The ultimate female rap diss track
Hip hop is synonymous with feuds. At times, these could have lasting consequences on lives with the incorporation of physical violence and lasting consequences on careers with the inclusion of violence through verbosity. The motivations for these feuds can range from the sinister, such as gang-related issues, to the simple reason of just not liking someone’s character. The latter, luckily for us, usually means the production of some new music. There’s nothing that will distract you from everything you need to get done more than a diss track.
We have been blessed this year alone with plenty of quality content. Given the sizable amount of content that we have been subject to, the question arises: what is the best diss track of all time? Before we get started, we already have an answer. Suggesting anything other than ‘Not Like Us’, given the public interest, the reputation of the rappers involved, and it being the decider in what has been touted as the great rap war of 2024, feels wrong.
Well, that was underwhelming. To avoid your ire and, more importantly, my editor’s, let’s talk about the best female rap diss tracks, as these beefs are usually gender specific.
Queen Latifah can stake a claim for the title with her track ‘Name callin’’, which was aimed at Foxy Brown in response to Brown accusing Latifah of making a pass at her. This was particularly poignant given Latifah’s recent admission to being a part of the LGBTQ+ community.
The track is what can only be deemed as an all-out assault, taking digs at Brown for her inability to write her own music, style that she ripped off of other artists, and with the line “I should buy your contract / Put your ass on hold for another year” flexed her power as someone who could put Brown’s career on hold.
Lil Kim, during her infamous beef with Nicki Minaj, came out with ‘Black Friday’ in 2011, after accusing Nicki of biting her style. The title was a play on words of Nicki’s 2010 project, Pink Friday. The track is unquestionably hard, leveraging Pharoahe Monch’s ‘Simon Says’ beat.
Kim wastes no time getting straight into the meaty bits from the jump, “Who the fuck want war? / FedEx beef straight to your front door / It’ll be a murder scene / I’m turnin’ Pink Friday to Friday the 13th / A’ight, you Lil’ Kim clone clown / All this buffoonery, the shit stops now. The calmness in Kim’s delivery, paired with the sinister beat, makes for a tasty tune.
These two tracks are great, but they lack something: conviction. Latifah and Brown’s beef could have just been a misunderstanding, and who actually knows if Nick Minaj intentionally copied Lil Kim’s style. We need someone to come through and take down a real villain. Sadly, it looks like Nick Minaj is set to play the latter role (again).
Remy Ma, with her track ‘Shether’, which borrows the beat of Nas’ track ‘Ether’ had a real score to settle. Attacking her fellow New York rapper for her allegiance to sexual abusers, supposed sexual relations with influential members of the hip hop industry, and even her plastic surgery.
The track is in essay style: intro, body, outro. It is a seven-minute dissection of a former friend, with the most damning line being, “And I got a few words for the moms of the young Barbz / Guess who supports a child molester? Nicki Minaj / You paid for your brother’s wedding? That’s hella foul / How you spendin’ money to support a paedophile?” As if the track wasn’t scathing enough, on release, Remy posted the cover artwork and tagged Nick directly.
Given their propensity for dropping devastating rhymes, it’s only fitting that the king and queen of the diss track game are Kendrick Lamar and Remy Ma.