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
Posts Tagged With: hip-hop
It’s the principle of it, I get a rush when I bust
Some dope lines oral, that maybe somebody’ll quote.
That’s what I consider real in this field of music,
Instead of puttin’ brain cells to work, they abuse it.
Non-conceptual, non-exceptional,
Everybody’s either crime-related or sexual.
For those who pose lyrical, but really ain’t true, I feel:
Their time’s limited, hard rocks too.
O.C., “Time’s Up,” Word…Life, 1994
I drop styles on ears…the public bite ‘em.
Not many went to school, so the dummies wouldn’t write ’em.
They say, “Yo Keith! You’re Kool, you usin’ big words!”
I went to college, I’m even more stupid, herb.
Kool Keith, “Raise It Up,” from Ultramagnetic M.C.’s The Four Horsemen, 1993
We made plans, but we’ll never be able to fulfill ‘em.
This is shit we put together since we was little…
Every time we had dreams, you found a way you could kill ’em.
Kurupt, “Keep it Moving,” from Hi-Tek’s Hi-Teknology 2: The Chip, 2006
Payback’s a bitch, that’s why I never borrow;
And if push comes to shove, I’d do a stickup tomorrow.
Daddy-O, “Inner City Boundaries,” from Freestyle Fellowship’s Innercity Griots, 1993
Everything will eventually come to an end,
So try to savor the moment, cause time flies, don’t it?
The beauty of life, you gotta make it last for the better,
Cause nothin’ lasts forever.
Nas, “Nothing Lasts Forever,” The Lost Tapes, 2002
I ain’t goin out like a spineless jellyfish.
Some say life is a bitch…
Ask that punk who dug his own ditch.
B-Real, “Hand on the Pump,” Cypress Hill’s Cypress Hill, 1991
Who’s that peeking in my window?
Pow.
Nobody now.
Goodie Mob, “Cell Therapy,” Soul Food, 1995
Raise your right palm: We do solemnly swear
To stack more dough more calmly this year.
MF Doom, “Get ‘Er Done,” from Jake One’s White Van Music, 2008
Comin’ from the school of hard knocks,
Some perpetrate…they drink Clorox.
Attack the black, cause I know they lack exact
The cold facts, and still they try to Xerox.
Chuck D., “Don’t Believe the Hype,” from Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Million’s To Hold Us Back, 1988
We fight every night, now that’s not kosher.
I reminisce with bliss of when we was closer,
And wake up to be greeted by an argument again,
…You act like you’re ten.
So immature, I try to concentrate on a cure,
And keep lookin’ at the front door.
Large Professor, “Looking at the Front Door,” from Main Source’s Breaking Atoms, 1991
I drink twenty forties, smoke forty blunts,
Say a hundred rhymes, and not sound like you once.
Dres, “Roll Wit Tha Flava,” from Flavor Unit’s Roll Wit Tha Flava, 1993
In this life ain’t no happy endings;
Only pure beginnings followed by years of sinning and fake repentance.
J. Cole, “Runaway,” Born Sinner, 2013
You and your friends…always together,
No time for the B-I-G, so I’m O-U-T.
The sex was great, but the headaches I can’t take.
I think I made a very big mistake.
Notorious B.I.G., “Buddy X (Remix),” from Neneh Cherry’s Homebrew, 1992
It’s been a long time…I shouldn’t have left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to.
Rakim, “I Know You Got Soul,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid In Full, 1987
It’s a beautiful day, and everybody’s feelin’ wonderful,
The ladies is out, lookin’ fly, dressed comfortable.
I love to wake up, and feel the breeze through my window,
Slip on fatigues, grab a dutch, and roll some indo.
Dead Prez, “Happiness,” Let’s Get Free, 2000
I go to Queens for queens to get the crew from Brooklyn,
Make money in Manhattan and never been tooken.
Go Uptown and the Bronx to boogie down,
Get strong on the Island, recoup, and lay around.
Rakim, “Juice (Know the Ledge),” from Eric B. & Rakim’s Don’t Sweat the Technique, 1992
Bitch, you ain’t got nothin on the rich,
Every other day my whole dress code switch.
Cappadonna, “Winter Warz,” from Ghostface Killah’s Ironman, 1996
It was magic, I felt the bond between us.
She was a jelly to my peanuts, Mars to Venus,
The Earth to my sun, moon and stars,
We added up mathematically…
It’s like I had a bad habit, B!
Ghostface Killah, “The Center of Attraction,” Twelve Reasons to Die, 2013
The last batter to hit, blast shattered your hip,
Smash any splitter or fastball—that’ll be it.
Pharoahe Monch, “The Next Shit,” Internal Affairs, 1999
The rap era’s outta control,
Brothers’ sellin their soul to go gold…
Going, going, gone, another rapper sold!
Parrish Smith, “Crossover,” EPMD’s Business Never Personal, 1993
I’m goin’ out first class, ain’t goin’ out coach.
MCA, “The Sounds of Science,” from Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique, 1989. Remembering Adam Yauch, who passed away a year ago today. Rest in Peace, MCA.
Super-cali-fragalistic-expiali-docious,
Docious-ali-expi-fragalistic-cali-super.
Cancun…catch me in the room, eatin’ grouper.
Ghostface Killah, “Buck 50,” Supreme Clientele, 1999
You little cream puff Mac Daddy wannabe,
Keep dreaming cause a Mac you will never be.
So all y’all with the Dr. Seuss riddles,
You can get the finger…the middle
Mac Daddy, “Warm it Up,” from Kris Kross’ Totally Krossed Out, 1992. Chris Kelly, one half of the ‘90s rap duo Kris Kross, has died of a possible drug overdose. He was 34.
Might go fuck a rapper’s life up like Mo’nique did to Precious.
Killer Mike, “Get It,” from Killer Mike and El-P’s Run the Jewels, 2013
I’m stuck in a time capsule when rappers’ actually factual;
Meaning: shit you spit might cause killers to come and clap at you.
Killer Mike, “Get It,” from Killer Mike and El-P’s Run the Jewels, 2013
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’m complexicated like a Rubik’s Cube puzzle,
Who said I drink? I don’t drink, I guzzle.
Subroc, “Sweet Premium Wine,” from K.M.D.’s Black Bastards, 1994
It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at.
Rakim, “I Know You Got Soul,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid In Full, 1987
CIA, FBI, all they tell us is lies.
And when I say it, they get alarmed…
‘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
Inhale deep like the words of my breath,
I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death.
Nas, “New York State of Mind,” Illmatic, 1994
I can drink a whole Hennessy fifth.
Some call that a problem, but I call it a gift.
Xzibit, “Get Your Walk On,” Restless, 2000
I chop ‘em into salad and my name ain’t Caesar.
Black Thought, “@15,” from The Roots’ Rising Down, 2008
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
Step to this and get shanked up,
I knocked out so many teeth, the tooth fairy went bankrupt.
Big L, “Let ‘Em Have it L,” Lifestyles Ov Da Poor and Dangerous, 1995
I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem,
Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams.
I use it as my gas, so they say that I’m gassed,
But without it I’d be last, so I ought to laugh…
Kanye West, “Last Call,” The College Dropout, 2003
‘You claim to be the man, you want me for a lover,
So you can do my girlfriends and my sister and my mother?’I said, ‘You’re very blunt,’ with quickness to the cue,
‘So whassup with your mother, does she look as good as you?’
Dres, “Similac Child,” from Black Sheep’s A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, 1991
I thank the Lord for every morning he allows me to rise,
And though the sun is shining, there’s a cloud in the sky
Lettin’ me know that at any moment there could be rain.
And as beautiful as life is, there still can be pain.
Down the park, I hear the sirens, just screamin’ away,
And then the inevitable happens, the end of them days,
As sad as it sounds, but that’s the price we all gotta pay.
And the whole world knows God giveth, and will taketh away.
I live and I learn, I sit and watch my cigarette burn
Down to the ash. It reminds me of the now and the past.
I say a little prayer, cause eventually I’ll stand in the path
Of the souls and dark rows that lead to rest.
Scarface, “What Can I Do?,” The Fix, 2002
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
Cloned chickens walking around without heads,
The food is contaminated, the water got lead in it.
Population control, make the babies sick,
All these RFID chips, RU-486…
This is a war against consciousness,
Controlling your soul, sort of a psychological dictatorship.
And we are on the front lines,
Guilty as charged if intellect is a crime.
Pharoahe Monch, “W.A.R.,” W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), 2011
My mama didn’t see it comin, my daddy was there.
What’s my excuse? Cartoons were the root.
Started with Yosemite Sam
With the gun in the palm of the hand,
What couldn’t I demand?
Pusha T, “Young Boy,” from The Clipse’s Lord Willin’, 2002
Actions have reactions, don’t be quick to judge,
You may not know the hardships people don’t speak of.
It’s best to step back, and observe with couth,
For we all must meet our Moment of Truth.
Guru, “Moment of Truth,” from Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth, 1998
I’m your idol, the highest title, Numero Uno,
I’m not a Puerto Rican, but I’m speakin so that you know,
And understand, I got the gift of speech,
And it’s a blessin, so listen to the lesson I preach…
Special Ed, “I Got it Made,” Youngest in Charge, 1989
Peace before everything, God before anything,
Love before anything, real before everything,
Home before any place, shoot before anything,
Style and state radiate, Love Power slay the hate.
Mos Def, “Priority,” The Ecstatic, 2009
You keepin it real, but ain’t got a clue what reality really be;
See, the diameter of your knowledge is the circumference of your activity.
Ras Kass, “Soul On Ice (Remix),” Soul On Ice, 1996
Every coast gotta know, I’m the most with the flow,
No joke I’m a pro, I’m like The Pope on the low.
AZ, “I Am the Truth,” The Format, 2006. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected as the 266th pope of the Catholic Church yesterday.
I don’t know what’s better: getting laid or getting paid.
I just know when I’m getting one, the other’s getting away.
Kanye West, “This Way,” from Dilated Peoples’ Neighborhood Watch, 2004
They love the fact you made it, but hate the fact you got it.
The stairway to heaven is packed…I’m in the lobby.
Too scared to go to sleep, cause most times I often doubt my dreams.
Big K.R.I.T., “R.E.M.,” King Remembered In Time, 2013