“Sons of 3rd Bass” by 3rd Bass
Target: The Beastie Boys
“Swarm to the lyrics/Cause Serch is your father/Screaming “Hey Ladies?”–why bother?…”
“Taste the flav of the original/Orphaned trio, abandoned by lyrical/Through us, the echelon exposed/The role with no soul/Counterfeit style, born, sworn and sold/Out with high voice distorted/If a Beastie wish to play fetus, I’d have him aborted…”
3rd Bass set a template that Eminem and Machine Gun Kelly would both later follow: if you’re a white rapper—diss other white rappers. Of course, most people remember 3rd Bass’ Vanilla Ice-mocking hit “Pop Goes the Weasel,” but fewer recall that MC Serch and Pete Nice blasted the Beastie Boys on this lesser-known cut from their debut, The Cactus Album. The Beastie Boys preceded 3rd Bass as the “White rap stars” of Def Jam, and the pioneering trio didn’t exactly leave the label on good terms. With the Beastie’s second Capitol Records-released album flopping commercially (at least initially), 3rd Bass took the opportunity to call out MCA, Ad Rock and Mike D.
