While Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us” has swept the rap world since Drake and permeated other dimensions of pop culture, Ice Cube wants everyone to know that he still rules the diss category.
Cube took the stage at the California Roots festival in Monterey on Sunday, and before performing “No Vaseline,” he let the crowd know that he remains the premier diss record in hip-hop culture.
He repeated the scripts of fans telling him that 2Pac's “Hit 'Em Up” or Nas' “Ether” and K. Dot's “Not Like Us” have the top spot on him, but the West Coast icon didn't believes they respond.
“I love Nas, but he's not. I love Kendrick Lamar now — maybe it's him. I love those songs, but 'No Vaseline' is the best diss song in hip-hop history,” he said before explaining his reasoning. “And I'll tell you why: One MC — me — took out four moms and the manager. You can't beat that.
All these decades later, the hate has subsided and Cube made sure to reiterate that he has nothing but love for Dr. Dre and the late Eazy-E, along with the rest of NWA “But we did it 30 years ago.” added. “As it stands today, I have nothing but love for NWA”
After his departure from NWA in late 1989 due to what he perceived as shady business practices by the group's manager, Jerry Heller, the group challenged him with jabs. 100 miles and runningEP and N—az4Life project, which led to Ice Cube redefining the standard for diss tracks with 1991's unsettling 'No Vaseline'.
The harsh diss landed on Cube's Death certificate album and saw him shred former Eazy-E bandmates Dr. Dre, Yella, MC Ren and manager Jerry Heller one by one.
While “No Vaseline” remains No. 1 in Cube's mind, the track actually made it to No. 4 on our list of the 15 Hottest Hip-Hop Diss Songs of All Time. 2Pac's “Hit 'Em Up” took the No. 1 spot, with Pusha T's “The Story of Adidon” and Jay-Z's “Supa Ugly” rounding out the top 3.
Watch Ice Cube's 'No Vaseline' speech below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/ice-cube-no-vaseline-best-diss-track-kendrick-lamar-nas-1235694287/