Jay-Z vs Nas

With Biggie gone, New York needed a king. Two candidates:

• Jay-Z: the Brooklyn hustler turned hitmaker, running his own label, Roc-A-Fella.
• Nas: the Queensbridge poet who'd made Illmatic, maybe the greatest rap album ever.

1. 1996

   The first spark

   Jay-Z's debut borrows a Nas vocal for a hook, and there's friction over a Nas guest spot that never happens. Small stuff, but it's there.

2. 1999–2001

   Subliminals

   Nas and Jay start throwing veiled jabs at each other, along with Jay's protégé Memphis Bleek and Mobb Deep's Prodigy.

3. June 2001

   Summer Jam

   At Hot 97's huge Summer Jam concert, Jay-Z performs a new verse that names Nas outright. He also puts a childhood photo of Prodigy in a dance outfit on the big screen.

4. September 11, 2001

   'Takeover'

   On The Blueprint, Jay goes all in. He argues Nas has only made one great album in ten years and has been coasting ever since.

5. December 2001

   'Ether'

   Nas answers on Stillmatic. "Ether" is brutal, personal and relentless. It's so devastating that "ether" becomes slang for destroying someone.

6. December 2001

   'Supa Ugly'

   Jay fires back on the radio, bragging about an affair with the mother of Nas's daughter. It goes too far. Jay later apologizes publicly, reportedly after his own mom told him to.

7. 2002

   The people vote

   Hot 97 runs a listener poll. Nas wins 58% to 42%.

8. October 27, 2005

   Peace

   Jay-Z's "I Declare War" concert in New Jersey is expected to be a disstravaganza. Instead he brings out Nas, and they perform together.

9. 2006

   Business partners

   Nas signs to Def Jam, where Jay-Z is now president. They make "Black Republican" together.