Last week, Hopsin decided to Kim Jong Un what was left of Funk Volume with the visual rollout of his “Ill Mind of Hopsin 8.” The song was literally a blistering attack on his former business partner and co-CEO, Damien Ritter but the video took things to another level with its testy courtroom aesthetic, which featured a Ritter doppleganger, dabbin’ judge and a pissed-off plaintiff.
Such animation is rarely seen on the Hip Hop video front as putting such aggression and inflammatory attack could be deemed as corny by consumers. But when executed with the perfect amount of comedic flair and vitriol lyricism, the finished product can be pretty damaging for the rapper on the brunt end of the punchline.
Hopsin’s line in the sand will undoubtedly go on to be etched in stone but for now, take a look at the most entertaining rap diss song videos the game has ever seen.
DJ Pooh – “Whoop Whoop” (Ice Cube Diss)
The story regarding DJ Pooh’s “Whoop Whoop” allegedly had more to do with Ice Cube’s beef with Kam than the storied West Coast producer. Which makes sense as Pooh only produced the beat and let Kam let a rip. There’s even a scene reenacting the urban legend of Shawn Fonteno jumping Cube pre-Grand Theft Auto V fame. While the diss never really hurt the N.W.A member’s reputation, that last scene still has to leave a sour mouth taste after all these years.
Tim Dog – “Fuck Compton” (N.W.A Diss)
Director: James Brummel
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Prior to “Fuck Compton,” the Bronx rapper’s connection to any definitive Hip Hop movement was his association with the Ultramagnetic MC’s. But after N.W.A made it big time from a relatively unknown hotbed city of poverty and violence, Tim Dog had the balls to say what many of his East Coast brethren was already thinking when it came seeing the Mecca of the culture actually have some competition for dominance. Despite the “bootylicious” rhymes he was kicking per Snoop Doggy Dogg, the accompanying video parodied Jheri curled West Coasters on the wrong side of tracks to hammer home Tim Dog’s loud barks.
Pusha T – Exodus 23:1 (Lil Wayne/YMCMB Diss)
Director: Samuel Rogers
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The line “You signed to one nigga that signed to another nigga / That’s signed to three niggas, now that’s bad luck,” was clearly aimed at not only Lil Wayne but the YMCMB in general. For every subliminal shot King Push shot Wayne’s way, Weezy never had the ability to fire a critical one back. In Pusha T’s eyes, he was the dealer while his enemies were the fiends which makes the video more sensible than on the surface.
T.I. – “What Up, What’s Haapnin” (Shawty Lo Diss)
Director: Kai Crawford
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When former D4L member (and former rapper?) Shawty Lo began taking shots at Tip’s hood pass and presence with his “well God Damn, must be two sides” line from his “Dunn Dunn” single, the Kang decided to retort in hilarious fashion. As weapons charges and an impending prison sentence looming head, he dropped his opus Paper Trail with his response “What Up, What’s Haapnin” and took things further by shooting the video in Lo’s Bankhead neighborhood while doing the “Dey Know” dance. It put Jay Z’s iconic “streets say I can’t go back home” line into the ultimate context.
Canibus – “2nd Round K.O.” (LL Cool J Diss)
Director: Chris Robinson
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A legitimate gripe gave 1998’s anticipated Rookie of the Year one helluva debut single when he put all his “4,3,2,1” frustrations into one track and made it a commercial single. To top it off, Canibus had the cojones to channel his rival’s most famous video, “Mama Said Knock You Out” and put his own Apollo Creed spin to get the underground and underdog love behind him. Mic Tyson and Wyclef Jean’s cameo lent credibility to the bout for a short time. That is, until Canibus’ debut album dropped and he lost the fight due to a TKO.
Tha Dogg Pound – “New York, New York”
Director: Daz Dillinger
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It’s definitely worth noting that the actual record to “New York, New York” is not a diss song. Kurupt spends nearly five minutes flexing his lyrical prowess on the track, which would single-handily go on to strengthen his legacy as one of the most underrated MCs of all-time. However, according to Young Gotti, disgruntled natives of the Big Apple weren’t feeling Tha Dogg Pound’s encroachment on their territory and licked a couple shots in their direction. Naturally, feelings were changed as was the treatment for the video, which now including Snoop Doggy Dogg kicking over Manhattan skyscrapers. As fate would have it, the video would go on to be a catalyst for Jay Z’s beef with Prodigy and Jigga made reference to visual on his classic, “Money, Cash, Hoes,” to which the Mobb Deep member called him “a bitch” for being quiet when the East Coast/West Coast war was on.
50 Cent – “Piggy Bank” (Nas/Jadakiss/Fat Joe/Shyne/Ja Rule Diss)
Director: Chris “Broadway” Romero & Dan “The Man” Melamid
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Going into his second album, 2005’s The Massacre, 50 Cent’s stock was at an all-time high and so was his appetite for beef and aspirations for the King of New York crown. Annoyed that anyone would want to work with his nemesis Ja Rule, Fiddy lashed out at the “New York” record’s co-stars Fat Joe and Jadakiss while dangling carrots in the faces of Nas and Shyne. The visual literally animated all the slander into one clip, as 50 morphed into a G-Unit Vendetta video game character, complete with 3-D Bentleys and video vixens.
2Pac & The Outlawz – “Hit Em Up” (The Notorious B.I.G./Puff Daddy/Junior M.A.F.I.A./Mobb Deep/Chino XL Diss)
Director: Look Hear Productions
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In the never ending debate about Tupac’s emotional power and Biggie’s technical prowess, it’s clear which one had a more damaging impact. The video was even worse thanks to spot-on impersonators for Biggie, Puffy and Lil Kim. Pac delivered all out lyrical war on Bad Boy and anyone associated with them without much regard to any mercy. “That’s why I fucked yo bitch you fat muthafucka,” still stands as the most scathing intro to any diss record in Hip Hop history.
Eazy-E – “Real Muthaphukkin’ G’s” f. Dresta & B.G. Knocc Out (Dr. Dre/Snoop Doggy Dogg/Death Row Diss)
Director: Marty Thomas
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If you allow Jason Mizell’s depiction of The Godfather of Gangsta Rap to be your guide, the dissolution of N.W.A was a trying time for Eazy-E and the first of many life blows he had to endure before his untimely death. However, Eric Wright possessed a sense of humor and couldn’t be backed down into a corner so easily. This was evidenced when he broke the thuggery fourth wall and recruited A.J. Johnson, who had previously baffooned him in The Chronic twins’ “Dre Day” video. The end result was Eazy-E laughing to the bank with the biggest hit of his career.
Dr. Dre f. Snoop Doggy Dogg – “Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’) (Eazy-E/Luther Campbell/Tim Dog Diss)
Director: Dr. Dre
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As you should know by now, Dr. Dre’s solo debut The Chronic was an anti Eazy-E affair. “Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’) is the best example which also feature his then protégé Snoop Dogg throwing lyrical acid that possibly burns to this day. The video turned the burns to fourth-degree thanks to the Ruthless Records parody Useless Records with comedian Anthony Johnson as Sleazy-E and Jerry Heller being portrayed by real-life Interscope executive Steve Berman (of Eminem album skit fame). Luther Campbell and Tim Dog’s momma weren’t spared, either.
