Ether

Ether

Nas

Ether is the second track on Nas' 2001 album Stillmatic. The song was a response to Jay-Z’s “Takeover” – a diss track which appears as the second track on Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint, during the Jay-Z vs. Nas feud. Nas named the song Ether because in his words, “I was told a long time ago, ghosts and spirits don’t like the fumes from ether, and I just wanted to affect him with my weapon and get to his soul.”
In another context, the word “Ether” refers to a highly volatile solvent that is used in the making of crack-cocaine, a very beffitting title for a track aimed at the self proclaimed “Cocaine Rapper”, Jay-Zwho is notoriously known for drug dealing through his early years.

Both songs are highly acclaimed as two of the best and most vicious diss tracks in hip hop history, and their impact (and arguments of whose happened to be better) are still debated today.

The beef has since been squashed as they’ve collaborated on several songs together, and Jay was even seen at Nas' Life Is Good release party in 2012.