Life is a gamble, we scramble for money,
I might crack a smile, but ain’t a damn thing funny.
Prodigy, “Eye for an Eye (Your Beef Is Mines),” from Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, 1995. More gems from P >
Posts Tagged With: wisdom
Stro Rockets • “From Me” • 2017
I think we all motherfuckin’ hypocrites,
Asking God for life and we ain’t even livin’ it.
Stro Rockets, “From Me,” Grade A Frequencies EP, 2017
Leave it up to me while I be livin’ proof,
To kick the truth to the young black youth.
Inspectah Deck, “C.R.E.A.M.” from Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), 1993
Imagine peace on this earth when there’s no grief,
Imagine grief on this earth when there’s no peace.
Scarface, “I Seen a Man Die,” The Diary, 1994
You never question when you get the blessings,
So don’t get vexed when your life is stressed.
Shad, “Rose Garden,” TSOL, 2010
Be grateful for blessings,
Don’t ever change, keep your essence.
The power is in the people and politics we address.
2Pac, “Me Against the World,” Me Against the World, 1995
Erick Sermon (EPMD) • “You’re a Customer” • Strictly Business • 1988
I have a strong point of view on the way things run:
Just shut up, and listen, and learn, my son.
Erick Sermon, “You’re a Customer,” from EPMD’s Strictly Business, 1988
MC Lyte • “Search 4 The Lyte” • Act Like You Know • 1991
Some type of grief you must experience
In order to appreciate happiness.
‘Cause if you are always satisfied,
Life will just pass by; you would’ve never tried.
MC Lyte, “Search 4 The Lyte,” Act Like You Know, 1991
Mr. Man (Da Bush Babees) • “Gravity” • 1996
It’s time to invent the future, cause there ain’t nobody else
Who can make it happen right, so make it happen for yourself.
Mr. Man, “Gravity,” from Da Bush Babees’ Gravity, 1996
Lauryn Hill (The Fugees) • “Doo Wop (That Thing)” • 1998
How you gonna win when you ain’t right within?
Lauryn Hill, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998
Juju (The Beatnuts) • Peace Akki • 1996
Reality’s really the individual’s mentality;
Some seek eternal life, while others seek fatality.
Juju, “Peace Akki,” from Al’ Tariq’s God Connections, 1996
Ghostface Killah (Wu-Tang Clan) • “Food” • 2015
To increase your life line, strengthen your heart.
Eat fish…that brain food will get you smart.
Yoga…deep meditational tactics,
You no good? Then just practice, cause practice makes perfect.
Stop burying your lies, and bring the truth to the surface.
Ghostface Killah, “Food,” from BADBADNOTGOOD & Ghostface Killah’s Sour Soul, 2015
Black Thoughts (The Roots) • “I Remember” • 2011
It’s only human to express the way you really feel,
But that same humanity is my Achilles’ heel.
A leopard can’t change his spots and never will;
So I’m forever ill…now I can never chill.
– Black Thought, “I Remember,” from The Roots’ undun, 2011
Lauryn Hill • “Doo Wop (That Thing)” • 1998
Let me break it down for you again,
You know I only say it because I’m truly genuine:
Don’t be a hard rock when you really are a gem.
Lauryn Hill, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998
Grandmaster Melle Mel • “The Message” • 1982
A child is born with no state of mind,
Blind to the ways of mankind.
God is smilin’ on you but He’s frownin’ too,
Because only God knows what you’ll go through.
Grandmaster Melle Mel, “The Message,” from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s The Message, 1982
Aceyalone • “The Guidelines” • 1998
I’d rather stimulate your mind than emulate your purpose.
– Aceyalone, “The Guidelines,” A Book of Human Language, 1998
Masta Ace • “Young Black Intelligent (Y.B.I.)” • 2016
Penny for your thoughts, a nickel for your dreams
A dime for your goals and a quarter in your jeans
Trying to make a dollar outta forty-one cents
Caught up in the barbed wire, shorty on the fence
– Masta Ace, “Young Black Intelligent (Y.B.I.),” The Falling Season, 2016
B-Real (Cypress Hill) • “Bitter” • 2001
I lost my innocence at birth but I make no excuses
For the trivial things and the pain life induces.
– B-Real, “Bitter,” from Cypress Hill’s Stoned Raiders, 2001
King Los • “God Money War” • 2015
God, money, war…
If heaven free, what we kill for money for?
They say, “When it rains it pours,” but it rain on the poor;
So you ain’t really rich if what’s rich ain’t in your core.
– King Los, “God Money War,” God, Money, War, 2015
Slug • “Arthur’s Song” • 2014
Sippin’ on that brown stuff
Got you feeling like you found love,
Or maybe it was just luck.
But honestly…it’s probably none of the above.
– Slug, “Arthur’s Song” from Atmosphere’s Southsiders, 2014.
Nas • “I Do It for Hip-Hop” • 2008
They say I’m so low key, I’m socially awkward,
Only those that really know me are the ones that I talk with.
They smile in the light, hate in the dark,
You call it beef, to me it’s just a fuckin’ walk in the park.
– Nas, “I Do It for Hip-Hop,” from Ludacris’ Theater of the Mind, 2008
Jay-Z • “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” • 2001
To try and to fail:
The two things I hate.
Succeed, and this rap game:
The two things that’s great.
– Jay-Z, “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” The Blueprint, 2001.
Guru (Gang Starr) • “No Shame in My Game” • 1992
Life’s a bitch, who are we to judge each other?
I know I got faults, I ain’t the only muthafucka.
– Guru, “No Shame in my Game,” from Gang Starr’s Daily Operation, 1992
To everyone out there who’s a little different:
I say, “Damn a magazine, these is God’s fingerprints.”
You can call me ugly, but can’t take nothing from me;
I am what I am, doctor, you ain’t gotta love me.
Brother Ali, “Forest Whitaker,” Shadows on the Sun, 2003.
I just want to innovate and stimulate minds,
Travel the world and penetrate the times,
Escape through rhythms,
In search of peace and wisdom.
Common, “The 6th Sense,” Like Water for Chocolate, 2000. More from Comm…
Battle physically, conquer mentally.
CL Smooth, “Take You There,” from Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s The Main Ingredient, 1994
Stay far from timid.
Only make moves when your heart is in it.
And live the phrase ‘Sky’s the Limit.’
Notorious B.I.G., “Sky’s the Limit,” Life After Death, 1997. More from Biggie…
If you can’t live, you dying,
You give or you buy in.
Keep it real or keep it moving,
Keep grinding, keep shining.
Raekwon, “Gorgeous,” from Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, 2010. More from Chef…
The thing that men and women need to do is stick together,
Progressions can’t be made if we’re separate forever.
Q-Tip, “Verses from the Abstract,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991. More from the Abstract…
The greatest lesson ever learned has yet to be taught.
Nas, “One Plus One,” from Large Professor’s The LP, 1996. More from Nasir…
I guess nobody told you a little knowledge is dangerous,
It can’t be mixed, diluted, it can’t be changed or switched.
Here’s a lesson if you’re guessing and borrowing:
Hurry, hurry step right up and keep following the leader.
Rakim, “Follow the Leader,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Follow the Leader, 1988. More from Rakim…
You say you wanna be my leader?
I think you wanna be my God.
You say you on the side of the righteous?
I say I’m gonna hang with the wrong.
There’s truth where the filth is,
There’s lies in the law.
You want a whore with a white dress,
I want a wife in a thong.
El-P, “Angel Duster,” from Run the Jewels’ RTJ2, 2014. More from El-P…
Talk…well I heard talk is cheap.
But like beauty, talk is just skin deep.
And when you lie and you talk a lot,
People tell you to step off a lot.
Daddy-O, “Talkin’ All That Jazz,” from Stetsasonic’s In Full Gear, 1988.
Now hear this mixture: where Hip Hop meets scripture,
Develop a negative into a positive picture.
Lauryn Hill, “Everything is Everything,” The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998. More from Ms. Hill >
It’s the message in the song that makes you rock on,
Some people go to places where they don’t belong.
Whether wrong or right, a lot of people fight,
But I’m here to bless this mic, aight?
Guru, “What I’m Here 4,” from Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth, 1998. More from Guru…
In my heart, though, I do believe:
If you put out more love than you receive,
It’s bound to come back around, eventually.
Masta Ace, “Glory,” from Marco Polo’s PA2: The Director’s Cut, 2013. More lyrics from Ace >
The moral of the story is: Keep your mouth shut.
Cause everybody’s listenin’; speak and you fucked up.
I tell you like them old cats say:
Get what you get, and get your ass out the way.
Cause greed’ll get you 35 tight,
You 27…that’s the rest of your life, right?
Scarface, “Rooted,” Deeply Rooted, 2015. More from ‘Face…
Platinum don’t mean shit
When you’re perpetrating someone else’s life,
And they life ain’t legit.
MF Grimm, “Do It for the Kids,” 12″, 1998. More words of wisdom from MF Grimm…
You won’t get a harvest if you don’t sow seeds,
Ill-gained wealth brings stress from dirty deeds.
The choices that you make will fulfill your needs,
But the shit you go through will be hard to believe.
Grap Luva, “Step Up,” from I.N.I.’s Center of Attention, 2003
Let me break it down for you again,
You know I only say it because I’m truly genuine:
Don’t be a hard rock when you really are a gem.
Lauryn Hill, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998
The way mothers feel for they sons, how fathers feel for they daughters;
When he date, he straight, chip off his own papa.
When she date, we wait behind the door with the sawed off,
Cause we think no one is good enough for our daughters.
Nas, “Daughters,” Life is Good, 2012. More from Nas…
I was a dreamer, life was a gamble;
Born in a casino, but God never give burdens you can’t handle.
Music is my ammo…I’m ready for battle.
K’naan, “Better,” Country, God, or the Girl, 2012
You tried keeping it real, but you should try keeping it right.
Posdnuos, “The Bizness,” from De La Soul’s Stakes Is High, 1996. More from De La…
I give you life decoded,
Nicely quoted.
Ka, “Day 110,” from Ka and Preservation’s Days with Dr. Yen Lo, 2015. More from Ka…
A simple right or left
Can mean life or death.
Epic fail, or nice success,
Days of pleasure…nights of stress.
Ka, “Decisions,” Grief Pedigree, 2012. More from Brownsville’s Ka >
Been tested, ain’t fail: I’m tried and true.
When it’s all falling apart, my pride’s the glue.
I felt at times worthless…
Pulled shifts with shifty crime merchants,
Stained hearts, brainwashed by mind serpents.
The fact I’m still here, it’s clear it’s divine purpose.
Ka, “Day 912,” from Ka and Preservation’s Days with Dr. Yen Lo, 2015. More from Ka…
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
Hey kid, walk straight, master your high.
Slick Rick, “Hey Young World,” The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, 1988. More from Slick Rick the Ruler >
You can see the weakness of a man right through his iris.
RZA, “4th Chamber,” from GZA’s Liquid Swords, 1995. More jewels from RZA…