NLE The Great Drops KO Diss Targeting NBA YoungBoy, Rekindling Feud

NLE The Great, the artist formerly known as NLE Choppa, released a surprise diss track and video at the end of October that directly targets fellow rapper NBA YoungBoy, reigniting a years-long tension between the two artists. The song, titled KO, uses the same instrumental sampled on Tupac Shakur’s Hit Em Up, features a YoungBoy lookalike in the video and is accompanied by provocative imagery including cover art that shows NLE holding what appears to be a replica of YoungBoy’s head.

On the track NLE levels a series of accusations at YoungBoy’s influence, rapping that he “poison[s] the youth” and casting him as a negative role model. The video further invokes late 20th century cultural figures; NLE channels Tupac and incorporates choreography associated with Michael Jackson, saying he worked with Jackson’s longtime choreographer and that he wore the performer’s shoes in the shoot. A billboard in Baton Rouge displaying NLE holding a fake head was also reported, amplifying the public confrontation.

The exchange follows intermittent friction between the two sides dating to 2022. That year included subliminal jabs in songs, a physical altercation at an airport tied to an alleged...