Two decades later, Nas versus Jay-Z is still one of the most talked about feuds in Hip Hop history. While the two rap icons have since reconciled, neither man seems above reminding the public of their legendary lyrical duel.
Flashback to 2001. Jay-Z let loose The Blueprint‘s “Takeover” which contained direct shots at Nas. A few months later, Nas fired back with “Ether” off the Stillmatic album. Both records are widely considered classic disses.
The two native New Yorkers went on to team up on tracks like “Black Republican,” “Success,” “BBC,” and “Sorry Not Sorry.” On his latest studio LP, King’s Disease III, Nas took time to reflect on the current status of his relationship with the Tidal owner.
“No beef or rivals, they playing ‘Ether’ on Tidal. Brothers can do anything when they decide to. In a Range Rover, dissecting bars from ‘Takeover.’ Sometimes I text Hova like, ‘N####, this ain’t over,’ laughing,” raps Nas on “Thun.”
Trevor Noah had Nas on The Daily Show this week. At one point in the televised interview, Noah asked the 49-year-old emcee/entrepreneur about those “Thun” bars focused on his former adversary Jay-Z.
“When I released the tracklist for that album the other day, he released a picture with all his Grammys,” said Nas, referring to an image of Jay-Z with his 24 Grammy trophies that went viral on social media. “Yeah, shout out to him.”
King’s Disease III is the third installment in the Nas album series entirely produced by Hit-Boy. They first linked up for 2020’s Grammy-winning King’s Disease. Then King’s Disease II dropped in 2021. Nas and Hit-Boy also worked together on 2021’s Magic album.