In celebration of the New York Knicks’ historic 2026 NBA championship, in which they finally ended a 53-year drought, the song highlighted here will no doubt be played on endless repeat until things finally calm down. During the beef between hip-hop legends 50 Cent and Ja Rule, the latter got together a few emcees on a track that represented New York to its fullest. It was obviously a direct diss record aimed at 50 Cent and his G-Unit camp. Ja Rule made hit after hit during his run as one of hip-hop’s most successful artists of his era. Many, including myself, have always thought it was a damn shame that 50 Cent basically took his whole style of singing on hooks and whatnot and ran with it, all the while giving Ja shit for it. However, it was also a testament to 50’s genius as a businessman and how he was able to pull that stunt off.

Regardless, when Ja Rule put out this track representing New York, it was absolutely bonkers. New York is known as the mecca of hip-hop, and there is obviously no shortage of artists and tracks that represent the city to its fullest. Here, Ja collaborated with both Jadakiss and Fat Joe, two rappers whom few people in New York likely don’t know about. Jadakiss and The LOX had their beef with G-Unit as well. In fact, many diss records, from what I remember, were dropped. I’m not sure what Fat Joe’s deal was at the time with 50 Cent, but it’s obvious that if you were a part of this track, which was a diss aimed at 50, then you were likely involved in some way or another. It was said that while 50 Cent always claimed to run New York, he was never seen in the streets without police protection. I have no idea whether any of this is true, but it made for some good gossip and stories for others to talk about.

When Jadakiss performed this at their Verzuz battle with The Diplomats, it was a wrap. I still watch that battle, as lopsided as it was, from time to time, and it still gives me chills whenever this was performed—and I haven’t even set foot in New York! This track is so dope, and I’m glad New York Knicks fans, as well as New York sports fans in general, have this big historic win to celebrate.