Jay-Z releases 'Takeover' on The Blueprint

Why it matters

"Takeover" is the seventh track on Jay-Z's The Blueprint and the single biggest diss track of the early 2000s. Kanye West produced. The beat is built around a sample of The Doors's "Five to One," with a chopped vocal line that became one of the most-recognized samples in 2000s rap. The diss is structured. Jay opens by going after Mobb Deep's Prodigy in three or four lines ("don't ever come on my block, you talk that talk"). Then he pivots to Nas for the third verse and spends roughly two minutes systematically dismantling Nas's catalog, his work ethic, his commercial position, and his post-Illmatic albums (which had, by Jay's argument, been weak for years). The verse is unrelenting and specific. Nas had been a respected New York lyricist for seven years. Jay's verse, in two minutes, made the case that Nas had been coasting since 1996. Nas had to respond. He did, in December, with "Ether," which would land hard enough to finish the round. "Takeover" is the opening salvo of one of the best rap-on-rap exchanges ever recorded. You should hear both verses, in order.