50 Cent and Ja Rule and the Beef Blueprint for Diss Tracks

Back in the 2000s, 50 Cent and Ja Rule had this big feud going on, involving their crews and record labels. It all started with a shooting that messed up 50 Cent, leading to a bunch of diss tracks that became a template for future rap beef. Let's hit rewind and do a deep dive into the specifics. It could just be a rabbit hole, or we may finally understand what led 50 Cent to elite-level trolling. Bottom line: it's about to get entertaining.

The year was 1999 and Ja Rule was robbed at gunpoint in Queens. Allegedly by one of 50 Cent's crew members. Soon after this two apparently got into a club beef which led to 50 Dropping a diss track. Fast forward about a year and the pair along with their respective crews engaged in yet another club beef. This time the altercation moved from New York to Atlanta. It seems like the location played little role in any of this considering these two artists and labels seem to be the first recorded historical records of "on sight." This brings us to Hit Factory studios circa 2000 where another of their notorious altercations ended in 50 Cent getting stabbed by Black Child.  After this, the beef was mostly jokes, allegations, and stories of Hip Hop Past.

For years fans new to Hip Hop have wondered about the roots of this beef because they only caught the remnants of petty online comments and diss tracks forgotten in the crates. Around 2013 Ja Rule actually admitted that he felt 50 won their beef. A day I'd never thought I'd see in Hip Hop.

Ice Spice is one of hip-hop's hottest rising stars. The Bronx native had two hits with Nicki Minaj last year and is now nominated for four Grammys. This year, Ice Spice is nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Song Written For Visual Media for "Barbie World" featuring Nicki Minaj. She also earned a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her feature on Taylor Swift's "Karma" and Best New Artist for all of the successful moves the rapper has made in the last year. She is nominated alongside Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, and The War And Treaty.  This is not her first Best New Artist nomination either. She was previously nominated for Best New Hip-Hop Artist at the 2023 BET Awards and then she won Best New Artist at the 2023 VMAs.

Another accolade Ice Spice earned in 2023 was being honored in TIME's 100 Next. Writer and comedian Ziwe wrote about the Bronx rapper for TIME. She spoke about how when she first met her, it was at a photo shoot. "In a room full of stars, she was the baddie I wanted to sit with the most," Ziwe wrote.

Of the many firsts Ice Spice had experienced in 2023, she also took a trip to Studio 8H for her inaugural appearance on Saturday Night Live. Ice Spice performed "In Ha Mood," and "Pretty Girl" with Nigerian artist Rema who also appeared during her set as a surprise to fans.

Ice Spice had some chart success as well in 2023. She had two of her songs land on the Billboard Hot 100. The Bronx rapper landed four top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hits this year with "Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2" with PinkPantheress, "Princess Diana" remix featuring Nicki Minaj, "Karma" with Taylor Swift, and "Barbie World."

On top of all of her accolades, the rapper put out her first project Like..? in January, which debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and followed up with the deluxe in June.

Ice Spice is just getting started. Take a look at eight of her best songs ranked below:

Using strings reminiscent of the score to the animated children's show SpongeBob Squarepants, "Bikini Bottom" arrived right after her breakout hit "Munch." The song title also derives from the hit television show which is the city where the character lives. "Bikini Bottom" delivers one of her iconic lines "How can I lose when I'm already chose..like?" The track also ends up on her debut EP Like..?

Ice Spice enlisted Lil Tjay for "Gangsta Boo." Lil Tjay was the only guest feature on her debut EP. The song samples Diddy feat. Ginuwine, Loon and Mario Winans's 2000's hit "I Need a Girl (Part 2)." "Gangsta Boo" earned the rapper her first Billboard Hot 100 entry debuting at No. 82.

"Munch" is Ice Spice's breakout hit. The song went viral on social media in 2022, and the Bronx native continuously proved in 2023 that she's not a one-hit-wonder. Fans loved the use of her infectious lyrics and drill beat, a combination that hadn't hit mainstream airways. It gave her a unique edge over her peers. The song was so Cardi B, also a Bronx native, is heard referencing "Munch" in her fiery verse on GloRilla's "Tomorrow 2."

"In Ha Mood" is from the rapper's debut EP Like..? She performed the song for the first time during the 2023 BET Awards. Ice Spice also performed the song during her Saturday Night Live appearance last year. "In Ha Mood" peaked at No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Deli" was a standout favorite from the Like..? deluxe. It was one of the new offerings Ice Spice put on the deluxe along with "How High?" "Butterfly Ku." The music video showed Ice Spice twerking in a New York deli with her friends. "Deli" peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her highest-charting solo single as of this writing.

Ice Spice teamed up with PinkPantheress for the remix of the U.K. singer's original "Boys a Liar." "Boys a Liar pt. 2" serves as the lead single to PinkPantheress' debut album Heaven Knows. In the music video, the PinkPatheress and Ice Spice sing, rap, and dance on top of a rooftop, fire escape and subway in New York. The artists earned their first top 10 entry with the track as it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The remix to "Princess Diana" was the first time that Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj worked together. The original is on Ice Spice's debut EP Like..? and the remix appears on the deluxe edition. The song showed how well Ice Spice can team up with a veteran rapper like Nicki Minaj as they playfully went from bar to bar. The song peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Ice Spice's second top-10 hit.

For "Barbie World," Ice Spice linked back up with Nicki Minaj for the soundtrack to the Barbie film. The film starred Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Issa Rae, and more. In the music video, Nicki and Ice Spice are in a pink wonderland as the Bronx native cruises down the street in her pink convertible, race one another on pink jet skis in the sky, and even have their own signature Barbie dolls. The song samples Aqua's 1997 hit "Barbie Girl" and debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Barbie World" is nominated for Best Rap Song and Best Song Written For Visual Media at the 2024 Grammy Awards.