Lyrics are weak, like clock radio speakers.

GZA, “Liquid Swords,” Liquid Swords, 1995

I cannot stand no wack MC.
So step back if you please,
And don’t test me, you’re history.

Del the Funky Homosapien, “Wack M.C.’s,” No Need for Alarm, 1993

Too many MC’s take that word ‘emcee’ lightly;
They can’t Move a Crowd, not even slightly.

KRS-One, “MC’s Act Like They Don’t Know,” KRS-One, 1995

Your whole vocabulary’s played out, admit it.
Still wack if it came out my mouth and I spit it.

Redman, “Pick It Up,” Muddy Waters, 1996

Every little boy wanna pick up the mic,
And try to run with the big boys and live up to the real hype.
But that’s like pickin up a ball, playin with Mike,
Swingin at Ken Griffey or challengin’ Roy to a fight.

LL Cool J, “4,3,2,1,” Phenomenon, 1997

It don’t make sense: either you a soldier from the start,
Or a actor with a record deal tryin’ to play the part.

Xzibit, “Paparazzi,” At the Speed of Life, 1996

See, you’re out your mind tryin’ to face tha God.
Your rhyme is like an empty prison…a waste of bars.

Lord Finesse, Freestyle vs. Percee P, 2003. Video

Hip-hop is universal now, it’s all commercial now.
It’s like a circle full of circus clowns up in the circuit now.

Eminem, “If I Get Locked Up,” from Funkmaster Flex and Big Kap’s The Tunnel, 1999

Rhyme to kill, rhyme to murder, rhyme to stomp,
Rhyme to ill, rhyme to romp,
Rhyme to smack, rhyme to shock, rhyme to roll,
Rhyme to destroy anything, toy boy.
On the microphone:
I’m Poppa Large, big shot on the East Coast.

Kool Keith, “Poppa Large,” from Ultramagnetic MC’s Funk Your Head Up, 1992

I use a pick in my hair without force.
You use a lawn mower–you got peat moss.

Large Professor, “He Got So Much Soul (He Don’t Need No Music),” from Main Source’s Breaking Atoms, 1991

The 808 kick drum makes the girlies get dumb,
We’re rollin’ Rainier, and the jealous wanna get some.
Every time we do the sucka MC’s wanna battle,
I’m the man they love to hate, the J.R. Ewing of Seattle…

Sir Mix-a-Lot, “My Posse’s on Broadway,” SWASS, 1988

Special Ed • “Ready 2 Attack” • 1990

Christmas is over and this is my resolution:
To stop the confusion.
Let the fresh get fresh, and the stale get staler
And throw em in a pail of
Trash…with the other trash, and smash down the lid,
For all the weak shit they did.

Special Ed, “Ready 2 Attack,” Legal, 1990

DMX • “Innocent Man” • 2006

You say I’m rehabilitated but I still can’t vote
You say I paid my debt but I still can’t vote
Gotta pay taxes but I still can’t vote
Come on dawg, y’all stay trying to keep a nigga broke.

DMX, “Innocent Man,” from Mark Morrison’s Innocent Man, 2006

Everlast (House of Pain) • “No Doubt” • 1996

Come on, let’s be real:
You only think you can deal.
That’s why i’m holdin’ the steel,
I rock shit to make you feel
Like, damn that looks easy! Maybe I can do it.
So you take a fat beat and put your wack rhymes to it.
And God only knows what can make you pursue it,
For those who can’t dance and clap your hands to it.

– Everlast, “No Doubt,” from House of Pain’s Truth Crushed to Earth Will Rise Again, 1996