Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Ceremony 2016

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W e're used to seeing businesses accost the public through advertisements and press releases, but Jay-Z the business, man, has always saved his well-nigh newsworthy public statements for his primary product: bars. Since 1996, the xiii-time platinum rhymer has been wrapping subliminal messages into uncomplicated rhymes using other-worldly wordplay — only information technology's e'er been clear to those who religiously follow HOVA's carmine dots who the intended targets are.

The Jigga Man's reputation for leaving Da Vinci codes is so infamous that he had fans scrambling to decode the hidden meaning of his latest anthology title, 4:44, from the second it was appear in mid-June. Jay'southward recent revelation of the number's straightforward significance — the exact time he woke up to write the evolutionary title track — was kind of a letdown after a week of fans' creative speculations about the inspiration, which ranged from astrology to numerology.

In the calendar week since 4:44 dropped, Al Sharpton, Future, Lil Boosie, Eric Benet and Prince'south estate have already responded to lines they took personal offense to. Hit dogs are known to holler, only everyone is nevertheless waiting for a response from HOV'south estranged fiddling blood brother, Kanye West, the assumed target of some of the ten-rails anthology'due south deepest digs.

After a few listens, me and my editors had a thirty-infinitesimal debate this weekend well-nigh whether Jay was speaking about Kanye or his old self in the last line of 4:44'due south intro, "Kill Jay Z." After referencing Ye's on-stage betrayal during a cord of concert "rants" he made last November, Jay closes the song by proverb, "If everyone's crazy, y'all're the one that's insane."

I'm notwithstanding thinking it was a (low) accident at Mr. West'south frail mental state, which landed him in the infirmary last fall. Simply my dominate maintains a reasonable uncertainty that Jay would ridicule him similar that; Her theory is that he was addressing himself, equally he had been for the entire song to that point. Both interpretations make sense, only we still haven't come to a concrete resolution because, truthful to Jay's pattern, the line was synthetic to deceive. We agreed to disagree once we realized the self-proclaimed "monster of the double entendre" probably foresaw our fence while he was composing the lyrics. As Jigga famously warned listeners on 2008'south "Ignorant Shit," "believe half of what you see, none of what you hear, fifty-fifty if information technology's spat by me."

Looking back at Hip Hop history, there'due south no debate that Jay's little pen sparked his legendary beef with Nas into the history books, besides as famous feuds with Prodigy, l Cent, Lil Wayne and many more. For those who still underrate Jigga's ruthless wit, here are the 44 targets of Jay-Z's slickest shots; From Beyoncé to Damon Dash to Harry Belafonte (Mr. Day-O!), anybody tin can get clapped at when Shawn Carter is winking through the telescopic.

one. "1 Infinitesimal Man (Remix)" (2001)

Target: Beyoncé

Rhymes: "I'm not tryna give you love and affection/I'm tryna give you lot sixty seconds of perfection/I'yard tryna give you cab fare and directions/Now get ya independent ass outta here, question?"

Context: Jigga was at the height of his "Big Pimpin" phase and Bey and Destiny'south Kid were using their voices to uplift the image of the "Contained Woman" across the earth. Jay was seemingly unimpressed with the sentiment coming from someone who one time asked if suitors could pay her "Bills, Bills Bills," so he went full Iceberg Slim and hit his future Queen off with cab fare and directions (thank God for Uber). We have no idea what provoked the shot (perchance this is simply how the Carter-Knowles' flirt), but information technology'due south difficult not to wonder if Bey'southward Lemonade had been brewing for 15 years from the moment she defenseless wind of this bullet.

Fiddling Level: x

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ii. "Drop It Like It's Hot (Remix)" (2004)

Target: R. Kelly

Rhymes: "Too much pizzazz for these piss-ass niggas to get by/Too absurd for cizz-ops to cuff his iz-ass/Snitch as they may, they tin't get the male child/These niggas giving out cases like a liquor shop/Running to the D.A. tryin' to go me for/All the money we made, I'grand like forget the law/I'm not 'frizz-aid, information technology's Jizz-ay, homie, you got plizz-ayed/Have it like a man, the menstruation ran y'all off the stizz-historic period/Wastin' your time tryin' to sue South. Dot/Tell your lawyer, "Take that ceremonious case and drop it like it's hot."

Context: Jay borrowed Snoop Dogg's famous "izzle" language to ship a non-so-subliminal message to R. Kelly later the dream team duo's Best of Both Worlds tour and album serial self-destructed before everyone'due south eyes. Things officially fell apart at Madison Square Garden in October 2004 afterwards an altercation that sent Robert to the emergency room.

Jay'southward day-one rider Tyran "Ty-Ty" Smith later plead guilty to pepper-spraying Kelly during the concert. Apparently, Kelly had worn the Roc-A-Fella team thin with unprofessional behavior like skipping rehearsals and showing up late to shows. The last harbinger came when Kelly abruptly walked off the stage 30 minutes into his MSG prepare because he claimed he saw men in the crowd pointing guns at him. Smith, who got a shoutout on 4:44'southward "Bam" for having the heart of a giant despite his 5'6″ stature, allegedly called Kelly a "bitch" and a "faggot" before spraying him and his security guards, sending them to the hospital and kicking off years of litigation that included a $91-meg civil suit.

Little Level: 8

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3. "Smile" (2017)

Target: Funk Flex

Rhymes: "No flex zone, this is HOV, nigga who lied to you?"

Context: You lot may have wondered why Jay decided to randomly denote himself as HOV in the centre of the lyrical slaughter he executed on 4:44's "Marcy Me." Those familiar with Jay'south 2015 feud with legendary Hot 97 DJ Funkmaster Flex know he didn't blitz to squeeze those lines into the bar because they sounded expert — it was a direct bulletin to his quondam ally, who had recently been talking reckless on the radio. The disharmonize stemmed from Flex'southward allegation that Jay stole his intellectual property for a mobile app.

Hot 97's bomb-dropper tried to accident up Jay's spot live on air, but things blew up in his face when he posted a photo of a text message that read "This is HOV," attempting to convince his followers that he had Jigga on the ropes so bad that Jay was desperately reaching out to clear the air via text. Information technology'southward now articulate that Flex got hit with he okey-doke after this Rae Sremmurd-inspired clapback, but the question remains: Who exactly was playing on Flex's phone that nighttime?

Petty Level: 5

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four. "Bam" (2017)

Target: Kanye West

Rhymes: "Niggas skip leg day just to run they mouth."

Context: On 2016's The Life Of Pablo, Kanye appear that when he hits the gym, he focuses on working "all chest" and "no legs." Jay flipped the rhyme to criticize all the talking Ye has been doing during concerts, specifically last fall in Sacramento when Ye dry snitched that HOV had "killers" on his payroll and accused Beyoncé of using industry politics to leverage an MTV VMA win over him.

Petty Level: 7

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5. "Kill Jay Z" (2017)

Target: Futurity

Rhymes: "I don't even know what you would of done/In the future other nigga playing football with your son."

Context: Future and Ciara'southward attempts to co-parent accept been a consequent trending topic on social media since the couple split in 2015. The primary source of drama is the man Ciara rebounded with: shamelessly foursquare NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, aka the polar opposite of her Hendrix-channelling ex. The Super Basin winner didn't hesitate to cuff Ci Ci after the split, and he seemed to take naturally to caring for the couple's young son, judging solely from the "Goodies" singer'due south Instagram feed.

Jay'south sublim game is then serious that Future let the line with his name in information technology fly directly over his head and instead dove to catch a more general shot: Jay'south message to the millennial generation that posing with stacks of money on Instagram is a great style to say, "I'ma be broke in iv years." "There'due south a disconnect, we don't call that coin over here," spit Jigga, prompting responses from Boosie, Ralo and Future, who said they aren't ready to stop holding money stacks up to their ears and pretending they're talking on Nino Brown's prison cell telephone.

Niggling Level: 5

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6. "Is That Your Chick?" (1999)

Target: Nas

Rhymes: "She continue beggin' me to hit it raw/And then she tin have my kids and say it was yours/How foul is she? And yous wifed her/Shit, I put the safety on tighter/Coming over your shit/Got my feet up on your sofas, homo/I'm eating a hostess from my open up paw/Yous coming home to dishes and empty soda cans/I got your bitch up in my Rover, man/I never osculation her, I never hold her hand/In fact I diss her I'm a bolder human/I'mma pimp her; information technology'south over, man."

Context: Something nearly collaborating with Missy seems to bring out Jay'south petty side. After years of subtle jabs between the greatest surviving heavyweights of New York'south 1990's rap scene, Jay threw a hook that pushed the local rivalry to a global level. On "Is That Your Chick," Jay defended the unabridged 2d single of Memphis Bleek's 2000 anthology, The Agreement, to Nas and his daughter's mother, Carmen Bryan.

Carmen later confirmed that she was the "chick" Jay and visitor were referring to in her 2006 volume, It'southward No Surreptitious… From Seduction to Scandal, a Hip Hop Helen Of Troy Tells All — though her account of their romance was much less salacious than HOV's. Anyway, the dearest triangle led to greasy interviews and more subliminal disses until Jay finally said Nas'south name at the stop of "Takeover" and things got "Super Ugly."

Petty Level: 10

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7. "Blueprint ii" (2002)

Targets: Rosie Perez, Nas, Jungle

Rhymes: "I'm sorry Ms. Rosie Perez, but I telephone call a spade a spade, it just is what it is/You can't requite cred to annihilation dude says/Same dude who gives you ice and you owe him some head?… Is it 'Oochie Wally Wally,' or is information technology 'Ane Mic?' Is it 'Blackness Daughter Lost,' or shorty 'owe' you for water ice?"

Context: Even after their war of words had seen its meridian, Jay continued sending shots at Nas and anyone challenge his longtime rival had won their epic showdown. His most potent bars pointed out the many contradictions in Nasty Nas's public paradigm: mainly that he presented himself equally a woke liberty fighter but also participated in new millennium'south worst mainstream trends; Materialism, misogyny and the same mafioso mentality that Jay was widely criticized for portraying.

Rosie Perez entered the fray when she criticized Jay for bringing Nas'south baby mama into their beef (Jay bragged that he left condoms in their baby's car seat, but more on that later). Jigga'south mom agreed that information technology was too far and wisely told her son to fall back. Merely Jay however felt the need to tell thePractise The Right Thing extra why she was naive to see Nas "Escobar" as the "proficient guy" without looking at the bigger motion picture.

Jay's underlying thesis: His honest and consequent portrayal of himself at his best and worst was more than genuine than Nas'southward inconsistent caricatures. The pettiest line, withal, came at the expense of Nas's Braveheart comrade Jungle: "And the niggling homie Jungle is a garden to me." Really, HOV? Thankfully, Jigga and Rosie reconciled in 2013 at the "Picasso Baby" video shoot.

Petty Level: 8

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8. "Ride Or Die" (1998)

Target: Ma$e

Rhymes: "I bruise wack rap niggas severely punish them/Especially those that become fucked for they publishing, heh/Ever gotta be the weakest nigga out the crew/I probably make more money off yo' album, than you/You come across the respect I get every time I come up through/Check your own videos, you'll always exist number two/Niggas talkin' real greasy on them R&B records/Simply I'm platinum a 1000000 times nigga, bank check the credits/South. Carter, ghost author, and for the right cost, I can even brand YO' shit tighter."

Context: One of Jigga'southward earliest (and ugliest) subliminal disses was a response to Bad Male child rapper Ma$e, who sent this not so subtle shot at Jay only as he was beginning his famous infatuation with platinum jewelry: "All we hear is platinum that, platinum this/ Platinum whips, nobody got no platinum hits," said Ma$e on 112's "Honey Me!" At the time, Puffy's Bad Boy label was running the Billboard charts and Jay was struggling to get a bonafide hit.

Simply Young Hov wasn't about to let the number ii human being on Bad Boy's roster picayune bro him; so he shot dorsum with these vicious but true facts about the terms of Ma$e'southward deal and his status in Bad Male child pecking gild. Dissimilar Jay, Ma$e was a worker, not an owner. And according to the "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" music video, where Betha wore a number ii bailiwick of jersey then Puff could rock number one, he wasn't even the superlative domestic dog on his own squad.

Co-ordinate to Ma$e in a 2012 interview, Jay inherited the beef from a Roc-A-Fella homie who had lost a immature lady named Arion to Ma$e'southward charm. "My beef wasn't with Jay, information technology was somebody in his crew. She liked me, and nosotros did whatever we did and information technology was somebody'due south girlfriend that was in his coiffure. And so then me and Dame go into information technology, Dame wanna box me, I told him allow's box. I estimate Jay inherited it, me and (Jay) never really had a trouble." I wonder if that's how Jay would tell the story.

Niggling Level: 5

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9. "I Got The Keys" (2016)

Target: Drake

Rhymes: "'Til you ain your ain, you lot can't exist free/'Til you're on your own, y'all can't be me."

Context: In January 2016, Drake announced on "Summertime Sixteen" that he "used to wanna be on Roc-A-Fella" but then he "turned into Jay." Hov didn't take the claim lightly and apace reminded Drizzy of how much further he had to go on his journey before he could merits to exist his equal.

Unlike Jay, Drake is signed every bit an artist to Yung Money Records and Cash Money Records (among others), where he presumably eats afterward Infant, Wayne, and (possibly) J. Prince, all of whom contributed greatly to his "discovery" and blow-upward in 2009. Drake is also signed to Apple Music, while Jay owns his own streaming service, TIDAL, making Drake's merits to the throne sound all the more ridiculous one time you've done the math.

Petty Level: three

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10. "Shining" (2017)

Target: Drake

Rhymes: "I know y'all own't out here talking numbers, right? I know y'all ain't out hither talking summers, right? I know yous own't walking 'round talking down, saying boss shit when you a runner, right?"

Context: The 2nd of Jay'southward dorsum-to-back shots at Drake'due south assuming "Summer Sixteen" line was style more specific than his "I Got The Keys" subliminal. Jay went out of his style to let Drake, and everyone else, know that he really doesn't capeesh hearing about how people are looking to supervene upon him. Especially when they remember they already accept, and he nevertheless hasn't announced his 2nd retirement.

Petty Level: 6

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11. "Nosotros Made Information technology (Freestyle)" (2014)

Target: Drake

Rhymes: "Sorry Mr. Drizzy for so much art talk/Featherbrained me rappin' 'bout shit that I really bought/While these rappers rap about guns they ain't shot/And a agglomeration of other silly shit that they own't got."

Context: For those who nonetheless don't believe that Jigga watches the tweets as closely as he used to scout the streets, see exhibit A: his Jay Electronica-assisted freestyle over Drake and Soulja Boy's "We Made It."

First, Drake told Rolling Stone in an interview that he was tired of Jay's countless art references: "It's like Hov tin't drop bars these days without at least four art references… I would love to collect (art) at some point, but I think the whole rap-slash-art globe affair is getting kind of corny." Then, Jay shot back with this insincere lyrical apology, which pointed to the fact that he was only keeping it real with listeners; too as the fact that Drizzy wasn't complaining to journalists near peers who were still busting imaginary guns. On iv:44's "The Story Of O.J.," Jay doubled down on his interest in art, explaining that he stopped collecting depreciating assets like cars with five-12 engines and started stocking up on paintings because they double in value each year. Drake regretted the interview so much that he told Twitter it was his concluding, claiming he was quoted out of context and that he did not intend for his private critique of Jay's hobbies to make information technology to print.

Niggling Level: iii

Tweet:

Petty Level: 5

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12. "The Ruler's Dorsum" (2001)

Target: Amil

Rhymes: "You got a couple of beans, and you don't take a clue?/Your state of affairs is bleak/I'ma continue it real, fucking with me, yous gotta drop a factory/'crusade if you lot gonna cop something you lot gotta cop for real."

Context:

Beanie Sigel, DJ Inkling?, Memphis Bleek and Pharrell may not take realized that Hov was dropping names on their very first listen of The Blueprint'south royal intro, but Amil, who had recently been released from the Roc, probably did. In 2010, But Blaze told the Hype Men podcast that Amil's promising career with the Roc fizzled because of her work ethic. In a 2002 interview on Hot 97, Jay said he was tired of explaining to the Roc'south first diva that "Tin can I Become A…" wasn't "her" song before calling her "Diana Ross, for real," and calculation, "I don't know how Drupe Gordy did it."

Manifestly, the silky-voiced MC skipped studio sessions because she said she had to watch her child. So, either the Roc didn't have a suitable plant nursery at Baseline studios or Amil couldn't convince anybody to play babe-sitter in the clutch — either manner, she's probably been hitting "skip" on this rails since the first fourth dimension she heard her name. As Memphis Bleek testified in 2015, "All I know (is) nosotros was in the studio making "Hey Papi," (and) she ain't make it… HOV simply said, "Yous'll never come across her over again," and I never did."

Petty Level: 11/x

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thirteen. "Lost One" (2006)

Target: Damon Dash

Rhymes: "I heard motherfu*kers saying they made Hov/Made Hov say, "OK so, make another Hov"/Niggas wasn't playing they day role/So we parted means like Ben and J-Lo/I should've been did it but I been in a daze though/I put friends over business concern terminate of the twenty-four hours, though/Simply when friends' business interests is they glow/Ain't nothing left to say though/I gauge we forgot what nosotros came for/Shoulda stayed in food and beverage/Too much flossing/Also much Sam Rothstein/I ain't a bitch, but I gotta divorce them/Hov had to go the shallow shit up off him."

Context: The break-up of Roc-A-Fella records has been explored in YouTube documentaries and comment sections for years, but few accounts of the carve up take been as straight-forward equally Jay's on his 2006 return from retirement, Kingdom Come. Artist Jay and executive Damon Dash founded the Roc with silent partner Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1996, and each played their role to perfection as they elevated the Roc into a popular civilisation dynasty at the plough of the millennium. But afterward accomplishing their initial goal of taking over the corporate rap game as cocky-owned Black men, intentions apparently shifted away from "what they came for" to more than self-serving interests.

Like Sam Rothstein in Martin Scorcese's Casino, Dame was reportedly growing more egotistical and less responsible past the twenty-four hours in his role as Roc-A-Fella CEO. Equally evidenced by viral videos of him flipping out on suits in label meetings – non to mention his determination to name Cam'ron Vice President of the company without consulting his partner – Jay and others saw Dame swerving dangerously out of his lane and threatening the future of their collective functioning. As Jay put it, Dame "wasn't playing (his) solar day role," and so he didn't hesitate to end the partnership and begin chasing bigger dreams on his own.

Niggling Level: 9

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fourteen. "Frontin'" (2003)

Target: Beyoncé

Rhymes: "Every time your name was brought upward/I would act all nonchalant in front of an audience/Like you was but some other shorty I put the naughty on/But uh, truth be told y'all threw me for a loop."

Context: On the song "four:44," Jay expresses deep regret for his unromantic pursuit of Mrs. Carter. Instead of formally request her to exist his lady, he just said, "don't embarrass me" and left the residue of their relationship up for interpretation.

Foresight makes information technology clear that his viii bars on Pharrell's classic were nearly Bey. They besides showed merely how much Jay's simp game had improved in the two years since the "One Minute Man (Remix)."

Piddling Level: 2

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xv. "Light Upward" (2010)

Target: Damon Nuance

Rhymes: "And to these niggas I'g like Windows 7, let 'em tell it they swear they invented you."

Context: Today, Jay and Dame seem to exist absurd, but Hov was evidently however holding on to difficult feelings from their feud when he blessed Drake's debut album with one of his near quotable verses in years. Either that or he was watching a commercial for Windows 7 computers and had to express mirth to himself because he could relate to seeing people take credit for edifice things that they don't even know how to take autonomously.

Fiddling Level: half dozen

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16. "Problem" (2006)

Target: Cam'ron

Rhymes: Only fourth dimension you went plat, my chain was on your cervix, that'southward an bodily fact.

Context: After the Roc's interruption-up, Dipset capo Cam'ron inherited his friend Dame's beef with Jay, partly because Cam's presence at Roc-A-Fella was what reportedly accelerated the carve up in the first place. Killa Cam has never hesitated to get petty, and he's never seen Jay as his superior, so he quickly launched a mixtape campaign against Hov that mocked his looks (comparing him to cigarette mascot Joe Camel and Practiced Times' actor JJ Evans), his shortly-to-be-married woman (insinuating that he slept with Bey when they had collaborated years before) and his claim to New York's throne ("I opened the Daily News, and how's the king of New York rocking sandals with jeans?").

Cam's scathing 2005 diss track "You Gotta Dear It" claimed that Jay, who was then the interim President of Def Jam, stole the Roc-a-Fella label, the Rocawear clothing line and the Roc'south top musical prospect, Kanye West, from Matriarch in their messy divorce. The blatantly disrespectful bars on "Trouble" were the first public response to Cam's jabs, only more were soon to come. And we can't forget Cam's undeniable gem: "Stop the music for this 1 — You talking virtually yous an 80's infant (On Young Jeezy'southward "Go Crazy")/You 37 years-former, you was born in 1968." Immature Hov was so hurt that he tried to convince the earth that 30 was the new 20 on a later Kingdom Come track.

Petty Level: 7

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17. "30 Something" (2006)

Target: Cam'Ron

Rhymes: "I'm afraid of the futurity/Y'all respect the one that got shot, I respect the shooter."

Context: In 2005, not long after he started talking crazy about Jay on records, Cam'ron was shot in both arms in Washington D.C., while driving his Lamborghini Gallardo at Howard University's storied Homecoming weekend. Cam maintained permanent nerve damage from the shooting merely calmly drove himself to the hospital later on refusing to give up his car or jewels in the attempted jacking. Cam by and large but used the botched robbery for promotion of his new anthology and for bragging rights, simply he later claimed that the shooters "threw upwardly the Roc," diamond hand sign before the shooting.

Petty Level: half dozen

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xviii. "Pump It Up (Freestyle)" (2003)

Target: Joe Budden

Rhymes: "I'thousand the Mike Jordan of the mic recording/Information technology'south Hovi baby, you Kobe, maybe Tracy McGrady/Thing fact you a Harold Miner, J.R. Rider, washed up on marijuana"

Context: Here's 1 proficient reason why Joe Budden has transformed into the millennial era'due south Maddest Rapper: In the early 2000's, when he was 1 of Hip Hop'southward well-nigh promising young lyricists, the New Jersey rapper (reportedly) bumped heads with the Big Homie over characterization politics and never saw his career accept off the way many expected. Certain Budden'due south proper name was buzzing off of mixtape piece of work with DJ Clue and Fabolous and his Only Blaze-produced single, "Pump It Up," merely Jay didn't seem convinced he was ready for the big leagues until he saw him one-on-1.

Just before he retired, rap's MJ went out his mode to jack "Pump Information technology Upwards's" vanquish and take Budden's flow and penchant for sport metaphors for a spin. He released it on his pre-Black Album mixtape,The Due south. Carter Collection, which dropped in tandem with his signature S. Carter Reebok sneakers.To Joe's credit, the rook didn't hesitate to take the beat out back, going toe-to-toe with Hov:"I ain't Kobe, or Tracy, Gay-Z, Jay be murked/Joey's the future, I'yard more like Dirk," but at the end of the solar day, it stacks upwards similar Allen Iverson'south iconic (but mostly symbolic) crossing of Michael Jordan in 1997. Jay continued to leverage his power at Def Jam to "proceed his foot on the throat of the rap game," every bit he promised on the rails, and Joe's stats oasis't quite lived upwards to the Hall Of Fame hype he was pumping back in the twenty-four hours.

Petty Level: 5

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xix. "Reminder" (2009)

Target: Joe Budden

Rhymes: "Throwback, I threw 'em back/Call back those, button ups?/Immature Hov, Tell them ordinary Joe's, 'push button up.'"

Context: Six years later on their "Pump It Up" showdown, just as he was settling in to his second act with Eminem's elite Slaughter House coiffure, Joe and Jay clashed once again. Of class, Jay didn't run across it a serious enough matter to drib more than one-half a bar, only Joe rightly made the most of the gratuitous promotion.

Joey did an interview asserting that Jay couldn't "out rap" him. But he as well claimed to prefer his small loyal post-obit to Jay's mainstream "fickle" fans, so peradventure they're just playing for different trophies.

Niggling Level: 10

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20. "Monster" (2010)

Target: Beanie Sigel

Rhymes: Everybody wanna know what my Achilles' heel is/Dear! I don't get plenty of it/All I go is these vampires and blood suckers/All I come across is these niggas I made millionaires/Millin' about, spillin' they feelings in the air."

Context: Another prey of the Roc's break-up was State Belongings, the New York-based label's Philadelphia expansion team. Led by Beanie Sigel, a legendary bully in the South Philly streets and a genius poet on the mic, Land Property launched the careers of Sigel, Throughway, The Young Gunz, Peedi Crakk and more.

Beans, who was embroiled in legal problems soon after the break-upwardly, was vocally critical of Jay'southward leadership in diverse viral disses and low upkeep music videos over the years, claiming the Big Homie didn't hold the team down as the dynasty crumbled.

After recording countless classics as the Roc's MJ and Scottie, Jay finally had enough and decided to let his erstwhile wingman have it on Kanye Due west's Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Smart money says Ye was definitely in the studio gassing Jay on this ane after Beans cyber-bullied him nearly his metro-sexuality. Oh, and this isn't the last time Jay felt the need to remind the world that he made Sigel into a millionaire.

Niggling Level: six

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21. "Never Let Me Downwardly" (2004)

Target Ma$e

Rhymes: "Dissing Jay will get you Ma$e'd/When I start spitting them lyrics niggas get very religious/6 Hail Mary's, please Male parent forgive us/Young, the archbishop, the Pope John Paul of y'all niggas/They mode y'all all follow Jigga."

Context:Long later on Ma$e had disappeared from New York rap's scene to pursue a life equally a pastor in Atlanta, Jay was still holding a grudge about that 112 line from 1998. On Kanye's debut album, Jay reminds the world why it'south not worth it to disrespect him, before explaining all the means he's more of a spiritual leader as a rapper than Pastor Betha could ever exist in the church or the booth.

Kanye probably sparked this throwback shot, too — on his debut unmarried "Through The Wire" he says, "If you could feel how my face up felt, y'all would know how Ma$e felt," comparing the cleaved jaw he got in a car accident to the i Ma$east sustained in a beatdown by Ghostface Killah and company. Years, later Ma$e would return from his Southern Baptist sabbatical in his Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and Welcome Back Cotter themed anthem. Jay's gone easy on him ever since.

Footling Level: nine

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22. "Free Mason" (2009)

Target: Conspiracy theorists

Rhymes: "Hear me clearly, if y'all niggas fear me, but say y'all fear me/fuck all these fairy tales/Go to hell this is God engineering/this is a Hail Mary pass, y'all interfering."

Context: In 2009, social media and YouTube were filled with conspiracy theories tying Jay-Z and his fiscal success to the Illuminati. Jay'south songs "D'Evils" and "Lucifer" were used as prove of his occult ties, as well as his determination to call himself "Jay HOVA," a play on Jehova that he has long used to express his belief that he is a rap God. Simply the biggest accomplish came from a failed rapper-turned-pastor who tricked his congregation into believing his theory that Jay was heathen by playing an unauthorized remix of ane of Jay's songs by that was produced by Dangermouse.

The vocal chopped various bars upwardly from Jay's many rhymes to say: "half-dozen-half-dozen-vi, murder, murder, Jesus," merely there is no official recording of Jay saying the phrase himself. It's not hard to meet why Jay was fed upward enough to address the topic on Rick Ross' deep cut, but it didn't end him from taunting paranoids with overstated occult symbolism in the video for "On To The Next" a few months later.

Fiddling Level: 3

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23. "Say Hello" (2008)

Target: Al Sharpton

Rhymes: "If Al Sharpton is speaking for me, somebody become him the word and tell him I don't approve/Tell him I'll remove the curses, if you tell me our schools gon' exist perfect/When Jena Vi don't be, tell him that's when I'll stop saying, "bitch," Bitch!"

Context: The selfie line on iv:44  wasn't JAY'due south pettiest prod of Al Sharpton. JAY was tired of political pundits deflecting Don Imus' racist comments almost the Rutgers University Women's Basketball game team onto the Hip Hop community. Jay was tired of political pundits deflecting Don Imus'south racist comments most the Rutgers University Women's Basketball squad onto the Hip Hop community. The famous, "If rappers say it why can't we line?" line was (and withal is) White people's cop out for bigotry, and sunken "professional activists" similar Sharpton joined conservatives in shifting the blame to the youth instead of leading the way. It was 2008, and Louisiana'southward racist "Jena 6" episode was the national reminder that racism was however very much alive — leading JAY to ask why these so called leaders had fourth dimension to talk about he and his peers' lyrics.

Petty Level: 4

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24. "Brooklyn High (We Fly Loftier Remix)" (2006)

Target: Damon Dash, Cam'ron and Jim Jones

Rhymes: Brooklyn get paper, tote big things/We chase niggas effectually they own ball games/Brawl game nigga, it'south over for you lot lames, give me back my chain, information technology'due south over for you lot dames… Your depository financial institution vs. mine, if you ballin', nigga what I'yard doing, can't be divers/The Jones' tin can't proceed upwardly, perhaps my nigga Nas, but I got stronger later "Ether."

Context: At the core of the Roc'south break-upwardly were the fault lines that separated Jay'due south Brooklyn upbringing from his onetime partners' Harlem roots. Afterwards being poked in the press and on the tape past Cam, Matriarch and Jimmy, Jay couldn't wait to bring up the infamous footage of Cam and Jim getting chased out of Harlem's famed Rucker Park by Biggie'southward Junior M.A.F.I.A. crew. Jay's main bespeak however, was that Jones' number one hit, "Ballin'!," fit his lifestyle better than theirs.

Petty Level: six

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25. "Nickles And Dimes" (2013)

Target: Harry Belafonte

Rhymes: "I'm just trying to find common ground/'Fore Mr. Belafonte come up and chop a nigga down/Mr. "24-hour interval-O," major fail/Respect these youngin's, boy, it'due south my fourth dimension at present/Hoblot homie, 2-door homie/You lot don't know all the shit I do for the homies."

Context: Harry Belafonte is a beloved icon of quondam Hollywood and the Ceremonious Rights movement, but Jay refused to bow to his elderberry subsequently Belafonte criticized he and his wife'southward philanthropic efforts. Jay'due south main messages: 1. 'You don't know what I do behind closed doors.' two. 'If you think I could exercise more, call me, not the press.' HOV may have gone a little far calling a senior citizen "boy," simply it's articulate past his decision to dedicate a whole song that he was deeply offended by the breach of confidence. Thankfully, the 2 OG'southward accept since made dainty.

Petty Level: vii

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26. "Drug Dealers Anonymous" (2016)

Target: Tomi Lahren

Rhymes: "Bitch I been brackin' since the 80'south/Google me baby, you crazy?/…/14-year drug dealer and still counting, who deserves the medal of freedom is my accountant/He been hula hooping through loop holes, working 'round shift/IRS should of had the townhouses surrounded."

Context: It took the millennial generation'southward Ann Coulter, Facebook pundit Tomi Lauren, to bring a hibernating HOV out of his cave in 2016. Just a month after Beyoncé poured Lemonade on his head in front end of the whole party, Jay ignored the angry feminists in his mentions and focused on the professional troll who had gained viral fame by comparison Beyoncé and Blackness Lives Affair to the KKK. The final harbinger was her "message" to Beyoncé that being married to an ex-drug dealer fabricated her political views null and void. As Jay rushed to remind her, he's still selling dope and getting abroad with it; The but difference is he now smuggles his production inside of unapologetic quotes.

Trivial Level: 3

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27. "Heart Of The City" (2001)

Target: Jaz-O

Rhymes: "And so I wake upward to more bullshit/You knew me before records, you never disrespected me/At present that I'm successful you pull this shit?

Context: Jaz is the man who offset introduced Jay to the thought of being a professional person rapper. When they met in the 1980's, they quickly bonded over their love of rhyming — and when Jaz got a tape deal and invited Jay on the road to exist his hype human being. According to Jay, he started to outshine Jaz and humbly faded back to the cake when Jaz's tape deal fizzled.

When Jay returned to the game in 1996 as his ain boss, he did his best to put Jaz dorsum on, passing him producer credits, and even housing him in his apartment for years. But the former friends eventually grew apart over heresy and magazine interviews. Jay conspicuously felt disrespected past Jaz'south willingness to speak negatively to the press about him. Instead of calling his publicist and issuing a release, Hov called Young Guru and put information technology on the record.

Little Level: 6

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28. "No Claw" (2008)

Target: Dehaven

Rhymes: "So fuck DeHaven for caving, that's why nosotros don't speak/Made men ain't supposed to make statements/End of the story, I followed the code, croaky the safe/Other niggas ain't in the game, then they practice hate."

Context: Jay felt betrayed by another childhood friend in 2008, after his former "right hand man" DeHaven ran to gossip sites to talk about their illicit past. As YouTube and WorldStarHipHop expanded their reach, more of Jay'southward former assembly told their stories for the camera. With names like Calvin Klein, Beanie Sigel and many more commenting on Jay's past and current dividends, he felt the need to fix the record direct on hisAmerican Gangstersoundtrack: "Fabricated men aren't supposed to make statements."

Pety Level: 7

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29. "Marcy Me" (2017)

Target: Lil Uzi Vert

Rhymes: "I'm talking 'bout busting off the roof/Concord a Uzi vertical, permit the affair smoke/Y'all flirting with death, I exist winkin' through the scope."

Context: Lil Uzi Vert has captured the millennial generations attention with fatalist messages and emo vibes that help some to numb life's hurting. Jay shot this dart to warn Uzi and the youngin's non to flirt with expiry — just he should besides exist proud to know the double meaning of Uzi's iconic "Button me to the edge/All my friends are dead" chorus on "XO Tour L1f3": The deceased friends could be homies who've passed just as well as expressionless presidents, a term Jay passed downwardly on Reasonable Doubt's lead single.

Petty Level: ii

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30. "Put On (Remix)" (2008)

Target: Damon Dash

Rhymes: "All these niggas taking credit for the piece of work that I put in/If yous really put me on, put yourself on then."

Context: Some other quick bar for the peanut gallery — equally Dame and others took credit for his absurd success, Jay felt the need to ask why the magicians who supposedly made him appear out of sparse air couldn't repeat the pull a fast one on. Matriarch had recently told Circuitous that Kanye really hated Jay, just Kanye'south reps denied the claim saying Dame was simply trying become attention for Jim Jones' upcoming projection and, as they put it, the old Roc CEO always makes up stories when he'due south trying to promote something.

Petty Level: 4

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31. "Why I Love You" (2011)

Target: Beanie Sigel

Rhymes: "I tried to teach niggas how to be kings/And all they ever wanted to be was soldiers/And so the honey is gone, 'til blood is fatigued/And so we no longer wear the same uniform"

Context: Beans was known equally the ultimate Roc-a-Fella soldier, never hesitating to step to the frontline of beefs with Nas, The LOX and others over the years. Only Jay was hoping to elevate Beans' mentality, as he explained on "Blueprint (Momma Loves Me)": "Beans, I ain't tryna change you, merely give you some game, to make the transition from the streets to the fame."

After the Roc fell apart and Beans' lost his career to legal issues, he felt abandoned by his former mentor and lashed out multiple times leading upward to thisLookout man The Thronepoesy, which everyone knew was aimed at the Broad Street Smashing.

Little Level: 7

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32. "Smiling" (2017)

Target: 50 Cent, Jimmy Iovine

Rhymes: "Fuck a slice of the apple tree pie, want my own cake/Chargin' my ain charge per unit/ Respect Jimmy Iovine, only he gotta respect the Elohim every bit a whole new government/And niggas playing for 'Power', huh/So our music is our, niggas ain their own houses."

Context: Jay's vision of fiscal liberty still hasn't been realized by many of his peers. Near two decades after he mocked the curt-sighted view of 50 Cent's name, his immature rival has been in the news for filing bankruptcy and putting all of his fries into the STARZ serial,Ability.

Iovine used to sign 50's checks at Interscope earlier moving on to Apple tree Music, only Jay's clear message is that the man who sold over 12 million records in 2003 alone shouldn't be declaring bankruptcies and publicly revealing that his but real assets are houses. As Jay said on "I Got The Keys," 'Til you own your own, you can't be complimentary."

Footling Level: 8

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33. "Dear Summertime" (2005)

Target: The Game

Rhymes: "Information technology's similar when niggas make subliminal records/If it own't directed directly at me, I don't respect it/You don't really want it with Hov, for the record/I put a couple careers on hold, you could be next, kid/Proceed entering the danger zone/Y'all gon' brand that boy Hov put your name in a song/If y'all that hungry for fame, motherfucker 'cmon/Say when, have ten paces, so spin."

Context: The Game got gassed up on G-Unit's massive hype in the mid-2000'due south and began chucking long bombs at Jay, rejecting his button up shirt and penchant for Maybach'south on "Westside Story."

HOV sent his starting time response in a Hot 97 freestyle before transposing the lyrics to his classic retirement anthem, "Dear Summer." The primary message: be happy with this subliminal message, and don't make him say your name on the next song.

The Game apologized and quieted downwardly for a little while, but ultimately, he didn't learn his lesson.

Petty Level: six

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34. "The Prelude" (2006)

Target: The Game

Rhymes: "The game's fucked up/Niggas' beats is banging, nigga your hooks did information technology/Your lyrics didn't, your gangster look did it/So I would write it if y'all could get it/Being intricate'll get you forest, critic"

Context: A year and change after "Honey Summer," Jay's return from retirement delivered on his hope to put The Game's "proper noun in a vocal." The get-go words of his comeback album are "The Game'due south fucked upwardly," followed by a ruthless dissection of his cliche prototype and unimaginative rhymes. Sheesh.

Petty Level: 3

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35. "Change The Game" (2000)

Target: Jayo Felony

Rhymes: "I wear more than bling to The Source than Soul Trains / More than chains and rings, niggas won't do a thing"

Context: Jayo Felony said this nigh Jay, "Talkin' about, 'Is he a Blood or is he a Crip?!'/ Due north—a I'll sock that f—-t in his big-ass lips," afterward taking offense to some of Jay's lines most gang culture. HOV was flexing in the face of rumors that Westward Coast wolves would stick any E Coast big shots who came to their side flossing. But Jayo was also reportedly frustrated past his status at Def Jam records, where he was stuck in a bad deal and Jay was thriving.

Petty Level: five

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36. "Watch What You Say To Me" (2007)

Target: Lil Wayne

Rhymes: "I hear you baiting me lately, I been doing my all-time simply to stay hater free/Still watch what you say to me/Sooner or afterward I accept you up on your offering/And put you all in ya place like I'm replacing ya father/You talking, to the writer, the architect of The Design/My DNA in ya music, muthafucka you stupid?"

Context:

First, Wayne said this on a record:

"Y'all quondam donkey rappers better stay on tour/ You like 44/ I got a 44/ I'm 24/ I could murk you and come up out when I'one thousand 44." on Freeky Zeeky's "Beat Without Bass."

And then this in an interview:

"I'm improve than (Jay-Z)…I'chiliad 24 years old. … I'm 13 years deep with 5 albums and 10 million records sold." He connected, "I don't like what he'southward saying nigh how he had to come up dorsum considering hip-hop's dead and nosotros need him…What the f— do yous mean? If anything information technology'southward reborn, so he's probably having a problem with that. You left on a good notation, and all of the artists were saying, 'Yo, this is Jay's house. He's the best.' Now he comes back and still thinks information technology's his house… Information technology'south not your house anymore, and I'thou ameliorate than you."

And this was all after Wayne spit over Nas' "Ether" beat on a mixtape and began calling himself the "greatest rapper live." Not to mention the fact that he went out of his way to outperform Jay on a freestyle over "Show Me What You Got" during his blood-red-hot Mixtape Weezy era. Jay couldn't help simply accept the allurement, creating the longstanding Carter feud that has survived multiple disses and collaborations over the years.

Petty Level: 4

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37. "30 Something" (2006)

Target: Lil Wayne

Rhymes: "30'southward the new 20 nigga, I'm on burn nonetheless/These young boys is like burn drills (Uhh)/False alarms (Uhh), the next don (Naw)/He own't got it (Uhh), on to the next one (Young)"

Context: The same year that Wayne declared himself the "Fireman," Jay used some fire-eater puns to dismiss the underdog's potential as a contender for the throne.

Petty Level: 4

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38. "Super Ugly" (2001)

Target: Nas

Rhymes: Me and the boy A.I. got more in common than only balling and rhyming/Go it? More than in Carmen/I came in your Bentley backseat, skeeted in your Jeep/Left condoms on your infant seat/Here nigga, the gloves is off, the love is done/Information technology's whatsoever, whenever, withal nigga – one/And since you infatuated with maxim that gay shit/Yeah you lot was kissing my dick when you was kissing that bitch/Nasty shit, y'all thought I was boning Renette/You calling Carm' a hundred times, I was boning her neck/You got a baby by the wide, you can't disown her all the same."

Context: Nas fabricated fun of Jay's appearance on "Ether" and Jay snapped back like a kid who was used to existence teased on "Super Ugly." Jay'southward mom and Rosie Perez called foul, saying Jay went too far past bringing the wifey and kids into information technology. Jay stopped throwing punches until things cooled down. But the side by side yr, he articulated his statement much more gracefully on "Blueprint 2." Nevertheless, many said the battle had already been lost considering of the "Super Ugly" DQ.

Petty Level: 10

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39.

"Problem" (2006)

Target: Lil Wayne

Rhymes: "Y'all little niggas own't deep you dumb/Yous niggas ain't gangsta, you mucilage, I chew lil' niggas/Hock-too, spew lil' niggas/I can simply view lil' niggas like lil' niggas/But in lieu of lil' niggas trying to play that boy/I phew, phew lil' niggas with the latest toy/Unlike yous lil' nigga, I'm a grown ass human being/Big shoes to fill nigga, grown ass pants"

Context: If the constant use of the globe "lil" isn't obvious enough, Jay direct references Wayne's well-promoted Blood gang ties and slight size make it articulate who the target of these darts were.

Footling Level: half-dozen

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40. "H.A.M." (2011)

Targets: Lil Wayne and Baby

Rhymes: "Niggas daydream most the shit that I exercise daily/Like these rappers rap well-nigh all the shit that I do really/I'm like "Actually: half a billi? Nigga, really?" You lot got baby money/Keep it existent with niggas, niggas ain't got my lady'south money."

Context: Seems like Infant has been gassing this rivalry from 24-hour interval one – He probably put the bug in Wayne's ear to challenge Jay'due south status equally the best rapper live – only Jay has never hesitated to reject Wayne's lyrical and financial claims to rap's throne. Infant'south claim that he has over half a billion dollars just like Jay (simply not in publicly declared assets) generally brutal on deafened ears. But Jay nonetheless responded to the "half a billi" claims on Watch The Throne, saying Weezy and his "Daddy" still had a ways to go before catching up to him or his Queen.

Footling Level: vi

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41. "Takeover" (2001)

Target: Prodigy

Rhymes: "I don't care if you Mobb Deep, I concord triggers to crews/You little fuck, I got money stacks bigger than you/When I was pushing weight, dorsum in '88/You was a ballerina, I got the pictures I seen ya."

Context: Equally two of the most revered spitters on New York Urban center's 90'southward rap scene, Jay and P always kept a competitive distance. Later on Jay sampled Prodigy'due south voice for his debut album'south melancholy "D'Evils," the late Queenbridge legend took exception to a line on Jay's 2000 hit "Coin, Cash, Hoes:""It's like New York's been soft/Ever since Snoop came through and crushed the buildings/I'm trying to restore the feeling."

P'southward beefiness was that he and Mobb Deep were two of the few NYC rappers (along with Capone-Northward-Noreaga and Tragedy Khadafi) to stand tall with Bad Boy during the perceived E Declension vs. West Coast clash in the mid-1990's. "We took offense to that like, 'How you talking now? We was out in that location risking our lives,'" P later explained in an interview in The Source, which led to Jay's infamous Summer Jam screen presentation, which exposed a young Prodigy posing in photos as a young male ballerina.

Petty Level: 10

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42. "Takeover" (2001)

Target: Nas

Rhymes: "Went from Nasty Nas to Esco'southward trash/Had a spark when yous started, just at present you're just garbage/Vicious from summit 10 to not mentioned at all/To your bodyguard's "Oochie Wally verse better than yours/Matter of fact, you had the worst flow on the whole fucking song/Simply I know: the sun don't shine, then son don't shine/That's why your (lame) career's come to an end/It's only so long imitation thugs can pretend/Nigga, you own't live information technology, you witnessed it from your folks' pad/Y'all scribbled it in your notepad and created your life/…/Use your (brain)/You said you've been in this 10/I've been in information technology five – smarten up, Nas/Four albums in ten years, nigga? I could split up/That's one every… let's say 2; two of them shits was doo/One was "ehh," the other was Illmatic/That's a one-hot-album-every-10-year average/And that's so (lame)/Nigga, switch up your flow/Your shit is garbage; what yous trying to kick, knowledge?/Yous niggas gonna larn to respect the rex/Don't be the next contestant on that Summer Jam screen/Because you-know-who did you-know-what/With you-know-who, simply let's keep that between me and yous."

Context: After embarrassing Prodigy on the Summer Jam screen with ballerina photos and teasing Nas with 1 bar at the end of a verse, Jay went directly at the Illmatic MC on the official anthology version of "Takeover," which included new verses aimed entirely at God's Son.

This one in detail focused on Nas' stalling career in comparing to Jay'southward streak of hits. Jay even went so far as to claim that he revived Nas" career and made him relevant once more by even engaging with him. This still stands as the peak of Hip Hop beefiness in the milennial era, merely the ii have since made amends and collaborated multiple times.

Footling Level: 10

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43. "It's Hot (Some Like It Hot)" (2001)

Target: fifty Cent

Rhymes: "Go confronting Jigga your ass is dense. I'm most a dollar, what the fuck is l Cents?"

Effectually the 7:00-minute mark of this Angie Martinez interview, Jay explains that he "had to spank" 50 for his disrespect on the song "How To Rob," where a young Curtis Jackson joked nearly robbing Jay and other mainstream stars.

Jay said they ran into each other backstage at Summer Jam non long after "How To Rob" blew up, and he sensed that 50 was trying to cop a plea before Jay took the stage for his kickoff Summer Jam performance. He reportedly said a lot of "ums," before reminding Jay that he actually respects him.

When Jay calmly told fifty that he liked the record, but that he still had to handle business, Fif couldn't do anything only nod and brace for the impact: "No doubt, do your thing," he told Jay before HOV went out of his way to disrespect the young upstart's proper name during his headlining performance.

Petty Level: 9

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44. "Pound Cake" (2013)

Target: Drake

Rhymes: "I had Benzes 'fore you had braces."

Context: Jay opened his invitee poetry on Drake'southward tertiary album with this light jab to remind the young phenom that he was in the band with a seasoned bar brawler. Jay comes from the days of 90's New York rap when MCs went directly at each without dropping names; And every bit a survivor of lyrical showdowns with the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., DMX, The LOX and Beanie Sigel, he wasn't nigh to become easy on the new generation's pinnacle contender merely because he was the latest hype. Instead, he gave ane of his tightest verses in years, bestowing young Drizzy with some solid game that came in handy years afterward when Meek Manufactory turned on him similar the Barzinis in The Godfather.

Piffling Level: i