Tag Archives: truth

Through the fame, through the fire and the flames,
I adapt to the pain, real niggas do the same.
And though we homies and we no longer hang
You know you know me, and that love still remains.

AZ, “Never Change,” A.W.O.L., 2005

On the real, fuck your opinion.
I made it this far, and you broke.

Troy Ave, “Classic Feel,” New York City: The Album, 2013

I am recognizing that the voice inside my head
Is urging me to be myself, but never follow someone else
Because opinions are like voices, we all have a different kind.

Q-Tip, “Steve Biko (Stir It Up),” from A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders, 1993

What’s the basis when rappers don’t know the basics?
Still not takin’ advice from those I wouldn’t trade places with.

Skeme, “No Time,” Ingleworld, 2013

Life is like a box of chocolates, you fill your body with toxins,
And amoxicillin and penicillin to cure your illness.
But in realness? These medical companies will get you monthly
Prescribing me pills that make me ill, just to comfort me.

Termanology, “100 More Jewelz,” G.O.Y.A. (Gunz Or Yay Available), 2013

Time flies, dreams die, people lose faith,
Tryna hide behind a lie with a straight face.

Xzibit, “Legends Never Die,” from Serial Killers Vol 1., 2013

This game is lame, the music comes second
So you can save that stupidness for all them artists you checkin.
Popularity don’t last long, I’m in it for classics,
Cause the other side of the biz is fake and it’s plastic.

Craig G., “Classic Personified,” Ramblings of an Angry Old Man, 2012

Make a radio hit: heads criticize it.
Underground classic? Nobody buys it.
So, rap is fucked…
And everything blowing up sounds redundant,
But money talks and bullshit does 9 flat in the 100.

Ras Kass, “Reelishymn,” Soul On Ice, 1996

Others tell like it is, while I tell it how I would like it to be.

Cee-Lo, “The World I Know,” from Slam The Soundtrack, 1998

Your whole appearance is a lie and it could never be true.
And if you really loved yourself, then you would try and be you.

Phife, “Butter,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991

Actions have reactions, don’t be quick to judge,
You may not know the hardships people don’t speak of.
It’s best to step back, and observe with couth,
For we all must meet our Moment of Truth.

Guru, “Moment of Truth,” from Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth, 1998

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

You can’t fool all the people all of the time,
But if you fool the right ones, the rest will fall behind.

Dead Prez, “Propaganda,” Let’s Get Free, 2000

Ain’t nothin’ like hip-hop music;
You like it cause you choose it.
Most DJ’s won’t refuse it,
A lotta sucka MC’s misuse it.

Daddy-O, “Go Stetsa I,” from Stetsasonic’s On Fire, 1986

Truth had me up against the ropes
And semi-conscious without no boxing skills.

Pharoahe Monch, “The Truth,” Internal Affairs, 1999

God damn! Drug dealers dealin’ to the kiddies,
Livin’ in the city ain’t no pity on the itty-bitty.
We try to cry, but still they all die,
I try to speak to the youth, and the truth is: they all high.

2Pac, “Wassup Wit The Luv?,” from Digital Underground’s The Body-Hat Syndrome, 1993

I find it’s distressin’, there’s never no in-between:
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

I wanna lie to you sometimes…but I can’t.
I wanna tell you that it’s all good…but it ain’t.

Cee-Lo, “Thought Process,” from Goodie Mob’s Soul Food, 1995

They say it’s lonely at the top, in whatever you do,
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

My life is violent but violence is life,
Peace is a dream, reality is a knife.

Ice-T, “Colors,” from Colors Soundtrack, 1988

Kendrick Lamar • “FEEL.” • 2017

I feel like friends been overrated,
I feel like the family been faking,
I feel like the feelings are changing,
Feel like my daughter compromised and jaded,
Feel like you wanna scrutinize how I made it.

Kendrick Lamar, “FEEL.,” DAMN, 2017

The truth is easier when you leavin’ it out.
Like when you “5 minutes away” but you’re just leavin your house?

Wordsworth, “Liar, Liar,” from The Juggaknots’ Use Your Confusion, 2006

Killer Mike • “Reagan” • 2012

Thanks to Reaganomics, prisons turned to profits,
Cause free labor is the cornerstone of US economics.
Slavery was abolished, unless you are in prison,
You think I am bullshitting? Then read the 13th Amendment.
Involuntary servitude and slavery it prohibits,
That’s why they giving drug offenders time in double digits.

Killer Mike, “Reagan,” R.A.P. Music, 2012

J. Cole • “False Prophets” • 2016

He’s fallin’ apart, but we deny it,
Justifying that half-ass shit he dropped, we always buy it.
When he tell us he a genius, but it’s clearer lately
It’s been hard for him to look into the mirror lately.
There was a time when this nigga was my hero, maybe,
That’s the reason why his fall from grace is hard to take.
‘Cause I believed him when he said his shit was purer and he
The type of nigga swear he real, but all around him’s fake:
The women, the dickriders, you know, the yes men,
Nobody with the balls to say somethin’ to contest him.
So he grows out of control,
Into the person that he truly was all along, it’s startin’ to show.
Damn, wonder what happened?
Maybe it’s my fault for idolizing niggas
Based off the words they be rappin’.

J. Cole, “False Prophets,” Dreamville, 2016

Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) • “Black Spasmodic” • 2016

Rip every stage with grace, look right dead in they face,
Live the Tribe principle of havin’ impeccable taste.
Enjoy that breath like that one was your last one left,
If you don’t believe me, there’s truly life after death.

– Q-Tip, “Black Spasmodic,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service, 2016

Dead Prez • “Hell Yeah (Pimp the System)” • 2004

I’m not the one to kiss ass for the top position,
I take mine off the top like a politician.
Where I’m from, doin dirt is a part of livin…
I got mouths to feed, I gots to get it.

– Dead Prez, “Hell Yeah (Pimp the System),” RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta, 2004

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.

Pharoahe Monch • “The Truth” • 1999

Truth brings light, light refracts off the mirror,
Visions of yourself and error could never be clearer.
The truth is that you ugly…
Not on the outside, but in the inside.
On the outside, you frontin’ you lovely.

– Pharoahe Monch, “The Truth,” Internal Affairs, 1999

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.

Your whole appearance is a lie and it could never be true.
And if you really loved yourself, then you would try and be you.

Phife, “Butter,” from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory, 1991. More from Phife. Rest in forever peace, Malik Taylor, the rapper known as Phife Dawg, who died Wednesday at the age of 45. 1970-2016.

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…

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.

Never was hot, never was Pop,
But I never, ever stopped that real Hip Hop.
Got no paparazzi, got no company that got me;
Walking alone in the ‘hood, so it’s easy to spot me.

Chuck D, “Everything,” from Public Enemy’s The Evil Empire of Everything, 2012. More from Chuck D…

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…

Somebody somewhere be saying some shit about you,
And that something be some bullshit when they know it ain’t true.

Quelle Chris, “The Ones to Watch,” Innocent Country, 2015

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 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

Now it’s my turn, and I am concerned
About idiots posing as kings.
What are we here to rule?
I thought we were supposed to sing.
And if we oughta sing, then let us begin to teach.
Many of you are educated…open your mouth and speak!

KRS-One, “I’m Still #1,” from Boogie Down Productions’ By All Means Necessary, 1988

They say it’s lonely at the top, in whatever you do,
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

You a white boy in a fuckin’ droptop,
Bumpin’ 2Pac, actin’ like you hard? Stop.
Hip-hop music make the world go round,
But buying a record don’t put you down.
You listen to thugs, it don’t make you one;
Never met a Blood or Crip, but you act like one?

Mystic, “Pull Ya Card,” from Da Beatminerz’ Fully Loaded w/Statik, 2004.

And even after all my logic and my theory, I add a ‘motherfucker’ so you ignorant niggas hear me.

Lauryn Hill, “Zealots,” from The Fugees’ The Score, 1996. More from Ms. Hill…

And just so Conservatives don’t take it to heart,
I don’t think Bush did it, ‘cause he isn’t that smart.
He’s just a stupid puppet taking orders on his cell phone,
From the same people that sabotaged Senator Wellstone.
The military industry got it poppin’ and lockin’,
Looking for a way to justify the Wolfowitz Doctrine.
And as a matter of fact, Rumsfeld, now that I think back:
Without 9/11, you couldn’t have a war in Iraq,
Or a Defense budget of world conquest proportions.
Kill freedom of speech and revoke the right to abortions,
Tax cut extortion, a blessing to the wealthy and wicked,
But you still have to answer to the Armageddon you scripted.
And Dick Cheney? You fuckin leech, tell them your plans:
About building your pipelines through Afghanistan,
And how Israeli troops trained the Taliban in Pakistan.
You might have some house niggaz fooled, but I understand.
Colonialism is sponsored by corporations,
That’s why Halliburton gets paid to rebuild nations.
Tell me the truth, I don’t scare into paralysis,
I know the CIA saw Bin Laden on dialysis
In ’98 when he was Top Ten for the FBI.
Government ties is really why the government lies,
Read it yourself instead of asking the government why
‘Cause then the Cause of Death will cause the propaganda to die.

Immortal Technique, “Cause of Death,” Revolutionary Volume 2, 2003. More from Immortal Technique…

The government pimped 9/11 to go to Iraq,
And history repeats itself right on track. (How?)
First as a tragedy, and then the comedy begins. (Why?)
Cause it’s funny, motherfuckers don’t see it come around again.

Immortal Technique, “Reverse Pimpology,” The 3rd World, 2008. More from Immortal Technique >

The military ain’t there for the people’s protection,
They’re just there to protect an investment.
That’s why people get arrested, electrocuted, molested,
Connected streets are infested with those tired of protesting.
Traumatized children grown in guerrilla garrisons,
9/11 generations pale in comparison.
And you will learn a lesson repeated through history:
That no matter what you think, occupation is not victory.

Immortal Technique, “Angels & Demons,” The Martyr, 2011. More from Immortal Technique >

The world is full of bullshitters,
Liars, and triers and quitters,
Coulda-beens, wannabe’s, thought-I-was, isn’t-I-is’s…
And everybody in your business.

Aceyalone, “Keep It True,” All Balls Don’t Bounce, 1995. More lines from Aceyalone >

They say ‘Love Jesus’ and ‘Listen to your pastor,’
But Jesus told the truth, and the pastor’s a lying bastard.
All he talk about is economic elevation,
And all Jesus talked about was soul salvation.
Jesus sat with the sick and he walked with the poor,
If He gave blood for our sins, why we giving more?
I got some Gangster Disciples at church with me tonight,
With five dollars worth of gas, and a matchbook to light.

Killer Mike, “Burn,” Pl3dge, 2011. More serious lyrics from Mike Bigga >

Tell ‘em the truth and they call you a traitor,
Talk to ’em honestly and they call you a hater.

Immortal Technique, “Eye in the Sky,” from The Martyr, 2011

Love is love, love is real, love is great.
But when it isn’t reciprocated, it could become hate.

Apathy, “It’s Only Hip-Hop,” Honkey Kong, 2011

Truth brings light, light refracts off the mirror,
Visions of yourself and error could never be clearer.
The truth is that you ugly…
Not on the outside, but in the inside;
On the outside, you frontin’ you lovely.

Pharoahe Monch, “The Truth,” Internal Affairs, 1999. More Pharoahe Monch quotes >