What Was the First Diss Track?

Introduction
Other notable diss tracks
- “Yankee Doodle” (c. 1750s)
- Mozart: “Leck mich im Arsch” (c. 1782)
- Noel Rosa: “Rapaz folgado” (1933)
- Kitty Wells: “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” (1952)
- Muddy Waters: “Mannish Boy” (1955)
- Bob Dylan: “Positively 4th Street” (1965)
- The Beatles: “Too Many People” and “How Do You Sleep?” (1971)
- Carly Simon: “You’re So Vain” (1972)
- Lynyrd Skynyrd: “Sweet Home Alabama” (1974)
- Foo Fighters: “I’ll Stick Around” (1995)
- Tupac Shakur: “Hit ’Em Up” (1996)
- Kendrick Lamar: “Not Like Us” (2024)

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Infographic titled 2024 Rap Beef Timeline showing a sequence of major releases and diss tracks exchanged between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, with key dates and song titles mapped in chronological order between their photos.

Dylan goes electric

Tupac Shakur, 1993

Infographic titled 2024 Rap Beef Timeline showing a sequence of major releases and diss tracks exchanged between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, with key dates and song titles mapped in chronological order between their photos. — 2024 Rap Beef timeline Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and several of their contemporaries who contributed to their viral feud.

What Was the First Diss Track?

Written by

René Ostberg

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

It’s often said the best revenge is living well. Unless you’re a musician, in which case the best revenge is to release a diss track, a song with lyrics that insult—or disrespect—a rival artist. When most people think of diss tracks, they probably think of rap music. The hip-hop connection isn’t wrong. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term diss originated with Spoonie Gee’s 1979 song “Spoonin’ Rap.” Honors for the first rap diss...

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