Step 1: Discourse Community: If our goal is to teach readers about diss tracks, we might want to first give them information about the discourse community diss tracks come from. Spend some time looking up information about diss tracks. What is the discourse community? Who are the members? What is the goal of this community? Method of communicating?
hip-hop communities– rappers, fans of hip-hop, to establish a style/rhythm of music, give a voice to underrepresented people, dj-ing, rapping, painting, writing, a lot of the writing shared is self-expression , originated in South Bronx, used as a weapon to insult members within and outside of the community
Step 2: Understand the genre: Read sample diss tracks. Based on the three samples you have in front of you, what is a working definition of “diss tracks?”
Diss tracks are a genre of music that clowns/insult/attacks someone. Usually, the diss track is written for another member of the hip-hop community.
Step 4: Understand the genre as a writer: Reread sample diss tracks. What is the writer trying to communicate? What strategies does the writer use to communicate these ideas?
Build a list of characteristics of this genre:
- all contain lyrics, meant to be on a musical track, a way to get listener’s attention, get the intended “subject’s” attention
- aggressive, communicating you don’t LIKE someone, intent is to attack, wanting to look strong, “with my clique looting…”
- insulting someone’s identity, authenticity, ‘masculinity.’ “Cause you’re getting screwed…”– goal is to belittle another person, shame them in front of a public audience, hip-hop and relationship to masculinity
- always starts with a reason for writing, bring audiences to speed, to show I am only responding, disclaimer I am putting up a defense, building a history
- conquer opponent’s fan-base, “go harder” than your opponent, “beat biter” “girl’s tour”
INTRODUCTION- background of hip-hop community, define diss tracks, purpose of the genre of diss tracks, who is writing, purpose: I’m going to teach you how to write a diss track! Erick, Reina, Katarina, Yarielid
BODY PARAGRAPH #1: Rule #1 BE AGGRESSIVE!– explain how to be aggressive by giving them tips- what kind of language you should use, cite examples, WHY you need to be aggressive- Rebeca, Johnnie, Estefania, Pende, Israel
BODY PARAGRAPH #2: Rule #2 INSULT INSULT INSULT– examples of insults from actual diss tracks, what kind of insults would hurt the most and be most useful, why you need to insult Nieve, Christian, Prince, Fathima, Saul, Kemar
BODY PARAGRAPH #3: Rule #3- DISS TRACK is always part of a larger conversation. Provide examples from diss tracks, cite different famous rivalries– Jalysa, Joel, Max
BODY PARAGRAPH #4: Rule #4: YOU MUST BE LYRICAL– bar mechanics, rhyming, similes, metaphors, word play- Mentor, Aktia, Anabel, Guevara
The hip-hop genre can trace its origins back to the economically depressed South Bronx in the 1970’s. While the Bronx was burning, new artists were emerging in a music style based on sampling, rhythm, and a focus on lyrics. As popularity grew, the genre spread across the country, fostering an element of rivalry between artists and entire regions of the US. From this rivalry, the diss track emerged. This new genre within hip-hop is marked by its aggression and specificity in calling out one’s foes. It’s characterized not just by its sheer aggression, but the barrage of insults hurled at the speed of thought at the subject. There is an emphasis on the lyrical ability of the artist as well; imagery is key in landing every verbal assault. When an artist releases a diss track, they add to a larger conversation between themselves and the subject, one rife with rivalry, animosity, and constant attempts to one-up the other. In this essay, the reader will learn the traits, mechanics, and common elements in constructing a diss track.
The hip-hop community is a popular form of culture that started among inner-city African Americans in the United States in the 1970’s. It is better known as a music genre that consists of a stylizes rhythmic music that commonly accompanies “rapping”, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. Inside this genre of music we can find diss tracks. These are known as songs that have the purpose or intention to disparage or insult another person or group. Some ways to write a good diss tracks is by making a catching intro, keeping it more musical than lyrical, making it a perfect amount of time and feeling some type of passion on the track that you’re creating.
When it comes to dis tracks most rappers are usually very aggressive. One way that rapper use for as languages to be aggressive is by assaulting the opponent. One way this could be is by talking about ones relationship (girlfriend/boyfriend). Another way is by talking about the family or appearance. Another example of a rapper being aggressive is have a certain face expression and eye contact by trying to intimidate the opponent. For example, in the song HIt em up rapper Tupuc Shakaur says “I take money, crash and mash through Brooklyn With my clique looting, shooting, and polluting your block.” From this quote is the rapping his being aggressive because it talks about shooting someone. It’s important to be aggressive because when dissing someone you can’t be nice doing it, you have to be mean.
Diss track are always part of larger conversations that a certain hip-hop artist had with another person or group of people. For example, Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline (1991)” song, was a way to express anger toward a certain group. His rap group, known as the N.W.A., has been Ice Cube’s formal rap group. In fact, there were royalty issues among the group happening in 1989, which led to Ice Cube’s departure. Some parts of the lyrics, such as “that’s why I went solo” and “I’m glad ya’ll set it off” express parts of the story when Ice Cube wanted to leave N.W.A. The bigger issue that Ice Cube was going through, as in the album “Death Certificate,” was that he was trying to become part of certain groups that have denied him, and caused his vexation.
the genre of Diss Tracks uses words like ‘people, person, screw, mess, girl’ to show that the writer is expressing his feelings to explain how he is angry with another person. for example, “I ain’t got no – friends Thats why I slept with you girl , You fat person (Take Money) West side, Bad Boy killers (Take money) You know who the realist is people we bring ti to (Take Money).” This is showing how the writer is aggressive towards the people.
The intentions of diss tracks is to be aggressive towards the subject they’re addressing. A diss track isn’t supposed to be a pretty poem, it’s all about using aggressive language to look strong and superior. For instance, in “Hit ‘Em Up”, the artist writes “Now I’m back to set the record straight…With my A-K”. Essentially, the writer states that he is willing to “set the record straight” with his weapon. In other words, diss track artists include violence in order to intimidate their counter part. When writing a diss track,you want to show your anger and shame the subject in public. To create a diss track, one must include profanity and violence to prove your superiority and belittle the person you are addressing.
In order for your rap battle to be great you should be very lyrical. you should be rhyming a lot and have plenty of bars. For example in the rap battle “No Vaseline” the rapper says “Callin’ me Arnold, but you been-a-dick; Eazy E saw your ass and went in it quick.” The last word of each sentence both rhyme with each other and sound the same when they end which make the bars so much better. When you’re writing you also want to compare yourself to other greater people to show the opponent how you are relate able to other people and they are not. For example in Drakes Back to Back song he says “back to back like I’m Jordan ’96, ’97 Whoa, very important and very pretentious” showing that he is this great legend and is on top of everyone and that he is the champion of this battle and that no one can compete with him.
-Mentor Mahmuti
Insults are essentially the bread and butter of a diss track. The insults however must be set up in a way that they insult what the person is proud of. An example would be “First off screw your girl and the clique you can” from “Hit ‘Em Up”. In this, the rapper targets specifically the group of the “victim” and his lover. This puts a focus on insulting what the victim is proud off and completely shutting it down. Another example can be found in Drake’s “Back to Back” Diss track when he says “Is that a world tour or your girls tour?” This is put here because clearly the person he is insulting is proud of his lover but Drake is shutting him down and using everything that the other person is proud of and destroying it. The point of insulting here is to demean the person being dissed. The insults are needed to overwhelm the target and make them feel incompetent while bolstering the resolve of the person insulting, in that case Drake.
Secondly, insults are ones most important tool to utilize when writing a diss track. Insults that specifically target identity, masculinity, and authenticity are most effective. For example, “Cause you’re getting screwed out your green by a white boy, with no vaseline” questions the other persons masculinity and within the hip-hop community is one of the most offensive insults. This type of insult not only belittles the other person, but also shames them in front of a public audience. Within the hip-hop community the persona of tough, unemotional, and heterosexual is where one gains respect from peers and potential competitors. To emasculate deteriorates identity and authenticity to the point of no return. The insult will not only damage their image, but break their connection with the hip-hop community.
To create a successful diss track, it must have insult in the lyrics. Insulting the opponent is one of the main feature of diss track. The lyrics of a diss track must belittle the opponent. 2pac in his ‘Hit em Up’ diss song said “…and all your fake ass east coast props…”. This line in the song was an insult towards biggie saying he is not from the “real” neighborhood. Also in drake’s ‘back to back’, “Yeah trigger fingers turn to twitter fingers” was an insult geared meek. This line was to him, he is not masculine enough to shoot him instead he goes on his twitter account and writes about no been happy with him.
This is an example of Eminem’s diss track called KILLSHOT “So before you die let’s see who can out-petty who With your corny lines (Slim you’re old) Ow, Kelly, ooh, but I’m 45 and I’m still outselling you”. In this example you can see how Eminem dissed Machine Gun Kelly by telling him what we has conquered when he had his age, and showing off that Machine Gun Kelly is not up to his standards. As of my understanding the most meaningful insults would be when you show your opponents weakness or you show off what have you accomplished that your opponent has not. The point of insulting someone on a diss track is because is literally based on dissing your opponent Also people insult each other because they are trying to let the fans know who is the weakest one out of them two. The worst the insult is the more attention you get from your opponent and all of his fans.
Diss tracks today can be viewed today as a method to gain popularity and “clout” due to mass amounts of people who enjoy conflict and aggression. What many rappers and fans do not understand is that many diss tracks are apart of a larger issue than just the lyrics. Many rappers, especially in the past generations, used diss tracks to attack an individual because of real beef that insinuated the two individual rappers or two groups. When looking at the past it is clear to see the real world violence that was occurring during the Tupac and Biggie rivalry. This rivalry literally divided the nation into two, you were either affiliated with the east coast and Biggie or you were apart of the west coast and Tupac. The media during this time often looked at the violence between the groups and blamed it on the rappers and the lyrics they portrayed. It escalated to the point where the two rappers themselves, Tupac and Biggie, were murdered and although there is still some speculation regarding the murders, most people today believe it is related to the conflict between the two which they spoke about in their diss tracks. Physical violence is not the only way diss tracks can hinder someone else, Drake and Meek Mill were trading shots because Meek Mill exposed Drake to using ghost writers and that one claim still hurts his legacy today when discussing his place on the all time greats list of rappers. Diss tracks are not only verbal attacks, they represent a larger conflict brewing behind the lyrics.
Aggressiveness is one of the main characteristics of a diss track because its intention is to offend or attack the person you are talking about. The first step to create a diss track is to use aggressive language, this include, unfriendly words, slangs, malicious intentions and unkind wishes to another person. This kind of language not only reflects the intention of the author’s writing, but also exposes to the audience the dark side of the person the diss track is about and that’s the whole point, as a diss track author, you want other people to see your point of view and to relate to your hateful lyrics and to attract attention from the audience. One example is the raper Drake writing his ”Back To Back” diss tack towards Meek Mill, after Mill publicly stating that Drake takes credit for writing his own songs when in reality he does not write his own lyrics. ”I wanna see my niggas go insane, You gon’ make me step out of my fuckin’ frame, You gon’ make me buy bottles for Charlamagne, You gon’ make me go out of my fuckin’ way.” This shows that by using unfriendly words and wishing your opponent the worst, you are attracting attention from the audience and the artist you are talking about, making your diss track successful.
The driving force behind writing a diss track is to insult the person to a point where it becomes hurtful and personal. You are insulting this person because you want to show the audience that this person you are dissing is inferior to you and make them seem like a coward. An example of this is shown in the diss track “Hit ‘Em Up” by Tupac. ” I’ll bring you fake G’s to your knees Copping pleas in de Janeiro Little Kim, is you coked up or doped up? Get your little Junior Whopper click smoked up” This lyric was geared towards Biggie Smalls girlfriend that pertained to her abuse of drugs in the past and then proceeds to say that Biggie will get killed. Tupac not only insulted Biggie but also his loved one to which the audience will hear this and understand that Tupac is serious
On the first listen of a diss track or even a rap battle, the two combatants involved will have a fluidity to their prose. Doling out insults and jabs at the other’s physique, spit game or integrity. Unbeknownst to the audience of either hip hop orator, there is a rhythm, a solid core to each artist’s work. This core separates the artist from the ordinary person on the street that curses at the police or someone who may have cut them off on the road. For instance, in “No Vaseline” when, “First off, screw your girl And the clique you claim” that could be stated as simply, “everyone you know sucks.” One line clearly has more thought to it while the other one seems more reactionary. “No Vaseline” clearly has more tact. When a hip hop artist writes these tracks, there must be an aggressive edge as well as a demolishing flow. It shows that not only can the artist belittle their combatant, but they can do it with little effort, for they have time to make it lyrically elegant.
The early example of a diss track was “You Keep Her” (1962) by Joe Tex. He wrote the song after his wife left him for someone else..A diss track or diss song is a song primarily insult another person or group of people. The purpose of dis track is to get revenge on the other person or to insult them from who they are. The artist how are well know for writing dis track are Ice Cube,Jay Z,Eminem,Eazy-E, Drake. I am going to show how to be able to write diss track and what a diss track is contains on a lyrical level.
Despite musical parodies and attacks, Hip-hop music has always existed from the past. Hip-hop music is a cultural movement that started way back in the 1970s attaining a widespread popularity between 1980s through 1990s. The popularity of the music attained a wide spread movement recently getting backing from rap music. Hip-hip music incorporate basic four styles; deejaying, rapping, graffiti and writing with intention to capture interest if the audience. The purpose of Hip-hop is to subdue the opponent. Therefore, one way of teaching Hip-hop is by using diss track. Going forward I am will be teaching you about diss track.
Diss songs/ tracks are an integral part of the hip pop culture and thanks to their ground breaking nature, disses are driving innovations and attention for all rapping as a whole. To conquer the fan- base and work opportunities of your enemy, it will be of more interesting to be aggressive in order not to get emotional. In the diss track “hit ’em up” the writer uses words such as “I’m a self made millionaire Thug livin’ out of prison’ and I wanna see my people go insane” to mean how aggressive he is. Usually, how painful one perceives hurt, determines the aggression the person feels. Artists attack massively by using words that are abusive and sounds very humiliating
Another key component in writing diss tracks are insults. Insults can be defined as disrespectful remarks towards a targeted subject. There are many ways to insult someone such as belittling them as a person, their career, and their intelligence. One of the most effective ways to insult your subject is to target their insecurities along with their masculinity. In the diss track “Back to Back” Drake mentions “…Yeah, trigger fingers turn to Twitter fingers…” (Drake). This is an insult that targeted Meek because he accused Drake of using ghostwriters. Instead of confronting Drake face to face “like a man”, Meek uses Twitter to express his remarks. He also mentions “…That ain’t what she meant when she told you to open up more… Is that a world tour or your girl’s tour?” (Drake). This insult further stabs at Meek. Drake is referring to the fact that Niki Minaj wears the pants in both their relationship and in business, and he seems to only be an opening act for Niki on tour. This statement questions Meek’s masculinity due to the fact that Niki seems to be fulfilling both roles of a man and a woman. It is important to use these types of insults because it can often reveal unknown or unshared information to the public, in which the audience may begin to see their artist from another perspective.
Diss tracts music is an intentional way to attack someone else. It may be sometimes a response to someone’s song or facts. From this angle it is naturally aggressive. By definition, aggressiveness is a hostile or violent behavior toward a disliked person. For example in “Hit ‘Em Up” the author tries to revenge his rivals that his suspects as murders. He uses personal pronoun “you” to directly index them. He insults them “Bad Boy Killers”. the author here tends to reveal the downside of his opponents as a response to what they previously did to him. He further intends to hit them back when he states “we crap on Bad Boys, i sleep with your wife” The author uses anger in response to unpleasant fact, someone else does.
The genre of Diss Tracks there is a couple of words that rhymes. For example, in rap song No Vaseline the rapper uses “Callin me Arnold, but you been-a-dick; Eazy E saw your ass and went it quick.’’ Both words rhymes os each sentence. Also, the hip hop artist uses words like ‘people, person, screw, mess, girl’ to show that the writer is expressing his feelings to explain how he is angry with another person. for example, “I ain’t got no – friends That’s why I slept with you girl , You fat person (Take Money) West side, Bad Boy killers (Take money) You know who the realist is people we bring it to (Take Money).” This is showing how the writer is aggressive towards the people.