9 Greatest Hip-Hop Beefs of All-Time

As is often the case in hip-hop, this historic beef was mainly an offspring of bragging rights. It pitted one New York borough against another. KRS-One instigated the battle after claiming that MC Shan”s song “The Juice” wrongly credited Queensbridge, instead of South Bronx, as hip-hop”s birthplace. Consequently, BDP took Shan and company to the cleaners with the raw diss “South Bronx.” Shan struck back with “Kill That Noise,” thus setting up BDP for the classic “The Bridge is Over,” which delivered the final blow to Shan”s rap career.

The 2Pac vs Biggie feud was unique in so many ways. Interestingly, Pac”s tactic was the antithesis of Big”s approach. Not one to bite his tongue, Pac kept his insults as explicit and aggressive as possible. (Who could forget “Hit “Em Up””s opening lines “That”s why I f—ked your wife, you fat muthaf—a”?) Biggie, on the other hand, stung Pac with subliminal disses, often delivered in a poised manner. This was arguably the most influential hip-hop feud ever. It affected entire regions, wrecked relationships, and changed lives forever.

Before the Def Jam deal. Before the Power 105 lovefest. Before the colossal collaborations, Nas and Jay-Z were die-hard rivals. There are many theories on why Jay-Z and Nas suddenly found themselves embroiled in one of the most memorable feuds in music history. Was Nas jealous of Jay’s commercial exploits? Did Jay diss Nas” baby mama on “Is That Your Chick”? The two New York giants traded insults for years and came short of challenging each other to a lyrical duel on HBO. The quest for supremacy gave rise to two of the greatest battle tracks in history: Jay-Z”s “Takeover” and Nas” “Ether.” Thanks to Kanye”s hard-hitting drums, “Takeover” was musically superior to “Ether,” but Nas was lyrically superior to Jay.