Diss track

A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of disrespect or disparage) is a track that verbally attacks someone, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating hip-hop feud between the two parties; for example, the artists involved may be former members of a group, or artists on rival labels. Such feuds are often called "beefs". The diss track as a medium of its own was popularized within the hip-hop genre, fueled by the hip-hop rivalry phenomenon (especially the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry of the mid-1990s). More recently, entertainers from outside the traditional music landscape have adopted the genre. In the course of constructing their argument, artists often include a wealth of references to past events and transgressions in their diss tracks, which listeners can dive into. Artists who are the subject of a diss track often make one of their own in response to the first. It is this back-and-forth associated with a feud that makes this type of song particularly viral. The term "sneak diss" refers to lyrics in which an artist describes or refers to an individual in a negative or derogatory manner without explicitly naming the target.