I ain’t the captain of the yacht, but I’m on the boat;
I ain’t acting what I’m not, knowing that I don’t.
You niggaz acting like you will, but I know you won’t.
Man, I read between the lines of the eyes of your brows,
Your handshake ain’t matchin your smile…

Beanie Sigel, “Feel it in the Air,” The B. Coming, 2005

You a white boy in a fuckin’ droptop,
Bumpin’ 2Pac, actin’ like you hard? Stop.
Hip-hop music make the world go round,
But buying a record don’t put you down.
You listen to thugs, it don’t make you one;
Never met a Blood or Crip, but you act like one?

Mystic, “Pull Ya Card,” from Da Beatminerz’ Fully Loaded w/Statik, 2004.

You see, if you ever wanted to ever be anything,
There’d always be somebody that shoot down any dream.
There’ll always be haters, that’s the way it is:
Hater niggas marry hater bitches, and have hater kids.

Kanye West, “Bring Me Down,” Late Registration, 2005. More gems from ‘Ye

Different day, same shit, ain’t nothing good in the hood,
I’d run away from this bitch and never come back, if I could.

50 Cent, “Hate It or Love It,” from The Game’s The Documentary, 2005. More lyrics from 50…

Through the fame, through the fire and the flames,
I adapt to the pain, real niggas do the same.
And though we homies and we no longer hang
You know you know me, and that love still remains.

AZ, “Never Change,” A.W.O.L., 2005

Cocaine trafficking, your boy’s back again,
Moving bricks like I got a degree in scaffolding.
Fucking with some cats from Newark…half of them Jewish,
Cool white boys riding around, blasting my music,
And I’m taxin’ them like Jackson-Hewitt.

Ghostface Killah, “Cocaine Trafficking,” Put it on the Line, 2005. More quotes from Ghostface Killah…

Let’s pretend we’re both guns, and make this shit erratic:
I’ll be the revolver, you can play the automatic.
Automatic flip scripts, revolver show loyalty.
Each gun is die-able, but only one’s reliable.
You shoot fast, but in the end you jam,
Then I click back, and turn your brains into spam.

MF Grimm, “Crumb Snatchers,” Scars & Memories, 2005

You used to be fly, but you crashed your plane.

One Be Lo, “Used 2 Be Fly,” S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M., 2005

Trapped on a planet of pain and perpetrators
That you call ‘Earth,’ but I call ‘Hell’s Equator.’

MF Grimm, “Emotions,” Scars & Memories, 2005

Food for thought, eat my words with your mind:
Emcees are grapes, and grapes are crushed to wine.

MF Grimm, “Do It for the Kids,” 12", 1998

I ain’t the captain of the yacht, but I’m on the boat;
I ain’t acting what I’m not, knowing that I don’t.
You niggaz acting like you will, but I know you won’t.
Man, I read between the lines of the eyes of your brows,
Your handshake ain’t matchin your smile…

Beanie Sigel, “Feel it in the Air,” The B. Coming, 2005

I wonder if these wack niggas realize they wack,
And they the reason that my people say they tired of rap.

Common, “Chi-City,” Be, 2005

Whether chocolate or vanilla, or you’re somewhere in between,
A cappuccino mocha or a caramel queen,
Rejected by the black, not accepted by the white world,
And this is dedicated to them dark-skinned white girls.

Murs, “D.S.W.G.,” Murray’s Revenge, 2005

Never looking back or too far in front of me,
The present is a gift, and I just want to Be.

Common, “Be,” Be, 2005

Your new CD is a weed plate, nothin’ but love songs,
100% pure garbage, just something to break up buds on.

Jadakiss, “Checkmate,” 12", 2005

Battling me is some deadly shit,
So come equipped with rhymes, guns and two extra clips.
Aim for the head, ‘cause you don’t wear a vest there,
Bullet makes a window, your brain needing fresh air.

MF Grimm, “Emotions,” Scars & Memories, 2005

Scared of a bunch of water? Then get out the rain.
Order a rapper for lunch, and spit out the chain.

MF Doom, “Sofa King,” from Danger Doom’s The Mouse and the Mask, 2005

I’m Ready to Die without a Reasonable Doubt
Smoke Chronic and hit it Doggystyle before I go out.
Until they sign my Death Certificate, All Eyez on Me
I’m still at it, Illmatic, and that’s The Documentary.

The Game, “The Documentary,” The Documentary, 2005

You pout like a trout in a drought…can’t get out.
You want to scream, but fish can’t shout.

MF Grimm, “King of New York,” Scars & Memories, 2005

Golly, he’s just a pest and your worst best friend,
Who mend and rip space-time fabric like polyester blend.

MF Doom, “Biochemical Equation,” from Wu-Tang Meets Indie Culture, 2005

So many programs you watch on the sofa,
But the real program sit on top of your shoulders.

One Be Lo., “Propaganda,” S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M., 2005 (via emaciatedwildebeest)

Lessons cut short to prep for tests that only test how well you prep.
…Man, no wonder why the score’s a mess.

J-Live, “Brooklyn Public Part 1,” The Hear After, 2005

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)

So when the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never,
Because the dance with the devil might last you forever.

Immortal Technique, “Dance with the Devil,” Revolutionary Vol. 1, 2005

Gangsta rappers can’t fight, so they rap about guns.

Sean Price, “Onion Head,” Monkey Barz, 2005

You only get honest expression when I spit in your ear;
That means even when I’m dissing you I’m being sincere.

One Be Lo, “Enecs Eht No Kcab,” S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M., 2005 

I’m not a ‘Businessman,’ I’m a Business… man! Let me handle my business, damn!

Jay-Z, “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix),” from Kanye West’s Late Registration, 2005

Too bad your inner sheep never forgets to follow…

Aesop Rock, “Fast Cars,” Fast Cars, Danger, Fire & Knives, 2005

Let’s pretend we’re both guns, and make this shit erratic:
I’ll be the revolver, you can play the automatic.
Automatic flip scripts, revolver show loyalty.
Each gun is die-able, but only one’s reliable.
You shoot fast, but in the end you jam,
Then I click back, and turn your brains into spam.

MF Grimm, “Crumb Snatchers,” Scars & Memories, 2005

I cause disasters, I am the master,
Turning little bastards into fucking Casper.
So put your name on a tombstone…
Cause when you try to kill me, I refuse to die alone.

MF Grimm, “Crumbsnatchers,” Scars & Memories, 2005. More grim quotes from Grimm…

Gangsta rappers can’t fight, so they rap about guns.

Sean Price, “Onion Head,” Monkey Barz, 2005. R.I.P!