Long as I live large, life will be luxury,
Ladies in Lamborghinis…love is like luck to me.
Redman, “Hardcore,” from EPMD’s Business as Usual, 1990
Posts Tagged With: new york
…The greatest rapper of all time died on March 9th.
God bless his soul, rest in peace, kid.
It’s because of him now at least I know what beef is.
Canibus, “Second Round K.O.,” Can-I-Bus, 1998. RIP Christopher George Latore Wallace, best known as The Notorious B.I.G., born May 21, 1972, died March 9, 1997 at the age of 24.
You stackin cheddar cause you working at the burger place.
Inspectah Deck, “It’s Raw,” CZARFACE, 2013
What is the meaning of C.R.I.M.E.?
Is it Criminals Robbin’ Innocent Muthafuckaz Everytime?
GZA, “I Gotcha Back,” Liquid Swords, 1995
You can tell by the rhyme it’s my time to shine;
Let’s eat, motherfucker, I don’t dine on swine.
I don’t beef with turkeys, I told you the God’ll fold you,
Hard to digest: I suggest that you take tofu.
Sean Price, “Like You,” Jesus Price Superstar, 2007
The business of beauty isn’t a natural model;
It’s built to be the opposite of the cultures we topple.
These magazines got you caught in a hustle,
Cause when you starve yourself, your body doesn’t burn fat, it burns muscles.
Immortal Technique, “Natural Beauty,” The Martyr, 2011
God’s the seamstress that tailor-fitted my pain.
50 Cent, “Patiently Waiting,” Get Rich or Die Tryin’, 2003
Mix me with violence, blend me with peace,
Combine me with hate, and I can’t face defeat.
Diddy, “Someone To Love Me,” from Diddy-Dirty Money’s Last Train to Paris, 2011
Music business hates me cause the industry ain’t make me,
Hustlers and boosters embrace me and the music I be makin.
I dumbed down for my audience to double my dollars…
They criticized me for it, yet they all yell ‘HOLLA!’
If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be, lyrically, Talib Kweli.
Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense,
But I did five mil…I ain’t been rhymin like Common since.
Jay-Z, “Moment of Clarity,” The Black Album, 2003
Why give you the cure when the disease makes money?
Talib Kweli, “The Traveller,” from J.Period’s Rage Is Back mixtape, 2013
Real, rough and rugged, shine like a gold nugget,
Every time I pick up the microphone, I drug it.
Jeru The Damaja, “Come Clean,” The Sun Rises in the East, 1994
Fuck Compton.
Tim Dog, “Fuck Compton,” Penicillin on Wax, 1991. The Bronx rapper Tim Dog died today from a seizure following a lengthy battle with diabetes, reports The Source. He was 46. Rest in Power, Timothy Blair (1967-2013).
…Shorty’s laugh was cold-blooded as he spoke so foul,
Only twelve tryin to tell me that he liked my style.
Then I rose, wiping the blunt’s ash from my clothes,
Then froze, only to blow the herb smoke through my nose.
Nas, “One Love,” Illmatic, 1994
Consider youself lucky, that’s what friends say.
Cause I leave more heads touched, son, than Ash Wednesday.
J-Treds, “Praise Due,” 12", 1998
What’s when you rap and don’t appreciate the art?
What’s when you sell out just to get a start?
What’s when you make bullshit just for the charts?
What’s when you rap, but it’s not from the heart?
What’s when you’re hardcore, then you turn pop?
When you steal ideas to get props?
When you sell out to be on top?
What’s when you front like you’re hard, but you’re not?
That’s a gimmick.
Lord Finesse, “No Gimmicks,’ The Awakening, 1996
Love and hate, black and white,
Right or wrong, who is right?
Some smoke joints to anoint their brain
To the vanishing point…so they won’t go insane.
Pharoahe Monch, “Walk Into The Sun,” from Organized Konfusion, 1991
Remember when friends was friends, and LL had a Benz?
And cell phones and beepers was the new trends?
When Koch was the Mayor and Reagan was the Pres?
Biz Markie, “Turn Back the Hands of Time,” from Weekend Warrior, 2003. Rest in peace to the three-term mayor of New York city, who passed away this morning at the age of 88.
Some of you been trying to write rhymes for years,
But weak ideas irritate my ears.
Is this the best that you can make?
Cause if not, and you got more…I’ll wait.
Rakim, “Move the Crowd,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid in Full, 1987
I’m givin’ more flat lines to niggas than loose-leaf.
Kool G. Rap, “Go For Your Guns,” from Kool G. Rap and DJ Polo’s Live and Let Die, 1992
My sense of self and my mental health
Is much more powerful than any hint of wealth.
Guru, “Peace of Mine,” from Gang Starr’s The Ownerz, 2003
Now I’m not the type that gets upset,
Try to disrespect folks just to earn respect.
But learn this fact: whether white or black,
I can’t be conquered in my style of rap.
For jealousy and envy are dumb ones’ tools,
So Ricky says nothing, he keeps his cool.
Revenge is not a mission that the Ruler’s on,
Just forgiveness required for the wrong that’s done.
Slick Rick, “The Ruler’s Back,” The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, 1988
Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet?
Why did Judas rat to the Romans while Jesus slept?
Ghostface Killah, “4th Chamber,” from GZA’s Liquid Swords, 1995
You got game like me? I doubt it.
They say pimping ain’t easy…what’s so hard about it?
A.G., “Fat for the 90’s,” from Lord Finesse’s Return of the Funky Man, 1992
I thought I’d probably die in prison, expensive taste in women,
Ain’t have no pot to piss in, now my kitchen full of dishes.
Nose bloody from that sniffin’, your heroin addiction
Trigger finger itchin’, fuck parental supervision…
Purple sippin’, finger twistin’, teeth glisten like it’s Memphis
A bunch of hypocritic Christians, the land of no religion.
A$AP Rocky, “LongLiveA$AP,” LongLiveA$AP, 2013
Hard times spreading just like the flu,
Watch out homeboy, don’t let it catch you.
Run-D.M.C., “Hard Times," Run-D.M.C. 1984. Visit the Flu Trends map on Google for more information on how the flu is impacting your community. Theme song: Beatnuts "No Escapin’ This”.
For 9-6, the only MC with a flu.
Yeah, I rhyme sick, I be what you tryin’ to do.
Jay-Z, “Brooklyn’s Finest,” Reasonable Doubt, 1996. Visit the Flu Trends map on Google for more information on how the flu is impacting your community. Theme song: Beatnuts “No Escapin’ This”.
Take a look at the police and how they treat you,
Take a look at these corporations that cheat you.
Democrats and Republicans are all see-through.
Now we votin for the lesser of two evils…
Man, don’t let ‘em deceive you.
This is an autocracy, not a democracy,
But to call this a democracy without mock interest
In the laws of society? That’s called hypocrisy.
KRS-One, “Pick It Up,” Maximum Strength, 2008
Niggas is too scared to hustle, but too cool to work,
So they walk around broke like a motherfuckin jerk.
Meyhem Lauren, “Brand Name Marijuana,” Mandatory Brunch Meetings, 2012
Party’s over, tell the rest of the crew.
Mobb Deep, “Party Over,” The Infamous, 1995
Just because no one can understand how you speak,
Don’t necessarily mean that what you be sayin is deep.
Talib Kweli, “Good Mourning,” from Reflection Eternal’s Train of Thought, 2000
Even when I say nothing, it’s a beautiful use of negative space.
El-P, “The Fire In Which You Burn,” from Company Flow’s Funcrusher Plus, 1997
New York, New York is where we live and we’re thorough,
Never taking shorts, ‘cause Brooklyn’s the borough.
Peace to Uptown, to Queens and The Bronx,
Long Island and Jersey get as fly as they want.
But I must tell you, where we rest is no joke…
So let me break it down to sections for you slow pokes:
Fort Greene, Bed-Stuy, Flatbush, Brownsville,
Crown Heights and East New York will be down till,
Medina takes respect for the styles we bring,
‘Cause in Brooklyn we be into our own thing.
Guru, “The Place Where We Dwell,” from Gang Starr’s Daily Operation, 1992
My radio’s loud like a fire alarm:
The floor vibrates, the walls cave in,
The bass makes my eardrums seem thin.
Def sounds in my ride, yes the front and back…
You would think it was a party, not a Cadillac!
LL Cool J, “I Can’t Live Without My Radio,” Radio, 1985
I throw raps that attack like the Japs on Pearl Harbor.
MC’s be out like bank robbers,
Fleeing the scene, to be a sole survivor;
DJ…the getaway driver.
GZA, “Living In the World Today,” Liquid Swords, 1995. Pearl Harbor Harbor dead remembered on 71st anniversary.
Wake up: all of that ‘crack in the street’ talk?
It’s made up, like ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’
Sean Price, “Pyrex,” Mic Tyson, 2012
The purpose of life is a life with a purpose;
So I’d rather die for a cause than live a life that is worthless.
Immortal Technique, “The Martyr,” The Martyr, 2011
Breathe in…inhale vapors from bright stars that shine,
Breathe out…weed smoke retrace the skyline.
Mos Def, “Respiration,” from Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star, 1998
Age ain’t nothing but a number, that’s what Chi-Ali said.
OK, then why don’t you get that through the judge’s head?
Biz Markie, “Young Girl Bluez,” All Samples Cleared!, 1993
We were at the same table when the chips were checked,
A gamblin’ rebel who inspects the deck.
Just when you thought we would fold our hand,
Against all odds, we raised the bet like we changed the plans.
It was live on air, but in between station breaks,
I was holdin a pair and just made the table stakes.
Split the demos, put insurance on tapes,
A safeguard against the crusaders in capes.
If I double-down, they say the Gods are sharks;
If we win against the house, they thought the cards was marked.
We draw hit after hit from a royal flush menu,
While the dealer promoted the full house venue.
A spade in the club with the heart to wear diamonds,
The high roller who got credit upon signin’.
They look puzzled when I shuffle, most of ‘em stunned by the hustle,
Recourse of bluff game’s your muscle.
GZA, “Back in the Game,” from Wu-Tang Clan’s Iron Flag, 2001
City lights shine bright on my complexion,
Self-reflection…red hairs flashing at the intersection.
Life is a green light, one star, no script,
Supporting actors…fresh peaches, no pit.
Action Bronson, “Randy The Musical,” Rare Chandeliers, 2012
I know the game, it’s old and lame:
You’re holdin’ a flame for my name and my fame.
Livin’ like Givens schemin’ on Tyson,
But she got lucky ‘cause he was a nice one.
But I ain’t nice and I don’t play that,
If it ain’t tax, I don’t pay that.
Kool Moe Dee, “They Want Money,” Knowledge Is King, 1989
Put a quarter in your ass, ‘cause ya played yourself.
Big Daddy Kane, “The Symphony,” from Marley Marl’s In Control, Vol. 1, 1988
I get atomic, hypo-galactical…
Word to mom, I’m in my own world.
Galaxy rays? Powerful.
Kool Keith, “Raise It Up,” from Ultramagnetic M.C.’s The Four Horsemen, 1993
Y’all mythological niggas is comical,
The astronomical is comin’ thru like tha flu bombin’ you…
And embalmin’ in your crew, too.
With the musical, mystical, magical, you know how I do.
Keith Murray, “The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World," The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World, 1994
It’s weak to speak and blame somebody else
…When you destroy yourself.
Chuck D., “Welcome to the Terrordome,” from Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet, 1990
Everything has a price…
No matter if it’s fortune, fame or your life.
I understood later that it’s all about paper,
Everything has a fee in the land of the free.
O.C., “Land of the Free,” from Show & A.G.’s Live Hard, 2007
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
Ghostface, catch the blast of a hype verse,
My glock bursts, leave in a hearse, I did worse.
I come rough, tough like an elephant tusk,
Ya head rush, fly like Egyptian musk.
Ghostface Killah, “Bring Da Ruckus,” from Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), 1993
The God’s tropical…ladies call me ‘Black Fruit Punch.’
Ghostface Killah, “Ice Water,” from Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, 1995
38-24-37…
You and me, hun, we’re a match made in heaven.
I like to kiss ya where some brothers won’t…
I like to tell ya things some brothers don’t.
Q-Tip, “Bonita Applebum,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, 1990