RAP BEEF TIMELINE · 1989–1995
Dr. Dre vs. Ice Cube
N.W.A. royalties, “No Vaseline,” and the reunion
Ice Cube’s exit from N.W.A. over royalty and contract grievances places Dr. Dre inside the group-level conflict. “No Vaseline” turns the break into a classic solo broadside; after Eazy-E’s death, Cube and Dre reconcile and later build together again.
THE RECORD
The moments
Business dispute · disputed account
Ice Cube leaves N.W.A. over contracts and royalties
Cube exits the group after a financial and contractual dispute. Dre is part of the N.W.A. side of the breakup, which becomes the groundwork for later record conflict.
Read the receipt ↗Diss track
“No Vaseline” blows up the former group
Ice Cube’s solo diss attacks his old N.W.A. partners and manager Jerry Heller, making a business split a canonical on-record confrontation.
▶ Watch “No Vaseline”Read the receipt ↗Reconciliation
Reconciliation turns into years of collaboration
After Eazy-E’s death, Dre and Cube rebuild their relationship, later collaborating musically and on Straight Outta Compton.
Read the receipt ↗
THE RECEIPTS
Sources and listening
West Coast rap feuds — released records and radio-history context ↗ARTIST LENSES