Steve Stoute talks Lil Wayne/Jay-Z feud

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Ten years ago, Jay-Z was involved in one of the biggest feuds of all-time. His longtime rivalry with fellow New York rapper, Nas, had hit its breaking point. No longer could Jay-Z hide his animosity and a feud began.

However, by 2004, the rappers were on good terms and Jay-Z was the head of Def Jam. Soon, Jay-Z began separating himself from rap music and expanded into general business. Now, Jay-Z is viewed as a businessman who raps. Recently, he returned to rap for a collaborative album.

But, Jay-Z is currently more focused on his business ventures, as opposed to making music. Lil Wayne, on the other hand, has replaced Jay-Z as the most-popular rapper. The two have been butting heads for nearly five years. Jay-Z stopped a feud from taking place when he contacted Lil Wayne about providing a verse on his American Gangster album on the song, "Hello Brooklyn 2.0." Lil Wayne returned the favor and Jay-Z "passed the torch" on Tha Carter III's "Mr. Carter."

The slick comments in between time have taken their toll and Jay-Z decided to strike with a diss. The promotional single for his collaborative album was called "H.A.M." and Jay-Z takes small shots at Birdman and Lil Wayne. Recently, Lil Wayne decided to strike back with his own reply on "It's Good," where he threatens Jay-Z and Beyonce. The timing of the diss could not have been worse as Beyonce revealed she was pregnant with Jay-Z's first child.

Steve Stoute, Jay-Z's business partner, recently spoke on the situation. He said Jay-Z will not respond to the diss because he is too big to. Right now, with everything Jay-Z has going on, it would be foolish for him to engage in a rap war. Stoute said Jay-Z is so much bigger than rap and no one is even on his level to attempt to battle with him.

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N.O.R.E. reflects on Nas feud

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

During the mid-1990s, N.O.R.E. and Nas were good friends and frequent collaborators. Many artists who worked with Nas also worked with Jay-Z. Their feud did not form until the late 1990s. Jay-Z established himself as a strong businessman during this period of time.

By 2001, Jay-Z was on top of the rap world, both as an artist, and in business. Along with this, Jay-Z planned to become the "king of New York." Jay-Z decided to solidify himself by dissing Nas. At the same time, he was trying to sign N.O.R.E. to Roc-A-Fella.

Nas' feud had extended from just Jay-Z to his entire crew, before the end of 2001. When he made a freestyle diss, Nas went at N.O.R.E., along with the other members of the Roc. Once the feud was over, Nas admitted he felt bad about going at N.O.R.E., because they had no prior issues with each other.

While he said he loves Nas for all he did for Queens hip hop, N.O.R.E. said he could not get over Nas' diss aimed at him. N.O.R.E. said it made no sense for Nas to diss his God's Favorite album, due to the fact that he was on the intro. Nas had to have heard the album before he dissed it because he was featured on the very first track off the album. Despite Nas apologizing for the diss, N.O.R.E. said he has had a hard time getting over his disses.

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Ron Browz initially offered "Ether" beat to Jay-Z

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

In 2001, Ron Browz quickly rose to fame, as the producer of the legendary "Ether" track. The song proved to be the winning effort from Nas in his feud with Jay-Z. While Jay-Z is considered, by many, to be among the top rappers of all-time, most agree "Ether" is on topic Hov can never avoid.

When he produced the "Ether" track, Ron Browz said he offered it to several other artists. Browz said he shopped the track around and a member of Jay-Z's team checked it out. This was around the same time Jay-Z released "Takeover." However, no one from his team came back to purchase the beat.

Nas eventually purchased the beat and "Ether" was born and the rest was history. Hip hop pundits reached a consensus over the feud between Jay-Z and Nas. Ten years later, Jay-Z and Nas are friends and frequent collaborators, but fans love looking back on the feud. Now, there is a new plot to the old story.

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Prodigy said he almost fought Jay-Z after Summer Jam 2001

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

It is no secret that Jay-Z and Mobb Deep have issues with each other. The primary feud is not between Jay-Z and the group, but rather Jay-Z and Prodigy. For years, the two exchanged subliminal disses on songs.

But, by 2001, Jay-Z had officially crowned himself as the king of hip hop. With this, he had to defend his throne, which meant dissing Prodigy. In his diss to Prodigy, he also name-dropped Nas, another rival.

The major feud ended up being between Jay-Z and Nas, but Prodigy still had issues with Hov. Jay-Z first performed his "Takeover" diss at Summer Jam 2001. P was not pleased after hearing the song.

Weeks after the performance, both happened to be enjoying meals at Diddy's Justin's restaurant when Prodigy approached Jay-Z. In 2008, Prodigy talked a little about this confrontation. But, he recently delved deep into the situation. While Prodigy was not pleased with the song, his reasons for wanting to fight Jay-Z had nothing to do with the Summer Jam diss.

Prodigy said he had an entourage of around fifteen men and Jay-Z had two bodyguards. The men surrounded the door and were waiting for Jay-Z to exit the building. When he exited, he reached for P's hand and said he had no real beef with him. Instead, Jay-Z said their issues were simply music and he asked him to keep it music. Prodigy shook his hand and the two agreed to keep it music.

Looking back on it, Prodigy realizes he could have really taken advantage of Jay-Z if he wanted to.

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Prodigy talks Nas truce

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

For years, Nas and Mobb Deep were partners in the rap game. The two were so close, Nas was considered the third member of Mobb Deep. When Jay-Z went after the duo, he mentioned Nas and together they battled Jay-Z.

But, in 2005, Nas and Jay-Z ended their feud and became friends. By this time, Nas already had issues with 50 Cent, who had just dissed Mobb Deep. Despite being dissed by 50, they joined G-Unit and dissed Nas.

Mobb Deep severed the Nas connection for G-Unit and it resulted in one disappointing album. In 2009, 50 Cent dropped Mobb Deep from the label. When Prodigy got out of prison, he reunited with Nas.

Days after their collaboration leaked, Prodigy explained their reconciliation. Prodigy said the music was more important than petty bullshit. Fresh out of prison, Prodigy is in need of hits and he wanted to link up with Nas as he is working on his own comeback.

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DJ Premier talks Jay-Z vs. Nas feud

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Ten years ago, the biggest subliminal feud in years had finally reached its peak. Jay-Z and Nas were two of the biggest rappers in New York City. Both rappers were fighting for position and looking to take each other out. On "Takeover," their feud was official when Jay-Z called him out.

Upon hearing "Takeover," Nas recorded the "H to the Omo" freestyle that called out the entire Roc-A-Fella crew. This led to Jay-Z adding two more verses to "Takeover." On the song, not only does Jay-Z diss Nas, but he also alludes to sleeping with the mother of his daughter.

When the full version of "Takeover" was released, many crowned Jay-Z the winner of the feud. But, Nas shortly returned with "Ether" and the decision was reversed. Looking back on the feud, many people have crowned Nas as the victor. In the years since the feud, Jay-Z and Nas have become good friends and frequent collaborators, but people still take trips down memory lane.

Recently, DJ Premier looked back at the feud and he said Jay-Z was winning until the release of "Ether." At the time, Jay-Z was the most popular rapper in the game. Because of this, it was very easy for him to bully other artists. Meanwhile, Nas was more like the older rappers in the game, rapping for the sport. But, when he was provoked, he recorded the most scathing hip hop diss record of all-time. Simply based off "Ether" and disregarding the following disses, DJ Premier crowns Nas as the winner of the feud.

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Nas working on "Stillmatic" sequel

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Ten years ago, fans and critics agreed Nas' career was pretty much over. Two years had passed since he released two lackluster albums and his most notable song was a collaboration. Adding insult to injury, his rival, Jay-Z, was becoming a rap icon.

When Jay-Z called Nas out by name during the 2001 Summer Jam, it was universally agreed that Nas was dead. Nas rose from the ashes when the people least expected it. He recorded the most vicious comeback diss record in history and followed up with a classic album.

Following his incredible debut album, Illmatic, Nas did not live up to the hype. He attempted to go pop several times and alienated many of his fans. But, he won them all back with two critically acclaimed albums in Stillmatic and God's Son.

In 2005, he surprised fans when he ended his feud with Jay-Z and signed with Def Jam. But, following the release of Hip Hop is Dead, Nas' career began a steady decline. Ten years later, Jay-Z is now a successful record executive and Nas is on the verge of being washed up again. This time around, there is no beef between the two, but the people are counting Nas out.

Unlike his last comeback, time is against him as the rapper is nearing 40 years old. Regardless of his age, Nas is confident he will be able to complete his comeback. Working with new producers, Nas thinks he will be able to take over the game again. Nas is putting the pressure upon himself with the title of his latest album, placing himself where he was ten years ago.

Later this year, Nas plans to release his tenth studio album, Stillmatic 2.

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Kool G Rap discusses Rap Beef

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

During the early post-Biggie/Tupac days in rap, beef was a major thing. For a short period of time, rappers actually respected each other. But, after the feud between LL Cool J and Canibus, the rappers were back at it again.

Following their feud, Jay-Z and Nas also entered one of the biggest battles to date. Unlike the feud between Biggie and Tupac, Jay-Z and Nas were solely lyrical. Initially, it was personal, but Jay-Z saw a way to market himself through it.

Years later, 50 Cent emerged in the game with a beef with Ja Rule. Their beef was legitimate, but he picked fights with other artists. Before the release of each album, 50 Cent finds someone new to start a feud with. The people have caught on to his gimmick and no longer support his feuds. It appears everyone is picking fights for record sales now.

Recently, rap veteran, Kool G Rap decided to discuss the topic. The veteran said rappers in today's time are not going into beef for the same reasons. He said other veterans would rap about material things, but their entire albums would not be made up of materialistic rhymes. There was a time when people had to put out good music in order to be received by fans. But, it appears those days are now long gone, as rappers beef for attention and they allow things to become violent. Kool G Rap said they did it to prove who was the best.

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Nas admits mistakes in His Rhymes

Throughout his career, Nas has projected himself as an intellectual rapper and many people have looked up to him. His early rhymes were hailed by critics and they grew upset with him. Starting with his second album, Nas started to change his style. Mafioso rap was popular and Nas transformed himself into Escobar.

During his feud with Jay-Z, Hov revealed this to the world and all of the quiet rumblings soon became loud rants about Nas. In an effort to combat all of the negative attention, Nas soon returned to his intellectual rapping. But, it was a case of too little too late, even after his victory in the feud with Jay-Z.

The feud with Jay-Z was won with his epic diss, "Ether." But, in the song, a lot of the information was fabricated. Even on his song, "I Can," a lot of the facts were a bit tangled. Years after his feud with Jay-Z and the mix-up in his songs, Nas has decided to speak on the criticisms. He said many of his rhymes are complicated like this.

Nas says when he writes songs, he does not check the facts. He simply rolls with the rhymes and if there is a mistake, the mistake stays. Much like many other rappers, Nas said he has sacrificed words all in an effort to keep the rhyme going. He said he has slurred words on almost all of his albums in order for the song to keep a consistent rhyme. In his "I Can" song, he mistakenly credited Alexander the Great for Napoleon. Nas said there was nothing wrong with that because Alexander the Great and Napoleon go hand in hand.

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Game pushes "The R.E.D. Album" back, rethinks Jay-Z feud

For a year and a half, Game has been gearing up for the release of his fourth studio album, The R.E.D. Album. Initially, Game had planned to release this album during the fall of 2009. However, as soon as he completed the album, he and Dr. Dre reunited. Because of this, the album was pushed back to have Dr. Dre's work featured on it.

The December release date for the album was pushed back until February, but when February came, the album did not. Given the hectic schedule that Dr. Dre operates under, he could not do too much for the album. In an effort to keep the project going, Dre called upon Pharrell to help out. This led to the album being pushed back until March.

Obviously March and April went by without any releases. But, Game announced that his album would arrive on June 15. Eminem has been trying to secure a release date for Recovery since it was still Relapse 2. Now that he has recorded some tracks that Interscope likes, they have decided to release his album on June 15.

Despite now being on the same label as Eminem, Game knows that will not help him sell records, so he decided to push his album back to avoid low record sales. In his career, all three of Game's albums have been platinum successes. However, in this rough economic climate, people are only going to purchase a few luxury items and when it comes to rap, Eminem is more valuable than Game. Over time, this fact may change, but as it stands, that is not the case.

Last summer, Game was gearing up to release The R.E.D. Album and he was upset with Jay-Z for some reason. Game spent most of last season on tour and he managed to diss Jay-Z at every stop that he made around the world. What he was hoping for was a response from Jay-Z. Game incorrectly predicted that he would be dissed on The Blueprint 3. He said that Jay-Z would dedicate an entire track to dissing him, but the only thing that Game got was a message from Hov saying that he was not going to talk about him.

When Shyne was released from prison and sent to Belize, Game was among the first rappers to reach out to him. During their conversations, Game informed Shyne of his multiple feuds. He said that Shyne advised him to forget about the multiple feuds and concentrate on his music. Later, when his longtime rival, 50 Cent, started feuding with Jay-Z, Game said that he was glad he decided against feuding with him. Then, he briefly sided with Jay-Z over 50 Cent.

Now, with his album coming sometime in the next few months, Game has made a promise to never go against Nas. In the past, Nas had a high-profile feud with Jay-Z, but the two rappers have been allies for the past five years. The rappers appear to be among the best of friends and it has to be a strain on Nas to be friends with both Game and Jay-Z with Game dissing him the way that he does. Perhaps out of respect for Nas, Game has decided not to diss Jay-Z on his forever upcoming album, The R.E.D. Album.

Game will release The R.E.D. Album on June 29, 2010 on Black Wall Street, Star Trak, Aftermath, and Interscope Records.

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