Hegemonic Masculinity in Jay-Z / Nas Beef A conversation between two men often seems superficial and unimportant. However, male conversation can actually provide good insight into what men believe is masculine. As Jennifer Coates explains in her book Men Talk: Stories in the Making of Masculinity, you can determine what male behavior is by observing male dialogue. She points out that “in friendly discourse men position themselves in relation to hegemonic masculinity” (41). This also applies to hostile conversations, which are a more frequent occurrence in the rap world. Rap songs that serve to "disparage" other artists often expose their targets' actions as the opposite of male behavior and, in turn, reveal what the artist deems masculine. Jay-Z and Nas do just that in a series of songs that have become known as one of the most famous rap songs of our time. Jay-Z's song "Takeover" lashes out at rappers Nas and Prodigy (members of Mobb Deep). In response, Nas recorded "Ether", and Jay-Z then responded with "Super Ugly". In each of these songs, Jay-Z and Nas compliment and insult each other. The lyrics of their songs show that physique, achievement, competition, authenticity and heterosexuality are all male characteristics. Physical size and strength have always been a way to determine masculinity. Jay-Z plays on this concept several times in "Takeover" by saying that he and his label Roc-A-Fella Records (ROC) are big and strong. He raps: “ROC too loud for y’all…/ Roc-A-Fella is the army, better yet the navy.” Jay-Z continues to call Nas and Prodigy small and weak with the lines: "Your friends aren't fucking strong enough.../ we'll kill you fucking ants with a bat" and "You little FUCK, I got stacks of money" more bigger than you." By saying that he (Jay-Z) is bigger and stronger, he is trying to physically intimidate his targets. In nature, bigger and stronger males are more dominant, so Jay-Z is trying to emphasize his physical dominance over Nas and Prodigy. The last line of the example serves a dual purpose, as it also contributes to one of rap's major masculine construction characteristics: the emphasis on success. Z that Nas uses effectively to establish his masculinity. Their success comes in the form of success, money and women. In “Takeover” and “Ether” both artists claim to be the best.