Overthinkers, raising the bar like the flag at Iwo Jima
Dropping you haters for your rhyme misdemeanors
Snooping outside the studio, that’s where I seen ya
Bite our style, your throat burns like you’re chugging drain cleaner …
… and so on.
Diss tracks are a staple of hip-hop, what with its premium on credibility, freestyling, lyricism and ostentatious display. But hip-hop didn’t invent the diss track. Hardly.
So we rounded up the Overthinking Posse – the Lenza, the Fenza, Ol’ Dirty Perich and Stokesface Killah – to crack the deepest wax on the block. I’m talking deep in the record crate, son. I’m talking old school.
What, Overthinkers, is the Best Diss Track Prior to Hip-Hop? SOUND OFF.
And stay tuned to the end for a verdict from our Surprise Celebrity Guest Judge!
“Roll Over Beethoven” – The Lenza (Lee)
Although Chuck Berry was a fairly well established artist by the time “Roll Over Beethoven” dropped in 1956, he was making a pretty big leap in dissing two of the music world’s all time greatest hustlers, Ludwig “Vee to the Izzan” Beethoven AND Pyotr ILL-yich Tchaikovsky IN THE SAME SONG.
Let’s do a quick comparison to see how these three MCs stacked up against each other at the time:
Beethoven |
Tchaikovsky |
Berry |
|
| Number of Years in Da Game | 186 | 116 | 30 |
| Number of Tracks Dropped | 138 | 80 | 4 |
| Gaudy Oil Painting Portrait? | Yes | Yes | No |
Today, we consider Chuck Berry to be one of the all time greats, but at the time, he was a brash upstart taking aim at the heaviest of the heavy hitters and telling them to get the f— out of his way. Imagine if B.O.B., Drake, or another young rapper took aim at James Brown AND Michael Jackson in the same song. That’s how serious of a diss this song is.
What, no Lynyrd Skynyrd dissing Neil Young? Or was that one too obvious?
This isn’t pre-hip-hop, but Elliott Smith had a track dissing Trent Reznor. No lie.
@Stokes – In the note on that page you linked to, it says:
“Raimon’s and Truc’s sirventes (which suggest that the lady was clean enough, and that Bernat should have gone for it) are preserved as well, and they will be available on this site someday.”
I really want to find these on the site, but it’s really tricky to figure our where they are. Anyone speak medieval French?
@El Acordeonachi: I considered it, but it didn’t quite make the cut. Neil Young had a long and successful career even after that epic diss.
Love the picture of Arnaut on Wikipedia… He’s wearing a hoodie and making somewhat appropriate hand gestures.
Also, that Skynrd diss originated in Skynrd supporting segregation, and Neil Young opposing it. They kind of came out on the wrong side of that one. It actually kind of amazes me that “Sweet Home Alabama” can be listened to in polite company these days.
@bittersweet:It’s not that simple of a breakdown. “Sweet Home Alabama” is really more about defending the South against the stereotype that everyone’s a segregationist hillbillies. I listen to this song all the time, and I humbly consider myself to be polite company.
The story behind this song and Skynyrd’s relationship with Neil Young is actually quite complicated. This article is worth the read:
http://www.thrasherswheat.org/jammin/lynyrd.htm
It’s not the greatest diss track in history, but Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence deserves mention. More than half of the tract can be paraphrased thus:
The King is a bitch.
He is a bitch.
He is a tyrant, a bitch, and a douchebag.
We tried to warn you.
He is a bitch.
And was followed up by with the 1776 equivalent of the modern drive-by: shooting redcoats from behind second-story windows.
Also, that Skynrd diss originated in Skynrd supporting segregation, and Neil Young opposing it. They kind of came out on the wrong side of that one. It actually kind of amazes me that “Sweet Home Alabama” can be listened to in polite company these days.
Mark’s link is an interesting one. I guess the line, “In Birmingham they love the governor,” seems like indirect support of George Wallace’s policies. But Skynyrd has claimed that the song was meant to be sort of ironic, pointing to the vocal part that goes “BOO BOO BOO” right after the governor line. I kind of think the song is ambiguous in its meaning – and maybe the band didn’t put too much thought into the lyrics.