A Recent History of Vicious Interview Disses in Rap

It was a calm Friday night in NYC on April 12. Calm that is, until Drake hopped on East Village Radio with Elliott Wilson to talk about his career, his love life, and Chris Brown. It was the shot heard around the world—"His insecurities are the reason I make better music than him...I'm more popping than him...At one point the woman he loves fell into my lap and I did what a real nigga would do and treated her with respect." Ouch.

Over the last decade, rappers have blown off steam during interviews almost as often as they do on their own songs. Whether it's a magazine cover or calling up Hot 97, there have been some harsh words thrown between rappers on-air and on the record. From Nas' rant on Power 105 in the midst of his beef with Jay-Z in 2002 to DMX telling Sway that Drake's voice sounds like a washing machine, here's A Recent History of Vicious Interview Disses in Rap.

RELATED: The 50 Best Hip-Hop Diss Songs

RELATED: The 25 Corniest Rap Beefs

Date: June 23, 2002
Best Line: "I turn on that station, I hear rappers on there talking about their record sales, their rims on the truck. I mean, what does that have to do with our community? What does that have to do with anything real?"

When Hot 97 wouldn't let Nas "lynch" a fake Jay-Z at Summer Jam, he got on rival station Power 105 and lost it. He called Cam'ron "wack," told N.O.R.E. to step his raps up, told Angie Martinez to stop making music, and referred to Def Jam and Hot 97 as "evil empires." The kicker came when he personally attacked Funkmaster Flex, accusing him taking payola and promoting a "corny" format.

Date: August 25, 2002
Best Line: "He can't fuck with me. He never could and he never will be able to, and it's hurting him right now that I'm bigger than him."

Before Ja Rule got wrapped up in beef with 50 Cent, he was going back and forth with DMX. He hopped on the radio and dismissed DMX as a jealous "bitch" who was mad at anyone selling more than records. He actually sounded kind of on point, but then he compared himself to 2Pac and crossed over into insane territory.

Date: January 21, 2005
Best Line: "His album come out, they pushed it up 'cause the bootleg is out. You know, garbage. Nowhere next to the first one. He ain't get shot no more so he don't got nothing else to talk about."

Everyone knows that 50 Cent and Ja Rule had problems, so when Jadakiss and Fat Joe hopped on "New York, New York" with Ja, 50 started dissing them, too. 50's points were that Jadakiss couldn't sell records or write hit songs. Jadakiss retorted that 50 was short on material and had nothing to talk about without a near fatal shooting to lean on.

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Date: February 1, 2007
Best Line: "Koch is the graveyard."

50 Cent was fired up when he got on Hot 97 with Angie Martinez. He called out Koch Records which resulted in Koch's general manager, Alan Grunblatt, ringing the station to defend his label. The problem was that Cam'ron was in Grunblatt's office during the call. 50 and Cam began arguing about Lloyd Banks's and Mobb Deep's sales numbers, when 50 Cent ultimately let Cam and Grunblatt know that "Koch is the graveyard." Of course, people would more likely remember Cam'ron calling 50 "Curtis" over and over, but the insult was still there.

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Date: July 16, 2007
Best Line: "You can't kiss other men, you can't wobble dee wobble dee, and and you can't bite styles. You can't bite everybody's styles. You can't try to rap like Jay-Z, dress like the Clipse, become a coke dealer after five albums, and now dress like Jim Jones. You can't do all that and be a legend. You have to be a trendsetter and he ain't setting any trends."

When Clipse appeared on the cover of Laced Magazine, they knew exactly how to respond to jabs from Lil Wayne. Off the bat, Lil Wayne was mentioned for calling himself the greatest rapper alive and Malice said, "If youwobble dee wobble dee, you can't be a legend." Pusha T followed up with the rest, claiming Wayne has bit the styles of Jay-Z, Jim Jones, and more. But when it comes to Clipse, Pusha T clarified that they never thought Wayne was copying their style—the streets did. It was just one instance in a long history of Lil Wayne and Pusha T's beef.

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Date: July 24, 2007
Best Line: "Everybody just talking about how many chains they got on and how much dope they sold. But the truth of the matter is this: I don't believe you. 'Cause I know you dudes and I know you didn't sell no dope."

Frustrated with the state of Atlanta hip-hop, late Houston rapper Pimp C famously declared that ATL wasn't part of the South in an interview with Ozone Magazine. Then he called up Atlanta radio station Hot 107.9 to discuss the interview. He said the comments came because he felt Atlanta's artists were fake (and because they operate on Eastern Standard Time). He was especially put off by the cocaine prices artists like Jeezy were advertising, also knocking that as fraudulent.

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Date: December 1, 2007
Best Line: "I thought the whole 'Mr. Me Too' video was about me, to tell you the damn truth. They think I want to be like them. I'm on a million-dollar bus going around the world charging people from $50,000 to $150,000 for verses, and I got 77 songs in magazines and I got a billion more. Do the math; you think I'm trying to be like you? No sir."

During his first Complex cover story, Lil Wayne made sure to fire shots at Clipse after being accused of coping their style—essentially, wearing BAPE and rapping about cocaine. Wayne said "They had to do a song with us to get hot, B," in reference to "What Happened To That Boy." However, in his second Complex cover a year later, Wayne took more direct shots at Clipse, claiming that "Mr. Me Too" was clearly based on him. After dropping some hot figures, the math was clear—Wayne wasn't worried about anyone besides himself at the time.

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Date: September 1, 2009

Best Line: "I mean, Game, I'm his fuckin' idol."

The Game wasted no time taking shots at Hov with lines like "Payback, homie I'm bringin' CA back/And I don't do button up shirts or drive Maybachs," on his first album. The Jay-Z we know today may not have even given it a second thought, but he entertained The Game's jabs, dropping a diss of his own and this venom in an interview with XXL.

In 2009, Jay was on the cusp of transcending hip-hop, and had left a slew of inspired rappers in his wake. Game was one of them. Jay took it a step further, calling himself Game's idol. He explained why the two rappers are not even close to the same level: "It's not in the spirit of competition, because he's not competition for me. He's not. Not then, not ever—he'd have to improve considerably." Game later went on to admit "I pretty much f*cked that up in the beginning of my career."

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Date: June 24, 2010
Best Line: "[I will] smack the shit out of Drake's bitch-ass."

First Roc-A-Fella break up, now every day we wake up, somebody got a problem with...Drake? That seemed to be the approach for Beanie Sigel, who acknowledged any artist's affiliation with Jay-Z as a direct attack on his livelihood. The Broad Street Bully made this abundantly clear in 2010 when he said he bought three copies of Drake's album. Who knows, maybe they were gifts for his cell mates.

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Date: September 17, 2010
Best Line: "We don't fuck with you musically."

On the cusp of dropping his anticipated sophomore album Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager, Kid Cudi appeared on Complex's Oct/Nov 2010 cover to discuss where he was in life, music, and his general "unfuckwitable"ness. At the time, Cudi was frustrated by Wale's slight diss "Throwin' round wallets like the dude that Kid Cudi hit" on the "Thank You Freestyle."

Cudi acknowledged the line and called Wale a simple-ass rapper, adding that Cudi and Kanye are a force. The interview birthed the legendary meme and diss line, "We don't fuck with you musically" in regards to Wale, and other artists asking Kanye for beats. It was hilarious and brutally honest, and was followed by a low blow of a tweet from Wale: "Niggas lettin that liquid cocaine get to them...lets go then." The two finally made amends and teamed up on Wale's "Focused" later on. At the end of the day, they fucked with each other musically.

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Date: September 19, 2011
Best Line: "He can't joke on me. I let that nigga borrow my Lamborghini for his video in L.A., that's my word. I let him borrow my Lamborghini; I let him drop my top...he can have that shit, that's old. I got three new Rolls-Royces outside! I got an indoor basketball court and an outdoor basketball court!"

After a physical fight between Ray J and Fabolous in Las Vegas, Ray J hopped on the radio the next morning and unleashed his wrath. His threats were truly unexpected, especially from Brandy's brother. We learned that he has an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, and that he has goons who will rape dudes that he has a problem with. Whoa.

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Date: October 14, 2011
Best Line: "It's a difficult time for a lot of people right now."

In October 2011, Funkmaster Flex asked Drake about Pusha's subliminal disses towards him, and Drizzy was more than understanding. His nonchalance towards the entire conflict proved even more damning than an irate response. All he did was acknowledge that it made sense for Pusha to diss him at the time, then calmly went back to promoting his record.

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Date: December 20, 2011
Best Line: "He's the worst guy around. Don't get me started."

Questions about his tour with Childish Gambino led Danny Brown to go in on another polarizing rapper: Mac Miller. He called the Pittsburgh MC the "worst guy around" and dissed his attempts at trying to be artistic on his album cover. He even said that if he met Mac, he'd have these words for him: "Man, I just want to apologize for hating you so much. Because I’m not going to stop. You’re probably a cool guy. I don’t feel violent in any way, but I really hate you. I hate your music, man." At least he's honest.

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Date: January 9, 2012
Best Line: "As much as Kreayshawn would love to be considered part of this 'rap game,' she's not. I guess a part of me is kind of annoyed that those white girls are making these songs."

Another day, another Azealia Banks diss. This time the prey was Kreayshawn. Their beef originally started on Twitter, of course. The two went back and forth with Azealia telling Kreay to pick her fights more wisely (lol) and telling her that she's not built for rap. Kreay was hurt and said she's not a fan of Yung Rupunxel anymore.

Unfortunately, the beef didn't stop there: Azealia took the cover of The Hundreds magazine in January and said Kreay isn't considered part of the rap game. Sadly, Kreayshawn's record sales would flop later that year in tune with Azealia's diss.

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Date: January 30, 2012
Best Line: "More than anything it was just disappointing 'cause what kid isn't a fan of what Common has done for our genre. A guy who made such an incredible career for himself based off expressing genuine feelings about life and love is now targeting me for sharing my story."

Drake left his early motto—"Diss me, you'll never hear a reply for it"—at the door when Common came knocking in late 2011. And while we saw the two trade off subliminal disses and of course, more explicit ones, Drizzy handed Common the biggest 'compli-insult' during an interview with NahRight. He chastised the veteran MC's actions as hypocritical and a ploy for attention. He had a point; lest we forget Electric Circus was the epitome of "expressing genuine feelings about life and love."

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Date: February 23, 2012
Best Line: "I don't like anything about Drake. I don't like his fucking voice. I don't like what he talks about. I don't like his face. I don't like the way he walks. Nothing. I don't like his haircut."

When DMX appeared on Power 105's The Breakfast Club, it was obvious he was agitated. While he had nothing but nice things to say about Machine Gun Kelly, he went in on Drake. When Charlamagne and Angela Yee asked DMX who he was feeling "lyrically," he asked them the same question and it didn't take long for Drake's name to be brought up.

DMX's opinion of Drake was plain and simple: "No." He doesn't like anything about him, not his haircut or the way he walks. It was so brutally honest it even left Angela Yee breathlessly saying, "Oh my gosh" a few times during the interview.

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Date: July 3, 2012
Best Line: "He trying to lie to people, pumping that we took styles from them. I mean, if you really look at it, the proof is in the pudding. He's corny. Stick to making beats."

It's disheartening to see former associates become strangers, or worse, sworn enemies. A$AP Rocky and SpaceGhostPurrp used to be cool; they were even a great musical pairing as SpaceGhostPurrp's dark, raucous production helped make "Pretty Flacko" a sleeper hit. By the middle of last summer, it all went sour, with SpaceGhostPurrp eventually labeling Lord Flacko a style-biter.

In a brief July 2012 interview with MTV, Rocky swiftly dismissed the accusations, calling SGP "corny" and advising him to "stick to making beats." That's mad hurtful, B! The salt in the wound has been Rocky's success, while SpaceGhostPurrp has yet to take his career to the next level. We'd love to see the Raider Klan and A$AP Mob put their differences aside, but there have been too many incidents and insults traded for that to happen in the foreseeable future. At times, the bravado of young men is too thick to cut with even the sharpest of blades.

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Date: September 13, 2012
Best Line: "It sounds the same. To me, it's an annoying sound...Like a washing machine or a dryer."

It all started when Sway asked DMX what his thoughts about Lil Wayne were. After saying Wayne has a lot of talent, DMX said other rappers in the game do not. Sway didn't even need to ask the follow-up question because DMX explicitly referred to Drake. He went on about how he sounds "redundant" and kind of like a "washing machine or a dryer."

DMX imitated the sounds of such for a few seconds before really getting into what made him so upset about Drizzy, which was his involvement in Aaliyah's posthumous album. "How do you disregard what this woman did, what this beautiful angel did, how do you disregard it and take it for yourself," DMX said, while also questioning why he hadn't spoken with close friends of Aaliyah about the project. DMX had a point but watching him imitate a dryer was hilarious and painful, as it was obvious X was going through something of his own.

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Date: January 31, 2013
Best Line: "I really didn't have to respond, I don't feel so, but I just did it. I don't know why. It's too easy, that's what it is. Why not? I'm just flexing my skills on 'em."

If we learned one thing from this beef, it's that Joey Bada$$ is just not based, at all. But when Joey Bada$$ responded to Lil B's diss track, fans from both sides were shocked. The line, "Tell Lil B don't quit your day job," from Joey's "Survival Tactics" (Note: the line was from Capital Steez) sparked a fury in the Based God months later leading him to drop "I'm the Bada$$."

Joey fired back with "Don't Quit Your Day Job" only hours after the initial diss. Instead of poking fun at the feud, Joey went on MTV in the following weeks admitting that he didn't have to respond but it was "too easy" and that he "killed him. He shouldn't even attempt to do anything again." Ouch. Then again, Based World forced Joey off Twitter for a short time, so not all was lost for Lil B.

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Date: February 1, 2013
Best Line: "That's not hip-hop to me. That really has no place in hip-hop. The only reason why an individual would do something like that is purely out of ego, arrogance and lack of knowledge of themselves."

Kanye West's choice of clothing became the genesis of Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar's frustration with Ye. Seemingly out of nowhere, Jamar condemned the Chicago MC's audacious fashion sense stating, "That really has no place in hip-hop." We get that Kanye's style has evolved through the years, starting trends—including the infamous kilt—that left some fans extremely confused. But Jamar's homophobic undertones were what ultimately have no place in hip-hop.

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Date: February 7, 2013
Best Line: "This verse gon' hit you harder than that car crash that you should've died in/Mad that you survived it, now I came to murder you and have you scuba divin'."

Remember when Cassidy had the streets on lock? Well neither does Meek Mill, who took his fellow Philly native to task in a radio interview and freestyle on Hot 107.9. Ironically, battle rapping was the initial proposition that sparked their beef.

Meek Mill's venomous bars were laced with claims to the city's throne ("When we talkin' about Philly, we know I can run that/Same place I've been on corners, you can never come back") and Cassidy's irrelevance ("Treat you like a pound of reggie, they can get you for the low/And I'm like a brick of diesel, it cost 60[k] for the flow"). At the end of the freestyle, Meek called himself the 50 Cent of the beef, while Cassidy was Ja Rule. Cold blooded.

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Date: March 5, 2013
Best Line: "I just wanted to tell everybody I gave Sway his first TV—and he needs to remember that."
Kanye West calling any media, let alone a New York City radio station after the MTV's Hottest MCs list was revealed, is unheard of these days. But in March, Kanye rang up DJ Enuff to explain his grievances with the list. While he was happy that Big Sean came in at No. 6, Kanye thought he should have been higher on the list himself.

Besides stating that Lil Wayne is the No. 1 rapper, Kanye ended his quick rant with an embarassingly honest truth: "I gave Sway his first TV and he needs to remember that." And then he hung up. Later that week, Sway brought that TV to RapFix Live but it showed that Ye won't forget about anything and left Sway looking a little embarrassed afterward.

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Date: March 27, 2013
Best Line: "I'll party with you, but I ain't doing no kind of business with you. I don't feel nothing he say out his mouth. It ain't real."

Fans were hurt when Waka Flocka Flame confirmed things were no longer all good between he and his "mentor," Gucci Mane. The trouble began in March when Gucci tweeted (coincidentally on opening night of Spring Breakers) that he had dropped Waka from his Brick Squad 1017 label. The hip-hop community was left confused and afraid that they would never see these two as chummy as they were in Gucci's "Bricks" video ever again. Gucci attempted to clean the mess up saying his Twitter was hacked but neither Waka nor anyone else was sold.

Later that month, Waka got characteristically candid during an MTV interview. He questioned Gucci's business sense, essentially accusing him of trying to play chess like it's checkers. He continued the exchange of "aggressive words" between the two, verbally severing all business ties and finally, addressing Gucci's seemingly endless stream of legal issues. "I greet fans; he punches fans. It's a difference." How scathingly honest. It was all good just a year ago—what happened?

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Date: April 12, 2013
Best Line: "His insecurities are the fact that I make better music than him, that I'm more poppin' than him, and that at one point in life, the woman that he loves fell into my lap."
Drake and Chris Brown's feud started at W.i.P. nightclub in New York City where the two got into an all out brawl last summer. Since the incident, there's been no resolution between the two. In late March, Brown hopped on Young Jeezy's "R.I.P." remix where he rhymed, "And if you started from the bottom, go on and come out the closet." Brown took obvious shots at Drake's hit, "Started From the Bottom."

A few days later, Brown went around promoting his latest album X and of course, his beef with Drake was a hot topic of conversation. He freestyled over "Started From the Bottom" twice on New York radio, and assured fans that he wouldn't stop with the Drake jabs because he knows "ain't nothing gonna happen so I say whatever I want." Drake took a more subtle approach while on Elliott Wilson's EVR show, and it was a shot heard around the world. Drizzy played on Brown's insecurities and the fact that Rihanna fell into his lap after Brown mistreated her. Ding, ding ding, Drake wins this round.

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