10 Iconic African Rap Diss Songs

As far as hip-hop goes, fans love a spectacle, and passion is a potent selling tool. Where can there be greater delivery of passion than in diss tracks, rude and immediately beside you. At the chagrin of critics and less-than-pleased curators, diss tracks are peak moments for the culture, for fan bases, and consequently, a powerful PR tool.

M.anifest – "godMC"

When years of sneak disses culminated in a lyrical sparring between two of Ghana's most revered rappers, it was everything the audience had expected. Rappers are known for talking the mean talk, and between Sarkodie and M.anifest, there has been a lot of that over the years, with their battle taking on even more importance considering they represent unique styles within the soundscape. On "godMC," M.anifest banks on the purist sensibilities that have won him the adulation of peers and listeners, pulling out a wide range of references as he sought to sink the Sark into hip-hop's hell. From Greek mythology to the Fela-invoking production, the rapper spared no punches as he cautioned the opposition "don't measure your pen to mine, you pantomime and asinine / And you wanna be king, get your ass in line."

Ruggedman – "Ehen"

Nigerian hip-hop has arguably never seen a rapper as magnetic as Ruggedman. At the start of the 2000s, he took gleeful swings at any and everybody, critiquing the establishment with the same vim he had for rappers. "Ehen" is undoubtedly his centerpiece as a troubadour, with Ruggedman wielding a flamethrower potent enough to torch anyone.

Dissing top English-speaking acts like Eedris Abdulkareem, Black Reverendz, and Rasqui for their lack of street material, he would set the precedent for a lingual and cultural conversation that would echo years later in "Local Rappers." Even at the time of its release, "Ehen" was remarkably impactful, succeeding as a commercial darling with its radio jingle-like harmony, a cadence that rings familiar to the average Nigerian on the street.

Cassper Nyovest – "Dust To Dust"

Going personal in diss records is one way to stun the opponent into submission, but even by that logic, "Dust To Dust" is a devastating record. Over five minutes of thumping bass and drums, Cassper Nyovest suggests several things about his chief rival, the now-departed AKA, with whom South Africa's biggest beef was shared. Its origin dates back to 2014, which would stretch and loosen back and forth for the next half-decade, resulting in a few jabs here and there. But AKA went direct with the phenomenal "Composure," and Cassper had to reply with equal ferocity and tact, which understandably led him down the personal route. "I'm writing this at the crib shooting free throws / You stayed in a town house that was owned by Oskido," raps Cassper on the third verse, audibly sounding agitated, breathing down the beat with a style that recalls the quintessential 2Pac flow.

M.I Abaga - “The Viper”

Intricacy has always been a defining quality in M.I's art. With his early projects in the 2000s, he redefined the scope of the Nigerian rap album, successfully blending pop runs with the sweet essence of rhyming. "The Viper," his diss record aimed at longtime competitor Vector, was as harrowing a cadaver inspection as it was an olive branch extended.

Swinging at the edges of mercy and punishment, he employs biblical allegory to dissect the history between himself and Vector, ranging from their handling of the BET cypher to what M.I. considers Vector's inability to "put anybody in position." It's a fine display of M.I.'s incredible arsenal as a rapper, from his production of the song to the social commentary he successfully incorporates in his scathing attack.

Vector – "The Purge" feat. Vader & Payper Corleone

On "The Purge," Vector assembled one of the most compact diss records that the Nigerian rap scene has witnessed. Tensions were stoking between his and M.I's camp, fuelled mainly by the rap cyphers that both veteran rappers steered. By the time of release, it was no secret that both rappers' cliques didn't like each other, and "The Purge" took things up a notch by standing on business (and crucially, on wax). Vader takes shots at Blaqbonez, Payper swings on everyone from Loose Kaynon to A-Q, and Vector expectedly goes for M.I. "Africa rapper number one my ass, boy the flavor left," he rapped, referencing the latter's 2010 hit song, while swinging other sharp personal jabs.

Modenine - "Elbow Room"

For many, Modenine represents the pinnacle of lyricism in Nigerian rap. At his peak, which was much of the 2000s, he often rapped with the cold force of an unsullied, his barrage of punchlines slicing through boom bap beats with the sharpness of Valyrian steel. That unsparing lyrical precision is the hallmark of "Elbow Room," a speculative diss that remains as scathing as it was nearly two decades ago.

Amidst industry rumors of a beef with Ruggedman, and whispers of an already recorded diss song that eventually didn't see the light of day, Modenine got preemptive with "Elbow Room," sonning his adversary before things got heated. From the first line where he threatens to run over foes, every line is unfurled with a focused fury. By the time he delivered the death knell with "Talking to You," it was a potent sequel to the unsparing tone set by "Elbow Room."

Sarkodie - “Kanta”

Sarkodie takes umbrage at any question that casts doubt on the credibility of his pen and his greatness as a rapper. Those things were at stake when M.anifest called him out on the thinly veiled, subliminal-packed "godMC." While the beef itself never really boiled over into a protracted back-and-forth, "Kanta" was Sarkodie's unfazed reply. Taking sonic cues from American rapper Desiigner's viral hit, "Panda," Sarkodie swings for the fences and hits a home run.

Sark's trademark rat-tat-tat, machine gun flow is the vehicle for barbed lines that simultaneously extol his greatness and dismiss M.anifest as credible competition. "Sark no go diss you for nothing/nigga, already you suffering," he quips in utter disgust. Sidestepping punchlines for heft, Sarkodie raps every line like he's trying to set off the Richter scale, going a cappella with some words of advice when the beat switches off. "Kanta" didn't necessarily hand M.anifest an L, considering cooler heads prevailed after, but it proved Sarkodie's bona fides at a time when his prominence made him an easy target.

Khaligraph Jones - "Best Rapper in Nigeria"

For Khaligraph Jones, being hostile on the mic is a way of life. Even on his groovier songs, the Kenyan rapper makes it a point of duty to be a hulking presence. That's why he relished the opportunity to go at Blaqbonez, immediately after the Nigerian rapper said Jones wasn't worthy of winning the award for Best Hip-Hop at the 2023 edition of the Soundcity Music Video Awards. Within a day of Blaq's statements, Jones declared himself the "Best Rapper in Nigeria," a reference to his foe's assertions of being Africa's best a few years prior.

Some of the best diss songs in rap history have a blatant level of toxic masculinity, and it felt like Jones had been waiting for a while to unleash some of that energy on an adversary. Over an ominous beat, Jones sounds like a predator chomping on hapless prey; he doesn't just address Blaqbonez like he's well above him, he raps at him like a disgusted OG. The bloodletting is so effective that, in hindsight, Blaqbonez's jibes on his response, "Green Blaq Green," come off as tantrums.

Tony Tetuila - "Omode Meta"

The beginning of modern Nigerian pop music, also known as Afrobeats, was primarily shaped by groups, particularly boy bands. Closing out the 1990s, the Remedies, comprising Eedris Abdulkareem, Eddy Remedy, and Tony Tetuila, were one of the scene's definitive acts, but they soon splintered, and out of that emerged "Omode Meta," arguably one of the top three greatest diss songs in Nigerian music history. The initial shock factor was that it was headlined by Tetuila, widely regarded as the least important member of the Remedies.Twenty-five years later, the significance of "Omode Meta" is impossible to understate, partly because it was ultra-effective in setting up Tetuila's seminal solo career, and also because it was a flat-out hit song that continues to be eternal. Featuring rap group Ruff Rugged N Raw, alongside 2Face Idibia and Blackface of Plantashun Boiz, Tetuila assembled a bunch of lyrical assassins to do the dirty work of tearing into his former groupmates, Abdulkareem especially, while he sang an immortal hook, aided by wonderful adlibs by Idibia, that instantly garnered public affection.

AKA - "Composure"

The beef between AKA and Cassper Nyovest had everything! There were tweets – a lot of tweets – and social media posts; there was drama, from a slap to allegations of a gun being pulled; and of course, there were diss tracks. After a couple of disses lobbed by Nyovest, AKA finally pulled up with the most potent words of the situation with "Composure," an ultra-assured slapper that's the audio equivalent of handing out a can of whoop-ass.

As soon as AKA opens his mouth on the glitzy beat, his level of confidence is preposterous. He's authoritative without the need for aggressive posturing; this is AKA in his element as a rap artist with Teflon swagger. He knows his opponents "hates me with a passion" but he comes off cool as ice under all that heat, issuing a raft of unforgettable quotables like "My niggas in position when they ring the bell/ They gonna get your pony tail like a Holy Grail." By the time Nyovest went personal with his reply, "Dust to Dust," you could smell the desperation on him – a sign that AKA's damage was indelible.