While I am on the topic of battles I decided to give it an interesting spin. I am sure most of our readers enjoy hip-hop and therefore I bring you ten of the greatest hip-hop battles ever. Most of these names will be known to you even if you are not a hip-hop fan. Most of you would probably be heartbroken when you find out who won the battle. I am not that big a fan of hip-hop, though I do enjoy it at times. I have heard each and every one of the singers mentioned below. The interesting bit is that my favorites won all the battles. I hope it is the same for you. Enjoy the read.
10. KOOL MOE DEE VS. BUSY BEE
This happens to be the most awesome of hip-hop battles to have ever been fought and to compile a list without mentioning this particular, is absurd. It happened in 1981 and this battle was the pioneer of what we now know as a ‘battle rap’. Busy Bee was a good rapper and he entertained the audience with his skills. Kool Moe Dee however, was better. His lyrics were mean, cruel and ruthless. He butchered Kool Moe Dee and stood out as the winner.
9. EMINEM VS. ‘THE SOURCE’
This was a weird battle. Eminem started off his career on the pages of The Source. But that happy relationship ended when the co-founder of the magazine started dissing Eminem. Slim Shady had no real music with him, although his rhyming skills were a winner. He came back with a barrage of insults that included ‘Nail in the Coffin’ and ‘The Sauce’ because of which the magazine lost the readership and Eminem stood as a proud winner.
8. EAZY-E VS. DR. DRE
These guys used to be partners in NWA. Both of them insulted each other like crazy. Dre came up with ‘Dre’s Day’ and it looked like that was it. But then Eazy-E fought with ‘Real Muthaf***** G’s’. He ridiculed Dre and Snoop. It looked like Eazy-E was owning Dr. Dre, but that changed. The winner of the battle was easily Dr. Dre and he deserved it. You should listen to this battle, it’s pretty amazing and kind of funny.
7. CANIBUS VS. LL COOL J
LL Cool J was at his prime during this battle. Canibus was a very famous ‘fighter’. Between these two the odds were against Canibus. LL Cool J was a legend. The battle was fierce but LL Cool J was KO’d with Canibus’s ‘Second Round KO’. The song featured Mike Tyson; beat that. The lyrics to the song were an inspiration to many. Canibus came out as a winner, surprised considering the strong adversary.
6. COMMON VS. WESTSIDE CONNECTION
You blame an MC for the demise of hip-hop and it is on. The same happened between Soulja Boy and Ice T back in the year 2009 and the same happened between these two. Ice Cube claimed that Common’s lyrics to ‘I use to love H.E.R’ were a diss to the West Coast and that’s when it all started. Common destroyed the Westside Connection with ‘The B***h in Yoo’. It was a clear victory for Common. Before you enter into a battle, one must know what he is up for.
5. ICE CUBE VS. N.W.A.
NWA somehow managed to piss Ice Cube off which is why the battle took place in the first place. NWA used to be his allies before but that had drastically changed. Ice Cube was no longer cool, he was breathing fire. He came up with ‘No Vaseline’ and annihilated NWA. He destroyed the entire group at once. Such had never been seen nor has it ever been seen. The clear winner of the battle was Ice Cube.
4. KOOL MOE DEE VS. LL COOL J
Kool Moe Dee earlier destroyed Busy Bee and this time around the enemy was bigger and much better. It was LL Cool J. Kool Moe Dee claimed that LL Cool stole his style and started with ‘How ya Like me Now’. LL came back with ‘To da Breakadawn’ and then again with ‘Let’s go’. He hit him again with ‘Jack the Ripper’ and made fun of his Star Trek shades. Kool Moe Dee returned with ‘Death Blow’ but it was already too late. LL Cool J was the clear winner of this battle and he knew it before he even won it.
3. BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS VS. JUICE CREW
Both the parties liked to brag and that finally led to a battle. It was the two houses of New York against each other. BDP hit Shan with ‘South Bronx’; it was raw and it was pure dis. Shan came back with ‘Kill That Noise’. Little did he know that that was what BDP wanted. They struck back with ‘The Bridge is Over’ and that was the end of it. The winner of the battle was the much proud Boogie Down Productions.
2. 2PAC VS. BIGGIE
This was a unique battle. 2Pac kept his insults very aggressive. Biggie however, was a little subtle with whatever he sang; they were more subliminal and delivered with poise. Without a doubt, this particular battle was the most influential hip-hop battle every fought. It changed lives, destroyed relationships and affected many artists. The winner was obviously 2Pac (May he rest in peace). You can find all these battles online by the way.
1. JAY-Z VS. NAS
These two guys used to be big time rivals. There are many theories as to why this battle actually took place. Jay was a commercial hit, was Nas jealous? Did ‘is that your chick’ by Jay dis Nas? They used to insult each other a lot and finally found themselves in a battle. You should know that this is where the two tracks ‘Takeover – Jay Z’ and ‘Ether – Nas’ came from. Takeover was better musically while Ether was lyrically stronger. The winner of this battle was Nas. Hat’s off!
Did we miss any particular battle out? If so, we would like you to let us know in the comments. Also, many battles were fought but the war was won by Hip-Hop. You don’t get to hear many good battles these days, so if you have time, explore YouTube, look for these battles and enjoy.