Ab-Soul Crowns Winner In Jay Z & Nas’ Epic Feud: “He Wanted To Be The King Of NY”

Written By Cyrus Langhorne

Top Dawg Entertainment's Ab-Soul recently shared his take on the now-infamous rap battle between New York heavyweights Nas and Jay Z and crowned a champion.

Jay-Z
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In Ab-Soul’s opinion, Young Hov won the back-and-forth diss track feud.

“Jay Z, with full conviction. I can quote you Nas’ responses too, word-for-word. But I just kinda feel like Jay owned that battle. I feel like he didn’t even kick it off disrespectfully. He kinda kicked it off just in a sense of just kinda like taking that throne. Gotta tip my hat to him. He wanted to be the king of New York. Or king of rap or whatever. He had to take that leap.” (Montreality)

Check out Ab-Soul’s interview right here…

Recently, Nas said his renewed relationship with Young Hov killed any interest he may have had on revisiting the early 2000’s disses.

“It’s just old. I mean, I don’t feel anything from it,” Nas said in an interview. “It’s old. It’s so old. It’s another chapter. It’s old. Classic for sure. History even – I don’t listen to that. That or the other thing. He knows that. I told him ‘I can’t listen to this.’ I mean, it’s great. It’s great times, but that was then. But that’s my dog. So, that was a different time. That’s my dog. It’s too good right now. Everything is right. History is history. Can’t change history. It is what it is, but it’s love.” (Power 105.1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A9xWoXzBqew

Comparing both diss tracks, The LOX’s Jadakiss said Nas ultimately had a better anthem in 2011.

“I didn’t really like the “Takeover” beat. But the words–you know what the words are! It’s like the Declaration of Independence on the battle tip. What he’s saying is crazy. I like the laaaaayyyyymmmmme part. It was heavy, but Nas’ “Ether” sits on the mantle when it comes to battle songs. From the production, to the way he formatted it, to what he was saying–he touched everything. It was an A-Plus grade.” (VIBE)

Rap veteran Rah Digga previously told SOHH Nas’ “Ether” was one of his biggest records to date.

Supernatural was also a big battle rap artist back in the day. I was up on him. It’s really just a little bit of everybody. I really liked a lot of the rap battles that took place in hip-hop. You also have Jay-Z and Nas. Although I don’t know if I would technically call that a rap battle, I like when there’s competition. It just brings something out of people that you don’t get in typical songs. “Ether” is one of the best songs that Nas ever made. It just brought out a whole other animal [in Nas].” (SOHH Guest Star)

“Ether” producer Ron Browz previously said Jay had an opportunity to snag the beat.

“It was just one of them beats that I let everybody hear,” Browz explained in an interview. “Whoever came to the house, I was like, ‘Yo hear this.’ One of Jay’s A&R’s actually came to the house to hear that beat too. He said he was gonna give it to Jay, but I guess it never got in his hands. I went through a travel agent to get to Nas, and it got in Nas’ hands. I guess it got to him at the perfect time. Nas was like, ‘Come to the studio and hear what I did’.” (This Is 50)

35 Comments

Written by Cyrus Langhorne

35 Comments

  1. lollllll nas won the lyrical part of the beeef jay z everything else. what matter to the real tho is lyrics. what the rap game been missing these days.

      • That shyt was 14 years ago…who really gives AF except for niggaz that are waiting for haircuts or in a common area in the Bing waiting for love trays.

      • That is wrong with rap music now homie. Our shit is so water down for corporate and a wanting a hit record. Jay did not make the 500 million off of rap music alone. Do your homework! I still love Jay though. Nas and Jay are the only true dudes that are left.

  2. Any true hip hop fan will know Nas won. It’s too bad that this website has gone all Pop and tmz though.

    • A lot of true hiphop fans and artist have said they feel jay won. So its not that obvious as people want to make it out to be. I don’t see how ab soul having his own opinion makes the website pop. Hip hop is the only music category that says being successful is a bad thing.If you sell records and become a household name then you are a sell out, same way with our neighborhoods.

      • Where have you been? No one know this guy!! Have you been Under a Rock! The votes went to Nas little homie! Know your rap history!!!!

        • If you talking about the radio vote that was which diss song was better ether or super ugly not takeover and it still was closer than you would think. Rappers,hip hop radio hosts, and people on comment boards have said they think jay won. I was following the feud before the diss tracks. I know my history lil homie.

          • Ether! I was there homie! You can’t hold my water because I ran the those same streets you feel me. Nas won! No one cared about how much or by how many! NY belonged to Nas at that time! Almost every brother in their honda accords, acura legends, troops and susiki trucks were pumping that shit up and down the streets. I was getting my shit cut and went pouring into the streets to here the talk! Even the old barber was cheering for Nas! I remember this shit so hard dude! You had to witness that shit! Nas locked and mapped Ny rap! No one cared about no other places. That shit shook rap forever. Not saying Jay’s shit was bad, but Ether was murder!!!

          • I don’t care what streets you ran, a lot of people was cheering for nas because they wanted jay to lose. Same as today, jay is the bad guy to a lot of people and nas is the under dog and the streets love the under dog. You can scream ether all you want but jay doesn’t have a scratch on him. He ate it and got even bigger, which is what people did not want to happen. That’s why people still bring up ether years later after nas and jay’z don’t even mention it on jay z stories on comment sections that has nothing to do with nas. Why do you think they still ask people years later who won if its so obvious ? If it was a such a fact that nas won then Why are there a lot of people still picking jay ? Just like a boxing match, there would be no debate if the guy knocked the other guy out or dominated the other guy.

      • For a Black man to become a household name he has to do some house negro shit. That’s what makes them sellouts.

        • That has to be one of the dumbest comments I ever seen. I guess black people are not suppose to be on white peoples level. You call them house negros but you still have a slave mind. That’s why black people can’t have anything because we are to busy putting each other down. We are the only race that complain about not having opportunities but when we get them and become successful we have to be house negros.

          • Name me one successful Black househld name that got to that position without sacrificing or compromising their morals? Or without perpetuating stereotypes? Without turning their back on Blacks once they “made” it. We are still in and under their system and their system doesnt allow principled, strong, intellectually inclined Black men to become household names.

          • It doesn’t matter because if I name a person then you would claim they ”sold out” because no black person should be able to make it. You don’t know these people to tell them what they sacrificed or what they do for black people or what there morals are. You say they turn there backs on blacks but what I see most of the time there own people turn there backs on them.I guess when your struggling at your profession then they are where they suppose to be in your eyes, just to make you feel better about your life.

          • You dont get it. If any mainstream, commercially successful, Black man or woman that’s in the public eye attempted to help their community and decided to overtly challenge racism, they would immediately be met with resistance from the dominant society and would subsequently be marginalized. We’ve seen this with other Black leaders and entertainers including Muhammad Ali who took a principled stance during the Vietnam war and was harshly rebuked for it.

          • If your great then you don’t have to worry about being marginalized. Famous black people try to help there community all the time, but sometimes its the people in the community that needs to take responsibility. You can’t wait for famous people to hold your hand all the time. Famous people can throw money and time at the community but if men don’t want to be fathers or sell drugs and want to kill each other then its a waste of time. A problem I see is when we tell our youth its not ok to look up to famous black people because there house negros then you help keep our own community down. You put a cap on what they would like to be, and that was one of the things black leaders fought for. You want to throw that away because your a sellout if you get there.

          • Noones waiting for famous people. My point is you dont get to be a household name on AMerica without sacrificing something. There’s a reason Diddy, Dre, Jay-z, and Beyonce don’t get involved in politics or speak on social justice issues. There’s a reason you won’t hear them discuss mass incarceration, the prison industrial complex, racial discrimination, police brutality, or the killing of people like Michael Brown, Eric Garner, John Crawford and others. That household name comes with a heavy price that goes beyond money.

          • I heard jay z speak on social issues in interviews with other panels. He is a supporter of obama,and he spoke on killings of young black men in interviews. He and beyonce visited and supported trayvon martin’s parents at a rally and support events dealing with global matters as well. But I guess people have short memories. There are people who choose not to get involved or speak on certain things and that’s there choice. But to say if your black and a household name then your automatically a house negro or sellout is wrong. You put a cap on what young black people can become. You can rap about whats wrong with the world all you want like some of these so called real rappers but if you do nothing then the songs they make mean nothing.

  3. Yall complain about artist keepin it real. Sounds like super ugly blueprint 2 n take over was more real than ether or the shoot thru Memphis freestyle. Ether was mainly copy n paste from takeover. Security guard line/Eminem line etc

      • U tryna compare 1 verse to a whole song. Listen to super ugly take over bp2 all shots n see who was more factual. As far as him being the GOAT that’s an opinion with no proof. It only proves u a stan. But the baby mom line security guard line using his voice, they all facts. Renegade was Eminem song 1st. 1 of the many exaggerations in Nas diss.

        • But yall knock Ross calling him a liar but some of yall favorite artists of all time lie, career built on lies, best diss tracks full of lies. Be consistent

        • You are not saying nothing! Nas did one damn song and killed! Can you get it? He did not need two or three disses. Ether still stands in young music to this very day. Come on broh… This shit was years ago and Jay has sold more and more successful than Nas but dude Nas won that beef shit. Lyrical no dude is messing with Nas. You can ask Dame about that shit!! Ether shook Ny and the ROC camp!!!

  4. Who in the “F” is this guy? Nas won this shit easily nappy head homie. Ether stands alone. Shit is on a golden mantel alone. The people have already spoken. Leave it alone!!! Nas, GOAT!!!

    • So his man stabbed Un n made him take the blame? I guess boxing is karate class? Compared to beans he wack too right? Did he name his Co after the nigga w aids n not the original Rockefeller? I guess Nas ain’t use the FUCK JAY-Z VOICE to mimic “that’s so lame” n “Nooooo” voices from take over either huh? I guess it don’t make u gay u say a man not getting girls because of his looks especially when he smashed ya bm. How u respect something when half of its lies? It’s like my bracelet all ice n yours got cubics n ice. How u compare em?

      • Dude you don’t know what is a lie or a fact in their situation. We don’t know but we do know pound for pound Ether blew Jay ass down. Check with Dame!!!

  5. The greatest diss record of all time.

    1. Ether

    The greatest rap album of all time.

    1.illmatic

    The greatest lyricist of all time

    1. Nas

    Example: We can drive thru the city no doubt but don’t say, “My car’s topless”
    Say, “The titties is out”

    Nas the G.O.A.T = People’s Champ

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