Nicki Minaj & Lil' Kim
MLK & Malcolm X Beef
Tupac & Biggie Beef
Jay Z & Nas Beef
Who: Jay Z
What: "Take Over" (Song)
When: September 11, 2001
Who: Nas
What: "Ether" (Song)
When: December 18, 2001
The beef between Jay-Z and Nas began in 2001 with the release of Jay-Z diss song, “Takeover”. In “Takeover” Jay-Z references the topic of sampling Nas’ vocals in an attempt to lower the status of his (Jay) opponents (Nas) creative style; Jay-Z said, “I sampled your voice, you was using it wrong/ You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song.” Jay-Z’s attack on Nas in the eyes of the public was a way of embarrassing Nas, this act provoked a response from Nas in the form of his own diss track, ‘Ether.” In ‘Ether”, Nas responded by attacking Jay-Z with a barrage of relentless critiques and pure aggression with lines such as, “Fuck Jay-Z” and “You a fan, a phony, a fake, a pussy, a Stan.” The beef between the two artist ended in a public ceasefire during a 2005 concert; whether or not the beef was an actual disagreement or a publicity stunt, the beef was forever ingrained in hip hop culture as iconic.
Who: The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie)
What: “Who Shot Ya” (Song)
When: February 20, 1995
Who: Tupac Amaru Shakur (Tupac)
What: “Hit’ Em Up” (Song)
When: June 4, 1996
The hip-hop rivalry between Biggie Smalls and Tupac occurred between 1994 and 1996 with songs from East coast rapper Biggie, “Who Shot Ya” (1994) and ‘Kick in the Door” (1997) and songs “Hit ‘Em Up” (1996) and “Against all Odds” (1996) from West coast rapper Tupac. This bicoastal beef began in 1994 with a robbery involving Tupac, suspicion of Biggie Smalls connection to the robbery resulted in Tupac lashing out against his former friend with accusations of treachery and betrayal. Tupac and Biggie were two of the most popular rappers during this time; this status led Tupac to believe that Biggie had orchestrated the robbery as a form of a “set-up” in order to claim the rank of the best rapper in the United States. The rivalry flourished in its use of geographical roots; such as Biggie boasting his connection to the East side in “Who Shot Ya”, “East coast motherfuckers” while Tupac began to embody the West Coast in “Hit Em Up”, “West side when we ride come equipped with the game.” The two rappers condemned each other as “weak” because of their affiliations, and used those affiliations to either West or East coast as a means of suspicion; a suspicion that eventually led to their deaths.
Who: Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK)
What: “I Have a Dream” (Speech)
When: August 28, 1963
Who: Malcolm X
What: "Message to Grassroots" (Speech)
When: November 10, 1963
The goal of creating equality in America during the Civil Rights Movement (1954 – 1968) was shared by both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., however; these individuals had differing ideologies. Malcolm X took a stance of unyielding force in the face of injustice and stressed the need to do what was necessary to be done regardless of the consequences. This was demonstrated in his 1963 speech “Message to the Grassroots”, “There's no such thing as nonviolent revolution...revolution is bloody, revolution is hostile. In this conflict of ideologies Malcolm X’s proposed a call of action against the oppressor, which was a direct disagreement of MLK’s proposition of a non-violent approach to civil revolution. MLK described his concept for a peaceful revolt in his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, in which he stated, “We must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force”, the comparison of physical vs. soul was a call for his followers to rise above the temptation of using violence as a means of achieving their goal; instead, to respond with mental and emotional strength. The clash in ideologies between Malcolm X and MLK created two factions within the Civil Rights Movement; those who sided with MLK followed the idea of peaceful revolution, and those who sided with Malcolm X followed the idea of victory-by-any-means-necessary.
Who: Nicki Minaj
What: "Stupid Hoe" (Song)
When: December 11, 2011
Who: Lil' Kim
What: ‘Identity Theft” (Song)
When: August 6, 2014
The beef between Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim officially began with Lil Kim’s song ‘Identity Theft”; however, the underlying meaning of the beef conceptualized a schism in rap culture characterized by a battle between the new and the old forms of hip-hop. The two artists shared a history together with the label Cash Money, in this situation, the two divas recorded a song and before it could be marketed the Cash Money label shelved the project with reasons such as; the song not performing well and for creating tensions between the two artists. The label, Cash Money, then proceeded to release Lil Kim from its roster, Lil Kim stated that the label used her for their own gain when she stated, “They kind of used me to stamp it, because they knew that they were gonna kinda steal my swag." The beef provoked responses from the music industry with responses from artists Lil Mama and Azealia Banks, who went on to harshly critique Nicki Minaj for attacks that she began to directed at Kim on social media. The nature of the beef created a culture in which Nicki Minaj was pushed further into the spotlight and contributed to a rise in popularity, while highlighting the decline of Lil Kim’s status as a contemporary rapper in the face of a new generation.
