Ice Cube has crowned his 1991 track the best diss song in hip-hop history, beating out entries from Kendrick Lamar, Nas, and the late 2Pac.
During a recent performance, Cube took some time out to acknowledge "No Vaseline" while comparing it to other great hip-hop diss songs that have been released over the years. According to Cube, "Hit 'Em Up," "Ether," and all the diss songs Kendrick released a few weeks ago don't compare to "No Vaseline," which was aimed at his former N.W.A colleagues.
"No Vaseline is the best diss song in the history of hip-hop, and I'll tell you why," Cube said. "One MC, myself, I took out four muthafuckers and their manager. You can't beat that. You can't beat that. But we did that over 30 years ago so as it stands today I got nothing but love for N.W.A ok. Nothing but love for Dr. Dre, nothing but love for MC Ren, DJ Yella, Eazy E rest in peace."
"No Vaseline" came after Cube left N.W.A over mismanagement and royalty disputes. The group dissed Cube on "100 Miles and Runnin'" and "Real N***az." However, the latter fought back with "Jackin' for Beats" and eviscerated his former group mates with "No Vaseline."
In an interview with Etalk earlier this month, Cube revealed how he's not a fan of rap beefs and advised rappers to be careful with their rhymes as the hip-hop community has seen such feuds result in violence.
"Beefs are, you know, they're volatile. So you, you always have to be careful that a beef doesn't turn into a murder," Cube said. "Back in the day, you do a diss record, but it would stay kinda somewhat in the hip-hop community. Now, it's all over the world, all walks of life know what's going on and you know, some people can't really take that kind of humiliation."
He added, "I don't really like seeing rappers beef. I don't think it's necessary to have a great career, but it happens. Hey, it's part of the game, and I think when you're in a beef, you can't really hold back. It's like being in a fight; you can't really half punch, you gotta go all the way."
