10 Young Rappers Who Beefed with Oldheads

God bless rappers today—they have no respect for anything or anyone. Young Thug is just the latest rapper to demonstrate this lack of chill, after claiming that he would never buy a Jay-Z record because Hova is “too old.”

Amazingly, though, Young Thug isn’t the first young buck to start beef with an oldhead rapper…and this lack of respect isn’t limited to this generation of young rappers (lest you think this is a “get off my lawn” post). Indeed, in some way, the young coming for the old is a rite of passage in Hip-Hop…much like a young lion scraps with an older lion king in a battle to lead the pride.

So, without any further ado, let’s take a look at some of the times a young rapper came for the neck of an elder statesman.

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Photo: Instagram

10. Nicki Minaj vs. Lil’Kim

Even though the end result of this beef descended into a catfight (unfortunately), for a time, when these two ladies beefed, they brought some hope back for women in the Hip-Hop landscape. Nicki threw the first punch when she called Lil’Kim a “has-been” in “Roman’s Revenge”—but Kim struck back with full ether on “Black Friday.” (Had they left well enough alone, Kim would have won that battle—nstead, no one won this beef…)

9. Eminem vs. Insane Clown Posse

This is one of those beefs that goes to show that you need to be nice to people you meet on the way up, because you will meet them again on the way down. In 1997, Eminem was a young, hungry, unknown MC, and the Insane Clown Posse were one of the biggest acts in the Detroit area. (Shocking, I know…) Eminem gave ICP a flier to his mixtape release party, to which they replied, “F*ck no, I ain’t coming to your party.” The end result of that negative RSVP was a series of verbal & physical attacks that resulted in arrests (for Eminem, after he attacked an ICP affiliate), crappy songs (from ICP), and the total decimation of the “Juggalo” movement.

8. LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee

In 1987, LL’s star was on the rise, and he was being regarded as a pre-eminent MC…a claim that was similarly being made by the Treacherous Three frontman, especially in his then-hit track, “How You Like Me Now.” This prompted LL to release the track “Jack the Ripper,” where he called the legend a “washed up rapper” and “an old school sucker punk.” But the beef didn’t end there: Kool Moe Dee released the diss track, “Let’s Go”…and LL didn’t respond for two years (causing many rap fans at the time to think that Moe Dee won the battle; LL even got booed off the stage at the Apollo Theatre in the early 1990’s). But we all know who won this battle: LL ethered the elder MC two years after “Let’s Go” dropped…with the now-classic “Mama Said Knock You Out” (where he taunts the elder MC with a battle cry of “HOW YOU LIKE ME NOW?”)

7. Canibus vs. LL Cool J

Of course, these young/old beefs are wont to come full circle…and after LL established himself as a permanent Hip-Hop fixture, Canabis decided to come for his neck with his track “Second Round K.O.” But Canibus doesn’t have the verbal dexterity that LL had (and still has), and LL clapped back with not one, but two, response tracks: “The Ripper Strikes Back” (where Mike Tyson & The Fugees came in for their fair share of verbal abuse) and “Back Where I Belong.”

6. 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule

Believe it or not, there was a time when Ja Rule was an in-demand, working rapper (one forgets that he contributing a verse to the now-classic Jay-Z track, “Can I Get A…”). That is, of course, until 50 Cent—then an unknown, up-and-coming rapper — came for his neck. While the origin of the beef remains lost to the annals of Hip-Hop history, some of 50’s now-classic tracks slamming the Murder Inc. rapper include “Your Life’s On The Line.”

5. ASAP Rocky vs. 50 Cent

Again, Hip-Hop Young/Old feuds always come full circle…and this most recent entry into the feud hall of fame has 50 Cent as an elder statesman of the genre and ASAP Rocky being a (formidable, for the record) young contender for the crown. The origin of this beef, of course, comes courtesy of ASAP Rocky sliding into 50’s ex’s DMs (fam, come on…)—no dis tracks have been released as of yet, but we’ll definitely be waiting with bated breath to see what comes next!

4. Drake vs. Common

Common is one of those MC’s that you just can’t help but like: he’s handsome, intelligent, enlightened, and has a respectable career. Drake, for his part, is relatively harmless as well: he’s handsome, intelligent, (somewhat) enlightened, and has a respectable career. So when Drake came for Common’s neck by dating Serena Williams, Common dropped one of the most surprising tracks of his career: “Sweet,” where the Chicago native threw F-bombs and N-words like rice at a wedding.

3. Ludacris vs. T.I.

At the time that these two rappers were beefing, Ludacris was an up-and-coming Atlanta rapper, whereas T.I. had the lion’s share of the “trap music” market (as evidenced by his now-classic album of the same name). I-20 — a rapper signed to Luda’s Disturbing the Peace imprint—was wearing a “trap house” shirt at a video shoot; T.I. found out about it & thought it was a slight against his Trap Muzik album. While the beef has been subsequently squashed, for a time, the two were trading barbs in such songs as “Stomp” & “Straight Outta Cashville.”

2. Drake vs. Jay-Z

Young Thug isn’t the first young rapper to come for Jay-Z’s neck — that title belongs to Drake, who threw subliminals at Mr. Carter on his track, “I’m On One.” Hova, of course, didn’t take the slight lying down: he slaughtered the Canadian rapper on the remix for “We Made It” with the line “Sorry, Mr. (or Mrs.) Drizzy, for so much art talk/Silly me rappin’ ’bout sh*t that I really bought.”

1. Kendrick Lamar vs. Everyone Else

While it may be somewhat forgotten, let us remind ourselves of the recent greatness that was Kendrick’s “Control,” where he called out EVERYBODY and their mother, and promised to “murder” any emcee that dared to step to him on the mic. And for a brief, beautiful moment, EVERY MC that mattered dropped a track in response to the young gun’s challenge.