Would Cube have been able to give a worthy response to "B!tch in Yoo"?

[Westdog]

Cube hasn't answered common because common not of his level
common wanted to become famous for the bill cube

[Juronimo]

Damn...I was just listening to that track the other day...Let's face it..Common lit into Cube on this one and though I'm sure Cube could have come back with something, it would have been kind of difficult because Common was not as well known at the time...Kind of like how LL Cool J tried to come back on Canibus after 2nd Round Knockout...LL was still kind of dope at the time but he just did not know enough about Canibus to really come back hard..I cannot remember LL's response song but it fell short of Knockout...Common really came at Mack 10 on that song also....Damn, who knew he had it in him...I still can't believe he performed it in LA. 

I don't know if I'd compare the 2 situations.

When Common and Cube had their beef, Common had already had 2 albums out and Resurrection is considered a classic by many. He already had plenty of respect and a solid fanbase. Canibus on the other hand, wasn't known outside of internet message boards while LL was already a legend, 10 albums deep. From a talent perspective, Common and Cube were even. Cube had way more notoriety, but they were evenly matched. Canibus was pretty much a nobody going after a legend. There was no way he was going to win that.

[sav-man]

I remember when WSCG were on "RAP CITY" a few months before BOW DOWN came out...it must have been summer 1996. When Joe Clair asked WSC about Common, Cube said something to the effect of "I'm-a get him, I got somethin' for him," so yeah, he (with or without the participation of Mack 10 and WC) must have been planning some response before the Peace Summit squashed the whole thing.

As for whether Cube could have come with a response: yeah, I think he could if he'd wanted to...but he would have had to make something more lyrical and flowing than "King Of The Hill" (directed at Cypress Hill) was. Don't get me wrong, I love "King Of The Hill," and the the "brutal" nature of the track/delivery were appropriate for who it was delivered at (B-Real), but as others have pointed out, Common had/has better skills than B-Real. So, any response Cube would have recorded would have needed to have been more "pointed" and "detailed" than "King Of The Hill" (not that those lyrics weren't pointed in their own way...it was worth just to hear Cube make fun of B-Real's high-pitched voice: "B-Real soundin' like he got baby nuts!" I still LMFAO when I hear that)!

Which I think Cube could have done...after all, Common made a major boo-boo in his "you ain't made shit dope since AmeriKKKa's Most..." (ever heard Death Certificate? The Predator? Even Lethal Injection was dope, if not entirely classic)! Not to mention the "get some beats besides George Clinton to rock over." He must not have listened to Cube's catalogue that thoroughly, as Cube used lots of artists to "rock over:" James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, Das Efx, Steely Dan, Marvin Gaye, name your favorite. And then Common tried to make Cube out as a hypocrite because of the St. Ides'/NOI thing. Cube has admitted that he never technically joined the NOI, he just supported many of their ideas. So, Cube would have had lots of things to respond to, IMHO. Cube admitted in an interview right before the WAR disc came out that he won't respond to just any diss directed at him. He said that a lot of times, the artists who do that shit are only doing so to get attention for themselves.

But yeah, as we know, the beef was squashed at the NOI summit, so what might have transpired may never be known. PEACE!

[ai002h]

I was at the show when Common spit his diss verse at Ice Cube in Santa Ana. That was around early '96 at the De La Soul concert. I went to see De La Soul and Common and Mos Def were there.

Most of the crowd were backpackers, you know, the homeless lumberjack looking kids, and these guys hated west coast rap, so they cheered. Myself and a couple of other cats weren't havin' it though.

Back then, I used to rap and I always got into it with the backpackers because they were on some bullshit.

I admit, it took some massive balls for Common to come out here and do what he did. You have to respect that.

As far as the diss is concerned, I don't know if Cube could have salvaged that one. The Bitch in Yoo, honestly, is a top 5 diss track in history. The only songs I'd put ahead of it are Dollars and Sense, The Bridge is Over and No Vaseline, in that order. Cube's peak was from 89-91. By '96, Cube was still good, but he was already on the decline. Common on the other hand, was at his peak lyrically. Cube got Cypress good, but B-Real is nowhere near Common lyrically.

I would have liked to hear Cube respond, but personally, I'm very doubtful that he could have topped that.

Great insight into the concert man...I always wondered how he got away with that shit, it makes sense now.

[ai002h]

I remember when WSCG were on "RAP CITY" a few months before BOW DOWN came out...it must have been summer 1996. When Joe Clair asked WSC about Common, Cube said something to the effect of "I'm-a get him, I got somethin' for him," so yeah, he (with or without the participation of Mack 10 and WC) must have been planning some response before the Peace Summit squashed the whole thing.

As for whether Cube could have come with a response: yeah, I think he could if he'd wanted to...but he would have had to make something more lyrical and flowing than "King Of The Hill" (directed at Cypress Hill) was. Don't get me wrong, I love "King Of The Hill," and the the "brutal" nature of the track/delivery were appropriate for who it was delivered at (B-Real), but as others have pointed out, Common had/has better skills than B-Real. So, any response Cube would have recorded would have needed to have been more "pointed" and "detailed" than "King Of The Hill" (not that those lyrics weren't pointed in their own way...it was worth just to hear Cube make fun of B-Real's high-pitched voice: "B-Real soundin' like he got baby nuts!" I still LMFAO when I hear that)!

Which I think Cube could have done...after all, Common made a major boo-boo in his "you ain't made shit dope since AmeriKKKa's Most..." (ever heard Death Certificate? The Predator? Even Lethal Injection was dope, if not entirely classic)! Not to mention the "get some beats besides George Clinton to rock over." He must not have listened to Cube's catalogue that thoroughly, as Cube used lots of artists to "rock over:" James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, Das Efx, Steely Dan, Marvin Gaye, name your favorite. And then Common tried to make Cube out as a hypocrite because of the St. Ides'/NOI thing. Cube has admitted that he never technically joined the NOI, he just supported many of their ideas. So, Cube would have had lots of things to respond to, IMHO. Cube admitted in an interview right before the WAR disc came out that he won't respond to just any diss directed at him. He said that a lot of times, the artists who do that shit are only doing so to get attention for themselves.

But yeah, as we know, the beef was squashed at the NOI summit, so what might have transpired may never be known. PEACE!

I agree...King of the Hill was a great diss track and extremely lyrical, but the lyrics were of the vulgar/insulting variety instead of the smart-witted lyrics of No Vaseline. He'd have to come up with a No Vaseline type diss but that would require research and time because he knew a bunch of detailed info on all the NWA members, things to call them out on...so it made it easier to come up with a diss exposing them. Common, on the other hand, he basically knew nothin about.