It’s been a long time, I shouldn’t have left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to.
Think of how many weak shows you slept through…
Time’s up, I’m sorry I kept you.
Rakim, “I Know You Got Soul,” from Eric B. & Rakim’s Paid In Full, 1987
Tag: east coast
-
-
Fuck a stray bullet, I take aim when the gun draws,
For everlasting fame, I will maim those who change the gun laws.
Cause post-traumatic stress disorder, ask any vet I’ve worked with.
My purpose? Catching bodies like safety nets at the circus.Pharoahe Monch, “Damage,” from PTSD, 2012 -
I bumped into Loon, he like ‘Well, As Salaam-Alaikum.’
You know I ain’t Muslim, my nigga, I’m about my bacon!Ma$e, “Higher,” from Kanye West Presents G.O.O.D. Music: Cruel Summer, 20122012, cruel summer, east coast, Harlem, hip-hop, humor, kanye west, Loon, ma$e, new york, Rap Quote, Religion -
I scored 1.1 on my SAT,
And still push a whip with a right and left AC.Redman, “Blackout,” from Method Man and Redman’s Blackout!, 1999 -
Yo, it’s 1 universal law but 2 sides to every story,
3 strikes and you be in for life, mandatory.
4 MC’s murdered in the last 4 years,
I ain’t tryin to be the 5th one, the Millennium is here.
Yo, it’s 6 million ways to die, from the 7 deadly thrills,
8-year olds gettin’ found with 9 mill’s.
It’s 10 P.M., where your seeds at? What’s the deal?Mos Def, “Mathematics,” from Black on Both Sides, 1999 -
I judge wisely…as if nothin ever surprise me,
Loungin, between two pillars of ivory.
I’m lively, my dome piece is like buildin stones in Greece.
My poems are deep, from ancient thrones I speak.Killah Priest, “4th Chamber,” from Genius/GZA’s Liquid Swords, 1995 -
Now what Clan you know with lines this ill?
Bust shots at Big Ben, like we got time to kill.Method Man, “Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off),” from Wu-Tang Clan’s The W, 2000 -
They use the simple back and forth, the same, old rhythm
That a baby can pick up, and join, right with ‘em.
But their rhymes are pathetic, they think they copacetic
Using nursery terms, at least not poetic…Kool Keith, “Ego Trippin,” from Ultramagnetic MC’s Critical Beatdown, 1988 -
Putting styles on lock, and making beats by the bundle,
Scooping more props than Bryant Gumbel…and staying humble.Pete Rock, “Escape,” from Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s The Main Ingredient, 1994 -
These niggaz ain’t thugs, the real thugs is the government.
Don’t matter if you Independent, Democrat or Republican,
Niggaz politickin’ the street, get into beef,
Start blastin’…now a new cat is executive chief.Talib Kweli, “Ghetto Afterlife,” from Reflection Eternal’s Train of Thought, 2000 -
You’re mad cause my style you’re admiring…
Don’t be mad, UPS is hiring.The Notorious B.I.G., “Flava In Ya Ear (Remix),” 12", 1994 -
Let’s advance the game:
How many times can we rhyme about cars and chains?
How many bricks can a nigga really sell?
How many times can a nigga really go to jail?
How many murders can you do on one album?
Put ‘em together, must of did about a thousand.
I’m just saying, let’s change it up.
If not, nigga, hang it up.Lord Jamar, “Advance the Game,” The 5% Album, 2006 -
Battling me is some deadly shit,
So come equipped with rhymes, guns and two extra clips.
Aim for the head, ‘cause you don’t wear a vest there,
Bullet makes a window, your brain needing fresh air.MF Grimm, “Emotions,” Scars & Memories, 2005 -
Next time you see a brother down
Stop and pick him up,
Cause you might be the next one stuck.Grand Puba, “Mind Your Business,” Ya Know How It Goes 12", 1992 -
Never become so involved with something that it blinds you.
Never forget where you from; someone will remind you.DMX, “It’s On,” from DJ Clue’s The Professional, 1998 -
Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal,
MC’s spit rhymes to uplift their people.KRS-One, “Classic (Better Than I’ve Ever Been),” 2007 -
I will endanger your species like an ostrich,
Hold you hostage, and crazy feed you swine sausage!Busta Rhymes, “Do My Thing,” The Coming, 1996 -
Braniac dumb-dumbs, bust the scientifical,
Approach to the course and the force is centrifugal.
Can you find your way through the lyrics that be catchin’ ‘em?
Throw another rhyme across the room, they be fetchin’ ’em.Masta Ace, “Jeep Ass Niguh,” Slaughtahouse, 1993 -
How far must you go to gain respect? Um…
Well, it’s kind of simple: just remain your own.
Or you’ll be crazy sad and alone.Q-Tip, “Check the Rhime,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991 -
I want a girl with extensions in her hair,
Bamboo earrings, at least two pair,
A Fendi bag and a bad attitude,
That’s all I need to get me in a good mood.
She can walk with a switch and talk with street slang,
I love it when a woman ain’t scared to do her thing.LL Cool J, “Around the Way Girl,” Mama Said Knock You Out, 1990 -
I left my Phillie at home,
Do you have another?
I wanna get blunted, my brother.Smooth B, “DWYCK,” from Gang Starr’s Hard to Earn, 1994 -
Some seek fame cause they need validation,
Some say hating is confused admiration.Nas, “Stay,” Life is Good, 2012 -
Once in awhile, I’mma cheat and get dome,
But best believe that I’mma always come home.
Shorty, I luv you.Meyhem Lauren, “Let’s Hold Hands,” Respect The Fly Shit, 2012 -
Type to tote the glock and use gats…
You the type to vote Barack cause dude’s black.Sean P, “Grown Man Palettes,” from Meyhem Lauren’s Respect The Fly Shit, 2012 -
Your reign on the top was short like leprechauns,
As I crush so-called Willies, thugs, and rapper-dons.The Notorious B.I.G., “Kick in the Door,” Life After Death, 1997 -
Why’s my name the Large Professor?
Cause I milked your cow, in other words I hit your heifer.Large Professor, “Live at the Barbecue,” from Main Source’s Breaking Atoms, 1991 -
Scared of a bunch of water? Then get out the rain.
Order a rapper for lunch, and spit out the chain.MF Doom, “Sofa King,” from Danger Doom’s The Mouse and the Mask, 2005 -
Shoot eagles on the Jack Nicklaus course,
Porsche with the triple exhaust,
Seats soft like a midget’s cough…Action Bronson, “Midget Cough,” from Mick Boogie’s Represent the Stripes, 2012 -
And when I smiled, ‘Bing!’ I almost blinded her.
She said, ‘Great Scot, are you a thief?
Seems like you have a mouth full of gold teeth!’
Hahahaha, had to find that funny,
So I said, ‘No child, I work hard for the money.
And calling me a thief? Please…don’t even try it,
Sit down, eat your slice of pizza, and be quiet.’Slick Rick, “Mona Lisa,” The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, 1988 -
Music just ain’t what it used to;
We used to have songs that you could shoplift or boost to.Jadakiss, “Hip-Hop (Remix),” from Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack, 2008 -
I got a ill gift, I’m real swift
They be like, ‘Damn, he’s still rich.’
When I send my Men in Black,
Listen, none of them niggas named Will Smith.Cam’ron, “60 Rackz (Remix)”, 2012 -
Hood forever, I just act like I’m civilized.
Really what’s in my mind is organizing a billion Black motherfuckers
To take over JP Morgan, Goldman and Sachs
And teach the world facts and give Saudi they oil back.Nas, “No Introduction,” Life is Good, 2012 -
If rhyme is a crime, my mic is my co-defendant.
Cormega, “Focused Up,” from Large Professor’s Professor @ Large, 2012 -
I had a cigarette for breakfast, just for beginners,
Cried for my lunch, and sleep for dinner.G. Dep, “Everyday,” Child of the Ghetto, 2001 -
I don’t like a girl that be hanging with a slut crew,
I can’t sport a female who’s crossed-eyed with a buck tooth.
I need a female I can sport when I’m outdoors.
I’m not choosy…I got a rep to look out for.Lord Finesse, “I Like My Girls With a Boom,” Return of the Funky Man, 1992 -
It’s a thin line between paper and hate,
Friends and snakes, nine millis and thirty-eights,
Hell or the pearly gates…I was destined to come,
Predicted, blame God, He blew breath in my lungs.Nas, “Hate Me Now,” I Am…, 1999 -
EPMD in effect, I’m clockin’ mad green
Like Kermit the Frog, sloppy like Boss Hog,
Girl was runnin’ wild…ate her like a corn dog.Parrish Smith, “Chill,” from EPMD’s Business Never Personal, 1992 -
It’s ninety-six degrees in the shade…
Before I catch blood on my blade.Keith Murray, “Hostile,” from Erick Sermon’s No Pressure, 1993 -
On the square…I’m not riffin’ like Andy Griffith,
Just fed up, goin’ head up, with competition.Positive K, “Step Up Front,” 12", 1988. Legendary television actor Andy Griffith died of natural causes today at the age of 86. -
If you ain’t never been to the ghetto,
Don’t ever come to the ghetto,
‘Cause you wouldn’t understand the ghetto,
So stay the fuck out of the ghetto.Treach, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright (Ghetto Bastard),” from Naughty By Nature’s Naughty By Nature, 1991 -
Keep my planets in orbit,
Never forfeit or quit,
Move forward…
I talk with the awkward slang,
I walk with the Wu-Tang.RZA, “Tragedy,” from Rhyme & Reason soundtrack, 1997 -
This generation lacks true knowledge of how the past has trapped you with psychological lassos over Adam’s apples.
Reks, “Unlearn,” REBELutionary, 2012 -
The D’s for doin it all of the time.
M is for the rhymes, that are all mine,
C’s for cool, cool as can be,
And why you wear those glasses? So I can see!D.M.C., “Here We Go,” Run-D.M.C., 1983 -
Bass! How low can you go?
Death row…what a brother know.
Once again, back is the incredible,
The rhyme animal, the uncannable “D!”
Public Enemy Number One.
Five-O said, “Freeze!” and I got numb.
Can I tell ‘em that I really never had a gun?
But it’s the wax that the Terminator X spun.Chuck D., “Bring the Noise,” from Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, 1988 -
When you say you love me, it doesn’t matter.
It goes into my head as just chit-chatter.
You may think it’s egotistical or just worry-free,
But what you say, I take none of it seriously.MC Lyte, “Paper Thin,” Lyte as a Rock, 1988 -
So concisely, musically we are the herb
So sit back and light me.
Inhale…
My style’s kinda fat, reminiscent of a whale.Q-Tip, “Sucka Nigga,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders, 1993 (via egotripland) -
Ayo, the arm bone connected to the hand bone,
Nigga, the hand bone connected to the damn chrome!Sean P, “Don’t You Cross the Line,” from Boot Camp Clik’s The Last Stand, 2006 -
You know the wisdom is reflected in the knowledge when it’s manifested;
If not fed in due time, the mind is anorexic.Cormega, “American Beauty,” The Realness, 2001