The 20 Greatest Lyrical Bitchslaps

On his new album, Kid Rock lashes out at ex-girlfriend Pam Anderson by declaring his new girlfriend "half [Pam's] age and twice as hot."

It's a brutal insult, but this sort of lyrical bitchslap is nothing new. Artists have been dissing ex's, other artists and political figures for decades. The diss is generally associated with rap, but don't be fooled; it can translate to all genres.

There are several immediate measurements of a quality diss, such as originality and inappropriateness. However, only time will tell how good a diss song really is. As you'll see below, the best disses usually make a long-lasting impression and cause damage beyond just hurting someone's feelings. Some even lead to severe emotional damage, public humiliation, or in extreme cases, death.

Here are the greatest musical disses of all-time...

20) Foo Fighters "I'll Stick Around"

Count Dave Grohl among the people that are not fans of Courtney Love. In this song, off the Foo Fighters' debut album, Grohl lets his feelings on Love be known.

Sample lyrics:

How could it be
I'm the only one who sees
Your rehearsed insanity

19) 50 Cent "Wanksta"

50 made underground waves with the song "How to Rob," but this is the song that really put him on the mainstream map. This song tackles the issue of rappers posing as gangstas, when in reality their lifestyle is nothing even close. "Wanksta" is widely believed to be about Ja Rule (a well-known 50 Cent nemesis), who at the time was throwing down pseudo-gangsta raps over Ashanti and J. Lo hooks.

Memorable lyric:

You said you a gansta but you never pop nothin'
We say you a wanksta and you need to stop frontin'

50 claimed in an interview with MuchMusic that the song wasn't specifically about Ja Rule, then went on to add, "but Ja Rule is a wanksta." Regardless of who he wrote this song about, he made it about Ja with that quote.

18) Eminem "The Real Slim Shady"

This song is a diss to all the kids (and other rappers) copying Eminem's style. As a whole, it's more funny than brutal. However, one line in particular stands out, and it's inappropriate enough to earn this song a spot the list.

The line in question deals with one Ms. Christina Aguilera, who had previously -- and unwarrantedly, in Em's opinion -- insinuated on national television that Slim Shady was into domestic abuse.

The lyric:

Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs

So I can sit next to Carson Daly and Fred Durst

And hear ‘em argue over who she gave head to first

That's just brutal. Eminem has had many great diss songs, but no other lyrics quite match the ridiculousness of that one. The massive popularity of "The Real Slim Shady" only magnified the insult. Aguilera was even inspired to release a response song called "Will The Real Slim Shady Please Shut Up?," in which she called Eminem boring and said that Durst and Daly "both came closer than you ever will."

17) Dave Chappelle "Piss On You"

Yes, this counts. It may not have been intended as a put-down, but it's probably the worst insult anyone has thrown at R. Kelly (and that's saying a lot, considering the man is facing charges of child pornography).

16) Nas "Ether"

Among fans of rap, "ether" has become synonymous with a venomous insult. That right there is enough for the Nas track to make the list.

The feud between Nas and Jay-Z allegedly began in 1996 when Nas declined the chance to be a guest on Jay-Z's album Reasonable Doubt. Jay-Z took the feud to a new level with his song "Takeover" (we'll get to that later). This song was a response to "Takeover," and Nas included it on his 2001 album Stillmatic.

Nas spends most of the lyrics of this song questioning Jay-Z's credibility and threatening violence. That is, when he's not calling Jay-Z gay.

Sample lyrics:

When these streets keep calling, heard it when I was sleep

That this Gay-Z and Cockafella Records wanna beef

Rockerfeller died of AIDS, that was the end of his chapter
And that's the guy y'all chose to name your company after?

I rock hoes, y'all rock fellas

Political correctness be damned.

15) Sex Pistols "God Save The Queen"

Long before there was Rage Against The Machine, there was this. A lot of political songs are vague as far as who is being criticized; often singers will attack an establishment, a way of thinking, or an entire government. Not so with this song. The Sex Pistols not only call Queen Elizabeth II "fascist," but they declared that England had "no future." The song went to #2 on the U.K. charts and helped solidify the band as a seminal punk act.

This song, which borrows its title from the British national anthem, was extremely controversial when it came out. Go figure.

14) Lynyrd Skynyrd "Sweet Home Alabama"

As a general rule, devoting just a couple lines of a song to a diss wouldn't be enough to get an artist on this list. However, that policy is amended when the song in question becomes a de-facto national anthem for the entire South.

Neil Young did not earn himself a lot of fans below the Mason-Dixon when he released the song "Southern Man," which criticized Southern society and the treatment of African-Americans. Skynyrd felt that Young had gone overboard with his criticisms, and responded on behalf of all Southerners with the now-infamous line from "Sweet Home Alabama."

The lyric in question:

Well I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well, I heard ol Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow

While that isn't the most brutal of insults, the enormous popularity of "Sweet Home Alabama" ensures that the Young-Skynyrd feud will live on in spirit for a long time.

13) Pearl Jam "Bu$hleaguer"

Nowadays, it's perfectly acceptable (and almost commonplace) for musicians to rail on George W. Bush, but when Pearl Jam included this song on the 2002 album Riot Act, that was not the case. In the wake of 9/11, it was widely viewed as un-American to go against the President.

Eddie Vedder, not a fan of this logic, responded with the song "Bu$hleaguer." Though the song was never a single, it gained notoriety when Pearl Jam played it on the band's 2003 tour. Vedder would wear a George Bush mask during the song, and was often seen impaling the mask on the microphone stand (this caused a large crowd of fans to walk out during a show in Denver). Pearl Jam eventually toned it down and stopped playing the song for awhile, but the diss had already been delivered.

This one gets bonus points for including some of the most ridiculous vocabulary ever found in song lyrics. However, it loses points because 99% of Americans -- including George Bush -- probably can't understand it.

A confidence man, but why so beleagued?
He's not a leader, he's a Texas leaguer
Swinging for the fence, got lucky with a strike
Drilling for fear, makes the job simple
Born on third, thinks he got a triple

A think tank of aloof multiplication
A nicotine wish and a Columbus decanter
Retrenchment and hoggishness

The aristocrat choir sings
"What's the ruckus?"
The haves have not a clue
The immenseness of suffering
And the odd negotiation, a rarity
With onionskin plausibility of life
And a keyboard reaffirmation

12) Stone Temple Pilots "Too Cool Queenie"

Based on the mediocre success of STP's Shangri-La Dee Da album, plus the fact that it wasn't a single, there's a good chance you've never heard this song. Nevertheless, it is one of the most awful insults ever uttered from one musician about another.

Take a look at the lyrics and see if you can figure out who this is about. Here's a hint: she's already made the list once.

There was this girl
Who lived not too long ago
As a matter of fact

I think she lives still
She knew she could do no wrong
Just singin' those songs
That we all knew

There was this boy
He played in a rock-n-roll band
And he wasn't half-bad
At saving the world
She said he could do no right
So he took his life
This story is true

11) Ja Rule "Loose Change"

Make no mistake, in the war between Ja Rule and Eminem/50 Cent/Dre, Ja lost by a landslide. However, he did manage to land the most vicious line of the whole feud.

Em, you claim your mother's a crackhead and Kim is a known slut

So what's Hailie gonna be when she grows up?

Maybe this song wasn't a huge hit, but no rapper has ever stepped as far over the line as Ja Rule did in this lyric. Insulting someone's mother, wife and daughter in the same line? Unreal.