Get burnt like a candle, very hard to handle,
Do miracles in Nikes like Jesus did in sandals.
MF Grimm, “Take ‘Em To War,” Scars & Memories, 2005 (Probably first recorded in 1995)
My Mind on My Money…
Wear this tee while you are rolling down the street, smokin indo, and/or sippin on gin & juice. Or just to work, school, wherever.
Shop NowCall me Charlie Bucket, attitude is fuck it,
No golden ticket so I’m ballin on a budget.
Apathy, “Check to Check,” Honkey Kong, 2011
Eat from the Tree of Life and throw away the verbal ham.
Sadat X, “Show Business,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991
You called me on the phone, saying you were alone,
But that’s a lie because I heard your moms breathing on the phone.
And if you really like me, let your moms know
She should mind her business…before I let go.
K-Solo, “Your Mom’s in My Business,” Tell the World My Name, 1990
Five days you work, one whole day to play
Come on everybody, wear your rollerskates today
It’s Saturday…
De La Soul, “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays,’” De La Soul is Dead, 1991
I hate your fuckin’ guts, and I hope that you die.
Sticky Fingaz’s tha name, and my life is a lie,
Cause I’m havin a bad day, so stay out of my way,
And what the pistol packin’ people say, you better obey!
Sticky Fingaz, “Throw Ya Gunz,” from Onyx’s Bacdafucup, 1993
A lot of crews like to act like a violent mob,
They really need to just shut the fuck up like Silent Bob.
Viktor Vaughn, “Saliva,” Vaudeville Villain, 2003
Let’s test the waters…
Love makes a splash, and you too thick to skinny-dip.
Pusha T, “Lovely,” from John West’s John West, 2011
Got coke from the Contras
Gave crack to the poor.
And the government responds to it:
‘Just Say No.’
Skipp Coon, “4.28.1967, Pt 2,” 2010 (via egotripland)
Ignorance is a poison and knowledge will nourish.
KRS-One, “Word From Our Sponsor,” from Boogie Down Productions’ Criminal Minded, 1987
Whatever you goin’ through, could always be much worse,
Don’t make a mistake, mistakin’ your blessings for a curse.
Joe Budden, “Welcome to Real Life,” Mood Muzik 4: A Turn for the Worst, 2010
These days you can’t see who’s in cahoots
Cause now the KKK wears three-piece suits.
Chuck D., “Rebirth,” from Public Enemy’s Apocalypse ‘91…The Enemy Strikes Black, 1991
The sky is falling, the wind is calling,
Stand for something, or die in the morning.
Kendrick Lamar, “HiiPower,” Section.80, 2011
We love it where we from, but we kick it where we at.
Ladybug Mecca, “It’s Good to Be Here,” from Digable Planets’ Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), 1993
You don’t wanna hear the truth, so I’ma lie to you…make it sound fly to you.
Cee-Lo, “The Experience,” from Goodie Mob’s Still Standing, 1998
What if Manhattan was hit by Hurricane Katrina?
Jadakiss, “What If,” The Last Kiss, 2009
The most beautifullest thing in the world is a .44 Desert Eagle.
Nigga, THAT SHIT IS DIESEL!!
Billy Danze, “Stick To Ya Gunz,” Firing Squad, 1996
…But until then, I’ma shine to the last sin,
Resurrect through the birth of my son, and live again.
Tragedy Khadafi, “T.O.N.Y. (Top of New York)”, from CNN’s The War Report, 1997
And when we holdin’ a Tec, we put a hole in your neck.
Equippin’ you with a permanent T-Pain vocal effect.
Celph Titled, “Eraserheads,” Nineteen Ninety Now, 2010
My experience oughta learn ya:
That if a nigga ain’t trying to smoke ya, a bitch trying to burn ya.
DJ Quik, “Trust No Bitch,” from Penthouse Players Clique’s Paid the Cost, 1992
I got a smile that’ll make the mirror crack,
And I seem to stay under clouds that’s pitch black.
So when it rains, it pours, and when it pours, I’m soaked.
I contracted lung cancer from third hand smoke,
And I’m like the frog that’s dying to be a prince,
The boy who cried wolf and no one was convinced.
The man who hit lotto and lost his ticket,
In a rainstorm…and struck by lightning trying to get it.
GZA, “Life Is a Movie,” Pro Tools, 2008
I dribble rhymes like basketball…
People call me ‘E.T.’
What’s that, Shaq man?
‘Extra Tall.’
Shaquille O’Neal, “I Know I Got Skillz,” Shaq Diesel, 1993
You need to sweat yourself. Don’t sweat nobody else.
Busta Rhymes, “A Quarter to Cutthroat,” from Leaders of the New School’s The Inner Mind’s Eye (T.I.M.E.), 1993
My father always told me to wisen up, son.
Cause if you hung with nine broke friends, you’re bound to be the tenth one.
Parrish Smith, “It Wasn’t Me, It Was the Fame,” from EPMD’s Unfinished Business, 1989
He doesn’t even suit ya, and he’s surely not your size,
I’m surprised that you slept on a heart that’s worldwide.
Slim Kid Tre, “Otha Fish,” from The Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, 1992
Starstruck with one buck, your girl look like Donald Duck.
Dr. Dooom, “You Live at Home with Your Mom,” First Come First Served, 1999
Unemployment at a record high.
People coming, people going, people born to die.
Don’t ask me, because I don’t know why,
But it’s like that, and that’s the way it is.
Run, “It’s Like That,” from Run-D.M.C., 1984
I called every day to see how she was doin,
Every time that I called her, it seemed somethin was brewin.
I called her on my dime, picked up, and then I called again,
I said, ‘Yo, who was that?’
‘Oh, he’s just a friend.’
Biz Markie, “Just a Friend,” The Biz Never Sleeps, 1990
I bathe in basslines, rinse in riffs, dry in drums
Common, “Resurrection,” Resurrection, 1994
I’m a addict for sneakers, twenties of buddah and bitches with beepers.
Nas, “N.Y. State of Mind,” Illmatic, 1994
I don’t mind you talkin shit, just keep it in the first person.
El-P, “89.9 Detrimental”, from Company Flow’s Funcrusher Plus, 1997
I said, ‘Hey’, she said, ‘Hi.’
I said, ‘Us’, she said, ‘Try,’
‘And if you’re thinkin strictly boots, then I’ll say baby, bye bye.’
Dres, “Similac Child,” from Black Sheep’s A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, 1991
I get imaginative with a mouth full of adjectives,
A brain full of adverbs, and a box full of laxatives,
Shittin’ on rappers, causin’ hospital accidents.
Eminem, “Still Don’t Give a Fuck,” The Slim Shady LP, 1999
No static, got an automatic,
Too much of anything makes you an addict…
Greg Nice, “Sometimes I Rhyme Slow,” from Nice & Smooth’s Ain’t a Damn Thing Changed, 1991
Y’all place value on your wheels and your automobiles,
And never acknowledge your children’s diminishing skills,
Or that they continue to fill all the prisons they build.
Skipp Coon, “4.28.1967, Pt. 2,” Sophomore Slump Vol. 1: Independents Day EP, 2010
Large Professor, none greater none fresher,
Won’t fold under pressure…grew up down the road from Fran Drescher.
Large Professor, “Key to the City,” Professor at Large, 2011
I’m even lethal when I’m unarmed…
‘Cause I’m louder than a bomb.
Chuck D., “Louder Than a Bomb,” from Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, 1988
Oh lord, get on my skateboard and do a motherfuckin driveby.
Buckshot Shorty, “Powaful Impak!” Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage, 1993
I’m just an addict, addicted to music
Maybe it’s a habit…I gotta use it.
Rakim, “I Ain’t No Joke,” from Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid in Full, 1987
And I’m telling you now the frustration
The future’s facing from the anger in the nation.
CL Smooth, “Anger in the Nation,” Mecca and the Soul Brother, 1992
“I’m just an addict, addicted to music/Maybe it’s a habit…I gotta use it.”- Rakim, “I Ain’t No Joke,” Paid In Full, 1987. Via Ego Trip’s excellent Behind the Video piece.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Your simple words just don’t move me…
You’re minor, we major.
You all up in the game and don’t deserve to be a player.
Prodigy, “Shook Ones Pt II,” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995
These ante meridiem cats, insomniacs…
Four in the mornin’ we throwin back some Cognac juice.
Prodigy, “Give It Up Fast,” from Mobb Deep’s Hell On Earth, 1996
I used to be in love with this bitch named E&J,
Don’t fuck with her no more, now I fuck with Tanqueray.
Tanqueray introduced me to her first cousin Gold,
Last name was English and the first name Olde.
Prodigy, “Drink Away the Pain (Situations),” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995
You not cut from the same cloth, you chinchilla soft,
I’m Brillo Pad coarse…take your skin off.
You rub me the wrong way,
You a suit and tie nigga…P hoodie all day.
Prodigy, “The Life,” H.N.I.C. 2, 2013
Take these words home and think it through;
Or the next rhyme I write might be about you.
Prodigy, “Shook Ones, Pt II”, from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995
I got lots of love for my crew, that is;
No love for them other crews and rival kids.
All them out-of-town niggas know what time it is,
And if they don’t? They need to buy a watch, word up.
Prodigy, “Just Step,” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995. More from Mobb Deep.
Havin’ cash is highly addictive, especially when you’re used to havin’ money to live with.
Prodigy, “Give Up the Goods (Just Step),” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995. More quotes from QB’s finest…
Life is a gamble, we scramble for money,
I might crack a smile, but ain’t a damn thing funny.
Prodigy, “Eye for an Eye (Your Beef Is Mines),” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995. More gems from P >