It's Getting Dark: Memorable Moments in the Art of Shade

Learn how to throw shade from the best in the business.

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Image via Complex Original
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Long before it was a trending topic and the stuff of headlines and TV shows, musicians were throwing shade at each other. It's an old game with very few masters mostly because folks don't actually know what it is. It takes a certain level of wit and pettiness to cast a shadow on someone's existence. It's not just the diss but the delivery, and if it's good they'll debate whether you even said anything at all. Check the list for music's shadiest moments.

Whitney Houston Is Asked About Mariah Carey and Blinks (1990)

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The R&B and soul divas of yesteryear were and still are the sharpest cutters in the industry. Maybe a childhood of singing in church choir trained them for all slights of hand and mouth, but the barbs they trade are without comparison. In 1990 the late and great Whitney’s voice ruled the world and Mariah’s was on the rise. As always, with two talented women, media set to make them instant enemies. When asked during an interview what she thought about Mariah, Whitney replied simply, “I don’t think about her,” an answer that would seem simple to those blind to the underhanded tone. It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but unfettered ignorance makes the shade get darker.

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Suge Knight Shades the Diddy Bop (1995)

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Kelly Rowland Declares Herself “2nd Lead Vocalist,” Beyonce Reacts (Late '90s)

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There’s a reason Destiny’s Child was never made plural despite being a girl group. That’s because Destiny’s only child was one Beyonce Gisele Knowles, Honeysuckle Child of the Golden Lamb. So when Kelendria felt the need to also flex her position, Beyonce’s used the oldest and most sacred shade to create a no flex zone. To be fair, Kelly set herself up under the basket with her self-proclaimed title of “second lead vocalist,” but Beyonce posterized her swiftly and made this moment a Vine that will never die.

 

Jay Z Finally Pays Attention to 50 Cent (1999)

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Farrah Franklin Is Fired From Destiny's Child and Immortalized on TV (2001)

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In the span of a year Destiny’s Child, a.k.a. Beyonce’s first group of backup singers, was quickly rearranged from the original four with two new members—Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin—and then down to three. Within five months of being brought on, Farrah was fired from the group, but the manner in which it was done still gets posts on #tbt. During a 24/7 Access special Farrah is sent to the airport during a rehearsal and subsequently fired from the group. When Farrah becomes concerned about leaving without her luggage, Beyonce offers a simple solution on camera “I mean, somebody could send you your luggage."

The hilarity at the expense of Farrah’s embarrassment remains one of the shadiest things ever shown on television and leaves no doubt that Miss Franklin was dismissed. Enjoy the rest of the video where media-trained Bey quietly shades the former member without rest.

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Jay Z vs. Noel Gallagher (2008)

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Noel Gallagher tried his hand at shade (read: cism) in 2008 when he insinuated that letting rappers perform at Glastonbury was an insult to the festival's (white) roots. Jay spoke his mind in interviews, but he made his biggest statement when he walked out onto the stage with a guitar that he had clearly never played and did a tone-deaf rendition of Oasis' "Wonderwall." The crowd joined him in singing the song, which some saw as his diss backfiring, but seeing as how Noel promptly apologized, I'd say the shade worked.

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“D.O.A.” (2009)

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When Jay stops showing any love for his hairline, we know an album is on the way, so spring 2009 found us waiting to see if the Boy from Marcy still had it while his fro grew more and more untamed. When the No I.D.-produced “D.O.A.” dropped unexpectedly in June, Jay unleashed a lithium battery pack into the backs of all those who had been SMH-ing at rap's love affair with the Auto-Tune voice effect. He would later clarify that he enjoyed a lot of Auto-Tuned tracks, but anyone under that umbrella was left sitting in a corner thinking about what they had done. Sure, Auto-Tune continued, but this was the man who made everyone change clothes, and the damage was already done.

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Lil Mama Shades Herself (2009)

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Back at the 2009 VMAs, Jay Z and Alicia Keys were set to premiere what would become the (most annoying track of the decade?) newest anthem for NYC. To the audience's bewilderment Lil Mama found herself catching the Holy Ghost and stepping on stage toward the end of the performance. Jay's immediate response: “Oh, you T-Paining right now!” In that moment, Lil Mama was over, and if you say we're wrong, prove it.

 

Patti LaBelle vs. Random White Lady on Tyra (2009)

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Patti LaBelle is what we refer to as an auntie, meaning she has lived a long and legendary life that is culminating in a Q4 of unmatched DGAF. Like the queen that she is, Patti is long done with seeing it for lessers, and a guest on Tyra’s show placed herself front row to learn this lesson. It’s not enough that she interrupts and gives Patti the worst body language—her back!—but her insinuation that Aunt Patti was being a fool left the situation with only one solution: absolute decimation. With the condescending tone of one perched on high looking down, Miss Patti let ya girl know that she understands not only how cupcakes work but how television works. The best part: Tyra leaving ole girl to save herself.

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Prince's BET Awards Tribute (2010)

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Ciara Gets Cute, and Rihanna Gets Real (2011)

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On a cold winter night in Pisces season 2011, Rihanna caught Ciara talkin' slick on E! Fashion Police.

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Riri, who felt slighted by Ciara's comments on the episode, let ONE direct tweet ring off asking if she had forgotten to tip her fellow popstar. Cici, who was not amused, let off a tweet response letting the badgyal know not to try her on stage or off. Robyn’s response? A simple untagged tweet with the words “Good luck with bookin that stage you speak of.” With a flash of freshly torn edges, the internet was blanketed in shade. The two would later quickly make up on Twitter, but do you remember it? Do you still feel a shiver? That’s the work of a master and a reminder that Miss Fenty will find you.

 

Drake vs. the Fan Who Almost Made It (2012)

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You get up on stage with Drake and it's all like “NIGGA WE MADE IT,” and then you throw up a sign and it's all “Take Care.”

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When Rihanna Came for Teyana (2013)

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Beyonce Makes Michelle and Kelly Her Backup Singers (2013)

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Drake's "Paris Morton Music 2" Verse (2013)

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What do you do when your most boastful rap album is set to drop and the God MC gives you a song that was meant for himself? Easy! Let him have a verse and then add an outro that basically states “fuck that” in not so many words. "Pound Cake" may have brought us the most tired Jay Z bar we'd ever heard, but Drake's "Paris Morton" outro was full of petty and slight as he rapped about owing nobody any thanks and being done with humility. He tried to soften the blow by proclaiming that these were usually things he'd only say to himself, but umm yeah, boo, that's shade.

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JLo Would Like More Options (2014)

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Prince Destroys Lil Mo (2014)

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Trying to play Prince is on your doctor's list of activities that are hazardous for your health, but Lil Mo has never been anyone's quiet friend, so there's that. After being stopped from going to the bathroom at Essence Fest so Prince could walk onto his throne, the “superwoman” found herself throwing what was essentially a temper tantrum on IG. There's a reason there are masters and there are amateurs. After Prince's fans dragged Lil Mo for blood, Prince himself shut down the whole charade with what else but a meme of himself. Shading Prince is like fighting Neo in those last 20 minutes of The Matrix: deflected and rejected.

 

“Real music doesn't always win Grammys” (2014)

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Nicki Minaj Accepts Her 2014 BET Hip Hop Award (2014)

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Though specific and directed shade can be wildly amusing, the best kind is one that spreads far and wide and lays flat a whole group of heauxs. When Nicki Minaj hit the stage to accept her 2014 BET Hip Hop Award for female vocalist, the twinkle in her eye should’ve been a clue that she was getting ready to lay wigs flat. When she proclaimed, “When you hear Nicki Minaj spit, Nicki Minaj wrote it,” the internet immediately assumed she was shading Iggy Azalea. As the rumors swirled on, Nicki M shot down all accusations that she was coming for the Aussie rapper, but if someone yells “A DUCK!” and everyone looks at you well…. puts the kettle on

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Bonus Shade: Mariah and Beyonce Double-Team JLo

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As we said before, divas are the oldest and shadiest to ever do it. House Mothers Yonce and MC have both flicked a wrist at anyone intending to draw any lines between them and those without the “God-given” talent of windswept hair and multi-octave range. In a double dose of “that's cute, but what's her name,” both Queen Bey and Mariah set themselves apart as pop stars and asserted their places at the top of the pyramid, at the expense of JLo. Mariah does it with the quiet scorn of her classic tone in a 2005 interview on Power 105.1 with the infamous Star and Buckwild, and Beyonce with the kind of ludicrous laugh that shanks the heart on a Piers Morgan interview in 2011. Get into both of them.

 

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