Hip-Hop Wars

Without huge egos hip-hop would be lost, what would we have Kanye West, 50 Cent, and Snoop Dogg write about? A vital foundation on which hip-hop has built itself upon is the feud. Throughout its inception, hip-hop has had to endure legendary feuds between greats while laughing at the lame (ie Chingy vs. Nelly). This list is my greatest hip-hop wars.

Honorable mention: Eminem vs. Canibus, Ice Cube vs. NWA, LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee, 50 Cent vs. Kanye West, and 50 Cent vs. everyone

5. Marley Marl vs. KRS-One
One of the first real hip-hop feuds between equally established artists, the South Bronx vs. Queens feud set the blueprint for rap feuds to come. KRS-One’s Boogie Down Productions managed to tussle with Marley Marl’s Juice Crew over the true birthplace of hip-hop. BDP’s “The Bridge is Over” finally ended the feud maintain that “Bronx keeps creatin it, and Queens keeps on fakin it.” While today the feud may seem obsolete, this set the tone for which hip-hop would keep for the next 20 years.
Winner: KRS-One and the South Bronx


4. Common vs. Ice Cube
In 1994, Common’s hip-hop classic Resurrection dropped complete with the prophetic “I Used to Love HER” (a personal fav) in which Common basically claimed that the west coast had commercialized hip-hop, rather than focusing on Afrocentricity or empowerment. Ice Cube naturally took offense and the true West Coast vs. East Coast feud began. These two legendary rappers eventually ended their feud after Tupac and Biggie’s deaths but its legacy still stands as a true battle between titans of the coasts. Plus, Common's The Bitch in Yoo is just straight up savage.
Winner: Common


3. Dr. Dre vs. Eazy-E
After NWA dissolved in 1991, allegations that manager Jerry Heller and Eazy-E had screwed the group out of its fair share surfaced. In 1992 Dr. Dre released classic diss “Fuck Wit Dre Day” slamming Eazy with lines “stompin on the 'Eazy'est streets that you can walk on, so strap on your Compton hat, your locs, and watch your back cause you might get smoked, loc.” Eazy could not respond strongly and till his death in 1995, most declared Dre the winner. Although the battle wasn’t the greatest, the sheer savageness of songs, disses, and ruined friendship stand as a testament to the power of greed and hip-hop.
Winner: Dr. Dre


2. 2Pac vs. Biggie
I personally think these two artists are massively overrated. Now don’t get all pissy, I have an opinion too. But I have to say, this was one of the greatest battles ever. Two charismatic, hot-headed, young talented guys that just happened to turn shit too far. Instead of reconciling, the two former friends managed to create gods of hip-hop. While neither enjoyed international fame until after their death, the two managed to turn hip-hop into a serious game. Prior to Tupac’s death in 1996, most hip-hop artists would see how far they could push each other until one snapped. Now, unsaid boundaries are followed but only because of these two great emcees deaths.
Winner: none.


1. Nas vs. Jay-Z
This is on the top for one reason: both rappers were just about equally skilled, talented, and passionate. More importantly, both realized the mistakes of their ways and managed to end their shit before anything happened. After Biggie’s death, the king of New York hip-hop remained vacant. The established Nas was challenged by cocky newcomer Jay-Z who slammed Nas in “Takeover.” Not to be taken lightly, Nas responded with the jam “Ether” while the whole feud revived both rappers careers. I love both artists and throughout their whole feud, classic music was made. Because both never actually attacked one another or let things get too far, no serious threat was imminent. Instead, the throne of king of hip-hop was the only thing that was up for grabs, not lives. Taking lessons from the deaths of Biggie and Tupac, the two managed to squash their beef in 2005. As I said, I believe that both rappers were of just about equal talent who managed to learn before it was too quickly.
Winner: Us! (well Nas really…)


So that's list. As you can probably tell, I was pretty bored. Common> Nas> Jay-Z> KRS-One> Ice Cube> Tupac> Biggie> Marly Marl> Dr. Dre> Eazy-E

Michael