Best Diss Tracks in the Past 10 Years

I’m not sure what’s in the water, but in 2024 it seems like everyone wants war.

I blame that Kat Williams interview from January – it put the whole game on demon time.

In the past few weeks specifically, hip-hop has seen a glut of “diss tracks,” starting with Kendrick Lamar’s now-infamous callout of Drake and J. Cole on “Like That.”

Funny thing is, that wasn’t even a diss – instead, it more of a challenge to the other members of the Big Three, daring them to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the king.

I love it. That wasn’t beef. That was hip-hop.

But the tracks we’re discussing today go much deeper than mere sparring sessions. Back in 2015, I gave you my top 10 picks for the greatest disses in rap history, but a lot has changed in the following nine years. Instead of focusing on the classics, let’s revisit the most venomous bars of the past decade: The 10 most potent disses of the last 10 years.

Before we begin, a reminder – I don’t consider “Like That,” nor “Control,” Kendrick’s other warning shot, diss tracks. They won’t be included. Also, if I excluded your favorite rapper from this list … sorry, tell them to go harder next time. When it’s time for war, we don’t grade on a curve.

HONORABLE MENTION: Ghostface Killah, “Be For Real”

The Victim: Action Bronson

I know this is a HUGE cheat but it’s too hilarious to leave off the list. GFK took great exception to Bronson’s comments that insinuated that the Wallaby Champ had fallen off. The result was not a diss record per se, but Ghost absolutely blistering Bronson in a 6-minute rant while Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes blared in the background. It was basically your most gangsta uncle verbally skinning you alive in the middle of the family cookout. This moment was way too good to be forgotten.

10. Drake, “Back to Back”

The Victim: Meek Mill

The rap wars of 2015 were hilarious to me, as it was the first time the Twitter generation of rap fans witnessed a beef between their own play out. Of course, it was nowhere near the “No Vaseline” and “Hit Em Ups” that preceded them, but even I’ll admit that Drake’s clapback and Meek Mill for ghostwriting allegations (*cough*) was better than I expected. There are several diss tracks out there that smash this one lyrically and creatively, but none carry the legacy of “Back to Back” so it’s only right to include here. Plus it was just the beginning of Meek’s destiny as hip-hop’s favorite punching bag, so it has to make the list for that alone.

9. J. Cole, “False Prophets”

The Victim: Kanye West

I wanted to rank this higher, but the diss is essentially one verse, with the other verse giving constructive criticism to Cole’s boy Wale. The Kanye bars are subtle but extremely prophetic, lamenting the downward spiral of one of rap’s greatest trendsetters: “While the world’s eggin’ him on, I’m beggin’ him to stop it/Playin’ his old s***, knowin’ he won’t top it.” Keep in mind this was in 2016, long before Ye was parading his wife down the street in a full-length condoms and throw pillows. Call him Colestradamus.

8. Chris Brown, “Weakest Link”

The Victim: Quavo

Listen, I’m the first one to call out my Cousin Chris for his rampant mediocrity, but give the dancin’ devil his due – he went scorched earth on this one. When the tatted toddlers decided to scrap over the affections of Karrueche Tran, CB unleashed that New Flame, rapping with more ferocity than ACTUAL rappers. If he showed this much passion on his albums maybe I’d give him something higher than the usual 3-star reviews. Some say Breezy went too far invoking the name of Quavo’s slain partner Takeoff but those Va boys play dirty. I would know!

7. Joe Budden, “Making a Murderer Pt. 1”

The Victim: Drake (and Meek Mill because, of course)

*Whispers*: Hey kids, that guy on that podcast you like? He used to rap. And he was pretty good. Just ask Aubrey. After Budden called out Drake for that so-so Views album (you and me both, playa…) Drake dropped a few subliminal lines in “4PM in Calabasas.” That awoke the sleeping giant, making Budden go into beast mode, accusing Drake of ghostwriting (funny how that keeps coming up!) and trampling his credibility. Meek catches a few strays too because it’s required by hip-hop law.

6. Freddie Gibbs, “Real”

The Victim: Jeezy

It felt like Gibbs spent the first half of his career throwing rocks at his former boss Jeezy, but it really culminated here. The first half of “Real” is cool, not much that we hadn’t heard before from this neverending beef. But it’s producer Madlib’s beat switch halfway through that greatly elevates things. The beat is heavenly but Freddie is anything but, leaving NOTHING to the imagination. He basically calls Jeezy a fraud and dares him to do something about it. The fact that the production sounds like brunch at the pearly gates makes it even more menacing.

5. Eminem, “Killshot”

The Victim: Machine Gun Kelly

MGK was literally asking for this decimation. After picking fight after fight with Em, including going after his daughter, Eminem finally answer the challenge. And, as expected, he was instantly beheaded. We all peeped game – MGK thought he could make a name for himself by knocking the other white rapper off his perch. Sure, 2018 Marshall was far from his early 2000s final form. But Cap Gun Kelly brought rubber bullets to a bazooka fight, and Old Man Em smoked him like a Christmas ham. “Younger me? No, you the wack me, it’s funny but so true/I’d rather be 80-year-old me than 20-year-old you.” Em’s still Em, y’all.

4. The Game, “Pest Control”

The Victims: Meek Mill, Beanie Sigel and Omelly (and Sean Kingston for some reason)

I should have just called his list “10 times Meek Mill got killed.” He’s Kenny from South Park on these diss tracks. Meek Mill decided to triple team Game with the help of Omelly and Beanie Sigel over Young M.A’s “OOOUUU” – because in 2016 everyone hopped on that beat. That includes Game, who jumped on the very same track to deliver an atom bomb of a response. I’ve been critical of Game’s inconsistency in the past but make no mistake, when he’s motivated, he’s a monster. Scathing, hilarious, creative – it’s one of the most underrated disses EVER.

3. Remy Ma, “ShETHER”

The Victim: Nicki Minaj

Yet more proof that brawling with the Pink Lady is far from a new phenomenon. While most of Nicki’s enemies would rather let their Twitter fingers do the fighting for them, Remy had NO problem inviting her to a battleground where she stood no chance – the booth. True to its name, this is the “Ether” with a woman’s touch – and this was a woman FED UP. I feel like *I* can’t even reprint half her insults without catching a case. I’ve called this the greatest diss record by a female MC (yep, even better than Lyte and Roxanne Shante). If you disagree, I’ll let Rem do you like she did Nicki here – filthy.

2. Mickey Factz, “Wraith”

The Victim: Royce da 5’9

The Royce Wars of 2021 is by far the most overlooked battle of the modern era. I’m still not clear exactly what ignited the Underground Rapper Civil War but here’s what we know for sure – Royce had a falling out with former friend Lupe Fiasco, shots were thrown and the game’s best lyricists jumped into the battle royale, including BX’s Mickey Factz who WENT ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC on “Wraith.” Not only were the body blows blistering, Factz’s artistry took it too another level, when he co-opted the flows of both RJ Payne and Ransom (who also were part of this battle) to annihilate Royce using their styles! Remember how utterly corny I said it was for Drake to use AI Snoop and Pac in his response to Kendrick’s “Like That?” Well, Factz took the spirit of that and made it HIP-HOP. It’s like on the Mega Man games when you use the other bosses’ weapons against Dr. Wily. We got a lot of great music in this battle (which often felt more like competition than a beef, to be honest) but “Wraith” was the crown jewel.

1. Pusha T, “The Story of Adidon”

The Victim: Drake

“YOU ARE HIDING A CHILD.” It only took five words to end Drake’s battle rap aspirations and send him to day care to pick up his son.

Back in 2018, Drake’s minions truly thought of him as a battle rapper, thanks to his victories over tomato cans like poor Meek and sidestepping larger foes like Common. But his luck ran out with King Push, who silenced Drake with one of the most memorable disses of all time. From Aubrey’s blackface pics coming back to haunt him, to those “surgical” rumors that still fuel the BBL jokes today and, OH YEAH, revealing to the world that Drake had a SECRET SON – this was beef on another level. Push really bullied Drake into being a better parent! I told y’all those Va boys play dirty. It’s hilarious to me that Drake continues to troll Kendrick into responding to his current disses when Aubrey STILL hasn’t responded to this nuclear warhead from six years ago. That’s all the proof you need to see that it’s the greatest diss record of modern times.

Which records would you add? Let us know below.