Fans who are not usually accustomed to dis tracks and Twitter battles got a taste of a different side of hip-hop this past week.

In an interview with Hoodie Allen, Sway Calloway asked the rapper, “Why do white people sorta throw shade at each other?”  To which Hoodie replied, “Um, probably if I had to sum it up in my view, it’s ‘cause there’s only so many spots.”  

This could explain the recent beef between Hoodie Allen and Mike Stud, a fellow rapper in his twenties with fan bases ranging from preteen girls to college students (Hoodie Allen performed at UVA two years ago). Stud used this sound bite from Hoodie’s interview as an intro for his song, “Even Steven,” which was the second song in three days dissing Hoodie, with whom a new white boy rapper beef has arisen.

It all started on July 11, when Hoodie dropped a new song, “Nolan Ryan,” which at first listen simply sounded like an upbeat, catchy rap song to get fans excited for his upcoming album. A closer look at the lyrics however showed that Hoodie was doing more than flexing his hip-hop muscles. Hoodie used his new track to take shots at a few other white rappers. His first victim was fellow independent rapper, Mike Stud, whose baseball days at Duke University were cut short when he got Tommy John surgery: “Blame it on Tommy and cry to your mommy, you never been fly.” 

Next on the hit list is G-Eazy, when Hoodie raps, “Oh you’d rather be James Dean? I would rather be me bi**h,” referencing G’s self-comparison to the cultural icon. While both of those disses would require an understanding of the subtle references, Hoodie wasn’t subtle when he called out Riff Raff, “You like riff and raff, but that’s piss and trash.”     

So how did Hoodie’s peers react to “Nolan Ryan"? G-Eazy did not dignify the jab taken at him with a response other than the ominous tweet that read “Lol,” clearly following what was taking place on Twitter between the other three rappers involved. Riff Raff went on a Twitter rant bashing Hoodie, most of which is not appropriate for this article. Mike Stud also went on the offensive on the social network, and then took it to another level the next day when he dropped a remix to Drake’s, “0 to 100,” dissing Hoodie.  

The only logical reaction for Hoodie would be for him to drop a song in response, which he did the next day, this one titled, “Little League,” on which he mocks Mike Stud and spends all three verses ripping into him. Not to be outdone, Stud dropped yet another Hoodie dis song just a day later, “Even Steven.” Here he takes a few minutes to rebut the shots that Hoodie took at him.     

I’ve been a Hoodie Allen fan for a few years, having gone to a couple of his concerts and even posted a selfie with him on Instagram, so it’s clear whose side I took in the feud. 

However, regardless of who insulted who better, the whole exchange was just purely entertaining. Calling out other rappers and proclaiming one’s dominance is common practice in hip-hop (think Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Control”). This beef is of a different breed, however, and the clashing rappers make that clear. “Ayo Mike Stud, white scrub,” Hoodie calls him out, clarifying that this is a dispute between two suburban kids with good educations. These artists take aim at everything from the prestigiousness of their alma mater (Duke and University of Pennsylvania) to Hoodie’s past job at Google and include lots of sports references. Many of their fans overlap, so maybe they picked a side or just went along for the ride like me.  

I think that feuding is good for rap. In this case, we got four songs in less than a week, all of which were highly enjoyable. Whether you are usually a fan of white boy rap or not, I would keep an eye on these two to see if we get any more quality material.