![10 Hip-Hop Songs That You Didn’t Know Are Diss Tracks](https://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2019/06/songs-you-didnt-know-were-disses.jpg?w=980&q=75)
10 Hip-Hop Songs That You Didn’t Know Are Diss Tracks
The beauty of the sneak diss is that it provides its author with at least some measure of plausible deniably: I wasn’t rapping about you; I was just rapping, in general, about wack MCs. Think about Kurupt’s “Calling Out Names.” Now imagine the opposite.
The Notorious B.I.G. was a ruler of the sly, nameless diss in the 1990s, Jay-Z grabbed the baton during the next decade and Drake appears to have picked up that mantle for his own generation.
Slick wordplay is integral to the foundation of hip-hop. But what’s slicker than destroying or threatening your opponent so casually that you don’t even bother to drop his or her name on a track? These salty, veiled, subliminal disses have long been part of the culture. Often, they slip through the cracks undetected by the casual listener or they require multiple hearings to decode. Sometimes, they can come and go, amounting to nothing more than warning shots. No harm, no foul.
Or, they can plant the seeds for a full-on lyrical assault, where the target eventually becomes easily identified. Memorable feuds like Jay-Z vs. Nas and Drake vs. Pusha-T began with the exchange of subliminal disses first.
XXL takes a look at 10 rap tracks that you might have been unaware contain some hidden disses and give educated guesses as to who the intended target may be. Listen closely. —Luke Fox
More From Club 93.7
![Rappers and Hip-Hop Executives Honored With Keys to the City](http://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2024/01/attachment-nicki-minaj-drake-kendrick-lamar.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Michigan LL Cool J Fans Excited for His First Arena Tour in Decades](http://townsquare.media/site/85/files/2023/04/attachment-LL-Cool-J-Concert-Detroit.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Kid Cudi, YG, Freddie Gibbs and More – New Hip-Hop Projects This Week](http://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2022/09/attachment-kid-cudi-yg-freddie-gibbs-2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Here Are Hip-Hop Songs Dedicated to Fallen Rappers](http://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2022/07/attachment-young-dolph-nipsey-hussle-pop-smoke.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Bizzy Bone Apologies for Three 6 Mafia Verzuz Brawl](http://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2021/12/attachment-Bizzy-Bone-Juicy-J-Verzuz-.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Here Are Hidden Messages on Hip-Hop Album Covers You May Have Missed](http://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2021/07/attachment-kendrick-lamar-eminem-rico-nasty.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Here Are the Top Hip-Hop Songs From the Year You Graduated High School](http://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2021/05/high-school-graduate.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![These Highly Entertaining Weed Lyrics Are the Perfect Soundtrack to Celebrate 4/20](http://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2021/04/wiz-khalifa1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Here Are Important Hip-Hop Moments in 1995 That Were Pivotal to the Golden Era](http://townsquare.media/site/812/files/2021/01/the-notorious-b-i-g-raekwon-tupac-shakur-ll-cool-j.jpg?w=980&q=75)