Hip-hop has had an incredible year filled with shocking disclosures, awkward social media posts, and beefs like the one between MCs Grandmaster and Eminem which was one example of the competition between artistes.
When artistes disagree, their fans do the same, which just heats things. Due to the popularity of social media, fans can now see their favorite performers’ beef up close, which leads to conjecture and other high-hitting heated debates.
Some musicians have moved past their beef, but others are still holding on till the right time! Let’s recap seven of the top hip-hop beefs of 2023.
Blueface vs. Chrisean Rock
Chrisean and Blueface Rock’s relationship deteriorated into a social media-fueled, full-fledged conflict. Blueface turned on his ex-lover and fellow artiste as soon as Rock revealed she was expecting in January. He even denied being the child’s father and insisted on a paternity test. After Blueface disparaged Rock’s parenting abilities, Rock released a diss track about him.
Megan Thee Stallion vs. Pardison Fontaine
Before things took a turn for the worse, some considered Megan Thee Stallion and Pardison Fontaine as the perfect depiction of “couple goals”. Pardison’s support of Megan throughout her intense criminal trial against Tory Lanez was unprecedented. However, the Houston rapper was seen at Lautaro Martinez’s wedding in Italy, walking hand in hand with Belgian soccer player Romelu Lukaku. However, Meg spilled the tea when her new song, Cobra was released, at which point she seemed to accuse Pardison of cheating on her. Pardi retaliated with a diss track of his own.
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NBA Young Boy and J. Cole
NBA YoungBoy didn’t hold back when J. Cole made fun of him during his May feature on Lil Durk’s All My Life. Taking it personally, YB responded with a song titled F**k The Industry, Pt. 2. Fans were clamoring for an answer, but Cole remained unfazed. Following the silence, fans couldn’t truly understand Cole’s feelings about the situation until he named-dropped YB on Drake’s First Person Shooter, but they were so desperate for an answer that they believed Cole was aiming at YB in his verse for Lil Yachty’s The Secret Recipe.
Boosie Badazz and Kodak Black
Boosie Badazz’s beef with Kodak Black was the most shocking of his beef with various artistes this year. Before 2023, Boosie was a fan of Black. His regard for the rapper started to wane following Kodak’s song collaboration with 6ix9ine. Boosie launched a protracted tirade against the rapper on social media, sparking a verbal altercation between them, and he also released a dissed track titled Ungrateful directed at Kodak.
Pusha T. and Jim Jones
After months of disrespect, Pusha T finally responded to Jim Jones on Wax. The rapper from Clipse had enough after Jones called him “overrated” in a few interviews, and he aimed at him in an unreleased Clipse song that debuted at Pharrell Williams’ first fashion show as the Men’s Creative Director of Louis Vuitton. Although Pusha didn’t have to, he didn’t specifically mention Jim. Jones however dismissed the jab with a laugh and retaliated with a freestyle from his own titled Summer Collection.
Grandmaster Melle Mel and Eminem
Eminem and Grandmaster Melle Mel’s beef is the most disappointing hip-hop feud in history. Their problems started when Mel disregarded Eminem’s accomplishments as one of the greatest MCs of all time due to the color of his skin. A few months later, Eminem chose to address Mel’s assertions regarding the song Realest by Shady Records’ newest artiste, Ez Mil. Mel released a diss track in response to his savage bars, but it wasn’t well received by fans. Mel eventually took down the song and expressed regret for stoking animosity amid the celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary.
Drake vs. Joe Budden
Joe Budden and Drake have been bitter rivals for a long time. However, after For All The Dogs was released, Budden utterly disapproved of the record and asserted that J. Cole had outdone Drake on the song First Person Shooter. In response, Drake posted a lengthy comment under DJ Akademiks’ post that included a podcast clip, labeling Budden “a failure” and citing him in Stories About My Brother, from his Scary Hours Edition of For All the Dogs.
