Kendrick Lamar and Drake are far from the first rappers to make wildly disrespectful diss songs.
ByAl Shipley
May 10, 2024
via Getty
Hip-hop has long been a competitive sport. MCs have been airing out dirty secrets and tossing wild accusations at each other on wax since at least the Bridge Wars, when KRS-One alleged that MC Shan smoked crack on Boogie Down Productions’ “South Bronx” – which Shan later acknowledged was true. In the decades since, fact and fiction have continued to blur together as some of the biggest rappers in the world occasionally go toe-to-toe. But how far is too far? 2Pac’s “Hit ‘Em Up” is often praised as the most disrespectful diss of all time, while Jay-Z was seen as taking an L for apologizing for going too far on “Supa Ugly.”
In Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s recent war of words, the stakes of the battle seemed to ramp up exponentially, with the 6 God lobbing accusations of domestic violence and K. Dot calling his opponent a pedophile. Once again, debate rages on, not just about who won but whether a little gamesmanship is worth this kind of mud slinging. Is it all simply shock value for entertainment, or are these multi-platinum superstars actually trying to destroy each other with career-threatening criminal allegations? Are the alleged victims in these salacious stories being done any justice by being gossiped about on Hot 100 hits?
For some historical perspective, we’ve assembled 20 of the most disrespectful lyrics from the history of rap beef, from revelations of documented scandals to the jokes and threats that took a dark turn.
via Getty
Hip-hop has long been a competitive sport. MCs have been airing out dirty secrets and tossing wild accusations at each other on wax since at least the Bridge Wars, when KRS-One alleged that MC Shan smoked crack on Boogie Down Productions’ “South Bronx” – which Shan later acknowledged was true. In the decades since, fact and fiction have continued to blur together as some of the biggest rappers in the world occasionally go toe-to-toe. But how far is too far? 2Pac’s “Hit ‘Em Up” is often praised as the most disrespectful diss of all time, while Jay-Z was seen as taking an L for apologizing for going too far on “Supa Ugly.”
In Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s recent war of words, the stakes of the battle seemed to ramp up exponentially, with the 6 God lobbing accusations of domestic violence and K. Dot calling his opponent a pedophile. Once again, debate rages on, not just about who won but whether a little gamesmanship is worth this kind of mud slinging. Is it all simply shock value for entertainment, or are these multi-platinum superstars actually trying to destroy each other with career-threatening criminal allegations? Are the alleged victims in these salacious stories being done any justice by being gossiped about on Hot 100 hits?
For some historical perspective, we’ve assembled 20 of the most disrespectful lyrics from the history of rap beef, from revelations of documented scandals to the jokes and threats that took a dark turn.
Tim Dog, “f*ck Compton” (1991)
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Ice Cube, “No Vaseline” (1991)
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Eazy-E, Gangsta Dresta & B.G. Knocc Out, "Real Muthaphu*ckkin G's” (1993)
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2Pac, “Hit ‘Em Up” (1996)
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Mobb Deep, “Drop a Gem on Em” (1996)
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Cormega & Mike Delorean, “Never Personal (F*ck Nas and Nature)” (1998)
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Eminem, “I Remember (Dedication to Whitey Ford)” (2000)
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Nas, “Ether” (2001)
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Jay-Z, “Supa Ugly” (2001)
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Cam’ron & Jim Jones, “Hate Me Now (Remix)” (2002)
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50 Cent, “Back Down” (2003)
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Ja Rule, “Loose Change” (2003)
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Gucci Mane, “Truth” (2012)
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Troy Ave, “Badass” (2016)
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Remy Ma, “ShETHER” (2017)
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Pusha T, “The Story of Adidon” (2018)
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Spinabenz, “Who I Smoke” (2021)
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Megan Thee Stallion, “Hiss” (2024)
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Drake, “Family Matters” (2024)
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Kendrick Lamar, “Meet the Grahams” (2024)
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DrakeKendrick LamarEminemSnoop DoggTupac ShakurMegan Thee StallionEminem SongsJay Z50 CarrotGucci ManePusha T
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