OutKast were booed in New York, André 3000 stepped to the mic, and one sentence became a prophecy: the South had something to say.

Kendrick Lamar’s verse on Big Sean’s Control was not even officially on an album, but it shook rap like a public challenge to an entire generation.

Ja Rule was one of rap’s biggest hitmakers. 50 Cent arrived with street credibility, mockery, G-Unit momentum and a feud that changed the direction of early-2000s rap.

Jay-Z’s Takeover was surgical. Nas’s Ether was emotional destruction. More than 20 years later, rap fans still argue over which diss really won the war.

Tupac’s Hit ’Em Up was more than a diss record. It was rage, paranoia, revenge, Death Row confidence and East Coast–West Coast tension exploding on wax.

Meek Mill accused Drake of using a ghostwriter. Drake answered with Charged Up and Back to Back — and turned a serious authenticity attack into an internet victory lap.

A tweet about Hailie, years of tension, Rap Devil, and then Killshot — the Eminem and MGK feud became one of the biggest rap battles of the late 2010s.

Before Ether, Takeover, Hit ’Em Up and Not Like Us, the Bronx and Queensbridge fought over hip-hop’s birthplace — and KRS-One turned the battle into history.

Dr. Dre mocked Eazy-E on The Chronic, but Eazy came back with Real Muthaphuckkin G’s — a diss that attacked Dre’s image, history and street credibility.

Ice Cube left N.W.A, got mocked by his former group, then came back with No Vaseline — a ruthless solo attack many fans still call the greatest diss track ever recorded.

Before the disses and skits, the Eminem and Insane Clown Posse feud reportedly began with a flyer that listed ICP as appearing “maybe.”

Biggie denied that Who Shot Ya? was aimed at Tupac, but the timing helped turn a B-side into one of the most dangerous misunderstandings in rap history.

Pusha T did not just diss Drake. He changed the public story around Drake’s private life, his blackface photo, and the rollout that never happened.

A young Canibus asked LL Cool J about the microphone tattoo on his arm. LL took it as disrespect — and one of the strangest lyrical beefs of the late 90s exploded.

Before Get Rich or Die Tryin’, 50 Cent made himself impossible to ignore with How to Rob — a debut single that named half the industry and dared them to answer.

Drake’s Taylor Made Freestyle used AI-generated Tupac and Snoop Dogg voices in the Kendrick Lamar feud — then Tupac’s estate stepped in.

At just 14, Roxanne Shanté fired back at U.T.F.O. with Roxanne’s Revenge — and helped turn answer records into one of hip-hop’s defining traditions.

After Nas dropped Ether, Jay-Z answered with Supa Ugly — then his own mother reportedly told him he had gone too far.

Before 50 Cent turned In Da Club into a global birthday anthem, the beat reportedly passed through D12 and Rakim first. Here is the rap folklore version with the facts separated.

The truth behind one of hip-hop’s most infamous industry myths: Suge Knight, Vanilla Ice, Ice Ice Baby royalties, and the balcony story that refuses to die.