When it comes to Hip-Hop, the whole culture is based on a “battle” element. From wax to now digital streaming, rappers still address what they see as a problem or competitor. Here are 5 of the most savage diss tracks in history.
Hit ‘Em Up
2Pac and Notorious BIG were close friends for a few years and were the most revered rappers at the time. After an incident at Quad Studios in NYC, things all changed. 2Pac was shot and robbed for his jewelry. 2Pac thought BIG set him up. This resulted in him creating a diss track called “Hit ‘Em Up”, which not only went after BIG, Diddy, the Bad Boy camp but other East Coasters as well. What really got at BIG is the claim that 2Pac had an affair with BIG’s wife when she had a study session with 2Pac in L.A. This continued the feud not only with 2Pac and BIG but set off a whole East/West Coast thing.
Ether
After a couple of jabs between Nas and Roc-A-Fella, Nas knew he had to come back hard when Jay-Z released “Takeover” on the critically acclaimed album, “The Blueprint.” To many, this was not only Nas’s comeback song for emcee dominance, but his album “Stillmatic” breathed new life into his career and captivated his core audience. This is still one of the most revered diss records of all time. However, Jay and Nas patched things up in a concert called “I Declared War.” They’re even featured together on a recent song called “Sorry Not Sorry” from DJ Khaled’s latest album titled “Khaled Khaled.”
No Vaseline
This is one of the most savage diss tracks in early Hip-Hop. Ice Cube was in a group called N.W.A., and he received a lot of backlash from the group when he decided to go solo after not receiving the compensation he deserved with not only performing but being one of the premiere writers for their albums. He dissed every member of the group especially the leader and CEO, Eazy E.
The Bridge Is Over
This is what you call a classic Hip-Hop battle. KRS-One was just getting his name up in the game as a new emcee. MC Shan from Queensbridge already established himself and a few records out. They had a few records back to back, but this one was the nail in the coffin. What KRS-One mistakenly thought is that MC Shan said that Hip-Hop started in Queensbridge. However, he really meant that’s where MC Shan personally got his start. Of course, we know that Hip-Hop came from the South Bronx (KRS-One’s hometown). This track was the overkill that got at MC Shan and the whole Juice Crew.
Back to Back
Drake was in rare form on this record. He’s known for mainly putting out pop-friendly hits but having good bars in his music. Also, he has a huge ladies fanbase for singing and harmonizing on his records. However, Meek Mill had a dispute with him apparently over Nicki Minaj and other issues. Drake was not going to respond back to him. However, he made sure to really take it to Meek Mill on record. Not to mention, this was also a “club” record that charted at No. 21 on Billboard. It eclipsed anything Meek would put out to respond back to Drake’s diss record.
