Diss Songs Aimed at Jay Z
Angie Martinez's memoir sheds new light on a diss-classic.
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Nas – "Ether" - Jay drew first blood when he released "Takeover" and threatened Nas with revealing info about his daughter's mother. But the Q.B. MC wasn't having it and cemented his victory with the throne-cracking "Ether." Besides pointing out the fact that Jay had a history of biting B.I.G.'s lines, Nas hit with, "When these streets keep calling, heard it when I was sleep / That this Gay-Z and C**k-a-fella Records wanted beef / Started cocking up my weapon, slowly loading up this ammo / To explode it on a camel..."The people declared Nas the victor and Hov screamed "No Mas" like Roberto Duran and waved the white flag. Putting the beef aside, the two would eventually record a few heaters together.(Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)
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Dipset – "Victory" - The cold war between Jay Z and Dipset has heated up since Cam’ron and Jim Jones stepped to the Roc boss after he was put on blast by Funkmaster Flex for allegedly trying to find out the Harlem crew’s next move.Jim and Cam backed up Flex’s rant by dropping a new freestyle called “Victory.” Spitting over B.I.G.'s classic track, Cam went at Hov's heart with lines like this one sampling Destiny's Child: “Having money that don’t make you a real one / You stepped on the court you gon' play my game / Just take shorty’s advice and say my name.”As Dipset prepares to put the gloves back on and do battle with Jay, let’s take a look at a few other MCs who aimed shots at the throne.(Photos from Left: Johnny Nunez/ Wire Image, Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
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Jaz-O – "Go Harder" - Jaz-O decided to give his former protégé a spanking on several occasions since the two Marcy Originators went their separate ways.In 2009, Big Jaz unleashed “Go Harder,” where he flipped Hov’s “Brooklyn Go Hard” beat and spit, “Them streets ain’t with cha, half-moon head n***a / Just regurgitated what I spoon fed, n***a / You then compare yourself to Jackie Robinson, you jack and rob and sin on your own family and friends… / You talk tough but your gun ain’t speak / Real G’s held you down, you were stupid and weak.”Jay’s big homey apparently grew tired of the shots being taken on tracks like "December 4th," where Hov called Jaz “wack” and stated that he wasn’t getting paid for shows back in the day.(Photo: EMI America)
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Beanie Sigel – "The Big Payback" - In 2013, a Beanie Sigel diss surfaced where the Broad Street Bully tried to take his former boss's head off. Not letting Jigga forget that he used Mac to go at Jadakiss and Nas when they sent shots, Beans also revealed, "You was hyping me and biting me, enticing me to rhyme / Didn’t know at the time you was taking my lines / Take off my coat, you was stealing my quotes / Every rhyme I was writing you was biting to the last note."Hov never responded to that allegation but he did strike back at some of Bean's rage on "Why I Love You" from Watch the Throne. "I tried to teach n****s how to be kings / And all they ever wanted to be was soldiers / So the love is gone 'til blood is drawn / So we no longer wear the same uniform."(Photo: Scott Gries/Getty Images)
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Game – "My B***h" - Game had some issues with Jay Z, Suge Knight and 50 Cent when he dropped the disrespectful track "My B* **h." His shots fired at Hov included, "From the projects hustled all day / N****s called her Sophie from around the way / Used to play hard to get so they thought she was gay / Bougie b***h, who ever thought she was raised in BK"The West Coast MC has thrown a few insults at Jay but unfortunately Jay never really bit. He did, however, reply in XXL by brushing off the disses with, "I mean, Game, I'm his f*****g idol." Ouch!(Photo: Alex Gallardo/Landov)
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Mobb Deep – "Crawlin'" - Mobb Deep's Prodigy was hit hard when Jay posted a picture of him dressed like Michael Jackson at the 2001 Summer Jam and sent shots to the QB spitters. Not backing down, P came back with, "Punk motherf**ker, female a** n***a / The h** rapper, H to the you know / Come on man I ain't gotta spell it out for you / You know how to tell time you know my gun boil… / Dunn, I'll take you out in the street and spank you, b***h."(Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
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Jayo Felony – "True'd Up (Remix)" - West Coast emcee Jayo Felony called Hov out for speaking on gang activity in which he wasn't involved in on the Roc-A-Fella diss track where he expressed, "Talking 'bout, 'Is he a blood or is he crip?'/ N***a I sock that f****t in his big a** lips."The two traded a few more jabs, but Jigga put the beef to rest when he fired back with, "Jayo, you're not a felon, you're a misdemeanor / Don't let the nina hit ya and split your bean up" on Bleek's "Murda Murda (Marycyville.)" (Photo: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)
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Tupac Shakur – "Bomb First (My Second Reply)" - Jay Z was one of several New York rappers who felt Pac's wrath on "Bomb First" when he came at New York's elite at the time. Pac roused some feathers when he attacked with, "I'm a Bad Boy killer / Jay Z die, too / Looking out for Mobb Deep / N***a, when I find you." Released after his death, Hov still responded and addressed the diss on "Dead Or Alive (Part 1) as he spit, "Ain't nothing dead or alive playing me / I take beef to the grave that's how my momma raised me / She told me 'fight in your afterlife, never revamp your story' / So heaven or hell, n****s better have some answers for me."(Photo: Pool, Landov)
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LL Cool J – "Queens" - LL was one of the first to question Jay Z’s credentials when he was named president of Def Jam and voiced his opinion on the borough representing cut, stating, "I ain't a fronting a** coward, I don't rape Soundscans / I wish Rick and Russell was back, I miss the old Def Jam / 'Cause them new monkeys act like they don't know who I am!" Flex has since revealed that Jay was blocking other artists, so maybe Hov does have an issue with Uncle L calling himself the G.O.A.T. (Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)
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Cam'ron – "You Gotta Love It" - Hov and Cam's war of words has lasted for over ten years and one of Cam's missiles came in 2006. He fired off with, "Back up, this one ain't the only one with big wallets / Got it, my s**t's brolic, dot it / But your publishing should go to Ms. Wallace / Honest / Stealing Big s**t, he made two albums, you wilding."Not one to back down, some of Jay's insults included "Dig a Hole" where he pointed out to the Dipset leader, "You selling low too, only time you went plat / My chain was on your neck / That’s an actual fact."(Photo: Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images)
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