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Rappers Who Accused Other Rappers of Stealing Their Sound
It’s hard for anything in music to be fully original, but sometimes, a shared sound between artists is far too identical. More often than not, rappers call out other rappers who jocked their sound in interviews, songs and social posts. Now, majority of the time, these moments are delivered in a good ol’ fashion subliminal. But some rhymers have actually said it with their chests.
Elsewhere, Vince Staples wanted some respect put on his name for the artistry he put forth on his 2017 track, “Bagbak.” In a tweet sent out one year later, Vince called out Valee for taking his flow on “Wamp Wamp.” “We not even gonna talk about Bagbak second verse with the Valee wamp wamp flow everybody was stealing,” he typed on the platform.
Rappers being accused of stealing another’s sound is a common thing in hip-hop. So with that fact on the table, XXL highlights seven instances where rappers barked about being bitten. At least so they say. Check out rappers who accused other rappers of stealing their sound.
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Soulja Boy Airs out Drake for Thieving His Bars and Flow
Before Drake became a hip-hop G.O.A.T., he had to do his due diligence of tossing records out until they stuck. One of those was Thank Me Later‘s “Miss Me”—a platinum-selling Lil Wayne collabo that went diamond in the streets upon its release in 2010. The song features plenty of quotables, most notably Drake’s line that goes, “I said, ‘Tell me what’s really goin’ on/Drizzy back up in this thing, I’m ready, what’s hannenin’?” Well, it turns out that those lyrics were a re-wrap of what Soulja spit on “Wuzhannanan,” which dropped in 2007.Over a decade later, Soulja Boy went on The Breakfast Club and cleared the air. “Stop playing like I ain’t teach Drake everything he knows,” Soulja began. “He copied my whole fucking flow. Word for word, bar for bar.” Drizzy later responded in an Instagram DM that Soulja leaked himself. “You know it’s always been love all jokes aside…,” he wrote in the message before addressing another claim and joking about the meme. -
XXXTentacion Accuses Drake of Stealing His Flow
Just months before XXXTentacion’s SoundCloud classic “Look At Me” reached platinum certification in 2017, Drake dropped the official version of a previously teased record with Giggs called “KMT.” Drizzy’s verse drew comparisons to the flow that X used in “Look At Me.” So, fans ran with that narrative and eventually, both artists addressed the matter. “It’s crazy that people think that after all this time, after all I’ve been through, that I’m the type of person to go and take that and make it my own,” Drake said in an interview with DJ Semtex. “I’m not stupid, I’m not a shit person like that.”X wasn’t hearing that though, at first. He went on Twitter afterwards and came for Drizzy’s neck, saying, “I’m not the first nigga he bit, nor will i be the last, drake a pussy nigga money don’t buy you respect” amidst a series of other tweets Speaking exclusively with XXL, X explained more of his feelings on the Toronto rapper. “If Drake is gonna take the flow, and I don’t know if he legitimately did, but if that is the situation, at least reach out to a nigga, help a nigga out in this situation,” X said. “I’m going through a lot right now, so it would have been nice if before that happened to me, for Drake to have reached out to me personally.” -
Vince Staples Calls out Valee for Biting His Style
Back in 2017, Vince Staples released “Bagbak,” a single for his sophomore album, Big Fish Theory. A year later, Valee released his gold-selling record “Wamp Wamp” with Jeremih. And in it, Vince seemingly thought that he heard one of his old flows utilized. On Twitter, Vince referenced the track directly and also claimed that Valee wasn’t the only one swiping. “We not even gonna talk about Bagbak second verse with the Valee wamp wamp flow everybody was stealing,” Vince tweeted before putting a positive ending on his statement. “That song came out before wamp wamp too shoutout the whole Chicago I love that song.” Valee didn’t respond. -
Bizzy Banks Calls out CJ for Stealing His Approach and Lingo
The drill scene is constantly evolving nowadays and two of the people who caught the wave along the way are Bizzy Banks and CJ. Last year, before his incarceration, Bizzy called out his peer CJ for appropriating Bizzy’s style. Bizzy’s 2020 track “Neo” has lyrics that include, “Can’t fuck with no bitch that’s basic/Look at my swag the drip is contagious/I call up grace the face is amazing.” And on CJ’s 2020 song “Hit Up,” there are similar lyrics that go, “Can’t fuck with no ho that’s basic, uh/I used to run up checks and really break it/I told that bitch just taste it, uh/Look at my face and tell me it’s amazing.”Frustrated, Bizzy went on Instagram and wrote, “That CJ nigga need to give me my credit no cap. Nigga jacking my lingo & flow and I’m tired of not getting the recognition I deserve.” CJ responded days later and included 22Gz, who questioned CJ’s gang ties. “I don’t really like doing this because we all from the town, we all from New York, you know what I’m saying? But at the end of the day, them niggas mentioned my name first,” he said on Instagram live. “Them niggas could both suck my dick, respectfully.”
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Teejayx6 Questions Lil Pump for Running Off With His Sauce
Considering how his career was built with the association of scam rap, Teejayx6 is no stranger to fraud. But when it comes to his flow, it’s a different story. Dating back to 2020, Lil Pump released a song snippet on Instagram. Teejay peeped and responded to the video on Instagram writing, “Wow everybody tag @lilpump for stealing my flow.” “Tell that nigga i need a song now with me & @kasherquon on it back from when he captioned dynamic duo,” he added.Lil Pump, not being one to hold his tongue, seemingly responded of course. “Stealing who flow?! Nigga, I made this shit! Nigga, I run this shit,” Pump said in a video uploaded to social media. Pump didn’t say Teejay’s name directly, but given the recency of the post at the time, it can be confidently assumed that he was addressing the recent flare up around this particular situation. -
Doe Boy Comes for Desiigner Over Future Sound Likeness
With 2015’s “Panda,” Desiigner came into the rap game in a blaze of fire. The five-times platinum-selling record was a smash. Given its popularity, people noticed that the rising artist sounded a lot like Future, who was also going dummy at the time. Freebandz member Lil Donald dropped a diss track in 2016, in which he confronted Desiigner for riding the wave. And Doe Boy, another FBG seed, doubled down with a Twitter comment that read, “Fuck dat nigga we Fbg ova dis way #FreebandShooters” with an assortment of gun and explosion emojis.Later in 2017, in an interview with DJ Vlad, Doe Boy confirmed that he thought Desiigner was flow-jacking Pluto, but also admitted that he wasn’t hip to the details of the situation upon coming home from jail. Doe Boy pinned the media for stirring up the narrative. “Let me clear the situation up. It ain’t what I thought it was,” Doe Boy said. “I ain’t know what was really going on with the situation. I had to figure out before I knew I was wrong for doing that. Future don’t have no problem with him for real.” -
Valee Thinks Tyler, The Creator, Nicki Minaj and 6ix9ine Used His Delivery
In 2018, more people started to get hip to who Valee was and the artistry that he brought to the table. Around that time, a good amount of fans flocked in on social media and called out other rappers for stealing Valee’s swag. Fellow rapper Trippie Redd doubled down and cosigned the same claims on Instagram, stating, “Shout out to the boy Valee. I see everybody biting yo sound. How does it feel? This shit feel amazing, ‘cause you a fucking G.O.A.T.”Later that year, Valee spoke on the case in an interview with Mass Appeal. “I never get the time to get mad because I’m so happy that they didn’t do it right. Anybody that uses the flow, Tyler, the Creator, 6ix9ine, Nicki Minaj, no matter how big they are, it just makes me happy because you’re so big but you can’t do something right,” he said. The accused artists never responded to the matter.
See 10 of the Shortest Beefs in Hip-Hop
Royce Da 5’9 attends at SiriusXM Pandora Playback on February 11, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.Joe Budden speaks onstage at the REVOLT X AT&T 3-Day Summit In Los Angeles – Day 1 at Magic Box on October 25, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Canibus attends Wyclef Jean In Concert at Sony Hall on September 6, 2018 in New York City.
Johnny Nunez / Phillip Faraone, Getty Images / Prince Williams, Wireimage (2)
Canibus vs. Joe Budden and Royce 5’9″
In 2011, after Joe Budden’s light jab on Twitter (he tweeted, “I promise y’all that if I got high, I would smoke Canibus”), Canibus fired back at Joey on “Lyrical Law vs. Joey Cupcakes.” Canibus mentioned Royce 5’9” and hinted a possible feud between Slaughterhouse and HRSMN a.k.a. The Four Horsemen. Instead, Ras Kass a member of the latter, detached himself from the issue and shortly announced his departure from the supergroup. Shortly after, Canibus went on record and deaded the beef.—Emmanuel C.M.
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson III performs during the Celia Cruz x Skott Marsi NFT Launch at ITG Miami on June 03, 2021 in Miami, Florida. Rapper T.I. performs onstage during day 1 of 2021 AfroPunk Atlanta at Atlantic Station Pinnacle on September 25, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Johnny Nunez, WireImage / Paras Griffin, Getty Images
50 Cent. vs. T.I.
50 Cent and T.I. almost got into a huge beef in 2011, because of Twitter miscommunication. When 50 dropped his two cents on what Tiny should have done in Tip’s court case for 2010 drug charges, the ATL native responded by saying, “I’ma tell you, 50 Cent and anybody else, we not gonn’a have no discussion about what my ole lady should’a, would’a, couda done for anything as it pertains to me.”
Never one to hold his tongue, the Queens native fired back on Twitter to voice his opinions again and said, “don’t get emotional over your lady. It a get you in some shit you don’t want to be in.”
A mutual friend got 50 and Tip on the phone together soon after and they squashed the beef.—E.C.M.
Drake attends “Til Death Do Us Part” on October 30, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Common performs during the 43rd Annual BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival – Club Quarantine Live: D-Nice with Special Guests at Prospect Park Bandshell on September 16, 2021 in New York City.
Johnny Nunez, WireImage / Theo Wargo, Getty Images
Drake vs. Common
Hugely popular rappers tend to automatically be a target for beef, depending on their attitude, and never know when another artist will take shots. On the 2011 album The Dreamer, The Believer, Common has a song titled “Sweet,” on which he goes at artists who sing, and are “soft.” These are two of the most common criticisms regarding
Drake. When pressed, Common originally made it seem it could be about anyone, without outright saying he wasn’t aiming at Drizzy.
The Toronto rapper responded in the lyrics on Rick Ross’s “Stay Schemin” in January of 2012. Drake laid into Common, questioning his toughness, possibly hinting that Com was actually upset because they both previously dated tennis legend Serena Williams. Drizzy then topped it off with the threat, “You like the fuckin’ finish line/We can’t wait to run into you.”
Common responded days later over the same beat, but it was clear that Drake put him away. The two then crossed paths at the NBA All Star Game in Orlando on Feb. 12, 2012, then at the Grammys two weeks later, where the beef was officially squashed.—E.C.M.
JT and Yung Miami of the City Girls attend 2021 Revolt Summit at 787 Windsor on November 11, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. Nicki Minaj and husband Kenneth Petty seen at a Marc Jacobs NYFW event in Manhattan on February 12, 2020 in New York City.
Prince Williams, FilmMagic / Robert Kamau, GC Images
City Girls vs. Nicki Minaj
In a beef that was over before most people knew it even existed, Nicki Minaj and Florida rap duo City Girls had an issue, which was revealed in February of 2022. After being asked on a radio show if she would collaborate with the City Girls, Nicki made it clear she would never team up with them. The reason: because Nicki knew they didn’t like her. She based this off comments that both members, JT and Yung Miami, made in the past via social media.
JT tweeted that she wanted Cardi B to overtake Nicki’s spot in rap in the past, and then said she was beefing with Nicki in a car freestyle video. Yung Miami responded to a question about working with Nicki in a 2018 The Breakfast Club interview, by sharing her loyalty to Cardi B, Nicki’s foe at the time. Nicki saw all of this as lines being drawn in the sand.
However, the same day Nicki made the comments about City Girls not liking her, she revealed later that day everything was straight between them. “Just had a great convo with @ThegirlJT & @YungMiami305. Let’s move on & make new memories y’all,” Nicki wrote on Twitter. A happy ending.—Robby Seabrook III
Drake is seen on October 23, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Tyga attends the Mugler show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2020/2021 on February 26, 2020 in Paris, France.
BG027, GC Images / Bauer-Griffin Jacopo Raule, Getty Images
Drake vs. Tyga
Young Money was definitely seen as one of the most tight-knit rap crews in the early-to-mid 2010s, but all of that changed with one interview. Tyga called Drake “fake” in a 2014 Vibe interview, and made it clear he didn’t like Drizzy’s character but respected his music. Days later, Tyga dropped “Make It Work,” a song which is believed to subtly diss Drake, without mentioning his name.
Drake mostly didn’t entertain this beef, outside of posting him hanging with Tyga’s then-girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, on social media but the actual haymaker wouldn’t come until February of 2015. The final track on Drake’s surprise 2015 album, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, is “6PM In New York,” a four minute-plus stream of bars, on which Drake gets everything off his chest.
Early on the track, he says, “Oh, you tried? It’s so childish calling my name on the world stage/You need to act your age and not your girl’s age,” a couplet that would immediately be tied to Tyga, and sufficiently ended the beef. Kylie, Tyga’s alleged girlfriend at the time, was only 17 then, which is underage in a lot of states. Drake took the jab at Tyga for that, and for even mentioning Drake’s name at all. Tyga never fired back, outside of a tweet. He and Drake officially put any differences aside as of 2016, thanks to a Kanye-orchestrated meeting.—E.C.M.
Rapper J. Cole performs onstage during day 2 of Rolling Loud Los Angeles at NOS Events Center on December 11, 2021 in San Bernardino, California. Canibus attends Wyclef Jean In Concert at Sony Hall on September 6, 2018 in New York City.
Scott Dudelson, Getty Images / Johnny Nunez, WireImage
J. Cole vs. Canibus
J. Cole has consistently mentioned Canibus as a major influence throughout his career, but the Ripper didn’t appreciate the honor. In 2011, Canibus felt disrespected because he thought Cole only showed love to his older music. He also felt that Cole spoke about him as if he’s “dead. He claimed the young MC’s form of respect is “underhanded and disingenuous.”
So, Canibus made a diss track called “J. Clone” that year. But instead of barraging the young MC, he mentions, “It’s more than that, we could’ve recorded the track/You could give me a stack for a verse just like that.” To make matters even worse, ’Bus then released one of the most disturbing YouTube clips by a rapper ever, in which he apologized to J. Cole. Canibus starts the fight, and ends the fight without J. Cole ever actually getting involved.—E.C.M.
ring Rolling Loud NY at Citi Field on October 28, 2021 in New York City. Lil B during the 2018 Made In America Festival – Day 2 at Benjamin Franklin Parkway on September 2, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Astrida Valigorsky, Getty Images
Joey Bada$$ vs. Lil B
In 2013, the BasedGod Lil B and Pro Era head honcho Joey Bada$$ got into a war of words on Twitter. Lil B felt some type of way about the late Capital STEEZ’s jab on the song “Survival Tactics” (“They say hard work pays off/Well, tell the BasedGod don’t quit his day job,” STEEZ raps) tweeted to him by Joey Bada$$. The two began to go at it on Twitter for the whole world to see. They eventually dropped diss records against each other (Lil B’s “I’m The Bada$$” and Joey Bada$$ “Don’t Quit Your Day Job”), and within a week or two, the beef was over and done with.—R.S. III
American Rapper Lupe Fiasco performs during the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings on January 10, 2020 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Recording artist Chief Keef backstage at Irving Plaza on October 30, 2018 in New York City.
Rocky Widner, Getty Images / Johnny Nunez, WireImage
Lupe Fiasco vs. Chief Keef
A decade ago, Lupe Fiasco commented in an interview with radio station 92 Q Jams that he’s scared of the culture that young rappers like Chief Keef promote in Chicago. This all kicked off in 2012, and Keef got wind of the comments. He threatened to smack Lupe when he saw him. The two began to tweet each other (mostly Lupe tweeting Keef that he doesn’t stand for violence and Sosa’s message). Later, Keef claimed that his Twitter page was hacked. Lupe told fans that he’s ready to call it quits on his own rap career. The end.—R.S. III
Kanye West is seen in Chelsea on January 05, 2022 in New York City. Soulja Boy performs onstage during the 2019 BET Social Awards at Tyler Perry Studio on March 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Gotham, GC Images
Kanye West vs. Soulja Boy
This beef all started last year after Soulja Boy’s verse was removed from Kanye West’s Donda album track “Remote Control.” Soulja found out his lyrics on the song were dropped when the LP arrived last August. So, he engaged in a back-and-forth with Ye via text. Soulja was upset because Ye told him Soulja’s verse would be used, only to cut it with no heads up. After SB’s Twitter tirade about it, Kanye then did a Drink Champs interview and made it seem like the verse was subpar, which only worsened the static between the two rappers.
Reacting in his typical fashion, which usually means taking the most ridiculous route, Soulja Boy then ridiculed Ye for his wife, Kim Kardashian, leaving him and dating well-known comedian Pete Davidson. Considering this to be a step too far, Ye texted Soulja Boy, asking him to lay off talking about his wife. Once Soulja Boy revealed screenshots of this convo on social media, he also shared that he and Ye were back on good terms, as of this past January. All is well now, as Soulja Boy made it onto Donda 2, rapping on the song “First Time In A Long Time.”—R.S. III
Kodak Black performs at the Miami Benefit concert for Haiti at Oasis Wynwood on September 03, 2021, in Miami, Florida. Rapper Pooh Shiesty performs onstage during the Parking Lot Concert Series presents Gucci Mane & The New 1017 at Gateway Center Arena on October 17, 2020, in College Park, Georgia.
John Parra / Paras Griffin, Getty Images (2)
Kodak Black vs. Pooh Shiesty
It’s no secret that Pooh Shiesty is a Kodak Black fan. He’s publicly praised him in interviews as one of the artists he listened to on the come up. However, things turned sour between the two last year. Once Kodak got out of prison, he spent March of 2021 trying to get credit for trends he was a big part of or introduced. One of those trends was money spreading, where big bills are spread onto arms or legs like a fan. Originally, Yak wanted Lil Baby to give him his props, because Baby rapped, “Postin’ money on the ’Gram, I invented that,” on Lil Durk’s song “Finesse Out the Gang Way.”
In one of Kodak’s social media videos complaining that others were taking credit for the trend, he was spreading money and using Pooh Shiesty’s Choppa Gang ad-lib, “Blrrrd,” as he did it. Pooh Shiesty caught wind of this, which turned into a back-and-forth online between the two, that went from Instagram Stories to Instagram Live.
This likely is why Pooh called out the former 2016 XXL Freshman in a post on his Instagram Stories, which said, “This shit here so lame to me lost all my respect @kodakblack.”
Thankfully, the dissing only lasted about a month or two. Last May, the two rappers met up and posted footage on Instagram of themselves hanging out together. The moment of peace ended whatever tension they had between each other.—R.S. III
