50 Cent once listed all the rappers he thought could kill someone in eight bars (it went: 50...um Jay-Z and Nas) but we can think of a few more. His words are laced with a kind of bohemian wisdom that inspires more questions than it can hope to answer, but the ride is nonetheless enlightening. More than just a commentary on rap, this is a commentary on capitalism and how the motivation it provides can be misguided. The whole crowd goes so loud/He opens his mouth but the words won't come out/He's choking, how? "And if I die before I wake/I pray the lord my soul to take/But please don't cry/Just know that I have made these songs for you.". And groups like Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill showed that She also named her influences including Missy Elliot, Trina, Nicki Minaj, and Foxy Brown. The flip is unexpected and borderline disrespectful: A dead president is more useful than a living one. Speaking with Issa Rae for Apple Music’s “Issa’s Raedio Show,” the “Best Friend” rapper revealed... 09/03/2021 • Saweetie Says Lil’ Kim Has The Best Bar In Female Rap History Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we would like to keep it that way. Saweetie believes Lil Kim has the best bar in female rap history. Ever! This is personification at its best -- unexpected and complex. The ultimate IDGAF line. "His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy/There's vomit on his sweater already: mom's spaghetti/He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready/To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting/What he wrote down. "For all of those who wanna profile and pose/Rock you in your face, stab your brain with your nose bone.". A version of this article was originally published in December 2015. So many so we can up with The 25 Best Eight-Bar Verses In Rap History. When I started making bars in my home kitchen, I tried to create something that I personally wanted to eat. "Life's not a bitch. "I got this killa up inside of me/I can't talk to my mother so I talk to my diary.". This single line basically encapsulates the concept of a good kid in a mad city, and it cuts into one of the most essential moral questions in human existence: Can good come from evil? Ahh, shit! These lyrics are informed and enriched by the rest of the song, whose vignettes detail the grim life in the inescapable concrete jungle. The creme de la crap. But why rhyme like that when there are millions of dollars to be made, and high brow rapping is more likely to estrange the mainstream than make you rich. Shorty, I luv you.” – Meyhem Lauren, “Let’s Hold Hands 32. Careers, The proliferation of his music isn't simply transmission of sound; it's his mode of expression, and, as the rest of this section of the song explains, a tool to teach and connect people. See also: - The 50 worst rap lyrics: The complete list - The 50 worst rock/pop lyrics of all time: The complete list - The ten best storytellers in hip-hop, "Crack mothers, crack babies and AIDS patients/Youngbloods can't spell, but they could rock you in PlayStation.". Join the Westword community and help support independent local journalism in Denver. yo I would vote for this one: "since hip hop became a lucrative profession/there's a misconception/that a movement at any direction is progression". Just like your high school English teacher told you, making your point requires being concise and direct. More than just a commentary on rap… The picture at the beginning of this rhyme is so bleak; Christmas and birthdays are pointed out as low points because Big's family can't afford to celebrate. In only two lines, Kanye's cousin moves from childhood to prison. Life is a beautiful woman/You only call her a bitch because she won't let you get that pussy.". 25. Pharcyde, "Ya Mama" The unholy of unholies. But I know you aint ever got brains from a dame another mans pain his spouse. "The sky is falling, the wind is calling/Stand for something, or die in the morning". Ideas start to hit/Next the formation of words that fit/At the table I sit, making it legit/And when my pen hits the paper. 1. But it’s only The Best Bar Ever if In This Article: Biggie Smalls , Eminem , Hip-Hop , Kanye West , Lil Wayne , Nicki Minaj , Notorious B.I.G. The Bay Area artist is slated to drop her debut studio album this year, and she sat down with Issa Rae for Apple Music's Issa Raedio Show where they talked about the forthcoming album and the women in Rap that Saweetie grew up listening to. Blu - "The World Is (Below the Heavens)", "Every man has his own heaven/The difference is the way that he envisions it/So if you make your heaven pictureless/By the time you die, you'll be drifting in an imageless field/So fill your heaven full of blessed thoughts/.../I got a question: If a man can make his own heaven/Then can he make his path to get to it too?". They make us smile, laugh, cry, think, and shake what our mama (or papa) gave us. The 100 Best Rap Songs of All Time. "Swimmin' laps around a bottle of Louie the Thirteenth/Jumpin' off of a mountain into a sea of codeine/I'm at the top of the top, but still I climb/And if I should ever fall, the ground will then turn to wine.". Ever! With this line, Run-D.M.C. "And even after all my logic and my theory/I add a "Motherfucker" so you ignorant niggas hear me.". Brevity is the soul of wit, and in this Twitter fueled, ADD era we live in, we appreciate the rappers who can say twice as much in half the time. If you thought 50-11 were bad, you ain't seen nothin' yet. And he makes it sound easy and fluent -- like a finger roll in basketball. Roommates, debates about who is the best in the world of hip hop date back to the very beginning of the genre and social media has made the conversation even more intense…just ask Saweetie. Some people just don't have what it takes to live up to the Sugarhill Gang's high culinary standards. This is Big's expression of the American dream. It's the kind of line that borders on narcissistic -- and Cudi is kind of a narcissistic guy -- but the personality with which he delivers the line makes it sound so genuine, and it comes off as more humble than anything. The 25 Best Jay Z Songs of All Time. The 50 best rap lyrics of all time: Complete list. Talib Kweli and Common are the classic conscious rappers who try to reinforce the positive aspects of rap like self-awareness and intelligence. Bun is the surgical emcee, while Pimp is the flamboyant philosopher. This abrupt shift doesn't allow the listener time to let Kanye's cousin grow, so when he's suddenly behind glass, we can't believe it either. Saweetie Argues Lil Kim Had “Best [Rap] Bar In Female History” On “Not Tonight” Classic The Pretty B*tch Music hype has arrived, and it’s looking as if Saweetie is preparing a release that will include a large amount of music. Poetic quality? Aesop takes one of the most treasured tropes in hip-hop and skillfully denies it by extending the metaphor of life as a woman and trading cynicism for wonderment. The question is: Can you trust him? The way he says it is completely fresh, combining the two familiar idioms of pouring liquor out for the dead homies and a dead man walking, then coming full circle, telling you how you'll die with a dark and funny Talking Heads reference and a perfect rhyme. The 100 Best Rap Songs of the 2000s. "See it's easy as cake, simple as whistling Dixie/While I'm waving the pistol at sixty Christians against me/Go to war with the Mormons, take a bath with the Catholics/In holy water, no wonder they tried to hold me under longer.". "I ain't a killer, but don't push me/Revenge is like the sweetest joy, next to getting pussy.". He is symbolically suggesting that judgment is coming tomorrow and that only the righteous will be saved -- or perhaps he's implying that judgment comes each day and every day you don't stand for something, you're virtually dead. 50 Best Rap Songs of 2010. Everybody's joking now/The clock's run out, time's up, over -- blaow!". You get the sense that the shoes of Run-D.M.C. You would expect trouble to be uncaring and unkind, but K'naan presents trouble as a soothing figure. These lines speak to the idealistic exuberance of youth and the slow, inconspicuous poison of cynicism and sin that creeps into a person. The Bay Area artist i Entertainment News Saweetie Argues Lil Kim Had “Best [Rap 2Pac has always been one for keeping things simple, at least on the surface, but what this rhyme suggests about the nature of man is insidious. We use cookies to collect and analyze information on site performance and usage, and to enhance and customize content and advertisements. De La Soul proved that three really is the magic number. Mos Def raises the stakes of this rhyme in the first line by presenting the challenges humanity faces in this day in age. Here are 14 songs no one ever gets tired of hearing at the bar, from some of our favorite barflys. "As kids we used to laugh/Who knew that life would move this fast?/Who knew I'd have to look at you through a glass?/And look, tell me you ain't did it, you ain't did it/And if you did, then that's family business.". We are fascinated by death, and the more tragic it is, the more fixated we are. RELATED: The 50 Best Guest Verses of All Time
In the 1980s Hip Hop grew from a local phenomenon to a new musical genre and worldwide cultural movement, with Hip Hop albums steadily starting to be released from the mid-eighties on. The best hip-hop songs of all time are the songs that touch our souls. "Pour beer out for yourself because you're walking dead/I'll burn your house down like a fucking Talking Head.". “Once in awhile, I’mma cheat and get dome, But best believe that I’mma always come home. Unlike a lot of MCs who act tough in their raps, Prodigy gets very real very quick in a way that's brutal and shocking. Whether or not you believe Huey Newton was a good person is irrelevant to the tragedy of his death, given what he was trying to do and that he died at the hands of a rivaling revolutionary faction. Scarface's rap was his diary, and this song comes off his album named, that's right, The Diary. “I start to think, and then I sink Into the paper like I was ink When I’m writing, I’m trapped in between the lines I escape when I finish the rhyme.” Rakim – ‘I Know You Got 2. Big Daddy Kane beautifully illustrates the creative process and delivers the lines as if he's dictating what's happening as it occurs. You may pay the ultimate price. CL Smooth - "They Reminisce Over You", "T to the R-uh-O-Y, how did you and I meet?/In front of Big Lou's, fighting in the street/But only you saw what took many time to see/I dedicate this to you for believing in me.". Further, it doesn't even matter if he's guilty because the innocence of childhood remains. Most rappers can't rap with the conviction nor the technical skill that Eminem does, and Em pulls them both off at the same time. Wonder why Christmas missed us/Birthdays was the worst days/Now we sip champagne when we thirst-ay.". Somewhat ironically, given his name, Masta Killa meditates on the difference between homicide and the death penalty, and implies that civic systems that practice the death penalty may be acting hypocritically. Yeah, it's a simple line, but rolling like a g is a simple joy, and nobody has put it to music better than Snoop Dogg did here. These are the lyrics that can turn a … I wanted a bar that had great taste, texture, and nutrition. Not sure when the new owners took over but they are doing things right. Our drives for pride and violence can change the most fundamental parts about ourselves, and to characterize revenge as a sweet joy next only to sex makes it all the more menacing. Tupac recognized our struggle, and he is still our hero." Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy. And the truth hurts: The drug game has no winners. The inclusion of the word "overdose" also suggests that perhaps trouble is operating as a kind of drug, and K'naan is so accustomed to it that he goes into withdrawals without it. — brandim4f4855a85 The Wu-Tang Clan set the bar high for large crews. So many so we can up with The 25 Best Eight-Bar Verses In Rap History. By clicking 'X' or continuing to use the site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. ... 41 bars of no swearing- freestyle. As we chronicled in our previous installment, context can be everything when talking about song lyrics. Where most ordinary people find power in democracy, Nas makes the point that since the politicians of the world don't look out for the ghetto, he has to make his money look out for him. I didn't get this lyric for a long time -- until I saw it written, and that's when I realized how genius it was. Maybe the red eyes draw the likeness to a demon. J. Cole retroactively forgives those who would judge his music before even listening to him, thereby removing all power from potential haters. You can almost see the words floating around in the air, rearranging themselves until they make sense and culminate in indescribable epiphany. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five - "The Message", "Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge/I'm trying not to lose my head/It's like a jungle. Police may have the advantage most times, but not in his neck of the woods. We forgive him. Join us as we take a closer look at the most iconic lines woven together by the best of the best that hip-hop music has to offer. Here are 20 of the best quick hits from some of the greatest voices in the game. So eloquently does he communicate that his hard work has not, thus far, paid off; the master plan becomes something of a Cinderella story in the making. Terms, "Y'all cowards couldn't rap this dope with a Zig-Zag. An object is not simply a form, a collection of components. Hey Mason, this ain't boxin' but I'll knock ya face in You gon die from defeat, or succeeding complications You're an abomination, you ain't got style or raps Don't need no files for that, you a pile of crap Acting like you black and white, ain't got no shame No props, no game, ain't cop no chain Boy stop yo play'n, you don't get none and you know it No sets won and you blowin', you just … RELATED: The 20 Best Terrible Rap Verses
You may be surprised by how many of his lines are actually other people's. The 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time. The best part about the line, as is true of the best poetry, is that it doesn't answer the question it asks. Saweetie Argues Lil Kim Had "Best Bar In Female History" On "Not Tonight" By Erika Marie March 09, 2021 23:35 4.9K Views 3 0 7 She also named her … The word "ill" was invented for rhymes like these. Ice Cube's wordplay is especially effective because his message also works in the context of the original idiom that it's better to use what you have rather than count on help that may never come. By clicking “Create Account”, you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of Service. The line about wine is particularly resonant in that, when people fall into depression, they find comfort in the bottle. These are the lyrics that can turn a … !This is a compilation of my personal favorite bars over the years based on creativity, delivery and overall personal preference. gave their Adidas life and personality. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features "I tell her keep her head up/Even though I gotta hold it up for her/And she seizure when she try and get up.". From there, what I should name the bar became obvious. You really feel as though he's made the song just for you. - Canibus Put the one's y'all think it's the all time best, sickest bar (2 lines rhyming) you ever heard have lived more than most people have. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox, Denver Restaurant Directory: Takeout/Delivery/Dine-in, No Bloom! Masta Killa - "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'", "Homicide's illegal and death is the penalty/What justifies the homicide when he dies?". This week, we even things out by taking a look at the other end of the spectrum and examining rap lyrics to find cleverness and wordplay worthy of being praised. Big Daddy Kane - "Ain't No Half Steppin'", "Brain cells are lit. Rakim raises the stakes of his creative process by embracing the Tao of poetry writing. RapPad is the best place to write and share rap songs online. "Ridin' Dirty" is UGK's most important album and one of the best rap albums ever recorded. Sexist though it may be, you gotta give Ice-T props for marginalizing women in the most efficient way possible, and, yes, you gotta give Jay-Z props for bringing sexist back -- and Rick Rubin for that beat (god damn!). Last week, we took a look at the fifty worst rap lyrics of all time. How does Kanye turn such a bitter situation into such a poignant expression of unconditional love? When combined, the gap between what we need and what he have is clear and startling. Ice Cube brilliantly reworks the idiom, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," as a critique of then president George H.W. The 100 best comebacks ever include witty, snarky and great insult responses. Kendrick borrows biblical images of the apocalypse to give importance and immediacy to the words that follow: Stand for something, or die in the morning. When "Dear Mama" was inducted into the Library of Congress, 2Pac's mother reacted by saying this: "It is a song that spoke not just to me, but every mother that has been in that situation, and there have been millions of us. Wayne is on a trip, yet he's ultimately confined -- the tragedy of drug use. "If skills sold, truth be told, I'd probably be/Lyrically, Talib Kweli/Truthfully, I wanna rhyme like Common Sense/But I did 5 mill' -- I ain't been rhyming like Common since.". "My Adidas walk through concert doors/And roam all over coliseum floors.". "I've got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one.". Earl takes something very abstract and makes it very real and visceral. Circulation, He then pairs this with a commentary on the priorities of the day's youth, who are more concerned with video games than practical knowledge. 3. 22. Earl speaks about trying to climb out of something dark, but the figurative weight of his sins is keeping him down like Vince Carter's old knees (Vince Carter could once fly like even Air Jordan couldn't). The unholy of unholies. Everyone knows the best songs don’t come on at the bar until after 2 a.m. Everyone’s hammered, looking for someone to take home, and ready to sing at the top of their lungs. About Us, "We were beginners in the hood as Five Percenters/But something must have got in us cause all of us turned to sinners.". They turned shoes into something more than the leather and rubber they're made from. "I never sleep 'cause sleep is the cousin of death". Pastebin is a website where you can store text online for a set period of time. September, 1 2015 • Written by PoetProductions. (Volume Two) on Discogs. The hip-hop mission statement. For Jay Electronica, the radio is a tool with which he can reach millions of ears. The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time Artists range from Run the Jewels to Nas and his classic"Illmatic" Henry Adaso has written about hip-hop since 2005 and founded the award-winning blog The Rap Up. Help, The independent voice of Denver since 1977. "I look into mother's stomach, wonder if you are a boy or a girl/Turnin' this woman's womb into a tomb/But she and I agree, a seed we don't need/You would've been much more than a mouth to feed/But someone I would've fed this information I read/To someone my life for you I would've had to leave/Instead I led you to death.". Part of the power of the line comes from its brevity; it comes at you so fast, it hits you like a blow to the face. - "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)". The best one-liners in hip hop history, from Jay-Z, Biggie, Drake, Tupac, Eminem and more rap legends. In fact all the food we have sampled so far has been very good. It's tough to make it look so simple. Top 10 Rap Songs Dads Will Love. Its true value lies in what it can be used for and what it means to the people who use it. This is one of those lines that you have to hear to appreciate. - Lauryn Hill on "The Score," The Score 5. Keep reading for the full countdown to see which rhymes struck as some of the best of all time. "And even as a crack fiend, mama/You always was a black queen, mama.". 15. And you just hustling through/Nah, you hamster-ass nigga. Ren playfully but decisively inverts the relationship between police and the racial minorities by pointing out that, in his streets, the minority is the majority and has strength in numbers. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Denver with no paywalls. The gist of what Cage is saying may be simple: I'll burn your house down and kill you. This line encapsulates the paranoia that informs the belief system of the revolutionary. 48. "I start to think, and then I sink/Into the paper like I was ink/When I'm writing, I'm trapped in between the lines/I escape when I finish the rhyme.". The Pretty B*tch Music hype has arrived, and it's looking as if Saweetie is preparing a release that will include a large amount of music. Flipping Dean Martin's "You're Nobody til Somebody Loves You," the impact of these lyrics have been enhanced by Biggie's untimely death, making it feel like a self-fulfilling prophecy -- especially given the title of Biggie's album, Life After Death. "Elvis was a hero to most/But he never meant shit to me. You see/Straight up racist that sucker was, simple and plain/Motherfuck him and John Wayne.". Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. For all the awful lines Lil B has uttered, the fact that he can write something this beautiful is truly amazing. Elvis and John Wayne are the consummate American heroes, so this middle finger to them is essentially a middle finger to mainstream America. "I'm out for presidents to represent me (Say what? "The term real niggas publicly used/And I need to know what it means 'cause I'm fucking confused/Are you one for always busting your tool with nothing to lose/And something to prove to homies up in your crew?/Is it because you're selling drugs to get loot/And brag about how you done been shot and stabbed, like it's fun to be you?/But your life's a struggle, right? Posed as opposites are the sinners and Five Percenters, the spreaders of religious truth and morality, though they are connected through rhyme. Eminem finds a balance of bitterness and humor that characterized his relation with religious morality in the early 2000s. Ahh shit!". Despite the past, a new movement of unapologetic femininity has taken hold of rap in the form of Drake, but that wasn't always the case. Rap Generator: This is a powerful rap generator that can generate countless raps. "First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers/Give 'em guns, step back and watch 'em kill each other/'It's time to fight back,' that's what Huey said/Two shots in the dark, now Huey's dead.". Selecting the very best lyrics from a library of oh so many is a tough task. I think this is the best bar in female history,” Saweetie said of the Hard Core classic. Covering more than four decades, here are the 100 greatest rap songs of all time: ©2021 Denver Westword, LLC. Support Us Hudson Gardens Scraps 2021 Summer Concert Series, Oddio.Files Booms Into the Experimental Bass Scene, The 50 best rap lyrics of all time: Complete list, The 50 worst rap lyrics: The complete list, The 50 worst rock/pop lyrics of all time: The complete list, how many of his lines are actually other people's, Watch the Copper Children Perform "Drama in the City" Live. We've finally arrived: The The best of the worst. / I like it right after I cut the grass / Because I'm sweaty, I don't like girls named The lack of a transition between these images suggests that they are happening concurrently. When I shared it with others, I kept hearing ‘This is the best bar I’ve ever had’. The whole purpose of this song, as indicated in the title, is to honor memory and reminisce about a friend who's passed. We've finally arrived: The The best of the worst. I also use a bra-keeper. Right in his own house, (squeak squeak), what was that? - See 82 traveler reviews, 12 candid photos, and great deals for Seattle, WA, at Tripadvisor. McCoy's Firehouse Bar & Grill: Best Burger I ever had! It's a great line, because the "motherfucker" does stand out in Lauryn's otherwise clean verse; it perks you up, but she's still using the word in an enlightened manner, thus getting the point across without compromising the quality of her lyrics. PLEASE LIKE!! Then, immediately after, he cleverly uses the ironic slang term for Xanax pills (bars) to enrich his commentary about his relationship with the drug, as a prisoner. Normally you’ll hear rap music fans refer to a rappers’ “bars” in a positive or negative way: “He spittin dem bars!” or “He got dem bars!”…but have you ever wondered to yourself “What exactly is a bar in rap … It's funny how it can be easier to talk to the world than to your own mother. Genius Nickname Email Password. Lauryn Hill gives a taste of her biting wit and humor, commenting on the state of music -- hip-hop in particular. I mean the macaroni's soggy; the peas are mushed, and the chicken tastes like wood." (Volume Two) on Discogs. He contemplates the joy of raising a child, thinking about being responsible for another life, another mind and a path through which he could extend his own life, before ending abruptly with death.