"It's hip hop music, its good enough to speak for itself, and you gotta do right by it..."
Listen, beef is not what Jay said to Nas, beef is when the working folks can`t
find jobs
steady tryna find niggaz to rob, tryna find bigger guns so
they can finish the job
Beef is when the crack babies cant find moms cuz
they in a pine box, or locked behind bars
Beef aint the Summer Jam for
Hot 97, beef is the cocaine and aids epidemic
Beef don`t come with a radio
edit, beef is when a judge is calling you defendant
Beef, it comes with a
long jail sentence, handed down to you in a few short minutes.
Beef is
when your girl comes through for a visit, to tell you that she`s
pregnant, by some other nikka
Beef is high blood pressure and bad credit
need a loan for your home but you too broke to get it
And all you little
kids is doing is getting bigger, your trying not to raise `em around
these wild nikkas
Beef is when a gold digger got your seed in her, a
manicured hand out like `pay me nikka...or I'm tellin' your wife or startin' up some foul rumor that'll ruin your life Beef is when a gangster ain't doin it right, another gangster then decided what to do with his life
BEEF is not what these famous
nikkas do on the mic...beef is what George Bush would do in a fight
Yeah,
beef is what Jah said to 50 but Ro and Irv not being here with me
When a
soldier ends his life with his own gun, Beef is trying to figure out
what to tell his son
Beef is oil prices, and geo-politics, beef is Iraq,
the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Some beef is big, some beef is small
but what ya`ll call beef is not beef at all
Beef is real life happening
every day, and it`s realler than those songs that you gave to Kay
Slay
This has been a real nikka, P.S.A., from Mos Def pretty Flaco, Black Donte and the Black Star Embassy B to the K! - Mighty Mos Def
...Woody Allen, molested and married his step-daughter" - Mos Def
"Same press kicking dirt on Michael's name Show Woody and Soon-Ye at the playoff game, holding hands Sit back and just think about that Would he get that type of dap if his name was Woody Black?"
I thought about this line around the time of the aniversary of Michael Jackson's death. The song Mr. Nigga from Mos Def's Black on Both Sides stands
alone as a great social commentary on the progress of race relations. It just so happens to be a follow up of sorts to ATQ's Sucka Nigga from the insanely dope Midnight Maurauders. Mos even brought Tip in for some ad-libs and the hook.
That line kind of bugs me out a little because I am old enough to remember watching Laker games on Sunday afternoon and the camera would show Woody Allen WITH his daughter/wife and the announcers would shout him out like it was all good.
Amoung other things I relly like how the beat drops out at the end of some rhymes, and the the effects are put on the words so as to hammer home a point.
Great song. Remember when Mos Def rapped?
Read while listening...
Say ho everybody say ho bop po quay yo I said shake your soul like way back in the day yo bop po quay yo everybody say ho Everybody say hooooo hooo Everybody say ho And check it out now
Who is cat eating out on the town And make the whole dining room turn they head around Mr Nigga Nigga Nigga He got the speakers in the trunk With the bass on pump(?) Who be riding up in the highrise elevator Other tenants who be praying they ain't the new neighbor Mr Nigga, Nigga Nigga They try to play him like a chump Cause he got what they want
He under thirty years old But already he's a pro Designer trousers slung low Because his pockets stay swoll' Could afford to get up and be anywhere he go VIP at the club, backstage at the show (Yes y'all) the best crib, the best clothes Hottest whips on the road Neck and wrists on froze (say word) Checks with O's o-o-o-o-ohs Straight all across the globe Watch got three time-zones Keep a digital phone up to his dome Two assistants Two bank accounts, two homes One problem Even with the O's on his check The po-po stop him and show no respect "Is there a problem officer?" Damn straight, it's called race That motivate the jake (woo-woo) to give chase Say they want you successful, but that ain't the case You livin large, your skin is dark They flash a light in your face
Now, who is cat dining out on the town Me'tradie wanna take a whole year to sit him down Mr Nigga, Nigga Nigga He got the speakers in the trunk With the bass on crunk Now, who is the cat at Armani buying wears With the tourists who be asking him, do you work here? Mr Nigga, Nigga Nigga Nigga Nigga
Yo, the Abstract with the Mighty Mos Def White folks got it muffled across beneath they breathe "I didn't say it.." But they'll say it out loud again When they deal with their close associates and friends You know Sneak it in with they friends at the job Happy hour at the bar While this song is in they car And even if they've never said it, lips stay sealed Their actions reveal how their hearts really feel Like, late night I'm on a first class flight The only brother in sight The flight attendent catch fright I sit down in my seat, 2C She approach officially talking about, "Excuse me" Her lips curl up into a tight space She don't believe that I'm in the right place Showed her my boarding pass, And then she sort of gasped All embarrassed put an extra lime in my water glass An hour later here she comes by walking past "I hate to be a pest but my son would love your autograph"
(I have all of you albums Mr. Nigga)
They stay on Nigga patrol on american roads And when you travel abroad they got world Nigga laws Some folks get on a plane go as they please But I go over seas and I get over siezed London-Heathro, me and my people They think that illegal's a synonym for Negro Far away places, customs agents flagrant They think the dark faces is smuggle weight in they cases Bags inspected, now we arrested Attention directed to contents of our intestines Urinanalyis followed by X-rays Interegated and detained to damn near the next day No evidence, no appology and no regard Even for the big american rap star For us especially, us most especially, A Mr Nigga VIP jail cell just for me "If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a cake Just got some shoe-polish, painted my face" They say they want you successful But then they make it stressful You start keeping pace, they start shaking up the tempo
Now, who is cat riding out on the town State trooper want to stop in his ride, pat him down Mr Nigga, Nigga Nigga He got the speakers in the trunk With the bass on crunk Now, who is the cat with the hundred dollar bill They gotta send it to the back to make sure the shit is real Mr Nigga, Nigga Nigga Nigga Nigga Nigga
You can laugh and criticize Michael Jackson if you wanna Woody Allen, molested and married his step-daughter Same press kicking dirt on Michael's name Show Woody and Soon-Ye at the playoff game, holding hands Sit back and just think about that Would he get that type of dap if his name was Woody Black? OJ found innocent by a jury of his peers They been fucking with that Nigga for last five years Is it fair, is it equal, is it just, is it right? Do they do the same shit when the defendent face is white? If white boys doing it, well, it's success When I start doing, well, it's suspect Don't hate me, my folks is poor, I just got money America's five centuries deep in cotton money You see a lot of brothers caked up, yo straight up It's new, Y'all living off of slave traders paper But I'm a live though, yo I'm a live though Putting up the big swing for my kids yo Cop my mom the fat water-front crib yo I'm a get her them pretty bay windows I'm a cop a nice home to provide in A safe environment for seeds to reside in A fresh whip for my whole family to ride in And if I'm still Mr Nigga, I won't find it surprising
now it got lead and stink in it (New World Water)" -Mighty Mos Def
So the whole city is stuck without using water for the foreseeable future. Not only is it inconvenient, it is also a bit scary. How long have they known? How much of the toxins will be "cleaned" in order for it to be deemed okay for use again?
This is from the Mass Water...
"Water service to all MWRA customer communities east of Weston has been interrupted by a major water pipe break in Weston. Due to this break, A BOIL WATER ORDER IS BEING ISSUED FOR DRINKING WATER FOR ALL MWRA COMMUNITIES EAST OF WESTON UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. In addition, emergency water conservation measures are being implemented for all impacted communities. A complete list of MWRA water communities is included on this page. THIS WATER WILL NOT BE SUITABLE FOR DRINKING"
"Control centers try to play it all secretive (Say word?) To avoid public panic and freakiness (Let em know) There are places where TB is common as TV Cuz foreign-based companies go and get greedy The type of cats who pollute the whole shore line Have it purified, sell it for a dollar twenty-five" -Mighty Mos
This is a segment where I go over an MC's lyrics detailing some mark of brilliance. Whether it is content, flow, wordplay, or just raw spit, these MCs brought their A game to the party.
One of the things that makes hip-hop music so unique as a poetry form is that it must be listened to as well as read in order to fully assess the skill of the MC. You need to hear the song to hear how the author flows on the beat. So listen while reading.
My first post on this is from Mos Def's Black on Both Sides album. Using the Nation of Gods and Earths Supreme Mathematics as a guide, he delivers a hard hitting narrative about city living and its place in a larger context. There is not a lot of slick wordplay or fancy delivery here, just raw spit about issues of the day.
"Yo, it's one universal law but two sides to every story Three strikes and you biddin for life, mandatory Four MC's murdered in the last four years I ain't tryin to be the fifth one, the millennium is here Yo it's 6 Million Ways to Die, from the seven deadly thrills Eight-year olds gettin found with 9 mill's It's 10 P.M., where your seeds at? What's the deal They on the hill pumpin krill to keep they belly filled Light in the ass with heavy steel, sights on the pretty shit in life Young soldiers tryin to earn they next stripe When the average minimum wage is $5.15 You best believe you gotta find a new grind to get cream The white unemployment rate, is nearly more than triple for black so front liners got they gun in your back Bubblin crack, jewel theft and robbery to combat poverty and end up in the global jail economy Stiffer stipulations attached to each sentence Budget cutbacks but increased police presence And even if you get out of prison still livin join the other five million under state supervision This is business, no faces just lines and statistics from your phone, your zip code, to S-S-I digits The system break man child and women into figures Two columns for who is, and who ain't niggaz Numbers is hardly real and they never have feelings but you push too hard, even numbers got limits Why did one straw break the camel's back? Here's the secret: the million other straws underneath it - it's all mathematics"
