Top 10 Jay-Z featured verses

10. Missy Elliot – One Minute Man Remix: He DISSED the woman he ended up marrying! LOL The irony of this verse’s existence is what puts it over the top for me. And besides that, the verse was very ill indeed.

“I’m not trying to give you love an affection. I’m trying to give you sixty seconds of perfection.”

9. Beyonce – Crazy In Love: Of all of his collaborations with his wife, this verse stands out the most because of the as-always cockiness. The rhyme schemes are sick, point blank.

“Ever since I made the change over platinum, the game’s been a wrap. One”

8. Rick Ross – Free Mason: Jay (momentarily smh) shut down the ridiculously jumbled rumors of him being affiliated with Freemasons, devil worshippers, and other retarded conspiracy nonsense.

“Bitch, I said I was amazing, not that I’m a Mason. It’s amazing that I made it through the maze that I was in.

7. Memphis Bleek – Is That Your Chick?: The subliminals at Nas and/or Biggie were just the icing on the cake. You know Jay is blacking out on a song when he spits more than one verse on someone else’s song. The rapid fire flow was so nice that he even outshone Twista, which is 99% impossible.

“How foul is she? And You wifed her. Shit, I put the rubber on tighter.”

the english language

” she said she’s good wit words, i told her me too

 here’s a noun & a verb – ‘shawty could u suck my thiiiiiiing?’ ”

-CyHi da prinze  ‘when the smoke clears’

Best Verse: Nas ‘It Ain’t Hard To Tell’ (1994)

When listening to Illmatic, I always await my favourite track on that album, ‘It Aint’ Hard To Tell’ with a certain excitement.

To me, it’s the moment that Nas throws social commentary out the window, jumps on the mic and shows off his lyrical prowess and clever wordplay, he rhymes within rhymes, within rhymes again. He’s hard to touch on this track, IMO.

I think the 2nd verse, is potentially my favourite. But I sway between Verse 1 & 2, at the moment I’m going with Verse One due to the introduction and lines like:

‘My mic check is life or death, breathin a sniper’s breath
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps.’

But what’s yours?

 

Originally Posted by Nas It Ain’t Hard to Tell Verse One

It ain’t hard to tell, I excel, then prevail
The mic is contacted, I attract clientele
My mic check is life or death, breathin a sniper’s breath
I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps
Deep like The Shinin’, sparkle like a diamond
Sneak a uzi on the island in my army jacket linin
Hit the Earth like a comet, invasion
Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian, half-man, half-amazin
Cause in my physical, I can express through song
Delete stress like Motrin, then extend strong
I drank Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain’t hard to tell

The Making of Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous”

click pic 4 full feature

Although they are now considered a legendary group, leading into the release of their second album, The Infamous, it was far from a given that Albert “Prodigy” Johnson and Kejuan “Havoc” Muchita would enjoy such long and fruitful careers. Their first album, Juvenile Hell, had been a commercial flop, although it did yield a minor hit, “Hit It From The Back,” and led to them being dropped by their first label, 4th & Broadway. Prodigy even admits in his new autobiography, My Infamous Life, that him and Havoc didn’t really take the songwriting and producing process serious for their debut. It’s understandable given that both were teenagers at the time.

Besides, if it was the impetus for what was to come, then it was definitely a good thing. While only producing three songs on Juvenile Hell, the group produced a majority of The infamous, carving out a unique and unmistakable sound. Dark, moody, brooding, and sinister, the music was apocalyptic and Havoc and Prodigy’s unyielding and unremorseful lyrics painted a very bleak picture of what life was like growing up in Queensbridge (yeah, we know Prodigy is from Hempstead, Long Island, but it’s obvious he spent a lot of time in QB). It may have been unnerving to think that a duo so young could entertain such cold-blooded thoughts, but given the overwhelmingly positive response, the realness seemed to resonate.

The album contained huge smashes with “Shook Ones, Pt. II,” and “Survival Of The Fittest,” and disseminated their unique dunn slanguage all over the world. Last week the focus on was Prodigy with our exclusive Q and A, the release of the H.N.I.C.’s Complex-sponsored project, The Ellsworth Bumpy Johnson EP, and our excerpts from his book, but given that today is the 16-year anniversary of this classic album dropping, we wanted to talk to those who were involved in The Making Of The Infamous. It’s the real…

As told to Noah Callahan-Bever (@N_C_B), Toshitaka Kondo (@ToshitakaKondo), and Insanul Ahmed (@Incilin).

1.

Inspired by Basquiat

this painting by Jean Micheal Basquiat inspired one of my favorite Jay-z freestyles. the “Grammy Family” freestyle is about being a “King” and the perils of success, all inspired by this great Quote on the following painting ”MOST YOUNG KINGS GET THIER HEADS CUT OFF”

“Inspired by Basquiat my Chariots on fire everybody took shots hit my body up im tired…”-Jay-z

1.

jay-z grammy family hot97 radio freestyle (corporate takeover)

drey: arguably one of if not THE  best showcasing of lyrics in this century

a bit after jay ‘retired’

jay-z – grammy family hot97 radio freestyle (corporate takeover) 2006

I been crushin the buildin since Izod socks
I’m so independent sh.. i might buy Koch
I might not stop
Places to cop, 76 floors you can call me the Doc

Inspired by Basquiat,my chariots onf fire
Everybody took shots, hit my body up, I’m tired
Build me up break me down to build me up again
They like “Hov we need you back so we can kill ya ass again”
Hov got flow, though he’s no Big and Pac, but he’s close
How I’m ‘posed to win? They got me fighting ghosts…

Same sword the knight you they gon’ good night you with
Sh.., Thats only half if they like you
That aint even the half what they might do
Dont believe me ask Michael
See Martin, see Malcolm
You See Biggie, see Pac, see success and its outcome
See Jesus, see Judas, see Caesar, see Brutus
See success is like suicide
Suicide is a suicide
If you succeed, prepare to be crucified
Media meddles, niggas sue you, you settle
Every step you take, they remind you, you ghetto
So its tough being Bobby Brown
To be Bobby then, you gotta be Bobby now
Now the question is, “Is to have had and lost
Better than not having at [all]?” maaan.. 

Everybody wanna be the King then shots ring
You layin on your balcony with holes in your dream
Or you Malcolm X’d out, get distracted by screams
Everybody get your hand off my jeans!
Everybody look at you strange say you changed
Uhh! Like you work that hard to stay the same
Uhh! Game stays the same the name changes
So its best for those to not overdose on being famous
Most kings get driven so insane
That they try to hit the same vein that Kurt Cobain did
No dangers, so shameless?
Invited to the intersanctum of yo chambers
??Low chained em as the enemies approach??
So raise ya draw bridge and drown em in the moat
And the Spirit I’m evokin
**Mumbles some BS** Hold on…

Everybody screamin they want the old Hov
But the new improved Hov hit like Albert Pujols
Everybody wanna hear me talk that money like Phil Rizzuto
But my mind is on Pluto
Bills that I do fold, i now invest on
Tryna find some loopholes in the IRS
As where I used to have a few hoes I am just
Concentratin on makin a new hole for sex
I’ve awaken just in time to school those putos
Tryna follow in my shoes wit jewels froze
Better adhere to this tax ‘fore you go
Broke, spendin more than you’ve recouped on silly baguettes
I know silly begets, silly you’ll learn on your own
At least my conscience is clear, I’m no longer steering you wrong
Aint nothing wrong with baguettes after you get a home
Take care of your home, you can go back and **Ugh!**

I’m getting courted by the bosses,
The Edgars And Doug Morris-es-es
Jimmy I’s and Lyors-es its
Gotta be more than the choruses
They respecting my mind now
Just a matter of time now
Operation: Takeover Corporate
Makeover offices-es-es then takeover all of it
Please may these words be recorded
To serve as testimony that i saw it all before it
Came to fruition, sort of a preminition
Uncontrollable, hustler’s ambition
Alien, SUPERSTITION, like Stevie
THE WRITINGS ON THE WALL, like my lady, right BB
Saw it all before some of yall thought I was crazy maybe
Like a fox I’m cagey, Ah Ah!
The more successful, the more stressful
The more and more I transform to Gordan Gekko
In the race to a billion got my face to the ceiling
Got my knees on the floor plz Lord forgive him
Has he lost his religion, is the greed gon’ get him?
He’s having heaven on earth, will his wings still fit him?
I got the Forbes on my living room floor
And I’m still talkin to the poor, ni..a I want more
TIME’s most influential, was impressive
‘Specially since, I wasnt in the artist section
Had me with the builders and the titans
Had me right with Rupie Murdoch
Billionaire Boys and some dudes you never heard of
Word up on Madison Ave, is I’m a Cash cow
Word down on Wall Street homie, you get the cash out
IPO Hov no need for reverse merger
The boy money talk no need to converse further
The baby blue Maybach like I own Gerber
Boardroom I’m liftin ya skirt up
the corporate takeover

1.

Homeboy Sandman Talks Writing Methods, New Subject Matter In Rap

Listening to a Homeboy Sandman verse makes Rap songwriting fun again. The Ski Beatz-produced, “Yeah, But I Can Rhyme Though” , from his The Good Sun album releasing tomorrow on Fat Beats/High Water Music serves as an example. The DXnext alum’s delivery is a circus of flow, cadence, content and character. HBS’ third official release and first label-backed project calls to mind the versatility and range of albums such as Mos Def’s Black On Both Sides and J-Live‘s The Best Part. In a year filled with Recession rap and darker subject matters, this release is unique simply for sounding happy.

Earlier this month, HipHopDX asked Homeboy Sandman about his writing methods, particularly when the tempo of his flow appears to have the acceleration of a Japanese sports car. “When it comes to editing, I do a lot of outlining in my head,” answered the Queens emcee. “By the time the pen hits the paper, once I write something down, it’s very seldom I go back and cross it out. It’s because I think things through at length before anything hits the pad. Before I start writing, I’m thinking about technical stuff, like what the tempo is going to be. I always say I start with the melody first. So is this going to be something where a rhyme is really intricate, where I’m going to have line after line with seven out of 10 words rhyming with the next seven out of 10 words in the next line? Or is it going to be something with just the end of the bars rhyme, something that’s not going to be as dense.”

blown away

hear here >> tech n9ne – blown away

I know y’all don’t see me on TV
Or hear me on the radio
But you industry brats
Better check Billboard and Pollstar
Before y’all get to cryin
About who get seniority at these shows
Especially when compared to me
Y’all aint shit on stage
I hit the stage
Grab the mic and blow ’em all away (I blow ’em all away)
(Superstars), But they know I blow ’em all away, Hey

The gig is over, The gig is over (Bitty bye-bye)
The gig is over, The gig is over (When A play)
The kid is older and gettin colder (Many fly by)
But his will hold ya, So listen closer to (A-A)-R-O-N
They dissin and twistin my name
Because Aaron is scarin these glitz spittin pricks in the game
Hit with this gift, Everybody get a whiff of this script and it’s pain
Gotta talk about the people with a attitude
Hiss me and slipped in my lane
I’ve been wreckin crowds for a long second now
Got ’em guessin how Tech is blessed
And yes, The best in-town rep
On the real, I keep it trill
And when I spit, I aint spillin about my million
It’s the feelin that you get with this underground headliner
Mainstream ignored a bro
And they be petty, So jealousy is sure to show
But they rich and got more to blow
And everything’s affordable
But they gotta go before me
Because their stage show is horrible

holy are you

For those who find it hard to believe, and it is
Why they call me the God MC, the lyricist
Trace this down to the roots from Genesis
The world wonder, I’m still standing like pyramids
Design so vivid, every brick it got a story to tell
My rhyme flow different like a hieroglyphic
Mind prolific, infinite, like mathematic
The first language, now add that, and add graphics (Go ‘head)
Then go let the blocks know it’s the gospel
Life’s new manual, so watch close
The new Michaelangelo and Pablo Picasso
Prepared to show you the cosmos and rock flows
Even my lyrical metaphysical
What this’ll do is help you get to your spiritual pinnacle
You find your mind too far-fetched for it to fathom
I bring the darkness to the light, split the atom
It’s like watching the big bang theory emerge
I take titles, bond them to reveal new words
They want a clear view
From the farthest and the darkest corners of the universe
To a corner near you
A pharaoh in ghetto apparel, stay blinged up
Fort Knox display, a modern day King Tut
Wrapped tight, rap like I’ve been preserved in time
Spit the holy water, then touch it and turn it to wine
It’s the God

Holy are you
Holy are you
There is no God but you (I am, I am the Alpha and Omega)
There is no God but you
Praised be the Lord

lil wayne’s fecal infatuation

(10)

(9.)“Nigga I’m the shit, get the fuck up out my toilet“

(8.) “I flushed out the feeling of, me bein’ the shit, ’cause I was leavin skid marks everywhere I sit”

(7.) “Only time I wear Depends is when Im 70 yrs old.
Thats when I cant hold my shit within, so I shit on myself
Cause I’m so sick and tired of shitting on everybody else”