25 Songs Where Rappers Got Murdered on Their Own Sh*t

Some guests just don't know how to act. Check out all these featured MCs who ended up stealing the show.

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Complex Original

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Whenever one rapper reaches out to ask another to guest on their song, they risk getting stuck in a Catch-22. There's usually genuine respect there—unless the feature was mandated by the label. But either way, you don't want your guest turning in a lackluster performance since that wackness reflects badly on you. Then again, you don't want anybody jacking your spotlight either.

As Fat Joe recently explained to us, "Every time you’re rapping with somebody, it’s like a competition, but it goes without being said." There are times, as with Jay and Biggie on "Brooklyn's Finest," where two MCs go hard and the result is a win/win. But in an industry of machismo and status symbolism, something's got to give—and sometimes dudes just get outrapped.

Ever since Nas hurled those immortal words—"Eminem murdered you on your own shit"—at Jay-Z, we've been thinking about all the songs where rappers stepped in and straight bodied their hosts. That's why we're taking a trip to the land of damaged egos and career-making cameos with 25 Songs Where Rappers Got Murdered on Their Own Sh*t...

Written by Dee Phunk (of TreesForBreakfast) (@DeePhunk)

Special thanks to Alvin "Aqua" Blanco (@Aqua174) & BosNaud (BosNaud)

25. Rick Ross f/ Drake "Aston Martin Music" (2010)

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Murderer: Drake


Album: Teflon Don
Label: Maybach/Def Jam
Producer: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
Cold Cases: Bun B's "Put It Down," Lil Wayne's "Right Above It," Fabolous' "Throw It In the Bag (Remix),"

This extended version of "Aston Martin Music" doesn't appear on Teflon Don due to the fact that Drake tacked his verse on after the album was completed. After the Internet went bonkers upon hearing one of Drake's most incredible lyrical outings, it became the official video version which stayed on rotation heavily on MTV and BET. Ross' verses are damn near an afterthought.

RELATED: THE 25 BEST DRAKE VERSES OF 2010

24. Jay-Z f/ UGK “Big Pimpin” (1999)

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Murderer: Pimp C


Album: Vol. 3: The Life & Times of S. Carter
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producer: Timbaland
Cold Cases: Three 6 Mafia's "Sippin' On Some Syrup"

"In the South, I'm regarded as the guy who, quote unquote, out-rapped Jay-Z," Bun B once boasted about this song. "Not saying that I'm a better rapper than Jay-Z, but I was able to out-rap Jay-Z on a track." Bun might have a point there, but as dope as his verse is, he's still playing second fiddle to the late great Pimp C, who made this Timbo track his bitch, added it to the stable, and put it on the stroll. Drunk people in clubs nationwide rejoice at being able to sing along to his slow, trill delivery. The legacy of this verse lives on—it was even quoted at length this year on Kendrick Lamar's "Blow My High (Members Only)". Maybe that's why the video version magically boasts an extra Hov verse at the end.

23. The Fugees f/ Pace Won, Young Zee, Rah Digga & John Forte "Cowboys" (1996)

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Murderer: John Forte


Album: The Score
Label: Ruffhouse/Columbia
Producer: Fugees/John Forte/Jerry Duplessis
Cold Cases: N/A

The year 1996 belonged to the Fugees. The Score was flying off the shelves thanks to "Ready Or Not" and "Killing Me Softly." Unfortunately, those radio-friendly singles overshadowed the lyrical frenzy of "Cowboys," featuring three members of the legendary Jersey crew The Outsidaz. But it was an unknown MC by the name of John Forte who came out of nowhere at the end tore the entire song out of the frame.

22. EPMD f/ K-Solo & Redman "Head Banger" (1992)

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Murderer: Redman


Album: Business Never Personal
Label: Def Jam
Producer: EPMD
Cold Cases: Ghostface Killah's "Buck 50,"

EPMD recruits the two lightest-skinned Def Squad members, K-Solo and Redman, to rock on a track that encapsulates the sound of early '90s NYC hip-hop. In one shot, Reggie simultaneously disrespects this track and mentally-challenged people everywhere.

21. Ghostface Killah f/ U-God, Masta Killa & Cappadonna “Winter Warz” (1996)

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Murderer: Cappadonna


Album: Ironman
Label: Razor Sharp/Epic Street/Sony Music
Producer: RZA
Cold Cases: N/A

One of the rawest verses to ever appear under the Wu umbrella belongs to the always-unorthodox Cappadonna. It was almost as if he had no idea how to construct a standard verse and just kept rapping because the beat was still playing (he spits nearly 60 bars). Listening to this song is like watching the epic fight scene at the end of your favorite kung-fu movie. The track is also a timely reminder that the Wu had so much talent even the second-string members had skills.

RELATED: THE 100 BEST WU-TANG CLAN SONGS

20. Wale f/ J. Cole & Melanie Fiona “Beautiful Bliss” (2009)

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Murderer: J. Cole


Album: Attention Deficit
Label: Allido/Interscope/Roc Nation
Producer: DJ Green Lantern/Mark Ronson
Cold Cases: BoB's "Gladiators," Reflection Eternal's "Just Begun"

In 2009, Wale dropped his debut album and tried his damnest to prove he was the going to be the next big thing. Unfortunately for him, his debut album was basically a complete disaster. To make matters worse, he invited J. Cole to rhyme alongside him on "Beautiful Bliss." Cole ended up outshining Wale so bad it left us thinking we jumped the gun with Wale and should have been more concerned with Cole's debut.

19. EPMD f/ LL Cool J "Rampage" (1991)

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Murderer: LL Cool J


Album: Business As Usual
Label: Def Jam/RAL/Columbia
Producer: EPMD
Cold Cases: N/A

It must be nice when most of your labelmates are gifted emcees and you have the pick of the litter. Of course you're going to call on LL Cool J to throw a verse on a beat as crazy as the one for "Rampage." But what happens when it turns out to be one of his best guest appearances of his entire career? Grin and bear it, we guess.

18. The Roots f/ Malik B, Dice Raw & Beanie Sigel "Adrenaline" (1999)

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Murderer: Beanie Sigel


Album: Things Fall Apart
Label: MCA
Producer: The Grand Wizzards/Jay Dee
Cold Cases: Raekwon's "Have Mercy," Ghostface Killah's "Barrel Brothers," Jay-Z's "Streets Is Talking"

One thing you can't ever say about the Roots is that they don't show brotherly love to their fellow Philly compatriots—whether Eve on "You Got Me," Peedi Crakk on "Get Busy," or Beans on this song. Whoever had the presence of mind to recognize that Beanie Sigel would be a great addition to this track deserves a pat on the back. The Broad Street Bully bats clean-up on "Adrenaline" and knocks this beat clean out of the park, giving his own career a nice jump-start.

17. Lil Wayne f/ Fabolous & Juelz Santana "Nothing On Me" (2008)

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Murderer: Fabolous


Album: Tha Carter III
Label: Cash Money/Universal Motown
Producer: The Alchemist/Deezle
Cold Cases: Red Cafe's "I'm Ill"

From the hypnotic 808s of "A Milli" to smooth cuts like "Ms. Officer" and the jazzy touch of "Dr. Carter," the beats on Lil' Wanye's Carter III were eccentric as Weezy himself. That might explain why this beat, provided by The Alchemist, had a distinctively East Coast feel. But Tunechi may have made a mistake by giving Funeral Fab home-court advantage.

Bear witness to Fab putting on a punchline clinic as he spits an extended metaphor about the Wayans brothers before weaving into a long riff on Italian food. Juelz holds his own, but by the time Wayne shows up, it's just too late. He's got nothing on Fab this time around.

16. The Beatnuts f/ Big Pun “Off The Books” (1997)

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Murderer: Big Pun


Album: Stone Crazy
Label: Relativity Records
Producer: The Beatnuts
Cold Cases: Fat Joe's "John Blaze"

The almost cartoon-like, frantic pace of this beat made a perfect playground for Big Pun to showcase his rapid-fire delivery and cemented his place as one of the best to ever do it. Although we love this track, it was really just another day in the life for Pun. As Fat Joe recently explained to us, "Pun would lure in other rappers like he was their friend and then destroy them on records. That was his job in life." Guess the Beatnuts were just another one of his victims.

15. Ma$e f/ DMX, Black Rob & The LOX "24 Hours To Live" (1997)

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Murderer: DMX


Album: Harlem World
Label: Bad Boy Records
Producer: Deric Angelettie/Dame Grease
Cold Cases: Jadakiss' "Uh-Hunh!"

A textbook definition of finishing up strong: There was no way DMX wasn't going to rip this rugged and raw beat to shreds like a pitbull with an old tire. While all of the other MCs on the track seemed to be at peace with their impending lyrical demise, Earl was stuck in straight-up maniac mode. A year later, DMX's career would finally take off as he became the hottest rap in the game. And yeah, we remembered his name.

14. Nas f/ Ludacris & Jadakiss "Made You Look (Remix)" (2003)

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Murderer: Ludacris


Album: God's Son
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Producer: Salaam Remi
Cold Cases: Trina's "B R Right," Big Boi's "Tomb of The Boom," Young Buck's "Stomp," The Game's "Ya Heard"

Oh, you thought Luda was only comfortable on bouncy Southern-tinged beats? Think again. While Nas and Jada might have treated this as just another 16 to add to their illustrious portfolios, Luda came back for the first time with a vengeance. It felt like Cris was out to prove that he could hold his own alongside two of NYC's most prolific spitters. And that he did. If you don't believe us, watch the crowd reaction at the 1:20 mark here.

13. GZA f/ Method Man "Shadowboxing" (1995)

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Murderer: Method Man


Album: Liquid Swords
Label: Geffen/MCA
Producer: RZA
Cold Cases: Pete Rock's "Half Man, Half Amazin"

This is a perfect example of style trumping content. On paper, GZA has the lyrically superior lines on "Shadowboxing." But sometimes that's not enough. Method Man laces this beat so incredibly you almost wish it was his song alone. In fact, considering the fact that Meth spits two verses and GZA only spits one, we get the feeling that The Genius was well aware that Tical was killing the track and was gracious enough to let his Wu brother do so.

RELATED: THE 100 BEST WU-TANG CLAN SONGS

12. UGK f/ Outkast "International Players Anthem" (2007)

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Murderer: Andre 3000


Album: Underground Kings
Label: Zomba Music Group
Producer: DJ Paul/Juicy J
Cold Cases: Drake's "The Real Her," Devin the Dude's "What A Job,"

Before the song goes into super crunk mode, "International Players Anthem" is set off by one of the best lyricists to ever rise from the Dirty Dirty—not to mention hip-hop, period. Andre weaves a clever story detailing the complexity of the opposite sex over some horns and a church choir. It's a perfect set-up right before the bass drops in, Pimp C sets off his verse, and the song blasts that church into rubble. The only bad news is that this song started 3 Stacks' habit of focusing on crazy guest verses. Years later, there's still no solo album in sight. Guess we're going to have to keep bumping The Love Below a little longer.

11. A Tribe Called Quest f/ Leaders of the New School "Scenario" (1992)

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Murderer: Busta Rhymes


Album: The Low End Theory
Label: Jive/RCA Records
Producer: A Tribe Called Quest
Cold Cases: N/A

Not only was this song one of the best posse cuts in hip-hop history, but it single-handedly launched Busta Rhymes' solo career. Before stealing the show on "Scenario," the rambunctious young Long Island MC was just the hypest member of Leaders of the New School. With the fuse already ignited by the in-fighting amongst the members of LONS, this feature proved to be the BOOM! from the cannon. Who doesn't know this verse by heart? It's embedded in our mentals whether we like it or not—and after all these years it remains Busta's best 16 ever.

10. Kanye West f/ Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, & Bon Iver "Monster" (2010)

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Murderer: Nicki Minaj


Album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producer: Kanye West
Cold Cases: Ludacris' "My Chick Bad," Gucci Mane's "Mi Casa, Tu Casa (Remix)"

Nicki has had a ton of great guest verses, but this one was the meanest yet. Going toe-to-toe with some of the best in the game, she turned heads swiftly after unleashing this ferocious split-personality flow. No pretty Barbie smile or Taylor Swift co-signs required on this one.

9. Dr. Dre f/ Snoop Doggy Dogg “Deep Cover” (1992)

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Murderer: Snoop Doggy Dogg


Album: Deep Cover
Label: Epic Records
Producer: Dr. Dre
Cold Cases: Everything on The Chronic

Although Dre shares writing credits on this song, we all know who probably did the lion's share of the lyrical contribution. Snoop's introduction to the world came via this detailed narrative of a drug deal gone bad. Somehow, he still managed to body Dre even though he penned it. Now that's impressive. And this of course led to the inseparable bond yielded one of the most important hip-hop albums of all-time, The Chronic.

8. The Game f/ 50 Cent "Hate It Or Love It" (2005)

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Murderer: 50 Cent


Album: The Documentary
Label: Aftermath/G-Unit/Interscope
Producer: Cool & Dre
Cold Cases: Lil Kim's "Magic Stick"

50 was on fire in the mid '00s and he made himself right at home on "Hate It Or Love It"— basically making it sound like a 50 Cent song with a Game verse on it. Game shouldn't complain: This song was one of the main reasons his debut album was so successful. However, it's actually 50 was was left short-changed by this record. Curtis let Game have a song that we hear could have easily been on The Massacre which only helped booster the idea that Game's debut was better than 50's sophomore set.

7. Raekwon f/ Nas & Ghostface Killah “Verbal Intercourse” (1995)

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Murderer: Nas


Album: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Label: Loud/RCA/BMG
Producer: RZA
Cold Cases: Mobb Deep's "Eye For An Eye"

Being the first ever non-Wu member ever featured on a Wu track, on arguably the strongest debut solo effort from a Wu-Tang member is a pretty dubious honor. And Nas exploited that to the fullest. RZA's mellifluous track compliments Nas' flow like a pinky ring to a silk shirt. And they had the nerve to let him go first? Crazy. Props is a true thug's wife indeed.

RELATED: THE 100 BEST WU-TANG CLAN SONGS

6. Jay-Z f/ Kanye West & Rihanna “Run This Town” (2009)

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Murderer: Kanye West


Album: The Blueprint 3
Label: Roc Nation/Atlantic
Producer: Kanye West/No I.D.
Cold Cases: Dilated Peoples' "This Way," Kid Cudi's "Make Her Say (Poker Face)"

If there's any misconception about how superb Kanye's verse is on "Run This Town," just check the video. You can see Jay-Z mouthing the lyrics right along with 'Ye, almost as if he wished the awesome 32-bar verse was his. Yeezy didn't just rattle off one of the best raps of his career, he also defeated his teacher. When XXL asked Jay-Z about being outrapped by 'Ye he conceded the point: "As long as I've been in the game, that's going to happen, once or twice or even three times." In other words, "Yeah Ye got me, but I've won so many times—who's counting?"

5. Kanye West f/ Jay-Z "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (Remix) (2005)

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Murderer: Jay-Z


Album: Late Registration
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producer: Kanye West/Jon Brion/Devo Springstein
Cold Cases: Rick Ross' "Free Mason," Memphis Bleek's "Is That Your Chick?," Memphis Bleek's "Dear Summer," Nas' "Black Republican," Sauce Money's "Pre-Game," Original Flavor's "Can I Get Open?"

One of the first peeks we got at The Throne in action was on this remix of Kanye's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone." At the time, there were many questions surrounding Jigga following the nasty breakup of Roc-A-Fella Records and his retirement from rap to become the President of Def Jam. But all questions were answered by Jay's blazing verse. Even Yeezy had to admit defeat as he would later rhyme on "Big Brother", "On that 'Diamonds Remix' I swore I'd spaz/Then my big brother came through and kicked my ass."

RELATED: THE 100 BEST JAY-Z SONGS

4. LL Cool J f/ Canibus, Method Man, Redman, & DMX "4, 3, 2, 1 (Original)" (1997)

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Murderer: Canibus


Album: Phenomenon
Label: Def Jam
Producer: Erick Sermon/LL Cool J
Cold Cases: Lost Boyz' “Beasts from the East”

The story behind this song has become hip-hop folklore. Young Canibus gets the chance to rhyme alongside one of his idols, LL Cool J. Bus writes a rhyme with a line asking to "borrow" the mic from LL's arm (referring to the immense tattoo of a microphone and a crown on his right bicep). LL takes offense to his ostentatious request, writes a diss verse in response, but then asks Canibus to re-write his verse. The rookie obliges but then LL then releases the song with his verse still dissing Canibus. As Bus's original verse circulates on New York mixtapes, and an infamous phone call goes down, a beef brews and Canibus ends up making "Second Round K.O." You know the rest. But for the record, Canibus' original verse was 100 times iller. Even LL knew that.

3. Craig Mack f/ The Notorious B.I.G., Rampage, LL Cool J & Busta Rhymes "Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)" (1994)

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Murderer: The Notorious B.I.G.


Album: Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary...The Hits
Label: Bad Boy Records
Producer: Easy Mo Bee
Cold Cases: Tracey Lee's "Keep Your Hands High," Puff Daddy's "Victory," Pudgee the Phat Bastard's "Think Big"

This one is a no-brainer. Although it wasn't the most difficult task to outrap Craig Mack, B.I.G.'s verse from the "Flava In Ya Ear" remix remains one of his most memorable of all-time. And he didn't just murder Mack on this single, he basically deaded dude's career. Prior to this release Bad Boy seemed ready to put its weight behind Mack, but afterward it was all Big Poppa all the time. But don't be mad—Biggie contributed enough fire to make this an undeniably classic posse cut, and helped recruit some new talent for UPS in the process.

2. Jay-Z f/ Eminem "Renegade" (2001)

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Murderer: Eminem


Album: The Blueprint
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producer: Eminem
Cold Cases: Xzibit's "Don't Approach Me," Dr. Dre's "Forgot About Dre," 50 Cent's "Patiently Waiting," Game's "We Ain't"

On "Ether"—one of the most vicious diss songs of all time—Nas took plenty shots at Jay-Z's sexuality and street credibility, but the line that burned extra slow was, "Eminem murdered you on your own shit." So props to Nas for coining the term that inspired this list. And by the way, there's no denying that Nas was right.

Most of Jay-Z's album The Blueprint was built on soul but for some reason he opted to rhyme over one of Eminem's trademark haunted house tracks alongside Marshall himself. Maybe Jigga wanted to prove that he was the Best Rapper Alive by rocking with The Next Best Rapper In Line? Either way, Jay held his own but Marshall spazzed, spitting one of the best verses of his career and owned Hov on Hov's best album.

RELATED: THE 100 BEST EMINEM SONGS

1. Main Source f/ Nas, Joe Fatal & Akinyele "Live at the BBQ" (1991)

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Murderer: Nas


Album: Breaking Atoms
Label: Wild Pitch/EMI
Producer: Main Source
Cold Cases: Mobb Deep's "Eye For An Eye"

Large Pro might as well be charged as an accomplice to this murder. Back in '91, he had a secret weapon and he fired it off lovely on "Live at the BBQ." That weapon was a brash yet gifted youngster from the Queensbridge Projects named Nasir Jones. The verse established "Nasty Nas" as the second coming of Rakim, paving the way for his legendary debut, Illmatic.

RELATED: THE 100 BEST NAS SONGS

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