Mic Wars: The Art of Rap Beef
Hip-Hop is its own ring in many ways. Rap beef has been the sport of bars, ego, and dominance. Sometimes it’s personal, sometimes it’s calculated, but every time it’s entertainment. And in a genre built on competition, beef is its own tradition. When there’s rap beef, it’s usually against two people, sometimes can be multiple, rappers come in with their pen ready, bars razor sharp, and delivery ready to assassinate. Here are some of my top 5 favorite rap beefs, in no order.
Tupac VS Biggie
Now this is one of the most well-known and historical beefs in hip-hop. The tension between Tupac and Biggie began after Tupac was shot and robbed in a New York recording studio. He believed Biggie had knowledge or involvement in the incident, which sparked their feud. Biggie’s track Who Shot Ya?—though allegedly recorded before the shooting—was released shortly after, fueling speculation that it was aimed at Tupac. Biggie and his team denied any connection, insisting the track was not a diss.
Tupac, however, took it personally and responded with the infamous diss track Hit Em Up featuring the Outlawz, where he directly accused Biggie and others of the shooting and claimed to have slept with Biggie’s wife, Faith Evans.
“First off, f*ck your b*tch and the clique you claim, Westside, when we ride, come equipped with game, you claim to be a player, but I f*cked your wife, We bust on Bad Boys, n*ggas f*cked for life. Plus, Puffy tryna see me, weak hearts I rip, Biggie Smalls and Junior M.A.F.I.A., some mark-a** b*tches…” - Tupac, Hit Em Up
“Who shot ya? Separate the weak from the obsolete, Hard to creep them Brooklyn streets It's on, n*gga, f*ck all that bickerin' beef I can hear sweat tricklin' down your cheek, Your heartbeat sound like Sasquatch feet, Thunderin', shakin' the concrete, Then the sh*t stop when I foil the plot, Neighbors call the cops, said they heard mad shots…” - Biggie,Who Shot Ya?
There were a few attempts of reconciliation and even rumors of a truce but before all of that could happen the two rappers were murdered 6 months of each other.
2. Nas vs Jay-z
The Jay-Z and Nas beef escalated when Nas reportedly missed a recording session for Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt album. I personally feel like there was probably miscommunication on some parts. Jay-Z dropped Takeover, which was a diss towards both Nas and Mobb Deep but particularly Nas, making known that he dominates the rap game and using his nickname “Hova" as a play on “Jehovah."
“I don't care if you Mobb Deep, I hold triggers to crews, You little f*ck, I got money stacks bigger than you, When I was pushing weight back in '88 You was a ballerina, I got the pictures, I seen ya, Then you dropped "Shook Ones," switched your demeanor…You guys don't want it with Hov, Ask Nas, he don't want it with Hov, no…Went from Nasty Nas to Esco's trash, Had a spark when you started, but now, you're just garbage, Fell from top ten to not mentioned at all..” - Jay-Z, Takeover
Nas clapped back with the legendary Ether, which is known for its razor-sharp lyricism targeting Jay-Z’s looks, credibility, and career.
“When these streets keep callin', heard it when I was sleep, That this Gay-Z and Cock-a-Fella Records wanted beef (What?), Started cockin' up my weapon, slowly loadin' up this ammo, To explode it on a camel (Haha) and his soldiers, I can handle, This for dolo, and his manuscript just sound stupid, When KRS already made a album called Blueprint (D*ck), First Biggie's your man, then you got the nerve to say, That you better than B.I.G., d*ck-suckin' lips (Ha), Why don't you let the late, great veteran live?...Rocafella died of AIDS, that was the end of his chapter, And that's the guy y'all chose to name your company after? Put it together, I rock h*es, y'all rock fellas, And now y'all tryna take my spot, fellas?...”- Nas, Ether
The beef continued for a few years until it was publicly squashed in 2005 when Nas made a surprise appearance at Jay-Z’s I Declare War concert, symbolizing the end of their rivalry.
3. Ice cube vs n.w.a.
This is one of my personal favorite beefs. Ice Cube left N.W.A in 1989 after feeling like he wasn’t getting his fair share in the group’s earnings. Cube was notably known for being the writer of the group and he wasn’t getting the recognition he deserved. He also clashed with their manager Jerry Heller. N.W.A responded with tracks like 100 Miles and Runnin and the interlude Message to B.A. on Niggaz4Life, comparing Cube to Benedict Arnold. Benedict Arnold was an army general and was widely considered a traitor for his actions in the American Revolutionary War. This meaning within itself was N.W.A. calling Ice Cube a traitor for leaving the group.
“A message to Benedict Arnold: No matter how hard you try to be, here's what they think about you! (Answering Machine) Hello? I was at The Celebrity... and I was wonderin' how that punk Ice Cube was cryin' after he got his a** beat by ATL! Yo! Dat n*gga was sayin' he from Compton? He ain't from COMPTON, HE from a planet called: "Punk!" It is full of p*ssy protein and pearl tongue! All I wanna know is why y'all let his punk- A**in the group in the first place, when you knew what kinda b*tch he WAS...” - N.W.A., Message To B.A.
Cube fired back with one of the greatest diss tracks of all time, No Vaseline. The song is raw, unfiltered, and filled with brutal lyricism.Godd*mn, I'm glad y'all set it off, Used to be hard, now you're just wet and soft, First you was down with the AK, And now I see you on a video with Michel'le, Looking like straight bozos, I saw it coming, that's why I went solo…Dropped four n*ggas, now I'm making all the dough, White man just ruling The N*ggas With Attitudes? Who you foolin'? Y'all n*ggas just phony, I put that on my mama and my dead homies. Yella Boy's on your team, so you're losing, Ayy, yo, Dre, stick to producing, Calling me Arnold, but you been a d*ck Eazy-E saw your a**and went in it quick…”- Ice CUBE, NO Vaseline
However, their beef ended after Ice Cube and Dr. Dre reconciled and Ice Cube and Eazy-E had a conversation about getting the group back together right before Eazy-E’s passing.
4. Remy Ma vs Nicki Minaj
Remy Ma and Nicki Minaj had a long-running feud that simmered for years. In the early 2000s, Remy felt targeted by Nicki’s Dirty Money freestyle, believing certain lines were directed at her.
“Tell that b*tch with the crown to run it like Chris Brown, she won three rounds, I’mma need a hundred thou…Oh ya’ll ain’t know? Bet ya’ll b*tches know now” - Nicki Minaj, Dirty Money
Remy later confronted Nicki at a mixtape release party and recalled the interaction in an interview:
“When I seen her at the party, I was like ‘Yea, what was that line about?’ To this day, I think it was a stab at me. That’s what you do in rap, and I’m cool with that”.
Over the next few years, Remy released a few subliminal disses that many speculated were aimed at Nicki. Eventually, Nicki fired back, intensifying the beef. Remy Ma then drops her song ShETHER play on words to Nas’ song Ether
“Now what I'ma do, I'ma just stick to the facts, B*tch so scared of my future, got this b*tch goin' backwards, Been through mad crews, you disloyal hoochie, Now all of a sudden you back with Drake and Tunechi?After he said you sucked his d*ck, you back with Gucci? Who next: Puff, Deb or Fendi? You a A-list groupie…” - Remy Ma, ShETHER
In response, Nicki dropped No Frauds.
“Tried to drop "Another One", you was itchin' to scrap, You exposed your ghostwriter, now you wish it was scrapped, Heard your p*ssy on yuck, I guess you needed a Pap, What type of bum b*tch shoot a friend over a rack? What type of mother leave her one son over a stack? Lil Boogie down basic b*tch thinkin' she back, Back to back, oh you mean, back to wack? "Back to Back"? Me and Drizzy laughed at that…”- Nicki Minaj, No Frauds
The beef escalated into a few more tracks where Nicki dropped Changed It and Regret In Your Tears. Remy then dropped Another One.
As of today, Nicki and Remy haven’t had any public engagement, and although they haven’t publicly reconciled, there has been de-escalation in their beef.
5. Kendrick Lamar vs Drake
This is one of the most talked-about beefs of our generation—spanning from 2024 to now. The tension had been bubbling for years through subliminal jabs, but it exploded after Drake’s First Person Shooter, where he referred to himself, Kendrick, and J. Cole as the “Big Three.” Kendrick fired back on Like That from Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You album
“Motherf*ck the big three, n*gga, it's just big me, N*gga, bum” - Kendrick Lamar, Like that
From there, the diss tracks came back-to-back in a rapid-fire exchange. Both rappers took personal shots—Kendrick targeted Drake over accusations of being a bad father, predatory behavior, and flaws in his character and image. In response, Drake fired back with digs at Kendrick’s marriage and infidelity, questioned his position in the rap game, and challenged his credibility in the industry.
“I heard that one of ’em little kids might be Dave Free’s … Don’t make it Dave Free’s…They hired a crisis management team to clean up the fact that you beat on your queen…Always rapping like you ’bout to get the slaves free, You just acting like an activist, it's make-believe…” - Drake, Family matters
“Dear Adonis, I’m sorry that that man is your father, let me be honest, It takes a man to be a man, your dad is not responsive, I look at him and wish your grandpa would’ve wore a condom…Your son’s a sick man with sick thoughts, I think n*ggas like him should die, Him and Weinstein should get f*cked up in a cell for the rest of their life…”- kendrick lamar, meet the grahams
Drake:
Push Ups
Taylor Made Freestyle
Family Matters
The Heart Part 6
Kendrick Lamar:
Euphoria
6:16 in LA
Meet the Grahams
Not Like Us
The battle is still ongoing with no reconciliation.
What do you think Illestrators? What’s the greatest hip-hop beef of all time in your eyes, and who do you crown as the winner?
