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Nas Vs. Jay-Z - The Battle of All Battles
Article by:
John Kennedy
Take Aim
 “It’s amazing how much can change in five years. Back in 2001, Nas and Jay-Z were at each other’s throats for the much-coveted “King of New York” throne, which at that time represented a reign over all Hip-hop. But today, the New York giants stand tall, united side-by-side. And to say their epic, horn-infused collaboration “Black Republicans” was long-awaited would be understatement of the year. With Jay’s Kingdom Come now on store racks and Nas’ Hip-Hop Is Dead…The N following close behind, NobodySmiling.com reflects on the battle, one of the most exciting periods in modern hip-hop.
It’s hard to tell when the rift between Jay-Z and Nas first formed. Perhaps Jay took offense to Nas not showing up in the studio to record for Reasonable Doubt. Maybe it was when Nas discovered that his scandalous ex-wifey Carmen “did you know what with you know who”—none other than S. Carter. Perhaps Esco first struck a nerve in the Roc-A-Fella camp when he targeted Memph Bleek on “Nastradamus” with the line, “You want to ball, til’ you fall, I can help you with that / You want beef, I can let a slug melt in your cap.” Each event played some part in the tension between Jay-Z and Nas that bubbled below the surface for some time, but there’s no need for speculation about when the Cold War finally reached its breaking point.
Shots Fired
“This ni**a ready for war, well where that fool at?”
--Jay-Z (“Ride Or Die”)
Regardless of the origin of the beef, the first direct shot was landed in New Jersey’s Giants Stadium in front of thousands of spectators at Hot 97’s Summer Jam. After lyrically dismantling Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Jay sent out the battle invitation heard ’round the world: “Ask Nas, he don’t want it with Hov! Nooooo!” It only took a matter of weeks for the QB beast to awaken and deliver his rebuttal. On the response, titled “Stillmatic,” Nas borrows Eric B & Rakim’s “Paid In Full” beat to tear down his Marcy counterpart. “Is you H to the izzo / M to the izzo / Fa shizzel, you phony the rapper version of Sisqo,” spits Nas. He also boasts of collecting royalties from Jay’s sampling of his voice on “Dead Presidents” and “Rap Game/Crack Game” and alleges that Jay stole his style: “You used to rap like the Fu-Shnickens / Nas designed your ‘Blueprint’ who ya kidding?” Many thought Jay bit off more than he could chew by calling Nas out, but Hov was just getting warmed up.
On his highly anticipated album The Blueprint, Jay-Z launches his own offensive toward Nas on “Takeover,” questioning his street credibility and career in hip-hop. “Went from nasty Nas to Esco’s trash / Had a spark when you started / but now you’re just garbage.” Jay taunts, following with, “Your laaaaame career has come to an end / it’s only so long fake thugs can pretend.” After bodying Queensbridge’s finest throughout the verse, Jay warns against any retaliation with a hard-hitting subliminal: “You know who, did you know what, with you know who / Let’s keep that between me an you,” referring to his affair with Nas’ ex-wife. Esco’s run was done—or at least that was the general consensus after “Takeover” dropped. But Jigga’s restored swagger was short-lived, as Nas George Bush-ed the button soon after with a stunning counter.
In December 2001, three months after Blueprint came out, Nas’ fifth album, Stillmatic hit listeners’ ears. The diss track, titled “Ether,” was so devastating that it became the benchmark for all battle songs that would follow. Beginning with a flurry of gunshots and a slowed-down sample of 2pac rapping "Fuck Jay-Z," Nas tears Jay’s untouchable status to shreds with insult after insult over a bass-heavy Ron Browz backdrop. He rhymes, “Rockefeller died of AIDS, that was the end of his chapter / And that's the guy y'all chose to name your company after? / Put it together, I rock hoes, y'all rock fellas / And now y'all try to take my spot, fellas?” Addressing his enemies as “Gay-Z and Cock-a-Fella Records,” Nas jokes Jay with playful, but toxic, quips. “I’ll still whip your ass, you 36 in a karate class? / You Tae-bo hoe,” Nas raps, referring to MTV footage of Jay in the boxing ring. Nas also suggests that Jay-Z is attempting to replace his slain friend Biggie Smalls by stealing his rhymes and even setting up his team similarly: “Is he Dame Diddy, Dame Daddy or Dame Dummy? / Oh, I get it, you Biggie and he's Puffy.” A wicked flow, character assassination and intense beat all make “Ether” the quintessential diss track for modern times. It turned Jay’s image into a caricature to be beaten down.
Taking action swiftly, Jay-Z’s next strike in the battle was a freestyle called “Super Ugly,” which borrows the backdrops of Nas’ “Got Yourself A Gun” and Dr. Dre’s “Bad Intentions.” Here, Hov Takes slight jabs at Esco for his pink suit in the “Street Dreams” vid and supposedly having to pay to have his stolen chain returned. But in the third verse, Jay-Z moves to more personal and ego-crushing commentary about his relationship with Carmen. “I came in your Bentley backseat / skeeted in your jeep / left condoms on your baby seat,” raps Jay. “And since you infatuated with sayin’ that gay shit / Guess you was kissin’ my dick / when you was kissin’ that bitch.” The blows were the harshest of all thrown in the battle but Jay’s apparent misogyny was seen as weakness and a desperation attempt at a victory. Hov didn’t perform in the clutch and as a result, conceded the battle.
Stray Shots
“Even Jigga want the crown—How that sound? Poor thing.”
--Nas (“Destroy and Rebuild”)
While “Super Ugly” symbolized the ending of the official battle between the two hip-hop powerhouses, another diss track popped up a year later on Jay-Z’s Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse. The title track of the CD found Jay attempting to renew a battle that had already passed beyond its peak. Still not quite meeting the level of “Ether,” Jay once again challenged Nas’ skills while calling him a hypocrite: “Cause you don't understand him, it don't mean that he nice / It just means you don't understand all the bullshit that he writes.”
On R. Kelly and Jay-Z’s The Best of Both Worlds’ title track, Jay attempts to brush off the Ether remnants with a slick line: “We mastered this / don't you know, I eat Ether, breathe acid / weak bastards.” Jay drops subliminals toward Nas in several post-“Ether” songs, but none do much to affect the outcome of their battle. Likewise, Nas also revisits the battle after its end. On God’s Son “Last Real Nigga Alive,” Nas reflects on the clash, spitting, “I was Scarface, Jay was Manolo / It hurt me when I had to kill him and his whole squad for dolo.” He also, lets loose another stray on The Bravehearts’ “Quick To Back Down,” which featured Lil’ Jon. Here, Nas starts his verse with, “This is Nas, I’m a Braveheart veteran / and y’all already know who I’m better than.”
Last Man Standing
“The reason why we lead the pack, this is a marathon / You start off fast then you weezin' in the back.”
--Jay-Z (“It’s On”)
Fans were torn on each side of the debate of whether Nas or Jay-Z won the momentous battle for hip-hop’s top spot. The popular belief (by a fairly narrow margin), however felt Nas as the victor. But the thug poet had no choice but to win. His only other option would’ve been to back out of a rap game that long subjected him to the pressures of living up to a classic debut album—an expectation that Nas hadn’t met until Stillmatic. Perhaps if Jay hadn’t engaged Nas in formal battle, Nasir’s days in hip-hop would’ve been long done.
For Jay, the loss merely humbled his hip-hop ego. It showed the world that he wasn’t untouchable. But Nas has proven to be the exception to the rule as Jay’s legacy on the battle front still holds major weight. Perhaps on this five-year anniversary of the battle that shook the entire rap world, we will see Jay-Z and Nas battling again—on the same team. With the Diplomats persistent push, it’s not such a distant possibility. Perhaps Hip-Hop still has some signs of life after all.
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