The 50 Best Hip-Hop Diss Songs
By Andrew Barber | Jun 23, 2011 | 12:04 pm | Permalink
What's beef? Is it when your mom ain't safe up in the street? Or is it actually the fifth element of hip-hop? Dating all of the way back to when Big Bank Hank of the Sugar Hill Gang borrowed Grandmaster Caz's rhyme book and used his lyrics without credit on "Rapper's Delight," MCs have been feuding on and off wax for years.
Hip-hop is a culture built around machismo and bravado, so backing down or losing a battle could be detrimental to an artist's career. One slip-up and you could find yourself with a one-way ticket to obscurity. Certain MCs have built entire careers around beefing with other artists, while others have had their careers destroyed with just a couple lines. But what once began as two rappers simply battling over skill has turned into big business, with parody music videos, elaborate stage shows and entire albums dedicated to the coveted battle.
The ante is constantly being upped to keep the fans entertained, so lines will be crossed while artists strive to find unique and creative ways to slander their opponents. Mothers, women and children have all been involved, and in the YouTube era, a rapper just might show up to your house with a camera crew looking for a brawl. So with beef always in season, Complex has compiled The 50 Best Hip-Hop Diss Songs for your consumption. Vegetarians beware.
Written by Andrew Barber (@FAKESHOREDRIVE)
C'mon June 23rd, 2011 at 12:17 PM
Takeover is not a better diss then Ether c'mon man people still use ether/ethered/ethering as adjectives to this day and the Fuck Jay-z sample put it over the top
Fu*k Nas June 24th, 2011 at 11:00 AM
You know who did you know what with you know who, Ain't no words gonna top fu*kin' homies baby mama. damn thats cold and ain't no eather gonna top that!!!
smh August 18th, 2011 at 03:15 PM
Takeover wasn't that good. There is a reason its still popular. Jay-z has become more commercially sucessful, but no one can fuck with Nas lyrically
DaGzz August 26th, 2011 at 10:39 PM
Preach!
dedxsad September 7th, 2011 at 08:55 PM
lol at the mother line...jay's mom heard that and made him apoligize. this list is shit. The Bridge Is Over>Ether>Takeover
dedxsad September 7th, 2011 at 08:57 PM
AND...i thought Hit em up was one of 2Pac's WORST songs. He sounded like a 2 year old kid on a temper tandrum, and Outlawz r mad wack son. Im no 2Pac hater either, I have most if not all his albums
Skip Dillenger August 23rd, 2011 at 12:41 AM
Why is it that people use "ether" for a verb/adjective for destroying someone's career or legacy when ether didn't even destroy Jay's career or legacy? The next studio album Jay released after "Ether" ("Blueprint 2") still went 2X platinum. Matter of fact "Best of Both Worlds" went platinum without a video and that was released within six months of "Stillmatic's" arrival and Jay's "Unplugged" album also went platinum and it was released the same day as "Stillmatic" if my memory serves me correct. So Nas really didn't "Ether" Jay but a lot of people's definition. The correct term for a destroyed career should from here on out be called "Ja-Ruled" 'cause he got murked, both his legacy and career.
You Lost Already June 23rd, 2011 at 01:03 PM
Classic revisionist history. The TakeOver was brutal no question but Nas took that punch and came back with Ether, which had a grown man "crying" on the radio and apologizing to his mother. Ether that shit that makes your soul burn slow.
weezyflazy June 24th, 2011 at 06:02 PM
co-sign.
Trios June 23rd, 2011 at 01:08 PM
You just lost credibility by not making Ehter #1
trios June 23rd, 2011 at 01:11 PM
ether*
rek June 23rd, 2011 at 01:46 PM
ether is not the best diss song and never will be. chill.
chavo June 24th, 2011 at 03:17 PM
Ether is not the best diss song? imagine if someone made that shit about you haha. but true shit ether is the greatest diss song of all time...people just love to hop on HOV's dick
8uL13TpRo0f July 5th, 2011 at 05:01 PM
Ether is not #1 cuz that beef was fake yo.
King Jerm June 23rd, 2011 at 01:11 PM
Pastor #48? Wow. Why make this post 50 pages long tho?
trios June 23rd, 2011 at 01:12 PM
ether*
Mig June 23rd, 2011 at 01:13 PM
Ether >
Mischief June 23rd, 2011 at 01:14 PM
"Hit em' up" should be #1 IMO, but everyone has a different opinion.
KB June 23rd, 2011 at 01:27 PM
Takeover >>> Ether! The production made Ether great but when I listen to it, all I hear is Camel face this, Big lips that! On Takeover, Jay-Z exposed Nas' past, present & predicted his future all in 1 line! "You got 1 hot album every 10 years average"! Wasnt Stillmatic made almost 10 years ago? Have yall had much interest in Nas since Stillmatic? WOW! Jay got it imo!
Jonas June 23rd, 2011 at 01:47 PM
I'm with kb on this one. Takeover is and forever will be one of my favorite diss tracks it was an all out verbal onslaught. Where i think the list failed was by not including the roc-a-fella/d-block rivalry. I still quote some of the lines Jada and beanie spit at each other.
yup June 23rd, 2011 at 01:42 PM
Drop a Gem on Em should be in the top 5 no question. Nobody went at pac like that.
Jonas June 23rd, 2011 at 01:51 PM
in response to yup, you do know they dropped that joint after pac was dead. They dropped a dud.
yup June 23rd, 2011 at 02:16 PM
in response to Jonas, you do realize that they dropped that joint about six months before pac was killed and it was on basically every mixtape around that time. It only came out on the album after pac was dead because the album got pushed back. but that song was available WAY before pac died. do your research
elite March 7th, 2012 at 03:54 AM
in response to yup You know that pac heard this and came on an radio with Sway and said that he dont even want to reply back to drop a gem on them cause they just not on there level. By replying back he would give them more attention because that fool Mob Deep would just leech of his fame. Pac is a strategically wise black brother.
Saul Goodman June 23rd, 2011 at 01:44 PM
Takeover. Since Nas had help from Jaz-O on Ether.
Bob June 23rd, 2011 at 02:11 PM
He got help from premo to he is the one who told nas to call jay a camel
slang June 25th, 2011 at 08:46 AM
how do you think Jay got those pics of prodigy in the michael jackson suit to put on the summerjam screen (not ballerina suit as he would have you clowns believe)you dumbass...what through his own brand of sherlock holmes columbo sleuthing? everyone gets help with their disses
lionofbedstuy June 25th, 2011 at 09:01 PM
What does displaying a picture on a screen have to do with building a song that insults another person? LOL what a moron. Nas has always had ghostwriters, maybe not actually writing the pieces, but telling how to write and think. You fucks always talking about Jay-Z dickriders. I don't even know how with Nas's dick all up in your mouth.
Kieran June 27th, 2011 at 03:27 PM
You are the Moron Because In "Takeover" Hov ALSO DISSED PRODIGY. and he put that "Ballerina" Picture (Of Prodigy) up on the Screen @ Summer Jam 2001. But Nas Was the only one to respond. And I Love Jay-Z over EVERYBODY. But Ether KILLED Takeover. There you go Smart ass.