Ice Cube recently explained that he believes his 1991 track, “No Vaseline” is “the top battle song ever” and “it’s not even close.” On the iconic song, he targeted his former N.W.A. bandmates as well as their manager, Jerry Heller. Appearing on the Earn Your Leisure podcast, he spoke about his track as well as some of his other top picks for the best diss songs of all time.
Outside of his own work, he noted songs by 2Pac, Nas, Boogie Down Productions, and Kool Moe Dee. “I mean, I would go with, you know, ‘Hit ‘Em Up’ is a good one,” he said. “‘Ether’ is dope. I would go with ‘The Bridge Is Over,’ and I don’t know, I think I gotta go with ‘Let’s Go.'”
Ice Cube In Concert
"No Vaseline is not better than Ether Lmao stop it," one fan commented on Instagram. Another agreed with Cube: "No Vaseline killed 4 artists at one time at the top of their prime. It’s always been my #1."
It's not the first time that Cube has reflected on "No Vaseline." Appearing on The Breakfast Club in 2014, he also discussed the song, as noted by HipHopDX.“I think [Dr.] Dre had just finished The Chronic and he was about to put out Doggystyle with Snoop [Dogg]. If you really think about AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, I never even mention N.W.A on that record at all. It was all about what I was doing with [Public Enemy] and the Bomb Squad and Chuck D and them."
Ice Cube On "No Vaseline"
He continued: "So, for them to diss me on they EP, 100 Miles and Runnin’, I kinda threw a little jab with ‘Jackin for Beats’ at the end. And then they came with another couple of little disses. I said, ‘Okay, man, I’m tired of this. I’ma end this real quick. We gon’ set it all the way off.’ So that’s when I wrote ‘No Vaseline,’ recorded it. I put it on that ‘Cinderfella’ track, that Dana Dane track… we flipped it and it became a smash.”
[Via]