Most cultural significant rap beefs

01

Murder of Tupac Shakur

Four bullets hit Tupac Shakur in a Las Vegas BMW on September 7, 1996; he died six days later at 25. No shooter was ever charged. The case remains open, the silence institutional.

02

Not Like Us

Kendrick Lamar accused Drake of grooming minors, named him a predator over a beat, then watched it hit number one — a Billboard chart-topper built on a criminal allegation.

03

Hit 'Em Up

On a 1996 Death Row single, Tupac claimed to have slept with Faith Evans — Biggie's wife — while Biggie was alive. He said it over his own label's production, for all radio to hear.

04

Murder of the Notorious B.I.G.

Biggie Smalls was killed in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997 — six months after Tupac. The LAPD's own investigator identified a department officer as the prime suspect. The case was never prosecuted.

05

The Story of Adidon

Pusha T named Drake's hidden son Adonis and placed his image inside Drake's own Adidas campaign artwork — a diss track that used corporate branding as a delivery mechanism for a secret.

06

East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry

By 1997, two of rap's biggest figures were dead and their labels were in ruin. What began as promotional rivalry between Death Row and Bad Boy became geography that determined whose side you were on at gunpoint.

07

Ether (song)

Nas opened 'Ether' by invoking the name of Jay-Z's dead friend Aaliyah as leverage — a diss that treated grief as ammunition and became the genre's benchmark for destruction.

08

Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud

In spring 2024, Kendrick Lamar alleged Drake had a secret daughter in addition to the already-hidden son — across certified gold and platinum releases. Two children, neither confirmed, both now public record.

09

No Vaseline

Ice Cube named every member of N.W.A. individually on 'No Vaseline' in 1991, accused manager Jerry Heller of financial exploitation, and called his former bandmates race traitors — seven minutes, no chorus.

10

Back to Back (Drake song)

Drake mocked Meek Mill's silence after leaked ghostwriting allegations, released 'Back to Back' before Meek responded, and received a Grammy nomination — the first for a diss track in rap history.