Top Diss Tracks Of All Time include 1. No Vaseline by Ice Cube 2. Hit Em Up by Tupac 3. Back To Back By Drake amongst others.
A Diss track, also referred to as a diss record or diss song, is a type of song that is typically used to verbally attack a person, usually another artist. Oftentimes, they are the result of an existing feud between two individuals; former members of a group, or artists from rival labels.
Built on the foundation of hip-hop rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast, diss tracks are deeply rooted in hip-hop culture.
Since the evolution of hip-hop, there have been some highly prominent beefs with hard-hitting lyrics which often go back and forth between the artists and have raised the bar for modern-day diss tracks.
Top Diss Tracks Of All Time
| Song Name: | Artist Name: |
| No Vaseline | Ice Cube |
| Hit Em Up | Tupac |
| Back To Back | Drake |
| Killshot | Eminem |
| The Story of Adidon | Pusha T |
| Real Compton City G’s | Eazy-E |
| Back Down | 50 Cent |
| Rap Devil | Machine Gun Kelly |
| Ether | Nas |
| Takeover | Jay-Z |
You May Like:
Top 10 Hip Hop Albums Of All Time
10 Most Attractive Rappers Of All Time
10. Takeover By Jay-Z
Takeover By Jay-Z is one of the Best Diss Rap Songs ever recorded. It is the second track from his sixth album The Blueprint.
Written by Jay-Z, the track was produced by Kanye West. It was released on September 11, 2001, via Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings.
Nas and Jay-Z had a deep-rooted rivalry that saw them constantly at each other’s neck. Jay would diss Nas on stage and lead him to release a diss track towards Jay-Z, which then prompted Jay-Z to retaliate with Takeover.
The Diss can be described as a finely tuned essay that prioritized the downfall of Nas’ career and his downfall from the top of the genre. However, Nas’ response in “Ether” would instead revive him again.
One of the hardest-hitting lines from the song goes like this:
Had a spark when you started, but now, you’re just garbage / Fell from top ten to not mentioned at all / To your bodyguard Oochie Wally verse better than yours
9. Ether By Nas
Ether is one of the Best Rap Diss Tracks ever. It serves as a payback to Jay-Z’s “Takeover”.
It was taken as the second track from Nas’ 2001 album Stillmatic. Released on December 4, 2001, through Columbia Records the song has been dubbed a “classic” diss track and the “wildest” in hip-hop history by many music critics and publications.
The lyrics primarily insulted Jay-Z in various aspects. Nas question’s Jay’s persona, while also claiming he is a copycat who tried to cling to his mentors.
The song peaked at number 50 on US Billboard Hot R&B/ Hip-Hop Songs on December 29, 2001. It also spent 14 non-consecutive weeks on the chart.
Rapper Jay-Z further responded to “Ether” will two tracks – “People Talkin” and “Supa Ugly”. Anyways, the feud was beneficial to Nas’ career as it marked the reemergence of Nas into the hip-hop scene once again.
8. Rap Devil By Machine Gun Kelly
Rap Devil is one of the most remarkable diss tracks in recent memory. It was a single from the American rapper Machine Gun Kelly’s second EP Binge.
Rap Devil’s title is meant as a play from Eminem’s lyrical masterpiece “Rap God.” It is a response to the older rapper’s song “Not Alike” from the surprise album Kamikaze in which he insulted MGK.
Lyrically, MGK attacks the rapper’s inability to age gracefully in the hip-hop scene and questions why the 50-year-old rapper attempted to have him banished from the Shades 45 radio stations.
The song peaked at number 13 on Billboard Hot 100 in the US while it also topped the US iTunes Chart. It has earned Gold and Silver certifications in the US and UK respectively.
The song accompanying music video premiered on YouTube on September 3, 2018. As of May 18th, 2023, the video has been viewed over 367 million times.
7. Back Down By 50 Cent
Back Down is one of the Greatest Diss Tracks Of All Time. It was the tenth track from 50 Cent’s debut studio album Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
The diss was written by Jackson, Young, Neff-U, and Elizondo and produced by Dr. Dre.
In “Back Down”, 50 Cent is setting off an attack aimed at Ja Rule, who he has been in beef with for many years. The song was a tiebreaker and would become a huge blow to Ja’s musical career.
50 Cent has no mercy in the song, going after all the people around him, including his parents, wife, and even kids.
The chorus of the song goes like this:
It’s easy to see when you look at me
If you look closely, 50 don’t back down
Everywhere I go, both coasts with toast
East side, west side, I hold that MAC down
6. Real Compton City G’s By Eazy-E
Real Compton City G’s is a diss track released as a single from American rapper Eazy-E’s EP It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa released on August 26, 1993.
The diss track is a response to Eazy’s former N.W.A groupmate Dr.Dre and his guest rapper Snoop Dogg had dissed the rapper on “Dre Day”.
Dr. Dre left N.W.A to launch his own record label Death Row in 1991. In retaliation, Eazy spent the entire song taking shots at Dr. Dre and all of the Death Row roster.
It also addresses how Eazy was making money off of Dr. Dre’s diss track, due to their contract, which was included in the line such as:
I hope that your fans understand when you talk about spraying me, the same records that you makin’ is paying me
The track reached number 42 on US Billboard Hot 100 while also speaking at number 2 on US Hot Rap Songs.
5. The Story of Adidon By Pusha T
The Story of Adidon is one of the Best Diss Tracks Of All Time. It was released independently by the American rapper Pusha T on May 29, 2018.
Written by Pusha T himself, the song is a response to Drake’s diss track “Duppy Freestyle”, which took shots at the artist and Kanye West.
The track reuses the instrumental from Jay-Z’s “The Story of O.J.” while the lyrics focus more on Drake’s character and his personal relationship than the topic surrounding beef with Pusha T.
Pusha claims that Drake allegedly had a baby with an adult film star named “Adonis”, which inspired the title name. He also insults Drake’s close associates including his mother, father, label boss, and producer in the diss track.
One of the lines which criticize Drake is as follows:
Drug dealin’ aside, ghostwritin’ aside
Let’s have a heart-to-heart about your pride
Even though you’re multi, I see that your soul don’t look alive
4. Killshot By Eminem
Arguably one of the Best Diss Tracks Ever is Killshot by Eminem. It was released as a single on September 14, 2018.
The song is a payback to Machine Gun Kelly’s song “Rap Devil” which dissed Eminem. The rap god responded with a banger and referred to MGK as a “mumble rapper” throughout the track.
The song debuted at number 3 on Billboard Hot 100 during its initial week of release and also reached number 13 on UK Singles Chart. It has been certified Gold by the BPI for selling 400,000 copies in the UK.
It gained over 38.1 million views on YouTube within the first 24 hours, making it one of the most viewed videos in the first 24 hours. Currently, the video has 455,459,679 views on YouTube.
3. Back To Back By Drake
Back To Back by Drake is a song by the Canadian rapper released on July 29, 2015, as a single and a second diss track aimed at Meek Mill.
After rumors started circulating that Drake didn’t write his own bars, Meek Mills called out the Canadian star for being a fake rapper. Within two days, Drake came in hot with two disses and entirely dismantled Meek’s musical career.
The song debuted at number 21 on US Billboard Hot 100 while also debuting at number 27 on Canadian Hot 100. It sold 122,000 digital copies in the first weeks and raked up 4.5 million streams.
As of now, the song has earned 2x Platinum certifications from the RIAA for selling 2 million copies in the US, whereas it is certified Silver by the BPI.
The song also garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Performance in 2016 but lost to Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright”.
2. Hit Em Up By Tupac
Hit Em Up is a diss track of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry. It is the B-side to the single “How Do U Want It” and was released on June 4, 1996.
The diss track is the epitome of East Coast vs West Coast beef which is particularly aimed at Shakur’s former friend, Notorious B.I.G, who is viciously insulted throughout the song.
There is a huge controversy surrounding the song, as Tupac was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas just three months after the release of the song.
The official music video was recorded in a warehouse in Los Angeles on June 3, 1996, and features Shakur alongside The Outlawz in a white room. It has been viewed 614,862,867 on YouTube.
The song gained moderate commercial success, achieving Gold certification in the UK for selling 400,000 copies.
1. No Vaseline By Ice Cube
No Vaseline is one of the top diss tracks of all time. It is by the American rapper Ice Cube as the 20th track from his 1991 album Death Certificate.
While splitting up with the N.W.A. following the contract issue, Cube decided to go off on his own and stayed silent on the matter. It wasn’t until the group members called him out in one of the albums 100 Miles and Runnin’ that he decided to clap back.
In the lyrics, Cube specifically addresses Heller and Eazy-E, the primary owners of the group’s record label, using homophobic and antisemitic slurs to criticize Eazy for siding with Heller.
The iconic diss track has been sampled in many songs by renowned artists including “Dazz” by Brick, “Vapors” by Biz Markie, “To Da Break of Dawn” by LL Cool J, and many others.