[2] Nas has described the song title as a reference to a superstition about ghosts disliking the fumes from ether, explaining that he desired "to affect [Jay-Z] with my weapon and get to his soul" in a similar fashion.
Instead, Nas describes Jay-Z as a sycophantic copycat who attempted to latch onto a string of mentors, including Jaz-O, Big Daddy Kane, Irv Gotti, and the Notorious B.I.G.
Several lines in the song also feature homophobic insults: Nas refers to Jay-Z as "Gay-Z", and describes him as "a dick-riding faggot" with "dick-sucking lips".
[4] In a 2012 interview with hip-hop website ThisIs50, fellow rapper Large Professor claimed that an earlier version of "Ether" was produced by Swizz Beatz and featured even more offensive lyrics, including a line where Nas allegedly raps "It should've been you in that plane crash", a reference to the 2001 plane crash that caused the death of American singer Aaliyah, which occurred during the early stages of the Jay-Z–Nas feud.
[5] Large Professor expanded on this in a further interview with DJ Vlad in 2019, stating that the full lyric reads "Sorry Aaliyah / I'm sorry it was you in the plane crash / It should've been Jay..."[6] "Ether" was released in 2001 on December 4, Jay-Z's 32nd birthday.
On this day, Jay-Z and Dame Dash visited a New York City club where the DJ started to play the song.
"[7] Jay-Z responded to "Ether" with two tracks; in the first "People Talkin'", he mocks Nas' lyrical ability and height, among other traits.
Stillmatic and its standout track "Ether" marked Nas' return to popularity two years after having released his critically panned album Nastradamus.
Many fans still credit Ether as the revival of Nas' career; while he has not matched the commercial success of It Was Written or I Am..., his work since Stillmatic has been received better critically.
[15] Shortly after Nas released the song, the word "ether" entered the hip hop lexicon as a slang expression, meaning to ruthlessly humiliate an opponent.
"To 'ether' someone," writes Son Raw, "means to completely dismantle them in a rap battle with no regard for petty concerns such as 'logic' or 'cleverness' – it's a giant shock-n-awe display of machismo meant to scar the victim for life and leave an unmistakable blemish on his career.
[3][17] Ether has also been referenced and sampled by rappers who have sought to stylize their own diss recordings along similar lines of severity, including Game, Joe Budden, Saigon, Shyne, and Joey Bada$$ among others.
In 2012, Cassidy alluded to the song in his threat against Meek Mill, stating, "If I do a diss record, it's going to be on the 'Ether' level if not worse."
Remy Ma also used the instrumentals for her own diss track titled "Shether" aimed at Nicki Minaj which was released on February 25, 2017.