Hip-hop has been around for more than 50 years now, and in that time, there have been thousands of rap beefs. We all know the great ones—from Ice Cube vs. N.W.A. to Jay-Z vs. Nas to Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar.
But for every legendary rap beef, there are plenty of bad or odd ones. Some are random, where either A) the talent isn’t there for a proper rap battle, or B) the two artists facing off aren’t on equal ground when it comes to stature.
Even in the case of these less-than-iconic beefs, however, great songs or memorable moments can still be produced. Which brings us to why we’re here today: Bhad Bhabie vs. Alabama Barker. The two have been trading barbs for a while now, but things really exploded earlier this week when Babi released the video for “Mr. Whitman,” a legitimately hard diss track where she goes after her rival with a nasty zeal.
The track went viral almost immediately and falls into a long lineage of hard-hitting diss tracks that have emerged from a beef that is either chaotic or mostly unremarkable.
So what are other examples like it? Here’s a quick list of surprisingly good diss tracks that came out of decidedly chaotic rap beefs.
D4L, “Somebody Gone Get Shot”
Year: 2005
Target: Dem Franchize Boyz
Best line: “Man, y’all n*ggas funny/ Y’all should change your name to four lil’ stupid dummies”
Way back in the mid-2000s, Dem Franchize Boyz and D4L were at the center of Atlanta rap. Snap music, choreographed dances, and ringtone rap was all the rage when the groups peaked, thanks to hits like D4L’s “Laffy Taffy” and DFB’s “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It.”
There was seemingly plenty of space for both groups to exist, but Dem Franchize Boyz accused their in-state rivals of stealing their sound, style, and swag, which led to a ferocious comeback in the form of “Somebody Gone Get Shot.” D4L were most well known for their sugary-sweet hit, but on “Somebody” they go for the jugular. “I put y’all n*ggas on, that’s already known, Now you running, you dick suckers dissing me in a song?” There could have been peace!
Instead, Dem Franchize Boyz asked for war. And got it. —Will Schube
Cam’ron Feat. Max B, “You Gotta Love It”
Year: 2006
Target: Jay-Z
Best line: “Beyoncé, fiancé, check my second LP/I might bring it back, that’s your girl, that’s your world/Had the thing, fucking singing ’bout slinging crack”
In the opening moments of You Gotta Love It, Cam’ron explains why he went at Jay-Z. There are five reasons: three involve Dame Dash, one includes allegations that someone associated with Roc-A-Fella shot him, and the final reason? Because Jay is a man in his mid-30s wearing chancletas and jeans.
This is the randomness of a Cam’ron diss track—half silly, half mean-spirited. You Gotta Love It leans mostly toward the silly side, with Cam cracking juvenile jokes about Jay’s appearance and the fact that, back in the day, he had Beyoncé singing about “selling crack.”
Jay never really responded to the diss track, which Cam didn’t expect (he ends the song with, “Round one, let the games begin, doggie”). What probably humbled Cam the most was that Jay chose to engage in a back-and-forth beef with Jim Jones instead, later that year. —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Soulja Boy, “Fuck Bow Wow”
Year: 2009
Target: Bow Wow
Best Line: “New Jack City II is gonna flip flop/You forever gonna be the Gerry Coleman of hip-hop”
The long and complicated tension between Soulja Boy and Bow Wow can be traced back to 2008, when Soulja Boy made the hilarious claim that Nas killed hip-hop. Bow Wow refuted the claim in a throwaway line on a 2009 New Year’s Day freestyle, which set the “Crank Dat“ rapper all the way off.
He shared a video challenging Bow Wow to a Lamborghini race, and didn’t stop there. He shared a song titled “Fuck Bow Wow,” which is so ruthlessly to the point that it’s perfect.
Over blown out horns, Soulja raps with such venom that his voice constantly causes the microphone to clip. On the track, Soulja Boy throws out some homophobic slurs that aren’t worth mentioning, and while the song is inflammatory from front to back, it does a good job highlighting why Soulja Boy has long been one of the most entertaining voice in rap.
During verse two he spits: “Ciara and Angela [Simmons] said you had a lil’ dick.” It’s hard to come back from that. —Will Schube
Lil B, “T-Shirts Buddens”
Year: 2010
Target: Joe Budden
Best Line: “Shut the fuck up with those depressin’ ass songs/It’s the summer time, get some fuckin’ pussy and go home”
Back when he was a rapper, Joe Budden had a reputation for being one of the most battle-tested in the game, going toe to toe with MCs like Drake, The Game, Prodigy, Saigon, Ransom, and more. However, there was one rapper who had his number: Lil B.
After Joe Budden ignored a Twitter follow request from Lil B, the Berkeley, California rapper hit the booth and unleashed “T-Shirts Buddens”—a vicious yet often hilarious diss track that poked fun at everything from Joe’s age to how depressing his music was.
Budden never fully took the bait, sending a couple of shots on “Black Cloud,” but the diss has lived on in meme lore. In 2017, years later, even Budden had to give Lil B his props, tweeting: “That Lil B diss still hard all these years later tho lol.” —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Tyga, “Make it Work”
Year: 2014
Target: Drake
Best line: “N*gga never was my homie/ All these bitches know you’re corny n*gga.”
Not only was there a time when Tyga was big enough to bait Drake into a beef, but way back in 2014 the rapper actually had some decent bars to level at the 6 God. The drama began when Drake took shots at Tyga over the rumor that he was dating Kylie Jenner, having abandoned his partner, Blac Chyna, and their child, to be with Kylie. One problem? The Kardashian family member was underaged at the time of the beef. During an interview with Vibe from 2014, Tyga said: “I don’t like Drake as a person. He’s just fake to me. I like his music; you know what I’m saying? I think his music is good, but we’re all different people.”
After this, Drake liked a bunch of Blac Chyna photos on Instagram, which led to the release of “Make it Work,” where he pretty explicitly takes issue with Drizzy. Drake responded by returning to Instagram, this time posting a photo of Kylie Jenner. —Will Schube
Sauce Walka, “Wack 2 Wack”
Year: 2015
Target: Drake
Best Line: “Your name Aubrey in the six, they ain’t call you Drake/You been wanting to be a rapper but that shit was wack/Dropped some songs that didn’t work so you had to act/Nickelodeon ass nigga, coachin’ ass nigga/You ain’t black, you a fucking Cambodian ass nigga”
In retrospect, Sauce Walka’s “Wack to Wack” foreshadowed many of the disses Kendrick Lamar would later execute to perfection on “Not Like Us.” Sauce’s track critiques Drake’s biracial identity and calls out how the superstar rapper uses Houston for his personal gain. (Houston was the original Atlanta, if you ask Sauce.)
“A n*gga using our culture for lyrical content and ain’t giving shit back but a family fun day and some money to some hoes he tricking on in the club,” Sauce said about Drake, who would throw annual Appreciation Weekends in the city. “This bitch-ass n*gga makes music with artists from everywhere but Houston.”
Drake largely dismissed the diss—perhaps there’s a “mob ties” element at play—but the two, years later, were seen dapping it up in a club, so it seems like everything’s all good now? —Dimas Sanfiorenzo
Denzel Curry Feat. XXXTENTACION, “Purposely”
Year: 2016
Target: SpaceGhostPurrp
Best Line: “Claim you from the hood, boy, you stayed in Ives Dairy, bitch/ Nah, this ain’t no beef, this that Eazy and Jerry Heller shit”
Raider Klan founder and phonk rap pioneer SpaceGhostPurrp is no stranger to beefs, taking on everyone from the entire ASAP MOB to Lil Shark way back when the tragically deceased rapper was still a pre-teen sensation.
Perhaps the most impactful and intense of all his feuds, though, was with his own Raider Klan protege, Denzel Curry, who began to become a proper star after leaving the crew. Back in 2016, SpaceGhost set the internet aflame when he tweeted: “Like I said Fuck Lil B, fuck Rocky, fuck Yams, fuck y’all dead family members if you mad and if you mad fight me one on one be quiet.”
Curry eventually dropped “(RIP Yams) SpaceGhostPussy,” which led to SpaceGhost sharing “End Of Stan 2.” and “Training Day The End of Denzel.” Denzel had the final word with “Purposely,” a vicious diss track that featured the “ULT” rapper questioning Ghost’s authenticity. —Will Schube
Dame Dolla, “Reign Reign Go Away” (2019)
Year: 2019
Target: Shaquille O’Neal
Best Line: “It’d be wise to move on Aristotle ’cause this a gimme/All the money in the world, but traded you for Penny”
Most rap beefs after 2016 or so seem to rise from innocuous podcast comments. Even feuds involving professional athletes who fancy themselves MCs get started that way. At least it did for Damian Lillard and Shaquille O’Neal, who began beefing back in 2019.
Dame was promoting his album, Big D.O.L.L.A., and appeared on The Joe Budden Podcast, where he was asked about Shaq as a rapper. Dame said: “I think I rap better than Shaq. I’ve heard Shaq’s stuff. People weren’t looking like this a real rapper. It was like, ‘That’s Shaq rapping.’”
The Big Diesel didn’t take kindly to this slight, dropping a freestyle that took shots at the Trailblazers legend (he was still playing in Portland when the fight went down). Dame shared “Reign Reign Go Away” in response, making it clear that he wasn’t just another basketball player who wanted to rap. On the song, he spits, “Loved you when you was in beast mode/ Lowkey thought you was a cheat code/ Know that you shoot for the cheap hoes/ Shooting need work like your free throws.” —Will Schube
Lupe Fiasco, “Steve Jobs: SLR 3 1/2”
Year: 2021
Target: Royce da 5′9″
Best Line: “Your problem is that you ain’t never have no impact/Kit-Kats and chit-chat and syntax won’t make up for how much you sit back”
Royce Da 5’9” and Lupe Fiasco co-hosted a podcast in the early 2020s called The Lupe and Royce Show.
It featured the two brilliant, top tier lyricists diving into popular rap and cultural talking points. The duo began trading shots after a podcast episode featured battle rappers Murda Mook and Loaded Lux trying to convince Lupe to battle with Royce—something they had agreed they would never do. Lupe thought Royce was responsible for the indiscretion, and after icing him out Royce shared a Lupe diss, “Silence of the Lambda.”
The Chicago rapper responded in kind with “Steve Jobs: SLR 3 ½,” rapping:
“Listening to your track record, I could see you were skipping classics/ I did it on my first one and delivered to the masses/ Your songs are immemorable, your verses are impenetrable/ I ain’t even listen to that diss record, I only fuck with you ’cause of your interviews.” —Will Schube
Bhad Bhabie, “Ms. Whitman”
Year: 2025
Target: Alabama Barker
Best Line: “Why this bitch obsessed with me? I just don’t understand/You sucked the dick straight out my ass, who got the upper hand?”
While Bhad Bhabie getting into a feud is one of the least shocking outcomes of any situation, the fact that she went after Alabama Barker (daughter of Travis, for the uninitiated), and came through with straight heat was not on my Bingo card.
The issue began late last year when Alabama got involved in Bhad Bhabie’s on again, off again relationship with Le Vaughn, with whom Bhabie has a child. If you aim at the queen you best not miss, and Bhabie has absolutely pounced on the opportunity to tear down Barker. “Ms. Whitman,” which features a sample of Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival,” includes a number of vicious bars. Bhad Bhabie even drags Tyga into the drama. To top it off? The accompanying music video features a tattooed lookalike of Travis. (And there is now a weird AI subplot involving Ye.) We’ll see how Barker and her family responds, but for now, round one decidedly goes to the “Cash Me Outside” rapper. What a world. —Will Schube
View news Source: https://www.complex.com/music/a/will-schube/underrated-diss-tracks-rap-beefs
