Beef has always been a part of hip-hop culture. However, as the Internet has completely revolutionized everything from how artists build buzz to how they promote and distribute their albums, social media in particular has changed how our favorite rappers argue with one another. In 2014, you are hard pressed to find a nice piece of rap beef that didn’t play out at least partly over Twitter, Instagram, or Vine. There’s the blatant Twitter call-outs that lead to in-song and online back-and-forths, the sub-tweets and sneak disses that take a conflict from 0-100 real quick, the confusing fight Vines, the ominous unfollows, the passive aggressive Instagram likes, and much, much more.
On the positive side, arguments taking place largely over the Internet means the disputes are kept mostly on the e-streets and out of the real streets, avoiding the violence that has tragically plagued hip-hop in the past. On the other hand, the general ease and lack of accountability of social media mean these arguments are becoming incredibly common and extremely repetitive.
If Biggie were alive today and had to write a 2014 version of “What’s Beef,” it would sound extremely different. So, in 2014, what’s beef? Beef is airing out your label frustration through your sub-tweets. Beef is dissing on Instragram. Beef is when I see you…and immediately post it on Vine. As the year comes to an end, we compiled the best social media beefs of 2014 for you and ranked them on a scale of Rare to Well Done. How do you like your beef?