A diss track is a rap song aimed at one person. It answers a slight, settles a rivalry or roasts a friend in front of everyone who knows them. The good ones are funny, specific and built so the crowd can shout the hook back. The bad ones are a list of insults over a beat.
This guide covers the craft from start to finish: choosing a target and an angle, structuring the track, writing punchlines that land, picking a beat and tempo, and recording it. It also shows how to do it with AI: the free Diss Track Generator writes the bars, and SongUp AI can turn them into a finished track with a beat and a rapped vocal.
How to make a diss track, in short
- Pick the target and one real reason: what they did, what they always do, what they said.
- Collect five or six true details. Specific beats savage.
- Write a short hook with their nickname in it, and repeat it word for word.
- Write 16 bars per verse: set up in the first half of each bar, punch on the last word.
- Choose a beat (boom bap 85–95 BPM, trap or drill around 140) and record, or let AI rap it.
Short on time? Type the target and the details into the Diss Track Generator and get 16 bars and a hook in seconds, free.
Roast or beef: decide what kind of diss you are making
Every diss track is one of three things, and the choice changes every line you write.
| Type | Who it is for | Tone | Where it gets played |
|---|
| Roast | A friend, sibling, roommate, teammate who is in on it | Funny, affectionate under the jokes | Birthdays, group chats, parties, TikTok |
| Battle verse | An opponent in a rap battle or a cypher | Confident, technical, crowd-focused | Battles, open mics, online battle rounds |
| Beef | A rival you actually have a problem with | Cold, serious, aimed | Your own channel, with care (see the legal section) |
Most diss tracks people make for fun are roasts. A roast works when the target laughs too, so it needs one thing the others don't: a little affection. A beef track can be colder, but it carries more risk, especially if the person isn't a public figure who chose a rap career.
Step 1: Find the angle, not the insult
Generic insults ("you're fake", "you're trash") are what everyone writes first and nobody remembers. The angle is the one thing about this person that the whole room recognises.
Write down five or six details before you write a single bar:
- What they always do. Always late. Never pays for food. Leaves everyone on read.
- What they say. Their catchphrase, their excuse, the thing they claim.
- What they owe. Money, a hoodie, a favour, an apology.
- What they are proud of. The car, the gym streak, the gaming rank. Pride is the best thing to flip.
- One story. The night it all went wrong, told in one line.
Then pick the angle that ties most of them together. "My cousin thinks he's a fashion icon but he's wearing my clothes" is an angle. Every bar can hang off it.
Step 2: Learn the structure of a diss track
A diss track uses the same structure as most rap songs, just pointed at one person.
| Section | Length | Job |
|---|
| Intro | 2–4 lines, or a spoken line | Call them out by nickname. Set the scene. |
| Verse 1 | 16 bars | The main charge, with the strongest details. |
| Hook | 4–8 lines, repeated | The chant. Short, catchy, their name in it. |
| Verse 2 | 16 bars (or 8) | Escalate: the story, the receipts, the flip. |
| Hook | Same words as before | Let the crowd join in. |
| Outro | 2–4 lines | The last word, often a callback to the intro. |
A bar is one measure of music: four beats. In rap writing, one bar is usually one line of lyrics. A 16-bar verse is 64 beats, which is about 43 seconds at 90 BPM and about 27 seconds at 140 BPM. That is why a two-verse diss track usually lands between two and three minutes.
If you're new to bars and syllables, the rap lyrics guide goes deeper into counting syllables per bar and building a flow.
Step 3: Write the hook first
The hook is what people repeat after the track ends, so write it before the verses. A diss hook has three jobs:
- Name the target, or their nickname, so nobody wonders who it is about.
- Carry the angle in one line.
- Be easy to chant. Short words, a strong rhythm, repeated phrases.
An example built on the "always late" angle:
Where you at, Danny? (Where you at?)
Said you're five minutes out since half past nine,
Where you at, Danny? (Where you at?)
Got a watch on your wrist but you never got time.
Two lines repeat word for word, and the call-and-response "(Where you at?)" gives the room something to shout. Keep the hook identical every time it comes back; changing it weakens the chant.
Step 4: Write punchlines that land
A punchline is a bar where the last word turns everything before it into a joke or a hit. The structure is almost always setup, then punch: the first half of the bar sets an expectation, the last word breaks it.
Put the punch on the last word
The listener's ear waits for the rhyme at the end of the bar, so that is where the hardest word goes. Compare:
- Weak: "You're so broke, you always ask me for money."
- Strong: "You split the bill so slow, the waiter got a pension."
Flip their own words
Quote the thing they always say, then turn it against them in the next bar. It's the oldest move in battle rap because it works:
You keep saying "I'm the realest in the city",
but your photos all got filters and your followers are fifty.
Use receipts
One true, specific detail beats ten insults. "You still owe me forty dollars from July" will get a bigger reaction than any adjective, because everyone listening knows it's true.
Rhyme more than one syllable
Single rhymes (late / wait) are fine. Multisyllabic rhymes, where two or three syllables rhyme in a row, sound sharper and more skilled:
You borrowed my hoodie, my grey one, my blue,
I open my closet, the closet is you.
"Closet is you" echoes the rhythm and vowel sounds of "grey one, my blue", and the image (the whole wardrobe is now at his house) carries the joke.
Call back
Plant a detail in verse one, then bring it back in verse two or the outro with a twist. Callbacks make a track feel written, not improvised.
Step 5: Choose the beat and tempo
The beat sets the attitude before a word is said.
| Style | Typical tempo | Feel | Good for |
|---|
| Boom bap | 85–95 BPM | Dusty drums, sampled loops | Battle verses, wordplay, classic diss |
| Trap | 130–150 BPM (half-time feel) | 808s, fast hi-hats | Hype roasts, aggressive beef |
| UK drill | 140–145 BPM | Sliding 808s, dark piano | Cold, measured disses |
| Grime | about 140 BPM | Square-wave synths, fast bars | Rapid-fire roasts |
| Upbeat hip hop | 95–105 BPM | Bouncy, bright | Office parties, clean family roasts |
Need a beat? Describe one to the AI Beat Maker ("dark trap beat at 140 BPM, sliding 808s, rapid hi-hats, no vocals"), or build one by hand in the free Beat Maker. The Tap Tempo tool tells you the BPM of a beat you already have.
Step 6: Record it, or let AI rap it
You have two ways to turn the lyrics into a track.
Record it yourself. Rap over the beat into any microphone; the free Voice Recorder saves takes as MP3 or WAV right in the browser. Record the whole verse several times and keep the best take. Turn off voice clean-up for rap vocals so the recorder doesn't filter your voice. The home vocal recording guide covers mic placement and the room.
Let AI rap it. In the Diss Track Generator, press Hear it sung with AI and the lyrics open in the SongUp AI studio. Describe the beat and the voice ("hard trap at 140 BPM, confident male rapper, chanted hook") and SongUp AI makes the full track: beat, rapped vocal and hook, composed fresh from your words. That composed song is part of Pro, or one song on its own for $2.99 with no subscription.
How to make a diss track with AI, step by step
- Open the Diss Track Generator. It is set up for a diss: rap structure (16 bars and a hook), multisyllabic rhymes, and every bar said straight "to you".
- In the box, write who it's for and two or three true details. "My roommate Josh, eats my leftovers, labels his own milk, says he's 'meal prepping'."
- Pick the mood: Funny for a roast, Confident for a battle verse, Angry or Dark for a beef track.
- Under More options, add their nickname or catchphrase in Words to include, and pick a language if it isn't English.
- Press Write my lyrics. Keep the bars that land and press Rewrite on any section that doesn't; each section can be redone on its own. Click the last word of a line to see rhymes for it.
- Press Hear it sung with AI to make the full track in the studio.
Writing the lyrics is free with a SongUp AI account, up to 15 sets a day. The generator writes clean lyrics only and never names real artists or celebrities, which keeps the track safe to share.
Keep it clean and keep it legal
Diss tracks between famous rappers are public figures trading blows in public. A diss track about your neighbour is different. A few rules keep a roast fun and keep you out of trouble:
- Make sure the target is in on it. A roast for a friend's birthday is a gift. The same bars about a classmate who didn't ask for it can be bullying.
- Use a nickname, not a full name, especially if you post it.
- Stick to things that are true or obviously exaggerated jokes. Stating a damaging false fact about a real person as if it were true can be defamation, even in a song.
- No slurs, no threats, nothing about someone's body, race, religion or sexuality. Platforms take those tracks down, and they aren't funny anyway.
- Check the rules of the place it is played. Schools and workplaces have their own policies on harassment.
A short history of the diss track
Answering a rival on record is as old as hip-hop. In 1984, UTFO's "Roxanne, Roxanne" drew an answer record from a 14-year-old Roxanne Shanté, "Roxanne's Revenge", and dozens of answer songs followed in what became known as the Roxanne Wars. The Bridge Wars between Boogie Down Productions and the Juice Crew came next, then the bitter rivalries of the 1990s, and in 2001 Jay-Z's "Takeover" and Nas's "Ether" turned a feud into one of the most studied exchanges in rap.
The form has never been bigger than it is now. In 2024 Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us", a diss track, became a number-one hit, and in 2025 it won the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. What every famous diss shares is the same thing this guide is about: specific detail, wordplay, and a hook the whole crowd knows.
Frequently asked questions about diss tracks
What is a diss track?
A diss track is a rap song written to criticise, mock or answer one person, usually by name or nickname. It can be a friendly roast, a battle verse or a serious response in a rivalry.
How long should a diss track be?
Two to three minutes: an intro, two verses of 16 bars (or one 16 and one 8), a hook that repeats, and a short outro. A 16-bar verse lasts about 27 seconds at 140 BPM and about 43 seconds at 90 BPM.
How do I make a diss track for free?
Write the lyrics with the free Diss Track Generator (15 sets of lyrics a day with a free account), find or make a beat, and record yourself rapping over it with the free Voice Recorder. For an AI-rapped version with a beat made from your lyrics, you need Pro or a $2.99 single song.
What should I say in a diss track?
True, specific details about the person: what they always do, what they say, what they owe, what they're proud of. Build each bar so the punch lands on the last word, and flip their own words against them.
Can I make a diss track about a real rapper or celebrity?
You can write one yourself, as rappers do about each other. SongUp AI's generator doesn't name real artists or famous people, so it is built for roasts of friends, rivals and battle opponents.
Can a diss track get you in trouble?
It can, if it states false facts about a real person as true (defamation), threatens someone, or harasses someone who didn't agree to it. Keep it to friends who are in on the joke, use nicknames, and keep it clean.
What beat should I use for a diss track?
Boom bap at 85–95 BPM for wordplay and battle verses, trap or UK drill around 140 BPM for an aggressive track, and something bouncy around 100 BPM for a clean, funny roast.
Can AI make a diss track with vocals?
Yes. Write or paste the lyrics, then describe the beat and the voice in the SongUp AI studio, and it composes the full track with a rapped vocal. That is part of Pro, or $2.99 for one song.
The bottom line
A diss track wins on detail, not on volume. Pick one angle, collect the receipts, write the hook first, and put every punch on the last word of the bar. If you want a head start, the Diss Track Generator writes the first draft in seconds, and the AI Rap Generator has prompts for every other kind of rap song.
