I heard recently about the Everlast & Eminem lyric war “Whitey’s revenge” and thought it was hilarious.
Are there any other similar lyric wars that have happened with other rappers? I mean witty ones, both Everlast and Enimem had some GREAT poetical attacks. I’m not into rap that much, but this was priceless.
I think Nas and Jay Z had something going for a while.
I like both their tunes, both good beats, both tight diss…
I always liked “Whitey’s Revenge.” When he says
That’s just cold.
But as for your question, there are hundreds of these rap wars. The most famous, of course, was Tupac vs. B.I.G., which spilled over into real life. There’s a documentary series called Beef that gives an overview of a lot of these wars.
As to specific beefs, tr0psn4j mentioned Nas vs. Jay Z. Listen to “Takeover” by Jay Z and “Ether” by Nas for the best songs from that beef. (plus, Nas’ “The Last Real Nigga Alive” gives the story of their rivalry from Nas’ point of view.)
You might enjoy LL Cool J vs. Canibus. Listen to “4,3,2,1” by LL Cool J (LL disses Canibus in the final verse), then “2nd Round KO” by Canibus.
And then The Ripper Strikes Back, which is LL Cool J’s response, and which I kind of think was the end of that, winner-and-loser-wise.
And the title to that song is a reference to Jack the Ripper, which was part of a fairly spectacular feud with Kool Moe Dee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6H0i1RAdHk is my favorite.
Don’t forget one of the first (if not the first) - UTFO’s song “Roxanne, Roxanne” and the response from a female rapper named Roxanne Shante.
Tupac v. Biggie ?
Well, Professor Elemental has issued a challenge to Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer, although I do not believe Mr. B has yet lowered himself to respond.
If you liked the Em/Everlast thing, look for Eminem’s lyrics about DJ Lethal, “If you’re scared of Whitey Ford, just say you’re scared of Whitey Ford…” and D12’s lyrics about Fred Durst.
Didn’t Eminem have a thing with Jermaine Dupree for a while?
They’re not rappers, but apparently Ben Folds’ song “Brainwascht” is directed towards a husband and wife team called Fleming and John. They apparently (I use that word again because I mean, really, who knows) target Ben in a song called “Wrong”, in which they say:
*I thought you were the kind of friend
I’d have until the bitter end
I’d follow you around the world
And back again
I thought you had integrity
I thought you loved your family
I thought that you were everything I wanted to be
But I was wrong
I was wrong
But I was wrong about you…
about you…*
Ben Folds fires back with this, with the background vocals in parentheses:
If you wanna write a letter, write a letter
If you’d rather make a phone call, pick up the phone up
and call me
But if you had to say it all with a pop song,
couldn’t you at least have written me a good one?
…
If you’ve gotta write an essay, do your research
(If you gotta) Stick your nose in a boy and girl fight, hear both sides first
There’s something wrong being copied on a memo
in the form of a bad country demo
Isn’t there something in the Bible about forgiveness and love
And more importantly about those stones and what your house is
made of
You might reflect upon your own arrangement
In ‘94 gettin’ blown in your basement (while your wife slept)
(Integrity… family… online rhyming dictionary…)
*
I think Ben wins. 