Ice Cube Insists 'No Vaseline' Is Better Than 'Not Like Us'

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Ice Cube is convinced his N.W.A diss song "No Vaseline" is superior to Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us," and any other diss track for that matter.

Ice Cube Crowns "No Vaseline" G.O.A.T. Diss Song

Diss songs have dominated the hip-hop conversation in 2024. In footage of a recent Cube concert at the Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater in Tucson, Ariz. on Monday (May 27), the veteran rhymer addressed the talk about what diss track is the G.O.A.T.

"[People say] Tupac ['Hit Em Up'] but it's not," Cube told the crowd in the video below. "'Nah, Cube, hold on. It's Nas with 'Ether.'' I love Nas, but it's not. Maybe it's Kendrick Lamar, maybe it's him. I love them songs, but "No Vaseline" is the best diss song in the history of hip-hop."

Cube then expounded on why he concludes "No Vaseline" reigns supreme.

"I'll tell you why," Cube continued. "One MC, myself. I took out four muthaf**kas and the manager. You can't beat that. We did that over 30 years ago. So, as it stands today, I got nothing but love for N.W.A."

Cube's stance was greeted by cheers of agreement from the crowd.

Released in 1991, "No Vaseline" found Cube, who had recently departed from N.W.A, firing shots at his former bandmates as well as their manager Jerry Heller in a scathing diss song where he raps over multiple beats.

"Y'all n***as just phony/I put that on my mama and my dead homies," Cube raps on the track. "Yella Boy's on your team, so you're losin'/Aye yo Dre, stick to producin'/Callin' me Arnold, but you been-a-d**k/Eazy-E saw your a*s and went in it quick/You got jealous when I got my own company/But I'm a man, and ain't nobody helpin' me."

The track is revered as one of the best disses of all time and didn't even get a response. N.W.A disbanded a short time later, with Dr. Dre's departure being a huge blow. Recency bias aside, Cube's "No Vaseline" does have an argument for being the best of the best, and is often cited in the top five on diss song lists.

This is not the first time Cube has touted "No Vaseline" on top of the rap diss song totem pole. Last July, during an interview on DJ Whoo Kid's Whoo's House Podcast, Cube put "No Vaseline" over "Ether" and "Hit Em Up."

"How’s Tupac No. 1 when he needed help on that record?" Ice Cube asked DJ Whoo Kid. "Me, 'No Vaseline,' one MC."

Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" Joins Elite Company

Release earlier this month, Kendrick Lamar's Drake diss "Not Like Us" has quickly ascended to being mentioned among the great diss tracks in hip-hop history. Along with receiving critical acclaim by topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart earlier this month, the Mustard-produced track has been inescapable as it has shattered streaming records, been featured on national television, played at live sports broadcasts and more.