50 Cent, “Back Down”
Year: 2003
Target: Ja Rule, Irv Gotti, Cadillac Tah, Black Child
Brutal Bars: “You’s a pop tart sweetheart, you soft in the middle/I eat you for breakfast, the watch was exchanged for your necklace.”
It’s a harsh world out there, particularly if you’re on top—or gunning for that role. But let’s face it: it’s two MCs battling for rap supremacy that can bring out the best in both of them, and creates the most fun for fans debating over who won any particular beef. And hip-hop, of course, has served up plenty over the years. As long as nothing ever bleeds into violence, rappers going at each other on wax is one of the most entertaining aspects of the artform, with cleverness often coming out on top, but brutal bars knocking out anything in their way.
While we’re in the midst—or are we? paging the Pinkprint Tour—of a rap battle between two of the top MCs in the game in Drake and Meek Mill, XXL decided to take a look at some of the more personal, pointed and brutal bars that have emerged in hip-hop over the years. From the infamous Jay Z vs. Nas feud to the far-reaching East Coast vs. West Coast dog fight to the battle for the title of King of the South, here are 50 of the most brutal diss lines in rap history
Year: 2003
Target: Ja Rule, Irv Gotti, Cadillac Tah, Black Child
Brutal Bars: “You’s a pop tart sweetheart, you soft in the middle/I eat you for breakfast, the watch was exchanged for your necklace.”
Year: 2001
Target: Jadakiss
Brutal Bars: “What’s funny Jason, really think you grimy too/Now everybody liked you better in that shiny suit.”
Year: 2007
Target: 50 Cent
Brutal Bars: “Act hard with a crack god that mack broads/That video ain’t Queens, it’s your backyard”
Year: 1998
Target: LL Cool J
Brutal Bars: “That shit was the worst rhyme I ever heard in my life/’Cause the greatest rapper of all time died on March 9th”
“Mad at me ’cause I kick that shit real niggas feel/While 99 percent of your fans wear high heels”
Year: 1996
Target: Ice Cube, Mack 10, WC
Brutal Bars: “A bitch nigga wit an attitude named Cube/Step to the Com wit’ a feud/Now what the fuck I look like dissing a whole coast/You ain’t made shit dope since AmeriKKKa’s Most.”
Year: 1992
Target: Eazy-E, BG Knocc Out, Tim Dog, Luke, Ice Cube
Brutal Bars: “Used to be my homie, used to be my ace/Now I wanna slap the taste out yo’ mouth/Make you bow down to the Row/Fuckin’ me, now I’m fuckin’ you, little hoe.”
Year: 2015
Target: Meek Mill
Brutal Bars: “You love her, then you gotta give the world to her/Is that a world tour or your girl’s tour?”
“Yeah, trigger fingers turn to Twitter fingers/You gettin’ bodied by a singin’ nigga/I’m not the type of nigga that’ll type to niggas/And shout out to all my boss bitches wife’n niggas”
Year: 1993
Target: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Death Row Records
Brutal Bars: “I hope that your fans understand when you talk about sprayin’ me/The same records that you makin’ is payin’ me.”
Year: 1987
Target: Queensbridge-based Juice Crew—Mr. Magic, Marley Marl, MC Shan, Roxanne Shante
Brutal Bars: “Manhattan keeps on makin’ it, Brooklyn keeps on takin’ it/Bronx keeps creatin’ it and Queens keeps on fakin’ it.”
Year: 2001
Target: Nas
Brutal Bars: “I came in your Bentley backseat, skeeted in your Jeep/Left condoms on your baby seat/Here nigga, the gloves is off, the love is done/It’s whatever, whenever, however nigga, one/And since you infatuated with saying that gay shit/Yes you was kissing my dick when you was kissing that bitch”
Year: 2003
Target: Benzino, The Source Magazine, Dave Mays
Brutal Bars: “I don’t need your little fucking magazine. I got XXL‘s number anyways…. And y’all can’t stand it ’cause they gettin’ bigger than y’all”
Year: 2013
Target: Jeezy
Brutal Bars: “I think the nigga just mad ’cause I fucked his ex/And I’m a big dog, he got the lil boy complex/Go dig your pat’na up, nigga, bet he can’t say shit/And if you looking for the kid I’ll be in Zone 6”
“I know it’s hard for you to sleep knowing you killed your homeboy/You left his son to be a bastard, won’t even raise ya own boy”
Year: 2005
Target: Jadakiss, Ja Rule, Fat Joe, Shyne, Lil Kim, Nas
Brutal Bars: “That fat nigga thought ‘Lean Back’ was ‘In Da Club’/My shit sold 11 mill, his shit was a dud/Jada, don’t fuck with me if you wanna eat/’Cause I’ll do yo little ass like Jay did Mobb Deep/Yeah homie, in New York niggas like your vocals/But that’s only New York, dawg, yo ass is local.”
Year: 1997
Firing Shots: LL Cool J
Target: Canibus
Brutal Bars: “The symbol on my arm is off limits to challengers /You hold the rusty sword, I swing the Excalibur”
Year: 1991
Target: N.W.A, Jerry Heller
Brutal Bars: “Lookin’ like straight bozos/I saw it comin’, that’s why I went solo.”
Year: 2003
Target: 50 Cent, Eminem, Dr. Dre
Brutal Bars: “Em, you claim your mother’s a crackhead and Kim is a known slut/So what’s Hailie gonna be when she grows up?”
Year: 2006
Target: Jay Z
Brutal Bars: “Back up, this one ain’t the only one with big wallets/Got it, my shits brollic, dot it, but your publishing should go to Ms. Wallace/Honest/Stealing B.I.G. shit, he made two albums, you wilding/And you can’t dress, dog, who’s styling?”
Year: 2001
Target: Beanie Sigel
Brutal Bars: “Niggas can’t stand you Sigel/Your flow is mine anyway, so don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
Year: 2013
Firing Shots: Jay Z
Target: Beanie Sigel, Cam’ron
Brutal Bars: “I’ve done made more millionaires than the lotto did/Dame made millions, Biggs made millions/’Ye made millions, Just made millions/Lyor made millions, Cam made millions/Beans’ll tell you if he wasn’t in his feelins”
Year: 2008
Target: Shawty Lo
Brutal Bars: “‘Cause I yell ‘Bankhead’ and you felt left out/I ain’t mention your name, that’s what all this ’bout?”
Year: 2004
Target: G-Unit, 50 Cent
Brutal Bars: “I think maybe the steroids is finally getting to him/Or maybe it’s people believing all the hard raps/Or maybe it’s the tank tops with the bra straps”
“As for Buck and Banks, I’m done discussin’ ’em/I only beef with niggas who own publishing”
“He keep his dudes in check, I keep it real with him/Punched Banks in the face and he still with ’em/Don’t worry ’bout me putting clips in the .40/To pistol whip Lloyd when 50’ll do it for me”
Year: 1987
Target: LL Cool J
Brutal Bars: “LL stands for Lower Level, Lack Luster/Last Least, Limp Lover…”
Year: 2015
Target: Tyga
Brutal Bars: “I heard a little little homie talking reckless in Vibe/That’s quite a platform you chose, you should’ve kept it inside/Oh, you tried/It’s so childish calling my name on the world stage/You need to act your age and not your girl’s age”
Year: 1986
Target: MC Shan and the Juice Crew
Brutal Bars: “So why don’t you wise up, show all the people in the place that you are wack/Instead of tryna take out LL, you need to take your homeboys off the crack.”
Year: 2005
Target: 50 Cent
Brutal Bars: “And I don’t got a problem with clout/You ain’t get shot again yet, so what’s your second album about?/Your raps are pre-school, you made a lot of money now be cool/’Fore I swell up your lips like seafood/Can I get a mic check? You don’t stand a chance/To dance with me dog, ya steps ain’t right yet/Block is just fine, homie, the D’s straight/Most likely your new CD is a weed plate/Bunch of love songs, 100 percent pure garbage/Just somethin’ to break up buds on.”
“Yeah, you got a felony, but you ain’t a predicate/Never the King of New York, you live in Connecticut”
Year: 1999
Target: DMX, Ja Rule, Foxy Brown, Murder Inc, The Firm
Brutal Bars: “Muthafuck D, Muthafuck M, Only X I know is Xzibit or RBX/Extraordinary, tryna snatch my bitch/You can have the bitch, two bitches gettin’ rich”
Year: 1987
Target: Kool Moe Dee
Brutal Bars: “How ya like me now? I’m getting busier/I’m double platinum, I’m watching you get dizzier.”
Year: 1988
Target: Antoinette, Hurby Luv Bug
Brutal Bars: “Hot damn, hoe, here we go again/Suckers steal a beat, when you know they can’t win.”
Year: 2015
Target: Drake
Brutal Bars: “Now when that shit went down with Chris, you wrote a check/In New Orleans, wore my chain to get respect (you a fraud)/So what that tell me? You a pussy and a fan/Say the wrong shit you know the shooters at your neck.”
Year: 1999
Target: 2pac
Brutal Bars: “Knocked out the box and got rocked/Got raped on the Island, you officially got/Kick that thug shit, Vibe Magazine on some love shit/Keep it real kid, ’cause you don’t know who you fucking with”
Year: 2001
Target: Jay Z, Roc-A-Fella Records, Dame Dash
Brutal Bars: “When these streets keep callin’, heard it when I was asleep/That Gay Z and Cock-A-Fella Records wanted beef.”
“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 hoes, y’all rock fellas/And now y’all try to take my spot, fellas”
Year: 1997
Target: Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Nas, Jeru The Damaja
Brutal Bars: “Your reign on the top was short like leprechauns/As I crush so-called willies, thugs, and rapper-dons”
“This goes out for those that choose to use/Disrespectful views on the King of N.Y./Fuck that, why try, throw bleach in your eye/Now ya brailling it, snatch that light shit, I’m scaling it”
Year: 2013
Target: Lil Wayne
Brutal Bars: “Contract all fucked up/I guess that means you all fucked up/You signed to one nigga that signed to another nigga/That’s signed to three niggas, now that’s bad luck”
Year: 2001
Target: Prodigy, Nas
Brutal Bars: “So yeah, I sampled your voice, you was usin’ it wrong/You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song.”
“I don’t care if you Mobb Deep, I hold triggers to crews/You little fuck, 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.”
Year: 1990
Target: Kool Moe Dee, MC Hammer, Ice-T
Brutal Bars: “You can’t handle the whole weight/Skin needs lotion, teeth need Colgate/Wise up, you little burnt-up french fry/I’m that type of guy.”
Year: 1987
Target: Boogie Down Productions
Brutal Bars: “Now KRS-One you should go on vacation/With that name soundin’ like a wack radio station”
Year: 2002
Target: Suge Knight
Brutal Bars: “I fucked all your groupies/When you was doin’ time in Camp Snoopy/With the fags and snitches, no killers, just bitches/And you was payin’ niggas off with all my riches”
Year: 2004
Target: Lil Flip
Brutal Bars: “Nigga, lyrically I’ll murk you/Physically I’ll hurt you/You ain’t never ran the streets, you had a curfew/Pussy nigga playing with me, you’ll be in the dirt soon”
“Tip will be the reason for the saddest day your momma seen/When I let this K slay a nigga like the Drama King”
Year: 1991
Target: Eazy-E, Ice Cube, N.W.A, Dr. Dre, Michel’le
Brutal Bars: “Dre beating on Dee from Pump It Up/Step to the Dog and get fucked up.”
Year: 1996
Target: The Notorious B.I.G., Bad Boy Records, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Lil Ceasse, Lil Kim and Junior M.A.F.I.A., Mobb Deep, Chino XL
Brutal Bars: “First off, fuck your bitch and the click you claim/Westside when we ride come equipped with game/You claim to be a player but I fucked your wife/We bust on Bad Boy’s niggas fucked for life.”