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One of the greatest beefs of all time…

If you’re a hip hop fan, odds are you hold Nas and Jay-Z’s beef super close to your heart. It was the turn of the century, we’d lost 2Pac and Biggie, and hip hop seemed to be in this weird sort of limbo. But, it’s more than fair to say that Nas and Jay’s battle all those years ago was the spark that kept the fire of hip hop burning, and it helped change the rap game in ways few give credit to.

Don’t get me wrong, the pair still traded some straight up disgusting disses, the likes of which I probably wouldn’t feel comfortable saying today (Jay definitely knew he went too far with that ‘condom on the backset line’), but damn, Nas’ ‘Ether’ and Jay’s ‘Takeover’ are right up there with the two best consecutive disses of all time.

Now, Nas has gone deep on that crazy beef with the fellow Brooklyn rapper two decades ago, appearing on music legend Rick Rubin’s Broken Record podcast to discuss its long lasting effects on hip hop.

“The art of emceeing was right there on full display,” Nas said to the industry GOAT. “It was like, if you’re in the rap game, this could happen — a battle. It was like, ‘This rap thing is real; a battle could really happen,’ so I was honored to have that part of my life happen because that’s how I saw some of the greats do it coming up. I saw some of the greats do it.”

“Again, it’s about the art of MCing and when you’re trying to make the best stuff you can make and you bump heads with another MC, and then you guys have a war or whatever, that’s what this art form was since the beginning — since Double Trouble and Busy Bee and Kool Moe Dee,” he said.

“But that’s what I like about Hip Hop compared to other genres is that, they go at it in Hip Hop, like really at it. Not to say that other rockers didn’t go at it, other reggae artists didn’t go at it, other crooner didn’t go at it, but Hip Hop will always be around because of how competitive it is.”

He’s pretty bloody on point. Rubin also rightfully pointed out that the beef helped elevate countless rappers around them, and is still a model when discussing all time feuds and diss records in hip hop. In case you’ve forgot the genius of the battle records, we’ve included them below. Check them out to get a gorgeous reminder of hip hop history.