How NOT to Diss Jay-Z.

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Jay-Z’s stature has made dissing him very enticing, but also dangerous. A Jay-Z diss is an event and will earn an enterprising rapper plenty of attention. But if that diss is flimsy and unimpressive (Cam’Ron’s “Swagger Jacker”), nobody will take that rapper seriously. That wasn’t a problem for Cam, because nobody took him serious to begin with. He’s Cam.

Beanie Sigel, a former member of Jay-Z’s Roc-a-Rella Records, has drawn widespread attention with his Jay-Z diss, “What You Talkin Bout (I Ain’t Ya Average Cat)” On the track, Beans reveals his frustration with Jay’s handling of his career and brings to light an incident where Jay had the police remove him from a show. The problem is, Beans is too cautious. He doesn’t diss Jay so much as he bemoans him to return his calls.

The low-key diss doesn’t work for Beans. Low-key disses have to be more subtle, whereas Beans spells out his issues as if he’s writing Jay a letter. Also, the beat and Beans’ voice are far too threatening for such a toothless song. Altogether, “Average Cat” is not compelling. Beans relies too heavily on the gravity of dissing Jay-Z.

Game on the other hand, did a much better job of attacking Jay in July. True to his character, his diss “I’m So Wavy” was aggressive, reckless and at times childish. He gave a wild, ignorant answer to the mature, measured Jay-Z. Entertaining as it is, Game’s diss can also be considered a failure because it failed to provoke a response, which appeared to be the whole point of the song.