Can't Knock the Hustle - Jay-Z

 Sean Carter doing what Sean Carter does, when motivated, on the mic. 

"The Game's fucked up
Nigga's beats is banging, nigga your hooks did it
Your lyrics didn't your gangster look did it..."

Typical Jay double meaning. Taking a shot at The Game, and the game (the rap game) itself. The two following lines certainly can be applied to the state of hip-hop music, and perhaps to  Jayceon Taylor. They were, after all engrossed in a battle around the time of this album.

Fresh outta school cuz I was a high school grad..." Ice Cube

I remember playing this song over and over again in my headphones back in the day. The anger, energy, and frank nature of Cube's flow made it hit hard. Mix in his political leanings and hard beat and you had a classic song.





[Big Bird: Sesame Street]

Say, look at this, I've been cleaning out my nest
And I found an old book of my poetry

Fresh out of school 'cause I was a high school grad
Gots to get a job 'cuz I was a high school dad
Wish I got paid by rappin' to the nation
But that's not likely, so here's my application

Pass it to the man at AT&T
'Cuz when I was in school, I got the A.E.E.
But there's no S.C. for this youngsta
I didn't have no money, so now I gotta punch the clock
Gotta slaaave and be half a man 
But whitey says there's no room for the African
Always knew that I would clock G's
But welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order please?
Gotta serve ya food that might give you cancer
'Cuz my son doesn't take no for an answer
Now I pay taxes that you never give me back
What about diapers, bottles and Similac?
Do I have to sell me a whole lotta crack?
For decent shelter and clothes on my back?
Or should I just wait for help from Bush
Or Jesse Jackson and Operation Push?
If you ask me, the whole thing needs a douche 
A Massingill, what the hell crackers sell in the neighborhood?
To the corner house bitches
Miss Porker, Little Joe and Todd Bridges
Or anybody that he know
So I cop me a bird better known as a kilo
Now everybody know I went from po'
To a nigga that got dough
So now you put the Feds against me
'Cause I couldn't follow the plan of the presidency
I'm never gettin love again
But blacks are too fuckin' broke to be republican
Now I remember, I used to be cool
Till I stopped fillin' out my W-2
Now senators are gettin' hired
And your plan against the ghetto backfired
So now you got a pep talk
But sorry, this is our only room to walk
'Cause we don't want a drug push
But a bird in the hand is worth more than a Bush

Tell the politicians, the hustlers
Live and let live, yeah
Tell the politicians, the hustlers
Live and let live, yeah

Average Joe blow, mastering my mojo...

...cinder block karate chop practice in the dojo" Jay Electronica

Four lyrically adept MCs' doing what they do on the back drop of a decent rock inspired beat. Hard to say who's verse went the hardest but my list goes like this:

Mos Def 4

Jay Electronica 3

Joell Ortiz 2

Jean Grae 1

It is always hard to bat in the lead off position but she certainly set it off...

Jean Grae:

Back up in the booth and my V is for vendetta,

Fuck the last line, to tell you the truth i got ten better

I bend letters over till they look like Ns, and then offend so many men with them they look like femmes I'm a feminine rebel,forever cleverer than yo' shit 

never be level with niggas, shit my flow can float bitch 

figure out the dosage to administer vaccines 

Sickness I envoke and quote considered the black Jean

It's Blakroc, it's Blacksmith, it's miss Grae and i'm back bitch 

Hulk smash a rassa mothafucka most passionate,

fashion plate, magistrate, fascinating lady grab your vaseline and masturbate 

Emasculate your manhood, possibly damn good dismantle all your posse turn them pussy with tan hood dont push me, i don't land good, 

liable to fly up off the handle like a panwood and swoosh, hit Mrs Woods.

Jay Electronica: 

Salt rivers, flowing out my eyeballs 

Pierced side broke legs bearing my cross 

The old heads told me life wasn't a game But mine steady feeling like pinball, dodgeball 

Chasing freedom, establish a kingdom, and build a stone castle out of thin wall, dry wall 

Ima keep going til God call or the sky fall be blast me on the grassy knoll and try to blame Oswald
Average Joe blow, mastering my mojo cinder block karate chop practice in the dojo (Uhh)

If it's so so, I prolly be a no show shooting to willy bobo while on Nostrand with the poor folks (Uhh) Black dragon rap Flames out the nostrils from Crown Fried to Roscoes Im spreading the gospel

I overcame like the Saints done the Falcons like Hoover did to Malcolm...

Joell Ortiz: 

Ya'll know what the fuck i do bubble gum busters so easy to fuckin chew lyrics i blow bubbles to Unorigi-nal, it's easy to make another you findin my telly keys the only way you get a W 

Niggas ain't grizzy, ya all soft and huggable i came up in the gutter, you came up like all the Huxtables You dont want me to black belt to death you, karate chop ya pops, Liu Kang kick ya nephew HAIIIAAAWAH, to hell is where i send em ya'll just learnt the art I been tighter than your denims

I'll Ryu or Ken em i'm classic with the pen give me five minutes i'll show you i'm deadly with the venom 

poison with the dart see your boys be in the court my boy be in the park yeah annoyin all the narcs
we two different types see you spit what you write what i spit is the truth and truth comes to the light bang bang

Mos Def

Sorry..cant find...

"An understatement said that K Lamar was under pressure..

...don't press your luck when I'm pressed for time

Cuz when the press gets this verse they sure to press rewind" Kendrick Lamar

Doing posts on these new cats is fairly difficult in terms of finding lyrics from them to edit. As I mentioned before, either I need to develop a multi-dialect/regional hood version of dragon speak naturally, or I just throw these songs up with one line or two cuz I am far too lazy busy to type all of this up.

Anyway, I have finally gotten around to posting something from Kendrick Lamar. He is dope. He changes up his flow a lot, strong delivery, and varies his subject matter. His mixtape is very well done also..so much so that I think I may have to go head and purchase legally...word...

The first dude, Smoke Dza, holds his own but Kendrick ups the ante at the 1:20 mark...

"MC's are hopeless thinking record sales makes them the dopest" - KRS One

"Personally I preach prophecy

These punks puttin out poems about pimpin, pushin, and property

Please

People ain't prepared to be persuaded by political paraphrases that threatening them papers" Saigon

Buy Saigons album

Not just becuase its dope (I haven't listened to it yet) Not even because you like him. Buy it because you believe in the artistry in hip hop music, and not in overly judgmental label executives. Buy it because you believe ones music should not be "directed" by A&Rs' and marketing/promotion, but by the artist. Buy it as a a big middle finger to label executives who think folks will only purchase main stream released music that has a dance, r&b hook, or some other gimmick. Buy it because you believe hip hop music is about rhyming ....beats and rhymes....

I used to love H.E.R.

It's kind of ironic that my last post about Murs was titled with a line from Common's iconic track I used to love H.E.R and he recently released a remake of that same song.  With the help of 9th Wonder Murs put together a strong remake with a decidedly more left coast swing to it. The beat aside, Murs took liberties with one of the more controversial sections of the song. Common spoke about the late 80's emergence of west coast hip-hop music in less than glowing terms...