"Second Round K.O." is a single from rapper

Canibus Germaine Williams (born December 9, 1974), better known by his stage name Canibus, is a Jamaican-American rapper. First having gained recognition for his freestyling abilities, he signed with Universal Records to release his debut studio al ...

' debut album, ''

Can-I-Bus ''Can-I-Bus'' is the debut album by American rapper Canibus, released on September 8, 1998, through Universal Records. The album was released after the rapper's success with his LL Cool J diss track, " Second Round K.O.", which was included on ' ...

''. The song was produced by

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

and his cousin Jerry Wonder and features spoken vocals from boxer

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

. The song became Canibus's only top 40 single, peaking at number 28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

"Second Round K.O." is a diss track by Canibus directed at

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

. The feud had started after Canibus' appearance on LL's " 4, 3, 2, 1". Canibus' original verse contained the lyrics "L, is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that", which LL took offense to. LL responded by writing an indirect diss towards Canibus on the same song. Prior to the song's release, LL approached Canibus and told him that if he wanted to remain on the song, he would have to change his lines, to which Canibus agreed, however, LL kept his original verse. When Canibus' original verse leaked, a feud started between the two rappers. LL suggested the two make a song together to squash the beef after he was done filming ''

Any Given Sunday ''Any Given Sunday'' is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone and produced by Clayton Townsend, Dan Halsted, and Lauren Shuler Donner from a screenplay by Stone and John Logan based on a story written by Logan and Da ...

'', Canibus, however, recorded and released "Second Round K.O." instead. LL would respond with "The Ripper Strikes Back" and "Back Where I Belong" and even thanked Canibus in the liner notes of his album '' G.O.A.T.'' for "inspiration". In the song, Canibus says "the greatest rapper of all time died on March 9.", in reference to

the Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

, who died on March 9, 1997. Canibus followed up his diss 1 year later, with a record entitled "Rip the Jacker", over a polished remake of the beat from LL Cool J's "I'm Bad".

Track listings

;CD single #"Second Round K.O." (LP Version) - 4:02 #"Second Round K.O." (Clean) - 4:02 #"Second Round K.O." (Instrumental) - 3:53 #"How We Roll" (LP version) - 4:17 #"How We Roll" (Clean) - 4:18 ;12" single Side A #"Second Round K.O." (Main) - 4:02 #"Second Round K.O." (Album version) - 4:02 Side B #"How We Roll" (Main version) - 4:17 #"How We Roll" (Clean) - 4:18

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References