Glad I found this channel. I love watching you young cats listen to the music I grew up on for the very first time. Y’all’s reaction makes me feel like I’m listening to it for the first time because that’s how we reacted when we first heard the songs back then 💯
He has the lyricism of Rakim, the knowledge of KRS-ONE, the awareness of Chuch D, the metaphors of Big Daddy Kane, the wordplay of Kool G Rap, the storytelling of Slick Rick and the longevity of LL Cool J! And he's the only rapper I know that has an apprenticeship with one of the most, if not the most prestigious University in the world!! And he's still not done putting his mark on the game!!!
This song is the reason that “ether”is a verb now. If a rapper kills a tracked he ethered it. If your sports team got blown out they got ethered. This song is the reason you hear this word throughout the culture
I'm 43 , I was working in clubs when this song dropped , I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday , till this day this song is still fire and is STILL the #1 Diss track ever !! If your freaking out over the superficial disses in the track , go back and study what he's actually saying , things that you had to be around to know. Like he hit Jay with Straight facts and made that shit rhyme on a fire beat !!! Ether is Legendary !!
I remember someone played this song in school and once we heard "I Embrace Ya'll Like Napalm" we realized this was gonna be straight savagery. When he said With Whiskers Like a Rat, Compared to Beanz you wack, I just sat down like damn, I'm listening to a lyrical evisceration of someone's character. Then that word play on rockafella was like dropping a gasoline tank on a burning power plant. Nas just came out like a lion in his den to remind everyone to tread lightly.
This will forever be a top 5 diss track, it’s even better If you knew their history and what Nas was talking about so ima tell you how they started beefing and a bit of what Nas meant. I’m a break it down year by year Mid-late 80’s: Many don’t know this but Jay started rapping before Nas (he’s 4 years older), in the mid to late 80’s he was with a Brooklyn MC called Jaz-O (that’s why Nas said you’re on Jaz dick), at that time Jay was rapping fast. Nas (and Tupac) joked about his video appearance in Jaz-O - Hawaiian Sophie music video. Early 90’s: Nas started rapping in 1991, after just one verse the hip-hop scene said he’s the second coming of Rakim. Jay didn’t managed to get signed so he went to the streets and made decent money, Nas got signed for 600K 94: Nas dropped his debut Illmatic which is seen as the best rap album til this day. Jay had Illmatic before it was released, he was a big Nas fan. 95: Jay came back to the music industry and started Roc-a-fella records. He made a track called ‘Dead Presidents’ he sampled Nas. He was such a Nas fan that he even sampled the remix version of ‘The world is yours’. Jay asked Nas if he could use the sample & if Nas could be in the video (Biggie & AZ was in the video), Nas said if you want to sample me then pay for it & I don’t want to be in the video. 96: Nas & AZ was supposed to be on Jay first album ‘Reasonable doubt’ on a track called ‘Bring it on’ but they never showed up to the studio which made Jay mad and he had to quickly replace them with Jaz-O and Sauce Money. A week after he released his debut album Nas release his second album ‘It was written’, it was the biggest album in the world at that time. Nas took shots at Jay on a track called ‘The Message’. From then on Jay & Nas took shots at each other from 1996-2001 97: When Nas said “who’s the best Pac, Nas & Big” it was a response after Jay said in his track ‘Where I’m from’ “I’m from where ni**as pull your card and argue all day about who’s the best MC Biggie Jay-Z or Nas”. Nas basically meant Jay you weren’t up there in 1997 and you’re still not up there in 2001. Biggie died in 97, he and Nas fought for the crown for king of NY. Nas and Biggie was friends but they also took shots and dissed each other. Nas didn’t only have beef with Jay, he had beef with Biggie, Tupac, 50 Cent, Prodigy from Mobb Deep, whole Roc-a-fella, whole Def Jam, Hot 97, Jeezy and many more Also in 97, Jay had a song called “The city is mine”, basically saying he’s king of NY after Biggie died. That’s why Nas said Biggie your man then you got the nerve to say you’re better than him, also saying he took Biggie rhyme, this is a proven fact, Jay did use Biggie rhyme & also used his unused beats Also around this time Jay slept with Nas baby mom (the world found out about this in 2001). Nas & his baby mom cheated on each other (there was rumours Nas was having a secret relationship with Mary J. Blige), one day she and Nas had a big argument so she slept with Jay (she knew him, according to her they was friends before that). She wrote a book about all of this, in it she says Jay was obsessed with Nas, that he had super rare Nas stuff in his appartment and that he used to ask her weird stuff about Nas. As you guys said, Ether became a verb, but also Nas coined the term Stan. Nowadays it means being a big fan of someone but Nas used the word as a verb for the first time on Ether. Eminem has a track called ‘Stan’, short for Stanley he was a obsessed fan of Eminem who ended up killing himself because Em didn’t respond to his letters. Nas saying Jay is a Stan is him saying Jay was completely obsessed with him 98: Jay drops Hard knock life and he becomes a big artist 99: Memphis Bleek (Jay’s artist) got involved in the beef. Nas took shots at him in his track ‘Nastradamus’, in the same album he had a song called ‘Come get me’, taking shots at Jay, Jay responded on his track ‘Come and get me’, Bleek dissed Nas Jay is continuing to get bigger. Nas was planning to drop a double album but some tracks got leaked so instead he dropped 2 albums in 99, I Am & Nastradamus. I Am sold well but people was disappointed with the album (it’s a good Album) and Nastradamus is to this day seen as Nas worst album Jay had a track called “Is that yo bitch”, taking shots at Nas & his baby mom. Jay said I fucked her while you wifed her. This is why Nas said you only dissing woman. Nas had a track called “You owe me”, The song is about Nas asking a woman for a sexual favor in return for him letting her wear his jewelry. In the music video Beyoncé was in it, and she was wearing Nas chains. When she got together with Jay the full video got deleted and nowhere to be seen til this day. In Nas baby momma book she said Beyoncé had a huge crush on Nas but Nas wouldn’t date her because Beyoncé has bad breath 2000: Nas responds to Bleek, he slapped him so hard Jay felt he had to intervene Nas & Mobb Deep was very close these times, Prodigy told Nas Jay was biting their style and they should go after him, Nas didn’t look at Jay as a big threat and stuck to taking shots and subliminals. Mobb Deep went at Jay 2001 (shit goes down): In 2001 their beef became official. Jay headlines Summer Jam 2001, he brought Michael Jackson with him. He plays his songs then decides to perform a unreleased track (Takeover). He dissed Prodigy as well as having a picture of a young Prodigy with ballerina clothes on stage. Then on the end he said “You guys don’t want it with Hov, asked Nas he don’t want it with Hov” (Hov is Jay nickname), the crowd went crazy. Nas responds with a freestyle where he disses Jay and Memphis Bleek & Beanie Sigel (Jay’s artist) Then Jay released his album ‘The Blueprint’ on 9/11 (unlucky for Jay), a hip-hop classic. On there is the full version of Takeover (the first official diss track towards Nas). He said Nas fell off and was garbage now, and said other stuff. Fun fact: Kanye West produced that track. Everyone at that time said Jay finished Nas, that Jay was the best rapper and that Nas fell off, that Jay was the king of NY Jay also had a track with Eminem called ‘Renegade’, Nas felt Em washed Jay on it, that’s why he said Eminem murdered you on your own shit And also the chorus on Ether when he said “ I will not lose”, he was mocking Jay. On Blueprint Jay had track a called ‘U Don’t know’ on that track Jay repeatedly said “I will not lose” Months passed and Nas didn’t respond. And then on December 4 (On Jay-Z birthday lol) he released Ether. DJ Kay Slay (RIP) was the first to play it and it took off, every radio station played it even if they didn’t want to (Hot 97). No one expected Nas to come back this hard Another fun fact: It’s Tupac who said “Fuck Jay-Z” at the start, they slowed his voice down On the same day as Ether got released Nas also released a track called ‘Got yourself a Gun’, he sampled The Sopranos theme song. On the first verse he said “my first album had no famous guest appearances, the outcome I’m crowned the best lyricist”. That was a shot at Jay On his first album Nas only had 1 feature and it was AZ who was unknown at the time. On Jay first album he had big names like Biggie, Foxy Brown & Mary J. Blige. Mary even admitted she didn’t even know who he was she just did it for the money, but on her album she asked Nas to be on it Jay got triggered and responded on a track called ‘Supa ugly’. He used Nas - Got yourself a Gun beat. That’s when he said he slept with Nas baby mom Hot 97 did a poll, Ether vs Supa ugly, Ether comfortably won. As they was gonna announce Nas as the winner Jay stepped in the building and live on air apologised to Nas, Jay mom heard the Supa ugly track and she was so disappointed in Jay for dissing Nas baby mom and his at the time 7 year old daughter that she made Jay apologised. Jay who’s usually so confident & cocky looked so defeated. Everyone around Jay has said Jay knew he lost. Jay was so desperate for a rematch he wanted to arrange a PPV boxing fight between him & Nas On December 18 Nas dropped the classic album ‘Stillmatic’, the title meaning he still got it. To many surprise Nas dissed Prodigy on that album as well as Nature & Cormega, 2 rappers from his hood. Jay released his MTV unplugged album the same day 2002: Nas was supposed to headline Summed Jam 2002 but he never showed up. He went to Power 105.1 (he made them famous) and talked crazy, it’s a classic moment. He was mad at Hot 97 for not letting him do what he wanted. 10 years later we found out Nas had build a life-sized Jay-Z figure that he was supposed to lynch on stage, Nas was crazy! November 8: Eminem movie 8 Mile is released, on the soundtrack both Nas & Jay is on it. Jay had a normal track while Nas had a track called “U wanna be me”, taking shots at Jay saying he wants to be him November 12: Jay drops his album ‘Blueprint 2’ on that album he has a track with the same name where he again goes after Nas. Imo it’s his best diss track, it’s very underrated December 13: Nas dropped his album “Gods son”, his most personal album, his Mom had past. On that album he has a track called “Last real ni**a alive”, another Jay diss track. But this time he tells how the beef started 2003: Jay announces he will drop his last album ‘The black album’ then retire. He became the president of Def Jam. Nas still raps and take shots at Jay Comment 1/2
2005: August: Kanye drops his second album ‘Late registration’, both Jay & Nas is on it. Nas track called ‘We Major’ was Jay favourite track of the album, he told Ye that. It was so good you couldn’t deny it October: Jay announces a concert called ‘I declare War’ it was meant to be a show where he went against rappers but instead to many’s surprise Nas was there and they squashed their beef 2006: January: Nas signs to Def Jam, where Jay was president. Many saw it as Nas winning the battle but losing the war November: Jay-Z comeback, released his album ‘Kingdom come’, not a good album December: Nas released his album ‘Hip Hop is dead’, very controversial album. On it is the first Nas - Jay collab called ‘Black Republican 2007: Jay released his album ‘American Gangster’ after Denzel Washington movie American gangster. Nas was on it on a track called ‘Success’. On that song surprisingly Nas disses Jay, he said “worst enemies wanna be best friends, best friends wants to be enemies like that’s what’s in, but I don’t give a fuck walk inside the lion’s den” 2008: Nas & Jay was on Ludacris track ‘I do it for hip-hop’ 2009: Jay wanted Nas to be on Empire State of mind with Alicia Keys. Nas said he already had a song about NY (NY state of mind) so he declined the request 2013: Nas was on a Jay-Z track with Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams and Timbaland called ‘BBC’ from Jay album ‘Magna Carter holy grail’ 2018: Nas did a album with Kanye, it was supposed to come out before Jay & Beyoncé album but because of technical difficulties Jay & Bey album came out before, Beyoncé liked a tweet on Twitter memeing Nas. 50 Cent in a podcast claimed Jay was still salty for Ether and that Jay always drops same time as Nas to take away his shine (a lot of people thinks so) 2021: April: Nas & Jay was on DJ Khaled album on a track called ‘Sorry Not sorry’ with Beyoncé on the background vocals. They also shot a music video for it May: Nas & Jay was on DMX posthumous album ‘Exodus’ on a track called ‘Bath Salts’, it got nominated for the Grammy. It was a old song that they put on the album December: Nas dropped a surprise album called ‘Magic’ and to me personally it’s feels like he takes some shots at Jay, nothing serious but friendly competition. Calls himself the GOAT 2022: His album King’s Disease 3 drops and on a track called ‘Thun’ he says: “No beef or rivals they’re 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 ni**a this ain’t over, laughing” Hova/Hov Jay’s nickname and he is a part owner of the streaming service Tidal Since they squashed their beef Nas & Jay has become close friends, doing music together, performing together, made business together, goes to each other birthday parties, goes to other parties etc
The 2pac sample is actually from a song called F**k Friends on the posthumous album, "Until the End of Time" that, if I remember correctly, was released earlier that same year (2001)
The funny thing about that "Tae-Bo Hoe" line was that Jay really had camera crews come to his karate class and film him punching the pads and bag like that shit made him tough. As I remember, Ether came out early December and Jay had released that footage around September/October so it was still fresh in our minds. Bruh we were all dying when we heard that line and the one "With whiskers like a rat/compared to Beans you're wack". I feel like that line low key took down the whole Roc empire.
@@seanyoung9014 he was talking about 4 different girls in that verse and he lists them in order then says he knows tae bo. he wasn't referencing any of them knowing it, he was saying he knows it and then how each of them influence what he does (tae bo, pop pills, stay in beef, able to get first class seats).
@@johngreen6521no. Nas is referring to a video that appeared on MTV that the original comment is referencing. Jay-Z was filmed boxing and doing tea-bo type workouts
The worst part to me is that he also used J's voice as a sample!! I (fck w ur soul like ether) WILL (..the king u kno u) - NOT (gods son across the belly) - LOSE (i prove u lost already!) - EVER! Now u gotta listen to JayZ song The Takeover for context to see where it all comes from!
I don't know how many times I had to argue with people that Nas won that battle in the first 15 seconds of that track. And it just gets better as it goes. I remember reacting just like you guys are back then. It's a masterpiece
What makes this diss greater is the more facts you find when u do the research lol. U gotta appreciate the history to know how far this goes back plus the relationship wit Nas and Hov... glad they patched it up but shit was DARK for a few years after this drop. This was Story of Addidon x3 back in 01 😆
Peace. Glad I’m catching y’all early. Can’t wait until you get into Big Pun’s catalog…love to watch minds get blown. Def a must react…start with.. You Ain’t A Killa Beware Dream Shatterer Capital Punishment Twinz In no particular order…all 🔥
If you got to live through this in the early 2000s you were with me when everyone was bumping ETHER in their cars. The world stopped for this moment in Hip Hop Culture. In life in general. The world tuned in!! All you heard was ETHER. I was 15-16 at the time it came out.
When MTV still played music, they had a docu-series where they would follow a celebrity/artist for a day or a few days and document their life to give fans insight on their favorites. Jay-Z had an episode right before the release of his "Dynasty" album in 2000. On one of the days, Jay revealed that part of his daily health regimen he was taking Boxing classes (not Tae Bo) at Chelsea Piers in NYC. I think there are clips of the series available on TH-cam. The record where Jay-Z references Tae Bo was Girls, Girls, Girls.
On the real real Nas is that dude. Anyone that even tries to say otherwise either doesn't know Hip Hop or is just a hater. I love seeing people getting introduced to him. It's the best ever. I personally think the only thing that could be said about Nas that is sort of negative is his choice of beats. Not always the best but sheesh could he merc those questionable beats. True legendary artistry.
They went back and forth. J disses him first on The Takeover and Ether was the epic response. J dropped Super Ugly which was Hella personal and disrespectful but the damage was already done
Really Jay dissed Nas first at summer jam and then Nas came back with Stillmatic freestyle. Takeover was just the first time they did it on an album. This shit had been brewing since like 1999.
@@seanyoung9014before that. From 96" when Nas refused to feature on J's album and appear in a cameo for his video for his first album Reasonable Doubt.
bbbbrrrrrroooooo 🤣🤣🤣🤣 6mins 22 secs ..............I have tears in my eyes, this is the best reaction I've ever seen, 😂😂😂...in a karate class this has made my F**king day,,,wow I can't watch without cracking up. I beg someone watch this without laughing , classic
"NY State of Mind" by NAS is a must.....if you like bars and syllable flows you need to check out Naughty by Nature...."Uptown Anthem" and "Feel me Flow".....Treach is easily top 3 rappers all time
Tae boe hoe 😂 he started boxing in 98' and wanted match vs Nas on live tv . Like mtv celebrity death match , similar . You got TH-cam videos how he trains 😅
You guys should listen to all of the diss tracks in their battle, and even maybe break down some of the things he saying that a lot of, especially younger, rap fans won't completely understand without the context. I'm a huge Nas fan and yeah this probably is my favorite battle/diss song, and despite what everybody thought before hand Nas won the battle. Even a vote on Hot 97, a big NY rap radio station, said that Nas won. As far as funniest diss tracks in my opinion I'd say Eminem has those on lock LOL. His Canibus diss are what comes to mind first.
A top 3 diss track, all-time. The other 2 would be Ice Cube - No Vaseline and DJ Quik - Dollas and Cents I guess we're at the point Ether is new to people and it brought a smile to my face watching this reaction. Im'ma go head and sub. Keep it up y'all
Hah this is a hip hop classic, you really should take a moment and go through the entire beef theres lots of videos on youtube that put all the material together its really entertaining, also apparently this diss track dropped on Jayz's birthday and they were playing it at the club when he pulled up , he was pissed xD haha
Had the same reaction too.😂😂😂 In 2003 when I first heard it. And yes, in Zimbabwe. We were laughing at Gay-Z and Cockafella records. High school was a blast. Thank you Sir Nasir Jones and 404. Good memories 😎 😅
@@h.m.5724 bambo, vamwe taive busy nemabhuku. Kwete chibharanzi chekuda kunzi wakapenga painternet. Vapfana musina mari munonetsa. Saka ndozvaunoswerera here izvi. Well, congratulations. You heard it before us. 😂 Hopeless loser.
Cry??? 🧢 !!! Jay addressed his rhyme with facts while nas was all conjecture. Jay signed the dude once the beef was over even after jay said he defiled his daughter's babysit when he smashed her mother. Diss was so disrespectful his mom made him apologize.
@@Hooderaw he cried like a bitch on Angie Martinez hot 97 and there a video about it , He should have stayed retired , Nas did the Trojan horse with hip hop is dead at def jam fool , why jigga not dropping albums on Nas same date no more !? 😆 F out here 🤡
@@Hooderaw It's broken down that's not true. Jay straight up lied on certain things he said on Takeover, mainly the publishing thing with Dead Presidents. Mc Search confirmed Nas got paid off that song, something Jay lied about.
@@anthonyanderson9303 not a lie. Nas was complaining about him using the sample when he actually got permission from searchlight publishing to use it so basically jay said "if you ain't getting paid you were getting fck'd I know who I paid, searchlight publishing". If you recall, Jay wanted him on the song but nas declined. He also wanted him and az on Can I Live. Nas was fronting on artist just like he did with Big when they went to the studio and he saw how fast Big was coming up with verses and claimed he was too high to write and avoided Big in the studio from that point on. That was what started the whole beef between Nas and Big when ghost and Rae said what they said about his album cover.
Greatest diss by far , did the most damage and hurt the most do your research, ether is a new verb now when someone career is over , they say you got " Ethernet" not hit up or Vaseline
The fact that Jungle said that Nas recorded a more disrespectful version of ether first but then went in and changed it up after Jungle said he went TOO HARD 🤦♀️😳🤣🤣 WHEW! Someone find it and release it, im curious 😂😂😂😂
So Jay back then had actually had some footage online of him working out in a gym throwing punches with gloves on. Didn’t look great at all but no one said anything about it. He combined that with Jay mentioning TaeBo 😂
J felt that cause he said in one song , "don't you know I eat either and breathe acid you weak basterd , then he referenced it again when he said" maybe ma nigga nas but I got stronger after either "
Glad I found this channel. I love watching you young cats listen to the music I grew up on for the very first time.
Y’all’s reaction makes me feel like I’m listening to it for the first time because that’s how we reacted when we first heard the songs back then 💯
Me too, found it like 2weeks ago
@@nakia97 Same
Jits
Same love these guys
Same!!!
He waited and dropped this song on Jay birthday
😂😂😂😂
Savage 😂
The song where 2pac says “fuck Jayz” is called “let’s be friends”
Nas gave Jay Vietnam Syndrome as his birthday present 😂
Had Jay crying on Hot 97.
Jay came at his career, Nas came for his soul
The way he says "ne-gro please" gets me all the time😅
Me too 😂
He has the lyricism of Rakim, the knowledge of KRS-ONE, the awareness of Chuch D, the metaphors of Big Daddy Kane, the wordplay of Kool G Rap, the storytelling of Slick Rick and the longevity of LL Cool J! And he's the only rapper I know that has an apprenticeship with one of the most, if not the most prestigious University in the world!! And he's still not done putting his mark on the game!!!
Great analogy
The undisputed GOAT and there's a gap between him and number 2.
@@harrykatsaros The accuracy of this comment.
And that says it all.
Damn. This analysis is A1 🤙🏿
"I rock hoes, ya'll roc-fellas" is my favorite line. Torched Roc-A-Fella with that line.
"Rockefeller died of AIDS. That was the end of his chapter. And that's the guy you chose to name your company after?". 😂😂😂😂
Torched is right. Ever since I first heard Ether, I've never been able to say or hear "Roc-A-Fella" without thinking of this line.
@@mike_majora Facts.
This song is the reason that “ether”is a verb now. If a rapper kills a tracked he ethered it. If your sports team got blown out they got ethered. This song is the reason you hear this word throughout the culture
I know this because someone comments it on every Ether reaction video 😂
That’s Renegading if u have a diss that’s cold than it’s called Ether
Facts.
I had someone try to tell me Takeover killed Ether...I told him not one person has ever said "Ah, he got Takeover'ed!!!"
@@brandonbyes7344I liked Takeover's beat better, but Ether is probably in the Top 5 diss tracks.
I'm 43 , I was working in clubs when this song dropped , I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday , till this day this song is still fire and is STILL the #1 Diss track ever !! If your freaking out over the superficial disses in the track , go back and study what he's actually saying , things that you had to be around to know. Like he hit Jay with Straight facts and made that shit rhyme on a fire beat !!! Ether is Legendary !!
Nas has always been that dude... legend lyracist
If you're not sure about a word just use autocorrect
@@napalmsfare you jealous to what he is saying leave him alone
Released on Jay's birthday. Absolute savagery.
Virgo shit
Hov got ethered and his soul been burning slow since. Nasir Jones was savage.
I miss this era… what a time to be alive!!
I’ll never forget that week in NYC. You had to be glued to hot 97. Legendary!
The tension was thick, and you can feel it in the air!
I remember a HUGE BILLBOARD of NAS's album cover in TIMES SQUARE.
I remember someone played this song in school and once we heard "I Embrace Ya'll Like Napalm" we realized this was gonna be straight savagery. When he said With Whiskers Like a Rat, Compared to Beanz you wack, I just sat down like damn, I'm listening to a lyrical evisceration of someone's character.
Then that word play on rockafella was like dropping a gasoline tank on a burning power plant. Nas just came out like a lion in his den to remind everyone to tread lightly.
I love seeing younger dudes react to classics like this lmao. This era was so LEGENDARY!
100% we got the best of hip hop.
You can imagine how Nas blew the roof off of NYC when this hit the Airwaves, we were all like "GAME OVER Jay! Fatality! LOL
This will forever be a top 5 diss track, it’s even better If you knew their history and what Nas was talking about so ima tell you how they started beefing and a bit of what Nas meant. I’m a break it down year by year
Mid-late 80’s: Many don’t know this but Jay started rapping before Nas (he’s 4 years older), in the mid to late 80’s he was with a Brooklyn MC called Jaz-O (that’s why Nas said you’re on Jaz dick), at that time Jay was rapping fast. Nas (and Tupac) joked about his video appearance in Jaz-O - Hawaiian Sophie music video.
Early 90’s: Nas started rapping in 1991, after just one verse the hip-hop scene said he’s the second coming of Rakim. Jay didn’t managed to get signed so he went to the streets and made decent money, Nas got signed for 600K
94: Nas dropped his debut Illmatic which is seen as the best rap album til this day. Jay had Illmatic before it was released, he was a big Nas fan.
95: Jay came back to the music industry and started Roc-a-fella records. He made a track called ‘Dead Presidents’ he sampled Nas. He was such a Nas fan that he even sampled the remix version of ‘The world is yours’. Jay asked Nas if he could use the sample & if Nas could be in the video (Biggie & AZ was in the video), Nas said if you want to sample me then pay for it & I don’t want to be in the video.
96: Nas & AZ was supposed to be on Jay first album ‘Reasonable doubt’ on a track called ‘Bring it on’ but they never showed up to the studio which made Jay mad and he had to quickly replace them with Jaz-O and Sauce Money. A week after he released his debut album Nas release his second album ‘It was written’, it was the biggest album in the world at that time. Nas took shots at Jay on a track called ‘The Message’. From then on Jay & Nas took shots at each other from 1996-2001
97: When Nas said “who’s the best Pac, Nas & Big” it was a response after Jay said in his track ‘Where I’m from’ “I’m from where ni**as pull your card and argue all day about who’s the best MC Biggie Jay-Z or Nas”. Nas basically meant Jay you weren’t up there in 1997 and you’re still not up there in 2001. Biggie died in 97, he and Nas fought for the crown for king of NY. Nas and Biggie was friends but they also took shots and dissed each other. Nas didn’t only have beef with Jay, he had beef with Biggie, Tupac, 50 Cent, Prodigy from Mobb Deep, whole Roc-a-fella, whole Def Jam, Hot 97, Jeezy and many more
Also in 97, Jay had a song called “The city is mine”, basically saying he’s king of NY after Biggie died. That’s why Nas said Biggie your man then you got the nerve to say you’re better than him, also saying he took Biggie rhyme, this is a proven fact, Jay did use Biggie rhyme & also used his unused beats
Also around this time Jay slept with Nas baby mom (the world found out about this in 2001). Nas & his baby mom cheated on each other (there was rumours Nas was having a secret relationship with Mary J. Blige), one day she and Nas had a big argument so she slept with Jay (she knew him, according to her they was friends before that). She wrote a book about all of this, in it she says Jay was obsessed with Nas, that he had super rare Nas stuff in his appartment and that he used to ask her weird stuff about Nas. As you guys said, Ether became a verb, but also Nas coined the term Stan. Nowadays it means being a big fan of someone but Nas used the word as a verb for the first time on Ether. Eminem has a track called ‘Stan’, short for Stanley he was a obsessed fan of Eminem who ended up killing himself because Em didn’t respond to his letters. Nas saying Jay is a Stan is him saying Jay was completely obsessed with him
98: Jay drops Hard knock life and he becomes a big artist
99: Memphis Bleek (Jay’s artist) got involved in the beef. Nas took shots at him in his track ‘Nastradamus’, in the same album he had a song called ‘Come get me’, taking shots at Jay, Jay responded on his track ‘Come and get me’, Bleek dissed Nas
Jay is continuing to get bigger. Nas was planning to drop a double album but some tracks got leaked so instead he dropped 2 albums in 99, I Am & Nastradamus. I Am sold well but people was disappointed with the album (it’s a good Album) and Nastradamus is to this day seen as Nas worst album
Jay had a track called “Is that yo bitch”, taking shots at Nas & his baby mom. Jay said I fucked her while you wifed her. This is why Nas said you only dissing woman.
Nas had a track called “You owe me”, The song is about Nas asking a woman for a sexual favor in return for him letting her wear his jewelry. In the music video Beyoncé was in it, and she was wearing Nas chains. When she got together with Jay the full video got deleted and nowhere to be seen til this day. In Nas baby momma book she said Beyoncé had a huge crush on Nas but Nas wouldn’t date her because Beyoncé has bad breath
2000: Nas responds to Bleek, he slapped him so hard Jay felt he had to intervene
Nas & Mobb Deep was very close these times, Prodigy told Nas Jay was biting their style and they should go after him, Nas didn’t look at Jay as a big threat and stuck to taking shots and subliminals. Mobb Deep went at Jay
2001 (shit goes down): In 2001 their beef became official. Jay headlines Summer Jam 2001, he brought Michael Jackson with him. He plays his songs then decides to perform a unreleased track (Takeover). He dissed Prodigy as well as having a picture of a young Prodigy with ballerina clothes on stage. Then on the end he said “You guys don’t want it with Hov, asked Nas he don’t want it with Hov” (Hov is Jay nickname), the crowd went crazy. Nas responds with a freestyle where he disses Jay and Memphis Bleek & Beanie Sigel (Jay’s artist)
Then Jay released his album ‘The Blueprint’ on 9/11 (unlucky for Jay), a hip-hop classic. On there is the full version of Takeover (the first official diss track towards Nas). He said Nas fell off and was garbage now, and said other stuff. Fun fact: Kanye West produced that track. Everyone at that time said Jay finished Nas, that Jay was the best rapper and that Nas fell off, that Jay was the king of NY
Jay also had a track with Eminem called ‘Renegade’, Nas felt Em washed Jay on it, that’s why he said Eminem murdered you on your own shit
And also the chorus on Ether when he said “ I will not lose”, he was mocking Jay. On Blueprint Jay had track a called ‘U Don’t know’ on that track Jay repeatedly said “I will not lose”
Months passed and Nas didn’t respond. And then on December 4 (On Jay-Z birthday lol) he released Ether. DJ Kay Slay (RIP) was the first to play it and it took off, every radio station played it even if they didn’t want to (Hot 97). No one expected Nas to come back this hard
Another fun fact: It’s Tupac who said “Fuck Jay-Z” at the start, they slowed his voice down
On the same day as Ether got released Nas also released a track called ‘Got yourself a Gun’, he sampled The Sopranos theme song. On the first verse he said “my first album had no famous guest appearances, the outcome I’m crowned the best lyricist”. That was a shot at Jay
On his first album Nas only had 1 feature and it was AZ who was unknown at the time. On Jay first album he had big names like Biggie, Foxy Brown & Mary J. Blige. Mary even admitted she didn’t even know who he was she just did it for the money, but on her album she asked Nas to be on it
Jay got triggered and responded on a track called ‘Supa ugly’. He used Nas - Got yourself a Gun beat. That’s when he said he slept with Nas baby mom
Hot 97 did a poll, Ether vs Supa ugly, Ether comfortably won. As they was gonna announce Nas as the winner Jay stepped in the building and live on air apologised to Nas, Jay mom heard the Supa ugly track and she was so disappointed in Jay for dissing Nas baby mom and his at the time 7 year old daughter that she made Jay apologised. Jay who’s usually so confident & cocky looked so defeated. Everyone around Jay has said Jay knew he lost. Jay was so desperate for a rematch he wanted to arrange a PPV boxing fight between him & Nas
On December 18 Nas dropped the classic album ‘Stillmatic’, the title meaning he still got it. To many surprise Nas dissed Prodigy on that album as well as Nature & Cormega, 2 rappers from his hood. Jay released his MTV unplugged album the same day
2002: Nas was supposed to headline Summed Jam 2002 but he never showed up. He went to Power 105.1 (he made them famous) and talked crazy, it’s a classic moment. He was mad at Hot 97 for not letting him do what he wanted. 10 years later we found out Nas had build a life-sized Jay-Z figure that he was supposed to lynch on stage, Nas was crazy!
November 8: Eminem movie 8 Mile is released, on the soundtrack both Nas & Jay is on it. Jay had a normal track while Nas had a track called “U wanna be me”, taking shots at Jay saying he wants to be him
November 12: Jay drops his album ‘Blueprint 2’ on that album he has a track with the same name where he again goes after Nas. Imo it’s his best diss track, it’s very underrated
December 13: Nas dropped his album “Gods son”, his most personal album, his Mom had past. On that album he has a track called “Last real ni**a alive”, another Jay diss track. But this time he tells how the beef started
2003: Jay announces he will drop his last album ‘The black album’ then retire. He became the president of Def Jam. Nas still raps and take shots at Jay
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2005:
August: Kanye drops his second album ‘Late registration’, both Jay & Nas is on it. Nas track called ‘We Major’ was Jay favourite track of the album, he told Ye that. It was so good you couldn’t deny it
October: Jay announces a concert called ‘I declare War’ it was meant to be a show where he went against rappers but instead to many’s surprise Nas was there and they squashed their beef
2006:
January: Nas signs to Def Jam, where Jay was president. Many saw it as Nas winning the battle but losing the war
November: Jay-Z comeback, released his album ‘Kingdom come’, not a good album
December: Nas released his album ‘Hip Hop is dead’, very controversial album. On it is the first Nas - Jay collab called ‘Black Republican
2007: Jay released his album ‘American Gangster’ after Denzel Washington movie American gangster. Nas was on it on a track called ‘Success’. On that song surprisingly Nas disses Jay, he said “worst enemies wanna be best friends, best friends wants to be enemies like that’s what’s in, but I don’t give a fuck walk inside the lion’s den”
2008: Nas & Jay was on Ludacris track ‘I do it for hip-hop’
2009: Jay wanted Nas to be on Empire State of mind with Alicia Keys. Nas said he already had a song about NY (NY state of mind) so he declined the request
2013: Nas was on a Jay-Z track with Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams and Timbaland called ‘BBC’ from Jay album ‘Magna Carter holy grail’
2018: Nas did a album with Kanye, it was supposed to come out before Jay & Beyoncé album but because of technical difficulties Jay & Bey album came out before, Beyoncé liked a tweet on Twitter memeing Nas. 50 Cent in a podcast claimed Jay was still salty for Ether and that Jay always drops same time as Nas to take away his shine (a lot of people thinks so)
2021:
April: Nas & Jay was on DJ Khaled album on a track called ‘Sorry Not sorry’ with Beyoncé on the background vocals. They also shot a music video for it
May: Nas & Jay was on DMX posthumous album ‘Exodus’ on a track called ‘Bath Salts’, it got nominated for the Grammy. It was a old song that they put on the album
December: Nas dropped a surprise album called ‘Magic’ and to me personally it’s feels like he takes some shots at Jay, nothing serious but friendly competition. Calls himself the GOAT
2022: His album King’s Disease 3 drops and on a track called ‘Thun’ he says: “No beef or rivals they’re 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 ni**a this ain’t over, laughing”
Hova/Hov Jay’s nickname and he is a part owner of the streaming service Tidal
Since they squashed their beef Nas & Jay has become close friends, doing music together, performing together, made business together, goes to each other birthday parties, goes to other parties etc
Damnnnnnnnnnn bruh 😂
2074:
Still working my way through this comment.
Ok you broke it all the way down 💯💪🏾 this will be here for the next generation from someone around at the time. 🔥🔥🔥
Damn! You wrote a book. Shit needs chapters. Much respect.
The 2pac sample is actually from a song called F**k Friends on the posthumous album, "Until the End of Time" that, if I remember correctly, was released earlier that same year (2001)
The funny thing about that "Tae-Bo Hoe" line was that Jay really had camera crews come to his karate class and film him punching the pads and bag like that shit made him tough. As I remember, Ether came out early December and Jay had released that footage around September/October so it was still fresh in our minds. Bruh we were all dying when we heard that line and the one "With whiskers like a rat/compared to Beans you're wack". I feel like that line low key took down the whole Roc empire.
He said he does Tae Bo in Girls Girls Girls in the 2nd verse
@@johngreen6521 Yeah he said that in regards to the rough chick in the verse not because he was doing a Tae Bo class lol.
@@johngreen6521 That line was ass
@@seanyoung9014 he was talking about 4 different girls in that verse and he lists them in order then says he knows tae bo. he wasn't referencing any of them knowing it, he was saying he knows it and then how each of them influence what he does (tae bo, pop pills, stay in beef, able to get first class seats).
@@johngreen6521no. Nas is referring to a video that appeared on MTV that the original comment is referencing. Jay-Z was filmed boxing and doing tea-bo type workouts
Killed Jay z and his crew , nas is the greatest to ever touch the mic untouchable aint no debate. Keep them nas reaction 🔥
R.I.P. DJ Kay Slay as well for releasing this 💣 Legend n a real 1 n salute Ron Browz on beat🙏🙏
The karate class bar was about Hov being on MTV Diary back in the day doing boxing classes lol
Plus in Girls Girls girls Jay says ‘plus I know Tae Bo 😂’
Yep, they showed him shadow boxing with Foxy Brown
People didn't know that..lmaoooo
After reading the comments we have learned so much from this post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and we will continue with the dope reactions.
Wya with it
And he drop it on jay birthday that’s y jay still salty
The worst part to me is that he also used J's voice as a sample!! I (fck w ur soul like ether) WILL (..the king u kno u) - NOT (gods son across the belly) - LOSE (i prove u lost already!) - EVER! Now u gotta listen to JayZ song The Takeover for context to see where it all comes from!
I really enjoyed watching your reaction. Back in the day I remember being at home and listening to the radio for this to drop
I converted Jay-z Fans into nas fans with this one track lol. Jawn was 🔥🔥
Nas is one of the greatest! And one of the first ever! Like literally his album Illmatic is the literal blueprint of Hip Hop
NAS SCHOOLED JAY
THIS AIN'T NOT CAPS
First discovered nas with " nas i am " one of my all time favorite cds
This was thee epidomy of...." You wanna go low do you? Well Imma go to straight to HELL.. WELCOME!!!!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Every Dec.4th.....He dropped it on Jay birthday!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣It became "Happy Ether Day" 🤣🤣
This was dropped on Jay-Z's birthday too. Savage.
I don't know how many times I had to argue with people that Nas won that battle in the first 15 seconds of that track. And it just gets better as it goes. I remember reacting just like you guys are back then. It's a masterpiece
What makes this diss greater is the more facts you find when u do the research lol. U gotta appreciate the history to know how far this goes back plus the relationship wit Nas and Hov... glad they patched it up but shit was DARK for a few years after this drop. This was Story of Addidon x3 back in 01 😆
Cam’ron breaking down bars Jay took from numerous rappers is another good one!!
Your Ether reaction got my subscription
THE LAST REAL NIGGA ALIVE pretty much explains this whole beef.
It was a great song. And one of the greatest stories that you'll ever hear, period
This is the best ether reaction vid by far
Peace. Glad I’m catching y’all early. Can’t wait until you get into Big Pun’s catalog…love to watch minds get blown. Def a must react…start with..
You Ain’t A Killa
Beware
Dream Shatterer
Capital Punishment
Twinz
In no particular order…all 🔥
Young Man had me dying laughing at the 36 in a Karate class part😂😂😂
Jay-Z dissed Nas on Takeover and Prodigy from Mobb Deep as well. Then, Nas responded with Ether.
I remembered the day this dropped. Epic
If you got to live through this in the early 2000s you were with me when everyone was bumping ETHER in their cars. The world stopped for this moment in Hip Hop Culture. In life in general. The world tuned in!! All you heard was ETHER. I was 15-16 at the time it came out.
When MTV still played music, they had a docu-series where they would follow a celebrity/artist for a day or a few days and document their life to give fans insight on their favorites. Jay-Z had an episode right before the release of his "Dynasty" album in 2000. On one of the days, Jay revealed that part of his daily health regimen he was taking Boxing classes (not Tae Bo) at Chelsea Piers in NYC. I think there are clips of the series available on TH-cam. The record where Jay-Z references Tae Bo was Girls, Girls, Girls.
On the real real Nas is that dude. Anyone that even tries to say otherwise either doesn't know Hip Hop or is just a hater. I love seeing people getting introduced to him. It's the best ever. I personally think the only thing that could be said about Nas that is sort of negative is his choice of beats. Not always the best but sheesh could he merc those questionable beats. True legendary artistry.
Bro!! I love y’all reactions!!! Peace fam!!!
I’m glad I’m subscribed
Thanks fam.
The 2Pac sample is from the song called Friendz
They went back and forth. J disses him first on The Takeover and Ether was the epic response. J dropped Super Ugly which was Hella personal and disrespectful but the damage was already done
Really Jay dissed Nas first at summer jam and then Nas came back with Stillmatic freestyle. Takeover was just the first time they did it on an album. This shit had been brewing since like 1999.
@@seanyoung9014before that. From 96" when Nas refused to feature on J's album and appear in a cameo for his video for his first album Reasonable Doubt.
bbbbrrrrrroooooo 🤣🤣🤣🤣 6mins 22 secs ..............I have tears in my eyes, this is the best reaction I've ever seen, 😂😂😂...in a karate class this has made my F**king day,,,wow I can't watch without cracking up. I beg someone watch this without laughing , classic
"NY State of Mind" by NAS is a must.....if you like bars and syllable flows you need to check out Naughty by Nature...."Uptown Anthem" and "Feel me Flow".....Treach is easily top 3 rappers all time
How do 2 tracks put Treach in the top 3 conversation?
I remember Jay Z being so shook he started challenging Nas to a match at WrestleMania.
Tae boe hoe 😂 he started boxing in 98' and wanted match vs Nas on live tv . Like mtv celebrity death match , similar . You got TH-cam videos how he trains 😅
Jay was like lets battle rap. Then after the battle rap let’s box. He was salty as hell.
Love this reaction video dogs 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I agree. This gotta be the #1 diss song. I also love Ice Cubes diss song(Vaseline) on the whole NWA, when he left.
The Tae Bo reference was about Jay Z being on some MTV show where he started working out and doing Tae Bo. I remember watching that.
You guys should listen to all of the diss tracks in their battle, and even maybe break down some of the things he saying that a lot of, especially younger, rap fans won't completely understand without the context. I'm a huge Nas fan and yeah this probably is my favorite battle/diss song, and despite what everybody thought before hand Nas won the battle. Even a vote on Hot 97, a big NY rap radio station, said that Nas won. As far as funniest diss tracks in my opinion I'd say Eminem has those on lock LOL. His Canibus diss are what comes to mind first.
A top 3 diss track, all-time.
The other 2 would be Ice Cube - No Vaseline and DJ Quik - Dollas and Cents
I guess we're at the point Ether is new to people and it brought a smile to my face watching this reaction. Im'ma go head and sub. Keep it up y'all
Nas = 🔥🔥🔥
This was so major when it dropped
Y’all gotta do more of Nas new stuff
I loved this reaction 😂 it took me back to my first time hearing this with my homegirl
Nas is the artist you're proud to introduce your kids to.
to this day, everytime i hear this song i wonder what jay z reaction was first listening to this
This reaction deserves a sub.
Jay Z was crying on Hot 97 with Angie Martinez after this song came out
Hah this is a hip hop classic, you really should take a moment and go through the entire beef theres lots of videos on youtube that put all the material together its really entertaining, also apparently this diss track dropped on Jayz's birthday and they were playing it at the club when he pulled up , he was pissed xD haha
Great reaction - more disses!
Most definitely!
Had the same reaction too.😂😂😂
In 2003 when I first heard it.
And yes, in Zimbabwe.
We were laughing at Gay-Z and Cockafella records. High school was a blast.
Thank you Sir Nasir Jones and 404.
Good memories 😎 😅
cool. i had same reaction, period. I was in Mali at that time
2001 matsaga munotimakisa so 2003 chii chacho kuti tinzi takasara paZim
@@h.m.5724 bambo, vamwe taive busy nemabhuku. Kwete chibharanzi chekuda kunzi wakapenga painternet. Vapfana musina mari munonetsa. Saka ndozvaunoswerera here izvi. Well, congratulations. You heard it before us. 😂
Hopeless loser.
You can appreciate this diss not being in the know but if you know the history between them this diss burns so much more. Made jay z cry over this.
Cry??? 🧢 !!! Jay addressed his rhyme with facts while nas was all conjecture. Jay signed the dude once the beef was over even after jay said he defiled his daughter's babysit when he smashed her mother. Diss was so disrespectful his mom made him apologize.
u dont know any history. u know what he said she said.
@@Hooderaw he cried like a bitch on Angie Martinez hot 97 and there a video about it , He should have stayed retired , Nas did the Trojan horse with hip hop is dead at def jam fool , why jigga not dropping albums on Nas same date no more !? 😆 F out here 🤡
@@Hooderaw It's broken down that's not true. Jay straight up lied on certain things he said on Takeover, mainly the publishing thing with Dead Presidents. Mc Search confirmed Nas got paid off that song, something Jay lied about.
@@anthonyanderson9303 not a lie. Nas was complaining about him using the sample when he actually got permission from searchlight publishing to use it so basically jay said "if you ain't getting paid you were getting fck'd I know who I paid, searchlight publishing". If you recall, Jay wanted him on the song but nas declined. He also wanted him and az on Can I Live. Nas was fronting on artist just like he did with Big when they went to the studio and he saw how fast Big was coming up with verses and claimed he was too high to write and avoided Big in the studio from that point on. That was what started the whole beef between Nas and Big when ghost and Rae said what they said about his album cover.
I appreciate how you say 'Oh my gosh' and not say the lords name in vain 💜
Nas released this on Jay Z birthday December 4
The taebo bar was about when Jay was taking boxing classes
Great reaction.
This reaction was fire!! Well entertained! 10 out of 10 👍💯
No rappers in the world can fry this man. FYI. Rappers simply need to stay in their lane.😢
Greatest diss by far , did the most damage and hurt the most do your research, ether is a new verb now when someone career is over , they say you got " Ethernet" not hit up or Vaseline
Bro brought the “spirit of Pac” to diss Jay Z 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Jay Z does have two diss song thsts pretty tough responding but this either is a classic
I love both Jay and Nas, my personal opinion, Nas took it
@@jessisanchez8150 Nas took it easily... Jayz diss track is not one of the greatest of all time...
@@tcook2236 Takeover is one of the greatest diss tracks of all time.
Listen to Last Real Nigga Alive, nail in the coffin
This song is a great example as to why you should never try the laid back smart kid
Pac " fuck friends " sample " F Jay-Z " at start , and Nas dissed Jay-Z on " Thun " again
Eric B and Rakim... Teach the children
Nas came out from the heart on this. 🔥💯
How y'all never hear this before ... HOW ?
The fact that Jungle said that Nas recorded a more disrespectful version of ether first but then went in and changed it up after Jungle said he went TOO HARD 🤦♀️😳🤣🤣 WHEW! Someone find it and release it, im curious 😂😂😂😂
You won’t it was deleted
Prodigy Hail Mary freestyle diss Jay-Z also 🔥
So Jay back then had actually had some footage online of him working out in a gym throwing punches with gloves on. Didn’t look great at all but no one said anything about it. He combined that with Jay mentioning TaeBo 😂
J felt that cause he said in one song , "don't you know I eat either and breathe acid you weak basterd , then he referenced it again when he said" maybe ma nigga nas but I got stronger after either "
your reaction killing me 😂
Yeah... The king is back y'all, QB. The Lyricist himself Nas.
Dj Quik “Dollaz + Sense” He dissed MC Eiht
The 2Pac song sample is called F*UCK FRIENDS
Pleaseeeeee RZA - N.Y.C Everything!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE
“Put it together i rock hoes y’all rock fellas” 🏃🏽♂️
My nigga you late‼️ Nas is a sleeping giant‼️‼️
Named my son after Nas too.
❤ Names my son after Nas too 🥰
The sample was from let's be friends
Cam'ron - You got to love it Jay-Z diss is also flames
The Pac sample is actually from PAC's "Fuck Friends" It's slowed down.
I know right???!!! happy birthday Jay 😂😂😂
JJ Evans……DYNO-MITE!!!! 😂 😭
If you know you know 💯
Cooked