Top 10 Fiercest Music Feuds Between Artists

This battle centered around two people from New York City. Preparing his debut album, Jay-Z wanted Nas to perform on a song. The Illmatic star didnt turn up, making Reasonable Doubt the first step in the rivalry. Then came Nass second record It Was Written, with some thoughts on rappers like Jay-Z for The Message. Pretty soon other emcees like Memphis Bleek got involved, further complicating things. Nas released the harsh critique Ether to reply to Jay-Zs Takeover. Then, the latter performer came back with songs like Super Ugly and dug deeper. It mightve been hostile, but the waters settled after the two got onstage together in 2005.

These two pop icons have different sounds and careers, making this beef somewhat unexpected. It turns out that Elton John doesnt love artists that allegedly lip sync. During an awards acceptance speech, the British songwriter threw shade at the Vogue vocalist. This wasnt the only time that the Rocket Man attacked her either. In the early 2000s, John also made fun of the singers theme for the James Bond movie Die Another Day. Madonna offered up some even-keeled rebuttals, defending her work and performance style. In 2025, the two met up backstage at Saturday Night Live and officially quashed this beef, with Madonna praising Sir Elton as an early musical inspiration and Sir Elton praising Madonna for her AIDS advocacy work.

When youve both been married to the same woman, you might be a little tense around each other. The same could be said for Kid Rock and Tommy Lee. Mötley Crües Lee married Pamela Anderson in the 1990s, while the singer briefly married the Baywatch star in the 2000s. Their meeting became physical at the VMAs in 2007. They might have their own explanations for how it went down, but they also seemed destined to run into each other. After the dust-up, the two walked away without any injuries. Its worth noting that this happened after Anderson had divorced both of them. While there couldve been a lawsuit, cooler heads prevailed and the incident was etched into music history.

Back in the late 1990s, these two rappers started a beef that lasted many years. The origins seem to be controversial, but Ja Rule said it mightve traced back to a bad meeting at a video shoot. The Clap Back performer and Murder Inc. Records then became some of the In da Club stars biggest enemies. Along the way, a robbery and a stabbing were seemingly linked to the feud. The two continued to trade musical jabs long after they were topping the charts. Their antics even escalated to 50 Cent buying up tickets at his rivals show. The Get Rich or Die Tryin hitmaker arguably came out on top, but he also feuded with plenty of other artists.

In the 2010s, Nicki Minaj became a household name for her fast-rhyming and bold style. She was easily one of the most powerful female rappers until Cardi B. With hits like Bodak Yellow, the newer artist helped change the game in the latter part of the decade. You could then argue that the young performer was encroaching on Minajs territory. Despite collaborations on MotorSport, these two seemed to be stewing over each other. This then turned into a physical confrontation at a New York Fashion Week event. Cardi B threw a shoe at her rival, ramping up the dispute even more and making it much harder to mend.

Eminem had been successful for most of the 2000s, while Machine Gun Kelly began his ascent in the 2010s. Then things got personal when Machine Gun Kelly called Eminems daughter attractive. If that wasnt enough, MGK doubled down when he called out the older star on a Tech N9ne track. In 2018, the Kamikaze album and Not Alike kept the battle alive. This song addresses the tension that had been lingering for years. Rap Devil was one hostile follow-up from Kelly, while Killshot returned the favor with a much more expansive diss. Two years later, the release Unaccomodating went after the younger emcee again. The multi-generational war could always bubble up once more.

The battle of Britpop played out in the tabloids and the charts. Both Oasis and Blur were pitted against each other in the 1990s, each representing new sounds in British rock. Their respective output was unique, but that didnt stop the two from butting heads. In 1995, both bands put out singles that directly competed with each other. Country House won the battle, while Roll with It didnt do too much worse. The lingering feud mightve been overshadowed by the internal tensions between Liam and Noel Gallagher. For his Gorillaz side project, Damon Albarn later collaborated with the older Gallagher and seemingly left the ill-will at the door.

It all started at the 2009 MTV Video Music awards. Taylor Swift was onstage, but Kanye West decided to interrupt her acceptance speech. The event led to widespread criticism of the rapper. What couldve been water under the bridge turned into an extended feud. West mentioned the vocalist in his song Famous, calling her names and claiming responsibility for her fame. The larger conflict played out while Swift repeatedly defended herself. Theres also debate over a phone call between the two, but it all seemed to be overblown. Many years later, this remains one of the most random and unnecessary feuds in music history.

This conflict traces back to the 2010s, but Kendrick Lamar and Drakes feud became better known in the 2020s. They both made accusations about each other, building to a diss war that spanned several high-profile singles. Songs like First Person Shooter and Like That renewed the conflict in a huge way. Lamar then fired back with the Grammy-winning track Not Like Us. To make matters worse for the Canadian rapper, Lamar played the Super Bowl LIX [a]halftime show. This gave him a chance to perform his disses to an even larger audience. With Drakes ex Serena Williams present, the performance put a defining stamp on this beef. The Toronto-born artist is no stranger to feuds either considering his friction with Meek Mill.

In the struggle between East and West Coast, this feud might be the biggest. Tupac Shakur was making a name for himself in rap and film as Biggie Smalls put out classics like Ready to Die. They were two of the greatest artists of their day, competing in a personal rivalry thats inspired much speculation. The rappers turned into musical enemies, with a larger battle forming between Suge Knights Death Row Records and Diddys Bad Boy Records. Shakur was shot one night and thought his cross-country rival couldve been involved. Songs like Smalls Who Shot Ya? and Hit Em Up took the musical war into deeply personal territory. Both men later died in separate and unsolved shootings, forever etching this conflict into legend.


Did we forget another intense battle between two artists? Let us know in the comments below.




[a]59