I came in the door, I said it before
I never let the mic magnetize me no more.
But it’s biting me, fighting me, inviting me to rhyme,
I can’t hold it back…I’m looking for the line.
Taking off my coat, clearing my throat,
My rhyme will be kicking until I hit my last note.

Rakim, “Eric B. Is President,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid In Full, 1987. More Rakim quotes…

If sleep is the cousin of death, then death is the cousin of sadness;
Murder’s the cousin of madness, love is the cousin of that bitch.

Ill Bill, “Secrets Worth Dying For,” from DJ Muggs & Ill Bill’s Kill Devil Hills, 2010

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

I got the gangsta in me, plus I’m not friendly
To a bitch-ass whose mouth runs more laps than the Indy.

Redman, “Nuthin’ But the Gangsta,” from MC Eiht’s We Come Strapped, 1994

Crews talk shit, but in my face they kiss my ass.

A-Plus, “93 Til Infinity,” from Souls of Mischief’s 93 Til Infinity, 1993

Flip the flyer attire females desire,
Baby you can step to this if you admire
The extraordinary dapper rapper…
Keep tabs on your main squeeze before I tap her.

Opio, “93 Til Infinity,” from Souls of Mischief’s 93 Til Infinity, 1993

I’d count my blessings, but I suck at math.

Eminem, “So Far…,” The Marshall Mathers LP 2, 2013

I’m so Rakim and Eric. B, bitches check out my melody.
I might Slick Rick on a fella…catch me a felony.
I might Shyne Po a ho…POW! Catch me a case.
Producto must have rolled the L because this blunt feels laced.

Killer Mike, “Twin Hype Back,” Run the Jewels, 2013

If we gotta dumb down our style and ABC it, then so be it,
Cause nowadays these kids just don’t give a shit ‘bout lyrics.
All they wanna hear is a beat and that’s it,
Long as they can go to the club and get blitzed,
Pick up some chicks and get some digits.
And the DJs playing them hits, “Oh, this my jam, this my shit!”
We don’t know a word to a verse, all we know is the chorus,
Cause the chorus repeats the same four words for us.

Eminem, “Syllables," 2010

What’s better than tripping is falling in love.
What’s better than Letterman, Leno, Fallon, and all the above?
What’s better than popping bottles trying to ball in the club?
Is the first caveman pops with his son, ball and a club.
What’s better than paper is balling it up.
What’s better than followers is actually falling in love.
What’s better than frolicking, follies, fallin in mud?
Rolling in green pastures, wandering, following love.
What’s better than eating is feeding your fam.
What’s better than meetings is missing meetings to meet with your fam.
What’s better than leaning and needing your Xan?
Is hitting your zan dreaming a dream could mean leaving the land.
What’s better than yelling is hollering love.
What’s better than rhymes, nickles, dimes, dollars, and dubs?
Is dialing up your darling just for calling her up.
There ain’t nothing better than falling in love.

Chance the Rapper, “Interlude (That’s Love),” Acid Rap, 2013

We ain’t speak, clicking heat is our Morse code.

Ka, “Jungle,” Night’s Gambit, 2013

I make niggas eat dirt and fart dust,
Then give you a $80 gift certificate to Pussies “Я” Us.

Ludacris, “Mouthing Off,” Back for the First Time, 2000

I never fronted, you can get it if you want it…
Won’t say I’m the best, but I’m not that far from it.

Lord Finesse, “Gameplan,” The Awakening, 1996

Listenin to nothin, takin no suggestions,
All destructive criticisms that can’t improve on perfection.

MF Doom is Viktor Vaughn, “The Drop,” Vaudeville Villain, 2003

You lose money chasing women;
Never lose women chasing money.

Nas, “Ghetto Rich (Remix),” Rich Boy’s self-titled album, 2007

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

Pain is joy when it cries, it’s my smile in disguise.

Pusha T, “Pain,” My Name is My Name, 2013

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

Every time I write these words they become a taboo,
Making sure my punctuation curve, every letter here’s true,
Living my life in the margin, and that metaphor was proof.

Kendrick Lamar, “Poetic Justice,” good kid, m.A.A.d city, 2012

A day to God is a thousand years,
Men walk around with a thousand fears.
The true joy of love brings a thousand tears,
In the world of desire, there’s a thousand snares.

RZA, “A Day to God is 1000 Years,” Birth of a Prince, 2003

If you go platinum, it’s got nothing to do with luck,
It just means that a million people are stupid as fuck.

Immortal Technique, “Industrial Revolution,” Revolutionary Vol. 2, 2003

Those who flashin’ don’t blast, they still buffoons,
Just blowin out hot air, they should fill balloons.
I’m like them shorties that could kill for goons,
They started hustlin’ in April to cop wheels in June.

Elzhi, “Mt. Everest,” from U-God’s The Keynote Speaker, 2013

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

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

Perm in your hair or even a curly weave,
Wichya New Edition Bobby Brown button on your sleeve.
I tell you come here, you say, ‘Meet me half way,’
Cause brothers been popping that game all day.

LL Cool J, “Around the Way Girl,” Mama Said Knock You Out, 1990

All I see is sissies in magazines smiling…
Whatever happened to wildin’ out and being violent?
Whatever happened to catching a good, old-fashioned, passionate ass whoopin’?
And getting your shoes, coat and your hat tooken?

Eminem, “Marshall Mathers,” The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000

My momma did her part,
But it ain’t her fault that I was born without a heart.
In other words: I’m heartless dude.
I don’t love me…how the fuck I’mma love you?

Scarface, “Born Killer,” Mr. Scarface is Back, 1991

We live in a society created by an empire
That’s based on terror…welcome to the One World Era,
A complete interruption to your lil’ paltry-ass life,
That you thought you was livin, and what you been given.

Coolio, “The Park, from Slam The Soundtrack, 1998

Others tell like it is, while I tell it how I would like it to be.

Cee-Lo, “The World I Know,” from Slam The Soundtrack, 1998

They say that love is powerful as cough syrup and Styrofoam.
All I know is I fell asleep and woke up in that Monte Carlo
With the ugly Kardashian…
Lamar, oh, sorry. Yo, we done both set the bar low.

Eminem, “Berzerk,” The Marshall Mathers LP 2, 2013

Anything worth having is hard to keep,
I love you like my coffee, so hot and so sweet.
So, let’s stick it out so we never regret it,
I could forgive the past–but I never forget it.

Ghostface Killah, “You Know I’m No Good (Remix),” More Fish, 2006

I don’t understand the difficulty, people;
Love your brother, treat him as an equal.

Heavy D., “Self Destruction,” Stop The Violence All-Stars, 1989

Redman ready to rock rough rhymes,
Renegade rapper, rip when it’s rhyme time.
Punk push a pen and pencil when I’m pissed,
Pack pistol posse, flow some more pro shit.

Redman, “Hardcore,” from EPMD’s Business as Usual, 1990

Your whole appearance is a lie and it could never be true.
And if you really loved yourself, then you would try and be you.

Phife, “Butter,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991

What is competition? I’m tryna raise the bar high,
Who tryna jump and get it? You better off tryna skydive
Out the exit window of 5 G5’s with 5 grand
With your granddad as the pilot he drunk as fuck tryna land
With the hand full of arthritis and popping prosthetic leg
Bumpin Pac in the cockpit so the shit that pops in his head
Is an option of violence, someone heard the stewardess said
That your parachute is a latex condom hooked to a thread.

Kendrick Lamar, “Control,” from Big Sean’s Hall of Fame, 2013

I’ve seen niggas transform like villain Decepticons,
Mollies’ll prolly turn these niggas to fuckin’ Lindsay Lohan.
A bunch of rich ass white girls lookin’ for parties,
Playin with Barbies, wreck the Porsche before you give ‘em the car key.

Kendrick Lamar, “Control,” from Big Sean’s Hall of Fame, 2013

I got a girl and she treat me fine,
But the homies all think that I’m losin’ my mind.
I’m trippin’ and I know it cause I’m all nerved up,
Cause everytime I go to sleep, I see this big ol’ butt.
See, I ain’t never gave no chick 4 stars,
But she treat me so good that she be drivin my car.
And every day it get better, I can’t lie,
Went to the house and she made me some hot potato pie.
All my friends be sayin, “She ain’t nothin but a scrub!”
But she make me feel high like I’m hooked on drugs.
So I give her what she need, and what’s done is done,
But I’m a special kind of fool but ayo, it don’t bother me none.
I can’t help myself, I know that I’m trippin’,
But she got it goin’ on like Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Pimp C, “Use Me Up,” from UGK’s Too Hard to Swallow, 1992

It seem like everybody dress tight now,
And I just want my credit.

Kanye West, “Gifted,” from N.A.S.A.’s The Spirit of Apollo, 2009

What you base your happiness around?
Material, women, and large paper?
That means you inferior, not major.

Nas, “No Idea’s Original,” The Lost Tapes, 2002

You can’t take the heat, get ya ass out the kitchen
Matter fact, take ya ass back in there and wash the dishes.

Royce Da 5’9", “Deadly Melody,” from Black Milk’s Album of the Year, 2010

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

I wish I didn’t get searched when I come through customs.
I wish Christians stop beefin’ with Muslims,
Wish the poor didn’t have to take welfare,
Wish America had universal health care…
Cause ain’t no help here.

Edo G., “Wishing,” My Own Worst Enemy, 2004

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

Guns and the sneakers made Jada.
The bitches and the reefer came later
With the money and the haters.

Jadakiss, “Jada’s Got a Gun,” Kiss the Game Goodbye, 2001

Don’t sell yourself to fall in love,
With those things you do…

J Dilla, “Fall in Love,” from Slum Village’s Fantastic Vol 2., 2000

I circumnavigate the globe with a one-liner like latitude.

Ras Kass, “Riiiot!” from Chino XL’s Here to Save You All, 1996

Life can change your directions, even when you ain’t planned it.
All you can do is handle it, worst thing you can do is panic.

T.I., “No Matter What,” The Paper Trail, 2008

I wanna just take this time out to be perfectly honest;
Cause there’s a lotta shit I keep bottled that hurts deep inside of my soul,
And just know that I grow colder the older I grow.
This boulder on my shoulder gets heavy and harder to hold,
And this load is like the weight of the world and I think my neck is breaking,
Should I just give up or try to live up to these expectations?

Eminem, “Hailie’s Song,” The Eminem Show, 2002

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

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

No matter what the name, we’re all the same pieces in one big chess game.

Chuck D., “Rebel Without a Pause,” from Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, 1988

Burn, Hollywood, burn, I smell a riot goin’ on,
First they’re guilty, now they’re gone!

Chuck D., “Burn, Hollywood, Burn,” from Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet, 1990

Nowadays, the game is all bugged out,
Phony, like back when Hammer tried to come thugged out.

MF Doom, “Foolish,“ from MF Grimm’s Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera, 2002

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

Her dreams hold Versace,
She fall for Armani…
Only deal with rich niggas,
Fuck you and Mitt Romney.

Kendrick Lamar, “Memories Back Then,” Grand Hustle Presents: Hustle Gang, 2013

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

I been in the game for 10 years making rap tunes…
Ever since honeys was wearing Sassoons.

Dr. Dre, “California Love,” from 2Pac’s All Eyez on Me, 1996

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

My heart is ‘We Are the World,’ my penis is P.E.
But my balls are Avatar, you could see ’em in 3D.

Pharoahe Monch, “Let U Live,” from Consequence’s Movies on Demand, 2010

I’m down for you, so ride with me.
My enemies your enemies,
Cause you ain’t ever had a friend like me.

2Pac, “Never Had a Friend Like Me,” from Gridlock’d Soundtrack, 1997

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

I know you think my life is good ‘cause my diamond piece,
But my life been good since I started finding peace.

Nas, “Loco-Motive,” Life Is Good, 2012

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

It’s drones over Brooklyn, you blink, you could get tooken,
And now you’re understanding the definition of ‘Crooklyn.’
Pigs on parade, but bacon fryin’ and cookin’,
Cause kids’ tired of dyin’ and walkin’ round like they shooken.

Killer Mike, “DDFH,” from El-P + Killer Mike’s Run The Jewels, 2013

…About those other Jennys I reckoned with
Lost them all like a homework excuse.
This time the Magic Number is Two,
‘Cause it takes two, not three, to seduce.

Dove, “Eye Know,” from De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, 1989

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

Woke up quick, at about noon.
Just thought that I had to be in Compton soon.
I gotta get drunk before the day begins,
Before my mother starts bitchin bout my friends.

Eazy-E, “Boyz-N-The-Hood (remix),” Eazy Duz It, 1988

You dudes is noodles, I got more ziti to bake.
You dudes is cake, I keep two biscuits on the waist.
Razor blades under the tongue, I will eat your face,
Appetite for destruction, I am starvin’ today.
Got a money hungry lawyer that’ll eat the case,
And that’s just food for thought, don’t let it go to waste.

Jay-Z, “U Don’t Know (Remix),” The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, 2002

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

‘What you doing in the club on a Thursday?’
She say she only here for her girl birthday…
They ordered champagne but still look thirsty,
Rock Forever 21 but just turned 30.

Kanye West, “Bound 2,” Yeezus, 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

Be a father, if not, why bother, son?
A boy can make ‘em, but a man can raise one.
If you did it, admit it and stick with it.

Ed O.G., “Be a Father to Your Child,” from Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs’s Life of a Kid in the Ghetto, 1991

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

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.

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

Q-Tip • “The Remedy” • 1996

There’s divinity within because we come from the divine,
A force that’s not seen, but you feel it every time:
When the wind blows, and the world turns,
And the rain drops, and the baby cries,
And the bird flies, and the ground quake,
And the stars gleam.

Q-Tip, “The Remedy,” from Get on the Bus Soundtrack, 1996

Dr. Dre (N.W.A.) • “Express Yourself” • 1988

I’m expressin’ with my full capabilities,
And now I’m livin in correctional facilities.
Cause some don’t agree with how I do this,
I get straight and meditate like a Buddhist.

Dr. Dre, “Express Yourself,” from N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton, 1988