And through our travels we get separated, never forget:
In order to survive, got to learn to live with regrets.
Jay Z, “Regrets,” Reasonable Doubt, 1996
Posts Tagged With: brooklyn
The Nets’ a stone throw from where I used to throw bricks
…So it’s only right I’m still tossing ‘round Knicks.
Jay Z, “Seen It All,” from Jeezy’s Seen It All, 2014
You named them: hustlers, killers, fiends, ex-cons.
I called them: cousins, aunts, pops, moms.
To you? Hoodlums, crackheads, gunmens.
To me? Just neighbors, classmates, young friends.
Ka, “To Hull and Back,” 1200 B.C. EP, 2014. More bars from Ka…
I’m a cold winter morning, y’all Summer’s Eve.
Ka, “Knighthood,” Night’s Gambit, 2013. More from Brownsville’s Ka…
These internet thugs ain’t doin’ a thing,
Got caught with the Google Chrome…now they in the Bing.
Your Old Droog, “Nutty Bars,” Your Old Droog EP, 2014
Why did one straw break the camel’s back?
Here’s the secret:
The million other straws underneath it.
Mos Def, “Mathematics,” Black on Both Sides, 1999. More Mos Def quotables…
Haters wanna ball, let me tighten up my draw string.
Wrong sport, boy, you know you’re as soft as a lacrosse team.
Jay-Z, “They Don’t Love You No More,” from DJ Khaled’s I Changed A Lot, 2014. Another Drake jab from Hov, ha.
Question religion, question it all,
Question existence until them questions are solved.
Jay-Z, “Heaven,” Magna Carta Holy Grail, 2013. More Jay-Z quotes…
Brooklyn: the home of the black and the beautiful.
For a rough rap sound, ain’t a place more suitable.
Guru, “The Place Where We Dwell,” from Gang Starr’s Daily Operation, 1992. More lyrics from Guru…
If you ain’t using all the talents God provided you with
For the betterment of Man, understand,
You ain’t nothing but a waste.
Talib Kweli, “State of Grace,” Gravitas, 2013. More Talib Kweli quotes…
Sorry, Mrs. Drizzy, for so much art talk;
Silly me rappin’ ‘bout shit that I really bought.
While these rappers rap about guns they ain’t shot,
And a bunch of other silly shit that they ain’t got.
Jay-Z, “We Made It,” 2014
Real niggaz represent and don’t die,
Never dead, like I said, all we fuckin’ do is multiply.
Buckshot Shorty, “Black Smif-n-Wessun,” from Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage, 1993. More Black Moon lyrics…
It seems to me like all these people claim to be the victim,
Acting like the whole entire world is out to get them.
Stand up on your own,
And prove that you are grown,
Because the life that you save may be your own.
Lee Majors, “Maybe,” from Da Bush Babees’ Gravity, 1996
Why is the world round?
Why do the suckas bite?
Why do the freaks come out at night?
Why they paint Jesus white?
I sit and wonder why we breakin hip-hop laws,
Doing videos in houses that we know ain’t yours.
Lee Majors, “S.O.S.,” from Da Bush Babees’ Gravity, 1996
On the real, fuck your opinion.
I made it this far, and you broke.
Troy Ave, “Classic Feel,” New York City: The Album, 2013
First I snatched the streets, then I snatched the charts.
First I had they ear, now I have their heart.
Rappers came and went…I’ve been here from the start.
I seen them put it together, watched them take it apart.
Jay-Z, “Never Let Me Down,” from Kanye West’s The College Dropout, 2004
Just ‘cause you got money don’t mean you made it.
Just ’cause you make it, don’t give you the right to be on that fake shit.
Talib Kweli, “Another World,” 12", 1999. More Talib Kweli quotes…
My mind’s my 9, my pen’s my Mac-10.
My target? All you wack niggaz who started rappin’.
The Notorious B.I.G., “Player’s Anthem,” from Junior M.A.F.I.A.’s Conspiracy, 1995. More Biggie quotes…
Niggas out here buyin’ hoes bags n’ shoes,
But couldn’t buy their kid a new coat for school?
Damn.
Troy Ave, “My Grind,” New York City: The Album, 2013
White Jesus in my crock pot,
I mix the shit with some soda.
Now Black Jesus turn water to wine,
…And all I had to do was turn the stove up.
Jay-Z, “The Devil is a Lie,” from Rick Ross’ Mastermind, 2014. More Jay-Z quotes
God gave us music, so we play with our words.
Talib Kweli, “Manifesto,” from Lyricist Lounge, Volume 1, 1998. More Talib Kweli quotes
Do the math: You never settle for less than the whole if you knew the half.
Talib Kweli, “Violations,” Gravitas, 2013. More Talib Kweli quotes
From open mics to solutions, I got a collage of answers,
And a 10-point program, just like the Black Panthers:1: First, respect yourself as an artist
If you don’t respect yourself, then your rhymes is garbage.2: Make sure your crew is as tight as you
Cause when them niggaz fallin off, they gonna bring you down too.3: Understand the meaning of MC
The power to Move the Crowd like Moses split the seas.4: Know your shit and don’t ever be blunted
If you don’t know what your words mean, then your rhymes mean nothin.5: Kick facts in the raps, and curse with clarity
What’s a curse when language is immersed in vulgarity?6: We gonna fix industrial poli-tricks
Shit, they made an art form out of ridin dicks.7: We soldiers for God needin new recruits
So if you rhymin for the loot, then you’s a prostitute.8: Acknowledge that you need food on your plate
In order to say your grace, make sure your business is straight.9: We buildin black minds with intelligence
And when you freestyle, keep the subject matter relevant.10: Every MC grab a pen
And write some conscious lyrics to tell the children.
Talib Kweli, “Manifesto,” from Lyricist Lounge, Volume 1, 1998. More Talib Kweli quotes
Up against Goliath, to bring butter home.
I’m David on pavement, sling another stone.
Ka, “Up Against Goliath,” Grief Pedigree, 2012
I only drink Cristal, or Imperial Moet,
No more weak ass Rose, that’s why the game too sweet.
We don’t wear tight ass clothes, we don’t do down South beats,
That ain’t New York–I restore our identification,
‘Cause dick-riding never been a form of transportation.
Troy Ave, “Cigar Smoke,” New York City, 2013
Shawn Carter was born December 4th,
Weighing in at 10 pounds, 8 ounces.
He was the last of my 4 children,
The only one who didn’t give me any pain when I gave birth to him.
…And that’s how I knew that he was a special child.
Jay-Z’s mom, Gloria Carter, “December 4th,” The Black Album, 2003. Happy Bornday, Shawn Carter, born December 4, 1969.
Brain cells are lit, ideas start to hit,
Next the formation of words that fit.
At the table I sit, making it legit,
And when my pen hits the paper…ahhhh shit!
Big Daddy Kane, “Ain’t No Half Steppin’,” Long Live The Kane, 1988
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 Superstar, 2007
We ain’t speak, clicking heat is our Morse code.
Ka, “Jungle,” Night’s Gambit, 2013
Bitch is in the back looking righteous
In a tight dress…I think I might just
Hit her with a little Biggie 101:
How to tote a gun,
And have fun with Jamaican rum.
The Notorious B.I.G., “Party and Bullshit,” from Who’s The Man? soundtrack, 1993
I’ve been layin’, waiting for your next mistake,
I put in work, and watch my status escalate.
Guru, “Work,” from Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth, 1998
A lot of rappers be like one time wonders,
Couldn’t say a fly rhyme if there was one right under their noses…
I hate those motherfuckin posers.
Guru, “Mass Appeal,” from Gang Starr’s Hard to Earn, 1994 (via ninetynow)
MCs get a little bit of love and think they hot,
Talkin bout how much money they got…all y’all records sound the same.
I’m sick of that fake thug, R&B-rap scenario, all day on the radio,
Same scenes in the video, monotonous material.
…Y’all don’t hear me though:
These record labels slang our tapes like dope.
You can be next in line and signed, and still be writing rhymes and broke.
stic.man, “Hip-Hop,” from Dead Prez’s Let’s Get Free, 2000
Why do I need ID to get ID?
If I had ID, I wouldn’t need ID.
Mos Def, “The Questions,” from Common’s Like Water for Chocolate, 2000
And as for the critics, tell me I don’t get it.
Everybody can tell you how to do it, they never did it.
Jay-Z, “Already Home,” The Blueprint 3, 2009
When I get involved, I give it my heart,
I mean my mind, my soul, my body: I mean every part.
But if it doesn’t work out, yo, it just doesn’t.
It wasn’t meant to be, you know, it just wasn’t.
MC Lyte, “Paper Thin,” Lyte as a Rock, 1988
If I wasn’t in the rap game,
I’d probably have a key knee-deep in the crack game.
Because the streets is a short stop:
Either you’re slinging crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot.
The Notorious B.I.G., “Things Done Changed,” Ready to Die, 1994
This thing called rhymin’ is no different than coal minin’;
We both on assignment to unearth the diamond.
Mos Def, “Travellin’ Man,” from DJ Honda’s HII, 1998
Food for thought, so get a buffet plate.
The lyrics are so fat you might gain weight.
Doodlebug, “Where I’m From,” from Digable Planets’ Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space, 1993
The mind is a terrible thing to waste.
I show love cause it’s a terrible thing to hate.
Guru, “Peace of Mine,” from Gang Starr’s The Ownerz, 2003
I’m surrounded by psychopathic little fellas,
Ghetto dwellas, with ammunition in their cellas,
And no remorse in their hearts
When the shit starts it don’t end…
Until somebody’s gone with the wind.
Masta Ace, “Maintain,” Sittin on Chrome EP, 1995
Know the shit I don’t write be the illest shit that’s ever been recited in the game,
Word to the hyphen in my name!
Jay Z, “The Watcher 2,” The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, 2002. Jay Z dropped the hyphen today.
I got mouths to feed,
Unnecessary beef is more cows to breed.
GZA, “4th Chamber,” Liquid Swords, 1995
Rappers act so wild, and love to profile,
Frontin’ hard, but ain’t got no style.
Big Daddy Kane, “Smooth Operator,” It’s a Big Daddy Thing, 1989
Consider me the entity within the industry without a history of spitting the epitome of stupidity.
Talib Kweli, “Definition,” from Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, 1998
In time, you’ll see a thin line between friend and rival.
Between you and me: stupidity and men’s bravado.
Ka, “Iron Age,” Grief Pedigree, 2012
If you love someone, you should say it often,
You never know when they’ll be layin’ in a coffin.
Wake up, it’s important that you know that
No one on Earth is promised tomorrow.
MC Lyte, “Poor Georgie,” Act Like You Know, 1991
Lyrically, I’m supposed to represent;
I’m not only the client, I’m the player president.
The Notorious B.I.G., “One More Chance (Remix),” 12", 1995
I’m only trying to show you how black niggas live,
But you don’t want your little ones acting like this.
Lil Amy told Becky, Becky told Jenny,
And now they all know the skinny.
Lil Joey got his durag on,
Driving down the street blasting Tupac’s song.
Jay-Z, “Hell Yeah (Pimp the System) (Remix)”, from Revolutionary But Gangsta, 2004
Feds still lurking,
They see I’m still putting work in.
Cause somewhere in America…
Miley Cyrus is still twerkin’.
Jay-Z, “Somewhere In America,” Magna Carta Holy Grail, 2013