Rocks At The Throne: A Comprehensive List Of Jay Z Disses

Cam’Ron
Cam’Ron and Jay Z’s relationship has been turbulent since their half-hearted unity on “Welcome To New York City” back in 2002. Finally letting his frustrations free in 2006, Cam hopped on wax and accused Hov of stealing Rocafella, Kanye West and Rocawear from Damon Dash. Insert a few years and few replies on and off wax, and the two haven’t patched things up ‘til this day (see: his new diss track).

LL Cool J
Stories of a rap battle in the early 90s between Jay Z and LL Cool J linger on, but it was Hov’s three-year tenure as President/CEO of Def Jam that really rubbed LL the rwong way. “I can’t depend on that man to promote my record while he’s somewhere writing rhymes,” the legendary rapper said at the height of his frustrations. More recently, LL also took a shot at Hov’s Magna Carta Holy Grail partnership with Samsung. “I like to know that a million people went out bought my album, not that I sold a million records to a company.”

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DMX
Yes, there was that one time when Jay Z and DMX battle rapped for hours. And of course, you wish you were there to witness it – guns drawn and all. But that one night of heated competition spilled over into tensions between the two for years to come, leading Hov to dissX on a song where they both provided bars (see: “Time To Build”). While discussing Hov’s Def Jam presidency, also later got a big “Fuck you” from DMX in an interview with VIBE. “And somebody in the crown was like ‘What’s up with Jay-Z’ and I was like ‘Fuck Jay-Z,’” he said. “if you want an explanation as to why it’s ‘Fuck You’, I’ll be more than happy to tell you why.”

Tupac
Fact: Nas’ “Fuck Jay Z” sample on “Ether” originally came from the mouth of Tupac Shakur on “Fuck Friendz.” It’s the diss that kept on dissin’.

Bill O’Reilly
Bill O’Reilly has been talking shit about rappers for well over a decade, so naturally, Jay Z came up a few times. In his rants, he occasionally like to blame Hov for what’s wrong in the black community – but that doesn’t surprise you, does it?

Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh? Same boat as that O’Reilly guy: this is nothing new. After slamming Jay Z for performing “99 Problems” at an Obama campaign event, Hov delivered an accurate reply, “Tell Rush Limbaugh to get off my balls.”

Stephon Marbury
Starbury waited a strong six years to respond to a Jay Z lyric, but who’s counting? Offering his retort to Hov’s quip on 2003’s “La La La,” “Don’t confuse me with Marbury out this bitch, run up on me at the light you might lose you life,” Stephon Marbury proceeded to negate the rapper’s street cred. Also, there was a camel joke.

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Paul Anka
The Jay Z blasphemy doesn’t start or end in the rap world. Singer/songwriter Paul Anka was apparently tried to get some bars from Hov, and did not respect the curve. After he was allegedly “blown off” by Jay, Anka took to TMZ’s cameras to call him “inappropriate.” Definitely not the worst insult Hov’s received.

Robert DeNiro
Paul Anka was not the only one filling up Jay Z’s missed call logs. Robert De Niro reportedly got into an argument with Hov at Leonardo DiCaprio’s birthday party in 2013. Also apparently receiving the curve over a song, the legendary actor chose an unusual time to bring things up, no? And if you’re wondering if Jay ever got back to him….

Noel Gallagher
Oasis’ Noel Gallagher was pretty butthurt over Glastonbury’s groundbreaking selection to have Jay Z as its headliner. “Sorry, but Jay-Z? Fucking no chance,” he said following the announcement. “Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music, do you know what I mean?” Meanwhile Hov clapped back with on “Jockin’ Jay Z:” “That bloke from Oasis said I couldn’t play guitar, somebody should have told him I’m a fuckin’ rock star.”

Mase
This all apparently started with a girl named Arion. When Ma$e threw his subliminal line at Jay Z on 112’s 1988 single “Love Me,” (“All we hear is platinum that, platinum this/ Platinum whips, nobody got no platinum hits”), their short-lived beef surrounded a fling with a chick. Revealing in 2012 that he got cozy with a girl dating a member of Hov’s team, the former Bad Boy cleared the air – and marred the whole myth, really.

Raekwon
Like many other critics, Raekwon wasn’t a fan of Jay Z Kingdom Come album (you too? Okay then). Taking the stage at NYC’s B.B. Kings back in 2006, The Chef did not mince words while slamming Hov’s comeback. And no fucks were given that day. “I don’t give a fuck about Hova. I respect Hova As a businessman, and a nigga that know how to rhyme. But me personally, I don’t give a fuck about Hova, none of them niggas. Them niggas ain’t helpin Rae eat.”

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Damon Dash
Since the end of their Roc-A-Fella era, Damon Dash and Jay Z’s relationship has never been the same. And while Dame maintains his respect for Hov, he did once call the fall of the Roc a “betrayal.” “I thought the way Jay carried things was a betrayal to the company,” he said. “I just felt like Roc-A-Fella should exist, like Cash Money still exists, like Bad Boy still exists, like every other label still exists.”

Harry Belafonte
Mr. Belafonte had a word or two about Jay Z’s philanthropic and social efforts a few years ago. Stating that both the rapper and Beyonce have “turned their backs on social responsibility,” the singer/songwriter/activist needed receipts for The Carters’ charitable ways.

Major League Lacrosse
Amidst Jay and Drake’s cold war of sorts, Hov gave Drizzy a light jab with his verse on “They Don’t Love You No More.’ Subliminally calling the Young Money rapper “softer than a lacrosse team,” the line obviously didn’t sit well with one set of individuals: lacrosse players. A spokesperson for the sports league replied that “Mr. Carter would not last one minute on a lacrosse field.” Yikes.

Fat Joe
A ‘90s Roc-A-Fella vs Terror Squad altercation is another hip-hop urban legend. Though Cuban Link recently denied that Jay Z was hit ever hit in the head with a bottle by Big Pun as folklore suggests, the incident led to later tensions between Hov and Fat Joe. When The Roc and TS were scheduled to go head-to-head in a basketball tournament at Rucker Park in 2003, Joey Crack’s squad won by forfeit. And he had much to say at the Source Awards that year:

The Lox
The D-Block vs. Roc-A-Fella beef may go missing in the mind of some hip-hop heads among the epicness that was Jay Z vs. Nas, but it did happen. While trading jabs with Hov’s Philly shooters State Property, of course some shots were taken their leader. “How the fuck you the Roc when ya leader is soft,” Styles P spits on D-Block’s “Roc Diss” track.

Jaz-O
It’s a sad day when mentor becomes opponent, but that is a regular rap occurrence. The same rings true for Jay Z’s relationship with Jaz-O. Upon Hov’s inception of Roc-A-Fella Records, Jaz turned down a record deal from his former protege, after which their relationship began to deteriorate. Enter Jaz’s “It’s Ova” diss track aimed at Jay, and the rest is history. So much for “Hawaiian Sophie.”

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Peedi Crakk
State Property’s Peedi Crakk was yet another disgruntled rapper during Jay Z’s Def Jam presidency. With tensions springing from the release of his debut album (or lack thereof), Peedi dropped a diss track, “Sweet Dreams.” Hov later wrote the Philly rapper off during an interview with Angie Martinez. “I don’t speak to Peedi at all ’cause he’s a psycho — no, he’s a psycho. That’s what I truly believe. Not trying to be funny or anything,” he said.

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De-Haven
Jay Z’s former friend (and associate in illegal activity) De-Haven Irby hit YouTube with a series of videos, slamming Hov for exaggerating his drug dealing, and not being grateful to those that helped his claim to fame. “I’m telling you he overexaggerates. He was there to see things, but doing some big-time Frank Lucas–type thing? No,” De-Haven told NY Mag. “He nickled and dimed, but nothing on a major scale.” Jay Z responded to his claims on “No Hook,” spitting “So fuck DeHaven for caving, that’s why we don’t speak/ Made men ain’t supposed to make statements.”

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The Game
“Every now and then, I take a couple shots at Hov,” The Game once said. While no real reason for their “beef” was every pinpointed, the Compton rapper has hurled several insults at Mr. Carter. From “Fuck Jay Z” chants on stage, to disses on tracks like “One Blood” and “Uncle Otis,” The Game later admitted to simply wanting to garner Hov’s attention.

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T-Pain
T-Pain’s schtick took a huge hit from Jay Z’s “Death of Autotune.” While Hov assures he never intended to disrupt the singer’s career, things were not all good when Pain took to a Las Vegas stage in 2009. “Jay-Z is 59 years old. I don’t think he has the right to say what’s good and what’s not,” he said. “I think if anything is dead, it should be him.” Well damn.

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Drake
Okay, fine. Drake may not be as gutsy as the rest of this list’s occupants, but his slight “blow-for-blow” with Jay Z did come out of nowhere, and all started with one quote. Chatting with Rolling Stone about Hov’s most recent raps, Drizzy said “It’s like Hov can’t drop bars these days without at least four art references! I would love to collect at some point, but I think the whole rap/art world thing is getting kind of corny.”

Lil’ Wayne
Remember that time Weezy threatened to kidnap Beyonce? After Hov called the (former?) Cash Money rapper out for having “Baby money” and not even having his “lady money,” Lil’ Wayne offered a retort on “It’s Good”

Talk about baby money, I got your baby money.
Kidnap your bitch get that how much you love your lady money

50 Cent
Though he hasn’t made coming for Jay Z’s head a habit since that “I’m about a dollar” line back in 1999, G-Unit’s general did throw some recent shade Hov’s way. Taking aim at Mr. Carter’s business savvy – which may be even more of an insult these days – Fiddy expressed some doubt about Roc Nation Sports’ success in the boxing business. “I think they gonna clean Jay up,” he said.

Mike Huckabee
A Fox News commentator isn’t fond of Jay Z. Surprised? In a recent book by Mike Huckabee, the former Republican governor accused Mr. Carter of exploiting his wife. “She is a terrific dancer – without the explicit moves best left for the privacy of her bedroom, he wrote “Jay-Z is a very shrewd businessman, but I wonder: Does it occur to him that he is arguably crossing the line from husband to pimp by exploiting his wife as a sex object?”

Mobb Deep
Prodigy becoming a “contestant on that Summer Jam screen” in 2001 is the stuff of rap legend. But the public embarrassment stemmed from Mobb Deep’s displeasement with Hov’s assertion on “Money Cash Hoes” that “New York been soft ever since Snoop came through and crushed the buildings.” Admitting that he “shitted on” Jay in an interview with The Source, the Queens rapper ignited a feud that would go on for years.

Nas
This entry only requires one word: “Ether.”

MC Hammer
MC Hammer didn’t take kindly to Jay Z rapping about his finances on Kanye West’s “So Appalled.” In possibly the oddest diss record/video ever, Hammer employs a Satan-worshipping Hov lookalike on “Better Run Run,” and forces him to get baptized. The jury should actually be out on whether this even qualifies as an insult.

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Jim Jones
Staying true to his Dipset ties, Jim Jones went to bat for Cam’Ron against Jay Z. Hopping on multiple tracks to come to his Harlem brethren’s defense all the way up to as recent as 2010, Jimmy’s reconciliation with Hov also remains at large.