The Kendrick Lamar versus Drake feud had Hip-Hop culture in a chokehold in 2024. In 2001, JAY-Z versus Nas was the most-talked-about rap battle of that era.
Damon “Dame” Dash had a firsthand viewpoint of his Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder JAY-Z’s rivalry with Nas. According to Dash, the tense back-and-forth between the two legendary MCs did not generate concern of the situation turning violent.
“There was no fear of us getting hurt when it came to Nas. Not at all. Or anybody else we were battling,” Dame Dash declared on a recent episode of the Moguls In the Making podcast.
He continued, “There was no fear of any violence when it came to that. There was no fear when it came to us. Of any battle that we had, when it came to violence, we were never worried about that.”
JAY-Z included the Nas-directed “Takeover” on his 2001 album The Blueprint. Nas fired back with the Stillmatic track “Ether.” Many rap followers consider “Takeover” and “Ether” two of the greatest diss records in Hip-Hop history.
While JAY-Z and Nas both avoided bloodshed during their lyrical conflict, other rappers did lose their lives amid tension between their respective crews. The tragic 1990s deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac serve as the most famous example of that possible violent outcome.
“Now, Pac and Biggie, n##### got killed,” Dame Dash stated. “But n##### get killed in Hip-Hop now. They be battling, they be banging on the thing, and then they end up dead. It’s a little more serious now.”
