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
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Tell ‘em the truth and they call you a traitor,
Talk to ’em honestly and they call you a hater.
Immortal Technique, “Eye in the Sky,” from The Martyr, 2011
We could fight the fuss till we get like friends,
Or somebody bite the dust and we split like ends.
Even in our wildest moments, girl, I’m on it cause you’re worth it.
Practice makes perfect, so we fightin’ for a purpose.
A$AP Rocky, “Wildest Moments (Remix),” from Jessie Ware’s Devotion, 2013
Fuck the Febreze, I’m stinkin’ like that Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
That’s that Wu and Mobb shit; don’t turn it up…blast it.
Ghostface Killah, “Dirt (Remix),” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous Mobb Deep, 2014. More from Ghost >
This is business: they don’t care about your lyrics;
The better you sell, the better future for their children.
Controversy sells, so they support conflict,
Makes more progress, means more profit.
An artist gets killed, they say they’re ‘so sorry,’
Meanwhile, they tell you the date of his next project.
What a life…death made them more profit:
Record companies get paid for your drama.
Cormega, “Industry,” Mega Philosophy, 2014. More wisdom from ‘Mega…
Rappers hate each other, not the labels that got rich,
Don’t care about culture, they only want profit.
If your album sell slow, bet you’ll get dropped quick;
Q-Tip warned us: the industry’s toxic.
For reference, check out BDP’s Sex and Violence.
Cormega, “Industry,” Mega Philosophy, 2014
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…
Damn it’s a shame you’re the mighty queen of vials,
With a wide-eyed look and a rotten-toothed smile.
Used to walk with a swagger, now you simply stagger
From one spot on, to the next spot on, to the next spot on, to the next…
Derek X (now known as Sadat X), “Slow Down,” from Brand Nubian’s One For All, 1990
Squeeze 7cc’s so I could see the seven seas,
And CC all my friends so they could see what I was seeing…
But what they saw was a despicable human being;
So, I guess they just wasn’t seeing what I was seeing.
Pharoahe Monch, “Broken Again,” PTSD, 2014. More quotes from Pharoahe Monch…
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…
Girls, don’t run that shit that beauty’s only skin deep,
Cause I don’t want no girl with a Brillo face,
Or the type that’ll leave Jheri Curl juice on my pillow case.
Lord Finesse, “I Like My Girls With a Boom,” Return of the Funky Man, 1992. More Lord Finesse quotes…
My life is a blunt to the head, a prayer for the dead,
Run around hustlin…scared of the feds.
They said death is eternal sleep,
But the only thing is you ain’t really sure if you prepared for the bed.
Styles P, “My Life,” A Gangster and a Gentleman, 2002
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
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. More brilliant lyrics from The GZA…
Life is real, reality is not a dream.
Those who chose to sleep…I wake em up,
Cause you’re sleepin with your mouth open hummin deez nuts.
King Sun, “Humm Deez Nuts,” Strictly Ghetto EP, 1994. More King Sun quotes…
Shorty, let me tell you about my only vice:
It has to do with lots of lovin’, and it ain’t nuttin’ nice.
Q-Tip, “Electric Relaxation,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders, 1993. More from the Tribe…
Truth brings light, light refracts off the mirror,
Visions of yourself and error could never be clearer.
The truth is that you ugly…
Not on the outside, but in the inside;
On the outside, you frontin’ you lovely.
Pharoahe Monch, “The Truth,” Internal Affairs, 1999. More Pharoahe Monch quotes >
Don’t clock anybody, let them all clock you,
Don’t be down with anybody, let them all be down with you.
Stay self-managed, self-kept, self-taught,
Be your own man; don’t be borrowed, don’t be bought.
Heavy D, “We Got Our Own Thang,” Heavy D & The Boyz’ Big Tyme, 1989
They’d rather hate you for the truth than love you for the lies.
Sticky Fingaz, “The Realest,” from Onyx’s #WAKEDAFUCUP, 2014. More lyrical gems from Sticky Fingaz…
What the fuck happened to reality-spitting rhyme sayers?
These days, everybody trying to be a thug or a player.
Where did all the real motherfuckers go in the game?
Bring back the breakdancers and graffiti writers with fame.
Immortal Technique, “Revolutionary,” Revolutionary Vol. 1, 2001. More from Immortal Technique >
I switched my motto:
Instead of sayin’ ‘Fuck tomorrow,’
That buck that bought a bottle
Coulda struck the Lotto.
Nas, “Life’s a Bitch,” Illmatic, 1994. Plenty more Nas quotes >
It was the beauty that caught me and held my soul hostage…
Remember those days? Had you smellin’ my boxers.
Ghostface Killah, “Never Be the Same Again,” Bulletproof Wallets, 2001. More quotes from GFK…
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…
This is for my bitches in the shelters that don’t need shelter, you just doin’ that shit for a crib.
And all my bad little bitches, when your baby father hits you, stick a ice cold knife in his ribs.
And all my bitches pimp the system, get your WIC, tell your workers, “Fuck that,” you gon’ have more kids.
And you ain’t have ‘em cause you need ’em, but now you gotta feed em, so you figure that your ass gon’ strip.
Panchi, “Stretch Marks and Cigarette Burns,” from Blaq Poet’s The Blaqprint, 2009
I’d rather make one righteous dollar on my level
Than make a million dollars spittin’ rhymes for the devil.
KRS-One, “True School,” from DJ Jean Maron’s True School, 2014
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
Save your wack rhymes, hold your female.
Pass the Old Gold, trash the ale.
Cash your food stamps, get the WIC out the mail.
Love to eat shrimps, but I never eat snail,
Eat a whole fish except for the tail.
Keep food in the fridge so it don’t get stale,
And when there’s nothing to eat…I bite my nails.
Big Daddy Kane, “On the Bugged Tip,” Long Live the Kane, 1988. More ill quotes from the King Asiatic Nobody’s Equal…
A thug changes, and love changes,
And best friends become strangers.
Nas, “The Message,” It Was Written, 1996
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.
Working hard may help you maintain,
To learn to overcome the heartaches and pain.
Inspectah Deck, “C.R.E.A.M.,” from Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), 1993. Many more lyrics from The Wu…
Tried to put shame in my game to make a name,
I’mma put it on a bullet…put it in your brain.
Rakim, “Know the Ledge,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Don’t Sweat the Technique, 1992. Read more lyrics from Rakim Allah…
I’m livin’ in times where my daughters are found around
Kids who can’t afford thinking caps…
But always found drinkin’ raps and eatin’ off beats,
Claimin’ laws of the streets. But who made the laws?
Everybody playin’ rebel with no sign of a cause.
Posdnuos, “Held Down,” from De La Soul’s AOI: Bionix, 2001. More from De La Soul…
Once I slapped a rapper with mace,
Then I spit acid in his face, after he rinsed his eyes, no wait…
I actually grew five times my size, grabbed Ma$e by the thigh and slapped a rapper with him.
Pharoahe Monch, “Rapid Eye Movement,” PTSD, 2014. More Pharoahe Monch quotes…
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. Baseball legend Hank Aaron has been flooded with hate mail after his comments about racism in America last week. "We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country,“ said Aaron. "The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”
I’m on some tax-free shit by any means,
Whether bound to hit scheme or some counterfeit C.R.E.A.M.
GZA, “4th Chamber,” Liquid Swords, 1995. More dope GZA quotes…
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…
Hip-hop started on the block;
I fell asleep at the wheel, the shit crashed into Pop.
Sticky Fingaz, “Wakedafucup,” from Onyx’s #WAKEDAFUCUP, 2014
It’s like I’m married to the silencer,
Until I file for divorce and release my ex-calibers.
Do art with your arteries, place that for my adversaries,
Put your snap back cap back, cap your capillaries.
Pharoahe Monch, “Rapid Eye Movement,” PTSD, 2014. More Pharoahe Monch quotes…
Could hate a person, but in fact it’s not worth it.
Never know how long you’ve got on this earth, kid.
Large Professor, “In the Sun,” First Class, 2002
Question religion, question it all,
Question existence until them questions are solved.
Jay-Z, “Heaven,” Magna Carta Holy Grail, 2013. More Jay-Z quotes…
There’s four sides to every story…
If these walls could talk, they’d probably still ignore me.
Viktor Vaughn, aka MF Doom, “Lickupon,” Vaudeville Villain, 2003. More MF Doom 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…
Whatcha gonna do to this?
You may be older than me, but you’re new to this.
Cause I been out there, queen of MC’s,
When your man was walkin’ round in mocknecks and Lee’s.
While you were over here perpetratin’ a fraud,
I was overseas on the charts with Boy George.
You’re the beginner, Shante’s the winner,
Havin’ other competition for dinner.
Sit you on the table with a plate and cup,
Say grace…and then eat your ass up.
Roxanne Shanté, “Go On Girl,” from Colors Soundtrack, 1988
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
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.
My destiny of love is brought to an apex,
Sex is a mere molecule.
In this world of love that I have for you
It’s true…Eye know I love you better.
Dove/Trugoy, “Eye Know,” from De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, 1989. This landmark album was released 25 years ago today. More De La Soul quotes…
Unpredictable, liable to flip my lid…
My moms dropped me on my head when I was a kid.
Back then I lost all my marbles, today I lost my job,
So in essence, it’s Armageddon, somebody’s bound to get robbed!
Sticky Fingaz, “Shiftee,” from Onyx’s Bacdafucup, 1993. More Onyx quotes…
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…