Don’t cry…cause on Earth
We wasn’t meant to stay.
- Whitney Houston, “My Love Is Your Love,” My Love Is Your Love, 1998. A rare R&B quote exception dedicated to Whitney Houston (August 9, 1963 - February 11, 2012), who has finally found peace.
- Rock, “Gunz ‘N Onez (Iz U Wit Me),” from Heltah Skeltah’s Magnum Force, 1998
We either niggaz or kings,
We either bitches or queens.
The deadly ritual seems immersed in the perverse,
Full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts.
- Mos Def, “Thieves in the Night,” from Black Star’s Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star, 1998
- Lauryn Hill, “Lost Ones,” The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998
Triple Extra Large,
Wild like rock stars who smash guitars…
- Inspectah Deck, “Above the Clouds,” from Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth, 1998
You always gotta watch motherfuckers around you.
Nobody’s invincible, no plan is foolproof,
We all must meet our Moment of Truth.
- Guru, “Moment of Truth,” from Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth, 1998
And then hide the heat in the car door…
God damn, she’s a mother-to-be, ya hope for twins,
Give me a whole tribe!
And be as sexy as Janet was on the cover of Vibe.
- Sadat X, “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head,” from Brand Nubian’s Foundation, 1998
Back smack you so hard, all your seeds will be formed deformed.
Swarm dorms, sting birds, fling verbs like mean curbs
Strike three, mics flee, I infect em with green germs, ringworm
- Holocaust, “Holocaust (Silkworm),” from RZA’s Bobby Digital in Stereo, 1998
Best to know what you’re doin’ ‘fore your life get ruined.
Life is a thrill when your skill is developed,
If you ain’t got a skill or trade, then shut the hell up.
- Del the Funky Homosapien, “At the Helm,” from Hieroglyphics’ 3rd Eye Vision, 1998
And I know “stealers” and they not from Pittsburgh…
- Cam’Ron, “357,” Confessions of Fire, 1998
Get your act together, do some carpentry with a Black & Decker,
And stop speedin like a Kawasaki…
- Prospect, “The Hidden Hand,” from Fat Joe’s Don Cartagena, 1998
Instead of war on poverty, they got a war on drugs
So the police can bother me…
- 2Pac, “Changes,” Greatest Hits, 1998 (Rest in power, 2Pac. 1971 - 1996)
- Talib Kweli, “K.O.S.,” from Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, 1998
- Cappadonna, “MCF,” The Pillage, 1998
