I’m outspoken; my language is broken into a slang,
But it’s just a dialect that I select when I hang.
Special Ed, “I Got It Made,” Youngest in Charge, 1989. More from Special Ed…
Having that gang war?
We want to know what you’re fighting for.
Fighting over colors?
All that gang shit’s for dumb motherfuckers.
But you go on thinking you’re hard…
Come to New York and we’ll see who gets robbed.
Take your jheri curls, take your black hats,
Take your wack lyrics and your bullshit tracks.
Now you’re mad and you’re thinking about stomping?
Well I’m from the South Bronx…Fuck Compton.
Tim Dog, “Fuck Compton,” Penicillin on Wax, 1991.
Now who in the world do you want to fight?
It’s against the system, we should unite.
Homophobics ain’t alright;
If you learn to love, then you might love life.
Ad Rock, “Alive,” Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science, 1999
Another day, another burial,
Got you wondering ’bout the day when they bury you.
Tear drops stain the Wally’s that you rockin’,
On the block, candles burn, guns poppin’.
Tek, “Memorial,” from Cocoa Brovaz’ (aka Smif N Wessun) The Rude Awakening, 1998.
Never was hot, never was Pop,
But I never, ever stopped that real Hip Hop.
Got no paparazzi, got no company that got me;
Walking alone in the ‘hood, so it’s easy to spot me.
Chuck D, “Everything,” from Public Enemy’s The Evil Empire of Everything, 2012. More from Chuck D…
Microphone checka, swingin’ sword lecture,
Closin’ down the sector, supreme neck protector.
Better warn ‘em kid…Mr. Meth’s a boiling pot
About to blow his lid from the pressure.
Method Man, “Da Rockwilder,” from Method Man & Redman’s Blackout!, 1999. More from Mef… (via 90shiphopraprnb)
Whoever underestimated, still waited,
Pumping the radio, finally they played it.
You wondered how come the album was late?
I was giving you time to get the last one straight.
Rakim, “The R,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Follow the Leader, 1988. More from Rakim Allah >
You tremble for my treble,
You’re begging for the bass.
The voice is too vicious,
The same as the pace.
Queen Latifah, “Wrath of My Madness,” All Hail the Queen, 1989
Now hear this mixture: where Hip Hop meets scripture,
Develop a negative into a positive picture.
Lauryn Hill, “Everything is Everything,” The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998. More from Ms. Hill >
I rub your face off the Earth and curse your family children,
Like Amityville; I drill the nerves in your cavity filling.
Insanity’s building a pavilion in my civilian
The cannon be the anarchy that humanity’s dealin’.
A villain without remorse who’s willing to out your boss
Forever…and take all the cheddar like child support.
Big Pun, “Twinz (Deep Cover ‘98),” Capital Punishment, 1998. More from Pun…
Life’s a bitch and then you die.
That’s why we get high,
Cause you never know when you’re gonna go.
AZ, “Life’s a Bitch,” Illmatic, 1994. More from AZ…
You good one minute, psycho the next,
No longer lettin’ it ride…too much Jekyll and Hyde.
Then you subtweet some weeks, busy settin’ your pride.
I’m grown, don’t really need that sort of mess in my life.
Joe Budden, “Playing Our Part,” All Love Lost, 2015.
It’s the message in the song that makes you rock on,
Some people go to places where they don’t belong.
Whether wrong or right, a lot of people fight,
But I’m here to bless this mic, aight?
Guru, “What I’m Here 4,” from Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth, 1998. More from Guru…
Before you try to fuck with Ren,
I’ll put two in your ass and you’ll be shittin’ a size 10.
MC Ren, “Real Niggaz,” from N.W.A.’s 100 Miles and Runnin’, 1990.
In my heart, though, I do believe:
If you put out more love than you receive,
It’s bound to come back around, eventually.
Masta Ace, “Glory,” from Marco Polo’s PA2: The Director’s Cut, 2013. More lyrics from Ace >
I bake your ass like a cake and all y’all flakes get frosted.
Kool G. Rap, “Death Threat,” from Brand New Heavies’ Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol 1, 1992. More from the Kool Genius of Rap >
Me? I got no jewels on my neck.
Why? I don’t need ‘em, I got your respect.
KRS-One, “Classic (Better Than I’ve Ever Been),” 2007. More from The Blastmaster…
No sheep clothing,
I wear wolf;
Howl at the moon.
Ka, “Day 93,” from Ka and Preservation’s Days with Dr. Yen Lo, 2015. More from Ka…
Cool…cause I don’t get upset,
I kick a hole in the speaker, pull the plug, then I jet.
Rakim, “Microphone Fiend,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Follow the Leader, 1988. More from The R…
The moral of the story is: Keep your mouth shut.
Cause everybody’s listenin’; speak and you fucked up.
I tell you like them old cats say:
Get what you get, and get your ass out the way.
Cause greed’ll get you 35 tight,
You 27…that’s the rest of your life, right?
Scarface, “Rooted,” Deeply Rooted, 2015. More from ‘Face…
Before I lay my head down to rest,
I roll up a nickel sack of cess to relieve the stress.
Steele, “Wontime,” from Smif-N-Wessun’s Dah Shinin’, 1995
Brothers ain’t shit,
So don’t honk your horn, keep rolling.
No, I don’t wanna ride cause the shit might be stolen.
Anyway, I know your number:
You got a ‘Gas, Grass or Ass’ sticker on your bumper.
Roxanne Shante, “Brothers Ain’t Shit,” The Bitch is Back, 1992. Hear this song and other rap quotables on the RapQuote Mixcloud.
Platinum don’t mean shit
When you’re perpetrating someone else’s life,
And they life ain’t legit.
MF Grimm, “Do It for the Kids,” 12″, 1998. More words of wisdom from MF Grimm…
You know how it go when you got no dough:
Niggas goin out to party and you got no clothes.
And when you do get clothes, then you can’t go out
That’s the bullshit I’m talkin’ about.
Sean Price, “Mess You Made,” Jesus Price Supastar, 2007. More from Sean Price
Nah baby, I’m not gonna be able to do it,
I tried to take you serious before, and you blew it.
You figured you was slick, dissin me for the next man,
But when you heard he had a wife, it ruined your plans.
Now you wanna come back and act like it’s all that?
But I ain’t tryin to hear it, cause you sound real wack.
You got it over the first time, but that was the last time;
I’ll never make the same mistake again in a lifetime.
Sugar Ray, “Not Gonna Be Able To Do It,” from Double XX Posse’s Put Ya Boots On, 1992
Everybody want to talk about who this and who that,
Who the realest and who wack, or who white or who black.
Critics want to mention that they miss when hip hop was rappin’…
Motherfucker, if you did, then Killer Mike’d be platinum.
Kendrick Lamar, “Hood Politics,” To Pimp a Butterfly, 2015. More from Kendrick…
I never had real friends ‘til now…
I never had to steal ends cause that’s foul.
I walk the streets with the baseball bat feelin’ secure,
But I try not to incite fights–that’s immature.
Del the Funky Homosapien, “Eye Examination,” from the Dr. Bombay 12″, 1992. More from D-E-L…
You won’t get a harvest if you don’t sow seeds,
Ill-gained wealth brings stress from dirty deeds.
The choices that you make will fulfill your needs,
But the shit you go through will be hard to believe.
Grap Luva, “Step Up,” from I.N.I.’s Center of Attention, 2003
I mastered The Art of War before a nigga read Sun Tzu,
Third degree black-belt, master of Gun-Fu.
Pop pills, smoke weed, even get drunk too;
And you do what you can, and I do what I want to.
Sean Price, “Like You,” Jesus Price Supastar, 2007. R.I.P! More from P!
Dutch in my ear, Olde E in my palm,
I Freddy Krueger your face, Michael Myers your moms.
You botherin mine? That’s when I’m sparkin the nine.
Sean Price, “King Kong,” Jesus Price Supastar, 2007. R.I.P!
You can tell by the rhyme it’s my time to shine;
Let’s eat, motherfucker, I don’t dine on swine.
I don’t beef with turkeys, I told you the God’ll fold you,
Hard to digest: I suggest that you take tofu.
Sean Price, “Like You,” Jesus Price Supastar, 2007. R.I.P!
Wake up: all of that ‘crack in the street’ talk?
It’s made up, like ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’
Sean Price, “Pyrex,” Mic Tyson, 2012. R.I.P!
I don’t like thugs, I don’t like nerds,
I don’t like myself and I hate bein’ disturbed.
Sean Price, “Critically Acclaimed,” from Statik Selektah’s 100 Proof (The Hangover), 2010. R.I.P!
Ayo, the arm bone connected to the hand bone,
Nigga, the hand bone connected to the damn chrome!
Sean P, “Don’t You Cross the Line,” from Boot Camp Clik’s The Last Stand, 2006. R.I.P!
Ain’t no tellin’ what I’d do for a dollar…
I’m not your father, but guess what I’mma do to ya mama.
Sean P, “Murder,” from DJ JS-1’s No Sellout, 2009. R.I.P!
Niggas’ rap albums sound like love letters,
Pen in my hand, like: damn, fam, I could do much better.
Sean Price, “Chewbacca,” from Random Axe, 2011. R.I.P!
Gangsta rappers can’t fight, so they rap about guns.
Sean Price, “Onion Head,” Monkey Barz, 2005. R.I.P!
Somebody somewhere be saying some shit about you,
And that something be some bullshit when they know it ain’t true.
Quelle Chris, “The Ones to Watch,” Innocent Country, 2015
Now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian,
And now the world around me be gets movin in slow motion
Whenever she happens to walk by, why does the apple of my eye
Overlook and disregard my feelings no matter how much I try?
Fat Lip, “Passin’ Me By,” from The Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, 1992
Let me break it down for you again,
You know I only say it because I’m truly genuine:
Don’t be a hard rock when you really are a gem.
Lauryn Hill, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998
They say the taste of revenge is sweet.
Well, let me see…
Prepare the table for a feast, take a seat, now let’s eat.
Raekwon, “Return of the Savage,” from Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge’s Twelve Reasons to Die II, 2015. More from Raekwon the Chef >
The way mothers feel for they sons, how fathers feel for they daughters;
When he date, he straight, chip off his own papa.
When she date, we wait behind the door with the sawed off,
Cause we think no one is good enough for our daughters.
Nas, “Daughters,” Life is Good, 2012. More from Nas…
I was a dreamer, life was a gamble;
Born in a casino, but God never give burdens you can’t handle.
Music is my ammo…I’m ready for battle.
K’naan, “Better,” Country, God, or the Girl, 2012
My style is strong like hard lumber;
Cute chicks get the dick,
Ugly bitches get the wrong number.
Big L, “Who Shot Ya Freestyle,” from Tim Westwood’s radio show, 1997. More from Harlem’s finest…
Don’t mourn me when I’m gone, celebrate my travels;
Whenever you need me, just take a plane to the astral zones.
Joey BADA$$, “On and On,” B4.DA.$$, 2015.
I never gave a rat’s ass or a flyin’ fuck…
Drivin’ drunk in a fire truck with the siren stuck,
Slammin’ the brakes, skiddin’ out cause the tires suck.
Went to pull you off my dick and got the pliers stuck.
You better run, cause I’m probably the only one
Crazy enough to shoot your ass with a knife and stab you with a gun.
Eminem, “5 Star Generals,” from Shabaam Sahdeeq’s Sound Clash / 5 Star Generals 12″, 1998. More from Em…
You tried keeping it real, but you should try keeping it right.
Posdnuos, “The Bizness,” from De La Soul’s Stakes Is High, 1996. More from De La…
I give you life decoded,
Nicely quoted.
Ka, “Day 110,” from Ka and Preservation’s Days with Dr. Yen Lo, 2015. More from Ka…
A simple right or left
Can mean life or death.
Epic fail, or nice success,
Days of pleasure…nights of stress.
Ka, “Decisions,” Grief Pedigree, 2012. More from Brownsville’s Ka >
A friend with weed is a friend indeed,
Word to the stem, word to the seed.
Tony D, “Higher,” from Crusaders for Real Hip-Hop’s Déja Vu – It’s ‘82, 1992.