Jay Z vs LL Cool J & MC Hammer
Jay-Z dropped Reasonable Doubt to mirror LL's Mr. Smith album.
Why?
Dame Dash felt Jay had to RAP BEING A STREET HUSTLER with the same DETACHED REMORSE that LL RAPPED ABOUT BEING A LADIES MAN. Drake tries to duplicate this effect now by rapping about being BIRACIAL CASANOVA and A JADED EX-CHILD STAR who is signed to the most dangerous record label. Fabolous tried to emulate Jay-Z on this level but failed because he never claimed any dime piece girlfriends publicly.
Remember the fact that LL COOL J and JAY Z are the SAME AGE.
LL peeped game and felt people at Def Jam criticized him for crossing over to mainstream and making more money without them during the mid 90's era (FUBU, TV, movies, etc). And then signed Jay to duplicate his swagger after Russell sold Def Jam.
FUBU was going to do Bugs Bunny and Fat Albert, but Jay was sporting Iceberg, then he deaded Iceberg, and started Rocawear when Russell introduced Dame to Phat Farm investors.
LL felt as though he came up getting money and recognized by all the big hustlers during the real NYC crack era. All of a sudden here comes Jaz-O protege 10 years later, talking about 1988 money? Bad enough, Jay-Z was a student of Big Daddy Kane during their college teenage years.
It was like Jay-Z was calling LL Cool J a child Disney star who wasn't a factor in the streets like he was.
Irv Gotti confirmed that Jay was going to add another verse to TAKEOVER to diss LL Cool J, DMX, and Ja Rule. DMX knows this that's why he always says Jay waited until he got the head job at Def Jam to shyt on DMX because if he came straight out in 2002, DMX would have roasted Jay-Z at his peak before Nas could even step to him.
Remember "I'm not Hammer, I'll never be broke"(aimed at his ex-Rocafella, not Hammer) from Blueprint 3? That was a good taunt because Cam'ron and Jimmy were falling out over money and royalties at the time, people still think Hammer went broke over feeding his entourage and gimmicks. Dipset was a mess and they all tried to go to bat for Dame at the time.
LL Cool J already had a rivalry with MC Hammer, Hammer never really went broke because he helped a lot of true hustlers launder drug money throughout his entire movement, and when the Clinton democrat drug war came into power, Hammer cut the street cats out ran back to Death Row for protection and turned into a full gospel ministry to beat the IRS pressure to account for all the missing expenses and assets.
Hammer felt dissed by Jay-Z -- so he got the tour polaroid pictures from LL Cool J of Jay-Z, Kane, Jaz, Ice T, BACKSTAGE at the PLEASE HAMMER DONT HURT EM PEPSI TOUR.
In order to hangout back stage when Hammer was at his pinnacle, you had to have an official tour jacket, t-shirt, or snapback hat WITH HAMMER logo and PEPSI logo on it.
Jay was a nobody at that time so he hat to wear the snapback, how could he diss Hammer and say he was broke since when? And if he was with Death Row and had his own TV cartoon, AND BEAT THE IRS after Rodney King, OJ Simpson, 2Pac and Mike Tyson all were controversial at the time.
Hammer did a youtube where Pimpin Ken asked him about Jay-Z killing T-Pain's entire vibe with DOA, not only lyrically but corporate level as well. Hammer responded that Jay-Z had big chinks in his armor but the new generation doesn't know his full history and how to defend their hustle BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY against corporate haters like Jay-Z.
The "Better Run Boy" video was another shot because Hammer knew Billy Blanks, and could air out the whole TAE BO part of JAY Z history to show he cant fight. Some of the same trainers Jay-Z had back then were trainers for Hammer MMA squad now that were shown in the video. Hammer knows that as long as Jay-Z is married to Beyonce and holds control of the media he will get the benefit of exposure that was why the devil worship angle came in the video.
LL Cool J was going to make a comeback but Jay-Z was the president and felt Jay-Z wasn't giving Def Jam veterans a fair shot, Method Man, Redman, Ghostface, DMX all said the same, but Dame Dash and Gotti were telling stories about how Jay-Z stepped to DMX and LL Cool J uptown in the Bronx and beat them in battle.
LL made a random interview in a gym workout where he was curling swinging full sized sledgehammers and making random subliminals like "he 40 and can still smash your lady smash your face still killing it on stage" etc.