Ma$e then Ma$e countered with "Murder's Back" (over the Ying Yang Twins' "Wait" & "Kamikaze") but both sounded very similar because "Kamikaze" was a longer version of "Murder's Back". Then J.R. Writer (another Diplomats member) released "Suit Up" which not only took shots at Ma$e but also at G-Unit for signing him. Juelz Santana, however, disses Ma$e in one track, but does not want to have whole beef with G-Unit crew.
- Nelly vs. Chingy: This started when Chingy originally wanted to be signed to Nelly's "Derrty Ent." label because of their affiliation with St. Louis (Chingy & Nelly's place of origin). Eventually Chingy got impatient of waiting for a deal with Nelly & signed to Ludacris' "Disturbin Tha Peace" records. The two still did not have no actual problems yet. Then it escalated when Nelly Released his album "Sweat" with the song "Another One" which was a back handed form of flattery to remind Chingy who came out first. Chingy struck back on "We Got".
- Joe Budden vs. The Game: In 2004, 50 Cent criticized Joe Budden's album for "lacking street credibility." Budden took offense and released various insults directed at G-Unit. The Game did a freestyle for DJ Clue, and then Joe Budden used the end of the freestyle without notifying The Game. While on the end, Joe Budden took shots at G-Unit. During 2004, The Game made several records against Joe Budden, notoriously the track "Buddens." The Game threatened Joe Budden and supposedly flew to New York to confront him. Joe Budden mocked The Game's appearance on the dating game show "Change of Heart". On his web site, The Game defended his embarrassing appearance on the show, saying that he was young and needed the money, also he stated on his Stop Snitchin' Stop Lyin' DVD that he was on the show with two girls making him a pimp. Later, at a party in New York, the rappers mutually announced their intention to stop making hostile records about each other, but The Game has subsequently suggested in songs and videos that he won the feud.
- Lil' Flip vs. T.I.: While out of prison, T.I. had overheard people claiming that Lil' Flip had disrespected him at a show he did in Atlanta and he felt obliged to respond. He did so at WHTA/Hot 107.9's Birthday Bash. According to www.allhiphop.com, T.I. was on a Houston radio station talking about the situation between him and Lil' Flip, and he made nasty comments about Lil' Flip repping a hood that he did not grow up in. The rapper was confronted by Lil' Flip and his crew and a fight broke out between them until someone fired shots to break up the scuffel. They since have discontinued this feud after a closed door meeting between the two. However, on T.I.'s forthcoming album King, there are two tracks which have been disputed by the AllHipHop.com community to be shots at Lil Flip ("What You Know" and "I'm Talking To You"). However in an interview with HipHopGame.com on March 24, 2006, T.I. was quoted as saying he and Lil Flip have no beef. It is now said that both tracks were actually directed to Rick Ross.
- Lil' Flip vs. Paul Wall: Flip stated that Paul idolized him even before he got his major deal. He even went so far as to claim that after his 2001 shooting, Paul told him that he was going to get a tattoo in the same spot as the bullet wound. Incidentally, Paul is friends with T.I. and has acted as his DJ at some of his shows, but Flip says that has no bearing on his issues with Paul. Flip has long maintained that Swishahouse has been copying slang and concepts from the Screwed Up Click. He says that phrases like "What it do" (now almost invariably associated with Paul Wall; also the title of the lead single from Flip's fourth album I Need Mine) and styles have been co-opted by his north Houston neighbors.
- The Game vs. Yukmouth: Yukmouth confronted The Game at a party and stated to him that he had a beef with 50 Cent. Soon a video surfaced on the Internet in which Yukmouth appeared in a studio with rappers Domination & Bang 'Em Smurf who were making a disrespectful song aimed at G-Unit. At the end of the clip, Yukmouth claims that The Game had a tongue ring. (The piercing is viewed as effeminate.) The Game fired back with performing an Ice Cube move by dissing the rap veteran over his own "I Got 5 On It" beat. Yukmouth responded with a diss track of his own which referred to the Change of Heart and tongue ring incidents. Yukmouth released a mix tape called "All Out War," attacking The Game on several tracks. The two tried to bury the hatchet and even recorded a song together in hopes of squashing the beef. However, Game wanted Yukmouth to record the track with him in Compton. Yukmouth recorded his verse and sent it to Game because he feared it was a setup. Game took this as a sign of weakness and dissed Yukmouth on the track. Yukmouth and Game have both recently said they ended the rivalry this time and recorded another song together.
- Suge Knight vs. The Game: There was a wide spread rumor that Game had been slapped by Suge Knight. Yukmouth heavily promoted this rumor during his and Game's beef. The Game responded on his website, saying that if Suge Knight had ever touched him, he would put him "6 Feet Under." After the 2005 BET Awards, associates of Death Row had their invitations to a party hosted by Ciara rescinded. Supposedly, a member of Death Row had tried to steal The Game's chain. The Game stated on his Black Wall Street web site that he dislikes Suge Knight because of "the lives he has endangered". In Miami for the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Suge Knight was shot and wounded at Kanye West's party by an unknown gunman. The Game vigorously denied involvement in the shooting, but the incident renewed efforts to pacify hip hop feuds and The Game has consequently been discouraged from attending certain events in hopes of averting retaliation.
- Yukmouth vs. G-Unit: A video surfaced on the Internet in which Yukmouth appeared in a studio with rappers Domination & Bang 'Em Smurf who were making a disrespectful song aimed at G-Unit. Spider Loc gained some acclaim for stealing Yukmouth's chain while in a night-club in Hollywood. Spider Loc took pictures wearing Yukmouth's chain and they soon spread across the internet. The chain was returned a day later as Spider was pressured to do so by a mutual friend named Ty from Soul Records. Early this year, Yukmouth put out a song where he disses Spider Loc and told what really happen about how Loc took his chain.
- The Game vs. Lil Eazy-E: There is currently some controversy between Lil Eazy-E and fellow Compton rapper The Game. Although the two rappers use to be close and even collaborated they've recently had a falling out. Lil Eazy-E claims The Game is using his father's name just to help his own career. Lil Eazy-E came out with a song titled "Gangsta Shit" which takes several subliminal shots at The Game. The Game addressed Lil E on a couple of lines on "120 Bars" that stated, "Now Lil Eazy Dissin, he don't write his own raps so I gotta forgive him, I've got love for your pops and I always will, so on behalf of Eric Wright my nigga ya gotta chill". Lil Eazy-E responded with diss tracks called "E' Coming From Compton" and "They Know Me".
- The Game vs. Ras Kass: The Game claimed that Ras Kass aimed a subliminal indirect diss towards Game and his son. Ras Kass claims that the line was not directed towards him or his son, soon after Game approached Ras Kass at an LA Club with a group of people and proceed to assault Ras Kass from behind. Since then Game went to several radio stations and internet blogs talking about the altercation, while Ras Kass released two diss tracks "Gayme Over" and "Hush Little Baby". Both Ras Kass and Game have not spoken about the beef since, so it is presumably squashed.
- 50 Cent vs. Nas: 50 Cent claimed that Nas had made disparaging comments about him and his G-Unit camp while performing at a New York concert. The rapper has denounced Nas as a traitor over the allying himself with Ja Rule and Irv Gotti. He dissed Nas on "Piggy Bank" and Nas dissed him on "Don't Body Ya Self (MC Burial)". Nas however claims to still have "a lotta love" for 50 and that 50 is still bitter over Jennifer Lopez choosing a remix of her "It's Gonna Be Alright" which had a version with 50, but the version with Nas was the one that gained circulation and recognition. According to Nas, there are other situations and moves 50 did not understand Nas make when they were both together at Columbia Records. As of Summer 2006, the beef has settled down with nothing coming from either camp.
- G-Unit vs. Terror Squad: 50 Cent points out that Fat Joe had painted a target on themselves for partnering up with Ja Rule while filming a video in which the rapper took shots at him. He recorded the track "Piggy Bank" and attacked Fat Joe and other rappers for their association with Ja Rule. Then, Fat Joe attacked back on a diss called "My 44" (most referred to as "Fuck 50"). But 50 Cent was not done, he & Tony Yayo took more shots at him on "I Run NY". Even though things cooled down, at 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Fat Joe made a disparaging comment about G-Unit during a performance. 50 Cent and G-Unit retaliated on set by shouting obscenities toward Fat Joe and Terror Squad.Fat Joe attacked 50 again in the song "300 Brolic", from his album "The Elephant in the RoomThe Elephant in the RoomThe Elephant in the Room is the eighth studio album by Fat Joe. It was released on March 11, 2008.-Track listing:-Chart positions:...
"
- Dem Franchize Boyz vs. D4L: D4L say they came up with snap music and the dance and say that Dem Franchize Boyz stole it. Dem Franchize Boyz say the same thing about D4L and that D4L imitates them.
- 50 Cent vs. Shyne: 50 Cent recorded the track "Piggy Bank" and attacked Shyne for his association with Ja Rule and Murder Inc. Shyne had Irv Gotti produce his album.
- Cash Money Records vs. B.G., Mannie Fresh, & Juvenile: This beef is because of most of the labels star artists claiming that the labels CEOs Baby & Slim cheated them out of the millions. This led to most of the rappers leaving except for Lil' Wayne.
- Loon vs. Ma$e: Ma$e says that Loon stole his style and Loon calls Ma$e fake.
- Ma$e vs. Fabolous: Ma$e in several interviews said that Fabolous took his style. Later, Fabolous did a song called "Welcome Me Back" after Ma$e had come back from being a pastor in which Fabolous disses Ma$e for being fake. Mase later does a song with G-Unit which Ma$e says "I don't know why Loon & Fabby(fabolous) won't just say I'm their daddy". Fabolous later responds on his "Loso's Way" mix tape on such tracks as "Murda".
- Romeo vs. Bow Wow: This was due to a line that Bow Wow rapped in his video "Fresh Azimiz", which stated that "18 nigga makin' more than ya dad" which some took as referring to Romeo's father rap mogul Master P, but Bow Wow later said it was a line borrowed from a classic LL Cool J track. As a result Romeo responded with the track "U Can't Shine Like Me" which in the song he says 16 and I don't live home wit mother, you's a momma's boy, I'm the son of a hustla"
- Ghostface Killah vs. D4L: Ghostface disses D4L for their help in creating "snap music" in the South. He mocks them in several interviews and concerts, as well as his track "The Champ" from his album "Fishscale". (line: "Revenge is my arts is crafty darts, while y'all stuck on Laffy Taffy, wonderin' how y'all niggaz get past me, I been doin' this before Nas dropped the Nasty"). D4L has stated that they have too much respect for Killah to diss him.
- Chamillionaire vs. Mike Jones:Chamillionaire is known to have issues with former Swishahouse member Mike Jones, claiming that he is the reason Chamillionaire left Swishahouse, and going as far as devoting an entire disc of his 3-CD mixtape Mixtape Messiah to rapping about Jones, who he calls "Dike Jones". He accused Mike of slander, and as a result the first CD is mostly insulting Mike Jones in songs like "Who They Want" and "You Got Wrecked" and "Roll Call".
- Trick Trick vs. Trick Daddy: The violence with Trick Daddy began when Trick Trick visited an album release party of Trick Daddys in Miami, Florida. The initial reason for the beef is said to be the similarity in the names of the two artists. Later on, Trick Trick was jumped by associates of Trick Daddy's but Trick Trick later on joked about how weak the attempted attack was. Later that year, Trick Daddy was in Detroit doing a concert were he was allegedly ridiculing both Trick Trick and Detroit. Later on in the conver, Trick Trick and the Goon Squad rushed the stage and had a fight with Trick Daddy. It is rumored that Trick Daddy lost a tooth in that fight. To this day Trick Trick harbors resentment towards Trick Daddy and called him out on the song entitled "My Name is Trick Trick".
- T.I. vs Shawty Lo:In 2008, Shawty Lo was involved in a highly publicized feud with another Atlanta rapper, T.I. The feud was characterized by Shawty Lo's track "Dunn Dunn", and T.I.'s reply "What Up, What's Haapnin". The song "Dunn Dunn" appears to question T.I.'s roots in Bankhead. The music video for "What Up, What's Haapnin" was shot in Bowen Homes. In an interview, T.I. insisted that his song "No Matter What" was only partially aimed at Shawty Lo. The feud reached its climax at the November 2008 Dirty Awards where the entourages of both artists clashed during the ceremony, forcing it to be shut down. Two incidents forced police to use pepper-spray and evacuate the audience. The feud was publicly squashed on March 7, 2009, when Shawty Lo and T.I. appeared on-stage together at Club Crucial in Bankhead, for T.I.'s farewell concert. After this performance, T.I. gave an interview to MTV, in which he stated that the feud with Shawty Lo was exaggerated by the media, and was not a 'beef'. Shawty Lo also made a song Roll the Dice, a song which marks the end of the beef between himself and T.I.
- Lil Kim vs. Nicki Minaj: During a concert on the night of June 3, 2010, Lil Kim and Ray-J made coarse remarks about Minaj, claiming the young MC bit her style. Minaj herself admits to being influenced by Kim, but does not consider herself to be stealing her style. During one of Minaj's concerts, Drake came on stage to respond to Lil Kim's comments about Minaj. Minaj herself has not fired back at Lil Kim. Lil Kim and Baltimore MC Keys (who has been attacking Minaj, to which Minaj will not respond directly) have collaborated on stage to further diss Minaj.
- Lil Kim vs. Drake: Drake stood up for Minaj during one of her concerts. In response to Lil Kim's comments about Minaj, Drake said, "I don't give a fuck what Lil Kim or nobody else is talking about!" He continued to say that Minaj was the hottest female Mc in the public eye as of now. Lil Kim responded on radio, and called Drake a "Pussy." She said she used to like him until he attacked her, and that he should have attacked Ray-J as well because he also made remarks about Minaj.
- Tyler, The Creator vs B.o.B.: Tyler of the rap group, Odd Future, attacked B.o.B.'s song, Airplanes, in his hit song, Yonkers saying that "I'll crash that fucking airplane that that faggot nigga B.o.B is in." Tyler intended the lyric to be more about the lackluster and unoriginal music produced by B.o.B. and other popular artists. B.o.B. took offense to the lyric and released a song in response called "No Future." Tyler responded by saying that he hasn't heard that side of B.o.B. before and implied that he liked it.