Not Like Us: Top 8 hip-hop diss tracks of all time

The beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake and its ensuing narratives took over the music industry in 2024. The two rap titans engaged in a highly personal and piercing feud, that made way for allegations about the two men’s palpably flawed natures once hidden from the public eye in a back and forth that dominated the landscape of pop culture.

Given the stature of the artists involved and what was potentially at stake for both men, the mutual distaste has even spilled over into 2025 with neither inching closer to letting go and distancing themselves from the ongoing squabble.

Once the dust settled and every pointed blow from either side had landed, Kendrick’s ‘Not Like Us’ emerged as the standout track from the entire ordeal. This notion was cemented in February of this year when Lamar’s work on the record secured him a Grammy award for his efforts (1 of 5 total that night) and served as the highlight of his Super Bowl Half Time show, which became the most watched of all time, garnering an impressive 133.5 million views.

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A History of Diss Tracks

Hip-hop beefs and diss tracks have been a staple of the genre since the 1980s when rappers truly began to channel their contempt for their peers into their music. With the artists of that time being in the position to have to fight to express themselves freely, these feuds became an expression of their artistry through a more personal form of connection than ever before. The degree of the vitriol varied greatly depending on the artists involved, with the end results sometimes unfortunately ending in real violence and some genuinely scary moments.

The standout clashes that come to mind in the earlier stages of hip hop’s rise include the East Coast vs West Coast feud, highlighted by Biggie Smalls and 2Pac and Ice Cube’s infamous parting of ways with N.W.A. Since then, we’ve seen titans Jay-Z and Nas battle for New York, a hip-hop publication force Eminem to flex his pen, and a couple of more artists taking shots at Drake with mixed results. With that in mind, let’s examine a list of the 10 most scathing tracks that come to mind when dissecting hip-hop rivalries over the years.

Kendrick Lamar - 'Meet The Grahams'

‘Meet the Grahams’, released on May 3, 2024, less than an hour after Drake dropped ‘Family Matters’, and seemingly pulled ahead in their ongoing confrontation for good. The timing of Lamar’s release was truly impeccable, and his words seemed to cut deeper at Drizzy than any attack that had come before it. The track was written in the form of a letter addressing Drake’s immediate family as well as the rapper himself. Kendrick accuses Drake of being an absentee parent, hiring documented predators to his OVO record label, and even preying on younger women in his own right. Perhaps the most scathing section comes when Kendrick speaks out to Drake’s alleged secret daughter.

"Dear baby girl, I'm sorry that your father not active inside your world/He don’t commit to much but his music, yeah, that’s for sure/He a narcissist, misogynist, livin' inside his songs/Try destroy families rather than takin' care of his own”

Nas - ‘Ether’

Jay-Z seemed to end Nas on 2001’s ‘The Takeover’. At the risk of responding to Jay-Z brutal body blow without the proper forethought, Nas retreated into himself and away from the spotlight for a few months before emphatically sending Hov to the canvas with the release of ‘Ether’ which cemented his Stillmatic record as a modern classic. On the track, Nas shows no mercy as he attacks Jay’s looks, skills, and propensity to retread former Biggie Smalls lyrics within the verses of his songs. His very graphic and perverse verbal assault begins with a memorable excerpt towards the beginning of the tune.

“Started cocking up my weapon, slowly loading up this ammo/To explode it on a camel, and his soldiers, I can handle/This for dolo and it's manuscript, just sound stupid/When KRS already made an album called Blueprint”

Ice Cube - 'No Vaseline'

The establishment of N.W.A. and the essence of their music marked an important turning point in American pop culture while also shedding light on underlying racial tensions abundant at the time. The hip-hop group served as a launching pad for the careers of West Coast legends Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E, but the group dynamic eventually soured to the point of real animosity.

Once Ice Cube left the Compton squad, he went all out with ‘No Vaseline’, a scathing take on his former group members as well as manager Jerry Heller. Cube terrorized all those mentioned to the point that N.W.A. never even issued a response, choosing instead to surrender and live to fight another day. Cube’s many memorable bars include

“Lookin' like straight Bozos/I saw it comin' that's why I went solo/And kept on stompin’/When y'all motherf**kers moved straight outta Compton”

50 Cent - 'Back Down'

Ja Rule was on the verge of minted superstar status until he chose to feud with 50 Cent. The Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ rapper proceeded to eviscerate Ja from the musical landscape in an attack that started with ‘Back Down’. The attack was vulgar and left little to the imagination,

“Your mammy, your pappy, that b*tch you chasin’/ Your little dirty-a** kids, I’ll f**king erase ’em.”

Thanks to Curtis’ pettiness, the ‘In Da Club’ rapper still hasn’t let the beef go, despite winning by a landslide over 20 years ago. Never change Fifty.

Drake - 'Back to Back'

Drake’s beef with Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill started when Meek publicly denied their similarities in styles and even went as far as to say that Drake didn’t write his own music. Drake took the jab personally and unleashed on Meek in ‘Back 2 Back’ which crushed any chance at forward momentum for Meek’s career, and decidedly ended their confrontation. One of the most memorable bars from Drake’s attack was when he took shots at Meek’s ability to back up his previous claims that began the feud in the first place.

“Yeah, Trigger fingers turn to Twitter fingers/You getting bodied by a singing ni**a”

He also referenced longtime friend and collaborator Nicki Minaj to diminish Meek’s standing in the game.

“Is that a world tour or your girl’s tour?”

Pusha T - Story of Adidon

When Drake publicly addressed his issues with Kanye West in reference to the infamous ‘Lift Yourself’ drama, he also had strays for his G.O.O.D. music collaborators which then included an up and coming Pusha T. Drake mentioned the former The Clipse rapper and his fiancée explicitly on his ‘Duppy Freestyle’ which lead Pusha to respond emphatically with ’The Story of Adidon’.

Heartbreak Drizzy was not ready for this one at all as Pusha dropped the track and assertively ended the beef almost as quickly as it began. Pusha’s most intense accusations included Drake’s purported decision to reveal his son as part of a press run in conjunction with Adidas.

“You are hiding a child, let that boy come home/ Deadbeat mothaf**ka playin’ border patrol/ Adonis is your son/ And he deserves more than an Adidas press run, that’s real,”

2Pac ft. Outlaws - ‘Hit ‘Em Up’

‘Hit ‘Em Up’ has stood the test of time as one of the most significant diss records in the history of hip-hop. What’s interesting is that while it served as a retort to Biggie’s ‘Who Shot Ya’, it was never even confirmed whether the Notorious B.I.G.’s track was intended for Pac to begin with. Regardless, Tupac proceeded to craft a scathing blitz on Smalls, one the media arguably sensationalized until it ended in utter tragedy for the two.

While there are so many quotable bars here, in this case, it would definitely be worth giving the entire track a listen to take in the magnitude of its importance in rap history.

D12 (Eminem) - ‘Girls’

No bankable best-of list in hip-hop can be established without including Eminem. As far as beef goes, ‘The Great White Hype’ has always handled himself masterfully in these verbal wars especially when it came to his feud with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.

While the song was officially released by D12, Eminem is the only artist present on the track where he fires shots at Fred Durst as well as Everlast and the Dilated Peoples. While the beef may not have escalated drastically in terms of stakes, this entry deserves its spot on the list because it’s just a great song, especially to those nostalgic for that era of Shady's career. The post-chorus section chalks out Em’s outlook pretty clearly and serves as a warning for others contemplating firing shots of their own.

“Now i dont ask nobody to share my beliefs or be involved in my beefs, im a man i can stand on my feet/so if you dont wanna be in them, all i ask that you dont open your mouth with an opinion, and i wont put you in them”