Diss (music)

[1] In the course of constructing their argument, artists often include a wealth of references to past events and transgressions in their diss tracks, which listeners can dive into.

[2][self-published source] Though the term "diss track" originated in hip-hop, there are many examples throughout music history of earlier songs written as attacks on specific individuals.

Notably in the song, Yankee Doodle puts only a "feather in his cap" and believes he thus qualifies as a "macaroni", a type of fashionable and sophisticated male European elite back then.

[5][6] Reggae musician Lee "Scratch" Perry was known for writing tracks that insulted his former musical collaborators.

[11][12][13][14] Lennon continued writing diss tracks after the break-up of the Beatles; his most forceful such song was "How Do You Sleep?

Marley Marl and MC Shan released the track "The Bridge" in 1985, in which they were perceived as claiming that the genre originated in Queensbridge.

There also existed smaller-scale rivalries during this period: Craig Werner describes "interminable ego duels between LL Cool J and Kool Moe Dee" during the later 1980s.

Other notable diss tracks resulting from the N.W.A breakup include Ice Cube's 1991 single "No Vaseline".

Rappers from other regions also became involved in the East Coast–West Coast feud at times; for instance, Chicago rapper Common exchanged diss tracks with Ice Cube after Common was perceived as having insulted the West Coast on his song "I Used to Love H.E.R.

"[22] The East Coast–West Coast rivalry came to be exemplified by the feud between 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G., which began after Biggie's song "Who Shot Ya?"

Drake, who at the time was signed to Young Money, subsequently entered the feud with "Tuscan Leather", a song on his 2013 album Nothing Was the Same.

This song sparked the response "Duppy Freestyle" from Drake, to which Pusha T responded with "The Story of Adidon".

Due to Drake's high level of commercial success and popularity, the feud and the diss tracks that followed received significant coverage from hip-hop media and beyond.

[30] In 2017, Rapper Remy Ma released a diss track aimed at Nicki Minaj named "Shether", a reference to Nas' "Ether", using the same beat.

[31] In 2018, rapper Eminem, who had a long history of being embroiled in feuds, released "Killshot" in response to Machine Gun Kelly's diss "Rap Devil".

[34] The feud further escalated on the night of May 3–4, when both rappers released tracks in quick succession: Drake's "Family Matters" accuses Lamar of physical abuse, and Lamar's "Meet the Grahams" – released just 20 minutes later – accuses Drake of having a second unacknowledged child and of sheltering sex offenders.

[42] Singer the Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, and Rick Ross would all attack Drake on their respective songs "All to Myself", "Show of Hands", and "Champagne Moments" in April.

In January 2024, Megan Thee Stallion released the song "Hiss", which dissed multiple unknown people in the music industry.

Minaj has been criticized for her relationship with registered sex offender, Kenneth Petty, who was convicted of attempted rape in 1995.

[46] Minaj responded with the song "Big Foot", which was heavily panned by audience and critics alike.