Battle physically, conquer mentally.
Tag: east coast
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CL Smooth, “Take You There,” from Pete Rock & CL Smooth’s The Main Ingredient, 1994
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I’m so def, I need a hearing aid with an equalizer.
Big L, “Yes You May (Remix),” 1992 -
They say, ‘Sorry son, accept it,’ same old song of the subjectors.
Sorry, sirs, but we don’t sing along to anthems or your pledges.
In your garbage rose the rulers of the restless: do not test us.El-P, “Rubble Kings Theme (Dynamite),” from Rubble Kings soundtrack, 2016. More from Run the Jewels… -
We live to love, and we love to rock mics.
We speak in ghetto tongue, cause ghetto’s the life.Doodlebug, “Where I’m From,” from Digable Planets’ Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space), 1993. More from Digable Planets… -
Dope is like a two-way street:
The addiction, both you and me, now take a seat.
Every car got a fleet, every broad get a Jeep,
Every sparkle in the club that wasn’t ours, we compete.
Poor minds, poor decision makers;
No reward…then what’s the risk you taking?Pusha T, “M.P.A.,” King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, 2015. More from Pusha T… -
MC’s are just hopeless:
They think record sales make them the dopest!KRS-One, “Step Into a World (Rapture’s Delight),” I Got Next, 1997. More from KRS… -
Reporting live from the project benches:
Hella caine, dope in cellophane, dirty syringes,
Heron zombies street-walking on three-week binges.
Clientele look like the Thriller vid in 3D lenses.Beanie Sigel, “Keep Dealing,” from Pusha T’s King Push – Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude, 2015. More from the Broad Street Bully… -
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… -
I cause disasters, I am the master,
Turning little bastards into fucking Casper.
So put your name on a tombstone…
Cause when you try to kill me, I refuse to die alone.MF Grimm, “Crumbsnatchers,” Scars & Memories, 2005. More grim quotes from Grimm… -
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… -
Why fuck with these cornball rappers when you can have the real thing?
Lord Finesse, “The Rhythm,” from Bas Blasta’s The Rhythm 12″, 1995. More from the L-O-R-D-F-I-N-E-double-S-E -
She claims she loves my mind, cause I’m so intelligent,
But fuck my mental…she was scheming on my mint.Jeru tha Damaja, “Me or the Papes,” Wrath of the Math, 1996. More from Jeru… -
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… -
You know, I used to be a player…flygirl-layer and a heartbreaker,
Lovemaker, backbreaker, but then I made a mistake.
Yes, I fell in love with this ill chick,
Sweatin’ me for money, my name and the dilsnick.
My homeboys told me drop her cause it would be to my benefit;
She used to say I’d better quit hanging with those derelicts.Guru, “Ex Girl to the Next Girl,” from Gang Starr’s Daily Operation, 1992. More from Guru… -
Serve the curves, I never swerve I’m superb;
Every word you heard played tricks on your nerves.LL Cool J, “Jinglin’ Baby (Remixed But Still Jinglin’),” Mama Said Knock You Out, 1990. More from Uncle L… -
Smoke good, fuck, eat, drink.
Drive nice car, wear all green mink.Action Bronson, “Terry,” Sincerely, Mr. Wonderful, 2015. More from Bronsolini… -
Only thing we have in common: niggas bleed,
In ya thousand dollar joggers as you rhyme about ya dollars.
Is there shame when a platinum rapper’s mother lives in squalor?Pusha T, “Crutches, Crosses, Caskets,” Darkest Before Dawn, 2015. More from King Push… -
I never want a jheri curl up under my hat,
The woman in my bed has got to be strictly black,
I never want money if my lyrics are wack,
So I must…rock…the mic.KRS-One, “Mortal Thought,” Return of the Boom Bap, 1993. More from The Blastmaster… -
I’m a beast on the microphone, a night stalker,
A killing machine, a savage street talker,
Jason with an axe, but I put it on wax
To eradicate the suckers who thought I had relaxed.LL Cool J, “Jack the Ripper,” Walking with a Panther, 1989. More from Uncle L… -
The greatest lesson ever learned has yet to be taught.
Nas, “One Plus One,” from Large Professor’s The LP, 1996. More from Nasir… -
Who do I blame if I’m not a success?
Do I blame it on my pops that left
When I was feedin on my mama’s breast?
Or do I blame it on society?
With all this black/white stuff…man this shit is real tough.Freddie Foxxx, “So Tough,” Crazy Like a Foxxx, 1993 -
I know I’d be the man if I cold yanked the plug on R&B…but I can’t, and that’s bugged.
Q-Tip, “Buggin’ Out,” The Low End Theory, 1991. More from ATCQ… -
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… -
I wouldn’ta came and said my name and run some weak shit,
Puttin’ blurbs and slurs and words that don’t fit
In a rhyme, why waste time on the microphone?
I take this more serious than just a poem.
Rockin’ party to party, backyard to yard,
I tear it up y’all…and bless the mic for the Gods.Rakim, “My Melody,” from Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid in Full, 1987. More from Rakim Allah… -
Now, yo: Juice Crew’s the family, Slick Rick’s a friend of me
And Doug E. Fresh, Stet, KRS and Public Enemy.
Blahzay-blah, you know who you are:
The red, black and green, the sun, moon and star.
Knowledge of self is being taught here on after,
Peace in the name of I, Self, Lord and Master.
I come to teach and preach and reaching each
With the speech every leech I’ll impeach.
Drop science and build with math,
And the dumb, deaf and blind’ll feel the Wrath…of Kane.Big Daddy Kane, “Wrath of Kane (Live),” It’s a Big Daddy Thing, 1990. More from Kane… -
Got the new Hummer in the summer when,
I was a newcomer then,
Drugs and Mac-10s, hugs from fake friends.
Make ends: they hate you,
Be broke: girls won’t date you.Notorious B.I.G., “Long Kiss Goodnight,” Life After Death, 1997. More from Biggie… -
Y’all niggaz ain’t rapping the same,
Fuck the flow, y’all jacking our slang,
I seen the same shit happen to Kane,
Three cuts in your eyebrow trying to wild out.
The game is ours, will never foul out,
Y’all just better hope we gracefully bow out.Jay-Z, “Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up),” Vol. 2…The Life and Times of S. Carter, 1999. More from Jay… -
Lyrically def and connecting, complete mic-wrecking…
No double-checking, vocals kill like weapons.Guru, “Mass Appeal,” from Gang Starr’s Hard To Earn, 1994. More from Guru… -
‘Cause in my physical I can express through song,
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong.
I drink Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale…it ain’t hard to tell.Nas, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” Illmatic, 1993. More from Nas…1993, east coast, Guns, illmatic, large professor, moet, motrin, nas, new york, queens, queensbridge, weed -
It ain’t hard to tell, I excel then prevail,
The mic is contacted, I attract clientele.
My mic check is life or death, breathing a sniper’s breath,
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps.Nas, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” Illmatic, 1993. More from Nas… -
Gun control means using both hands, in my land.
Posdnuous, “Stakes Is High,” from De La Soul’s Stakes Is High, 1996. More from the D.A.I.S.Y. Age… -
Never forget that I’m the one you thought wouldn’t make it.
I used to make money…now I just take it.Buckshot, “I Gotcha Opin,” from Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage, 1993. More from Black Moon… -
I’m sick and tired of these fake-ass niggas,
Saying that they’re catching bodies when they never pulled a trigger.
I know your style, I’ve seen it before,
You wearing army suit, now you think you’re hardcore.
Drinking on your 40’s, smoking on your blunts,
Can’t afford a chain so you wear gold fronts…
You fakin’ the funk, kid.
And you’d be getting it up the ass if you ever did a fucking bid.Fat Joe, “The Shit Is Real (Remix),” Jealous One’s Envy, 1993 -
My whole persona’s kinda laid back like a recliner,
And since a minor, I been fucking with marijuana.AZ, “Rather Unique,” Doe or Die, 1995. More from AZ… -
I know the price, know the risk, know the wrongs and the rights;
Still my blood flows ice…it’s just my life.Jay-Z, “In My Lifetime (Remix),” 12", 1994. More from Hov… -
Asparagus tips look yummy, yummy, yummy,
Candied yams inside my tummy.
A collage of good eats, some snacks or nice treats,
Apple sauce and some nice red beets.
This is what we snack on when we’re questin’.Q-Tip and Phife, “Ham n’ Eggs,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, 1990. More from ATCQ… -
Times are hard in the ghetto, I gotta steal for a living;
Eating turkey-flavored Now & Laters for Thanksgiving.DMX, “Born Loser,” 12”, 1993 -
They call it Thanksgiving, I call your holiday ‘Hell Day’
Cause I’m from poverty, neglected by the wealthy.Nas, “What Goes Around,” Stillmatic, 2001. More from Nas… -
Back in the days was kinda crazy, kid: I started out with nothin’.
Wasn’t livin’ like Thanksgiving; I was turkey without the stuffin’.Kool G. Rap, “Blowin’ Up in the World,” 4,5,6, 1995. More from G Rap… -
We went from African kings to Martin Luther King,
Now they wanna make us all Rodney King.
So they conspire to murder for hire;
Is the world just a big cup of water trying to douse the black fire?Freddie Foxxx, “So Tough,” Crazy Like a Foxxx, 1993 -
Redman ready to rock rough rhymes,
Renegade rapper, rip when it’s rhyme time.
Punk push a pen and pencil when I’m pissed,
Pack pistol posse, flow some more pro shit.Redman, “Hardcore,” from EPMD’s Business as Usual, 1990 (via rapquote) -
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. -
Baby, baby, baby, I don’t wanna be rude,
But I know the cause of your bloody attitude.
I know why you act that way,
It usually happens on the 28th day.
I respect that…crazily,
When you’re done with the pads, can you come check me?Q-Tip, “The Infamous Date Rape,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991. More from Q-Tip the Abstract… -
I heard you rhyme a few times, each time you blew it.
You’re soft, you can’t go off, I knew it.
Let’s be realistic, I’m not egotistic;
But you, your crew…just not that artistic.
Point blank: your song stank.
I know you want the truth, so let’s be frank.Chill Rob G, “Let the Words Flow,” Ride the Rhythm, 1989. -
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 -
I’m outspoken; my language is broken into a slang,
But it’s just a dialect that I select when I hang.Special Ed, “I Got It Made,” Youngest in Charge, 1989. More from Special Ed… -
Having that gang war?
We want to know what you’re fighting for.
Fighting over colors?
All that gang shit’s for dumb motherfuckers.
But you go on thinking you’re hard…
Come to New York and we’ll see who gets robbed.
Take your jheri curls, take your black hats,
Take your wack lyrics and your bullshit tracks.
Now you’re mad and you’re thinking about stomping?
Well I’m from the South Bronx…Fuck Compton.Tim Dog, “Fuck Compton,” Penicillin on Wax, 1991.