Vomitspit - Stic. Man of Dead Prez

Stic. Man 
Be Water My Friend
 






"The cause of your ignorance
Flaws in your discipline
Broken laws of nutrition and poor conditioning..."


Word up.

"Slick majestic, broke mics are left infected..." Ghostface Killah

Winter Warz by the Wu-Tang Clan is great song. I decided to highlight Ghostface's verse although many would argue his is not the best on the song. That honor goes to Cappadona. In fact, being a Ghostface Stan aside, its kind of crazy that this gets a post before Donna's. While Cappa's is a relentless onslaught of words that pummel you into submission, Ghost works to convey his thoughts in fewer words. Making use of graphic imagery and a collection of metaphors and similes he delivers traditional, Grade A, lyrical braggadocio at its best. 

Vomitspit - Big Daddy Kane

Big Daddy Kane 
Set It Off
Long Live the Kane










"I can sneeze, sniffle and cough
E-e-e-even if I stutter Imma still come off"


Big Daddy Kane asserting that there is very little that will impact his ability to excel at Mcing.

Camay - Jay Electronica

Jay Electronica
Girlfriend
What The F*Ck Is A Jay Electronica?














"Every good man got a good woman behind him
And every superhero got a good woman beside him..."

"Love heals all past wounds you assist me
You with me
The butterflies came to get me
Cupid cocked back the four pound, squeezed one of the shot hit me
North of the kidney, and now I'm head over..."

This whole song gets a post. Love the superhero line.




"Girlfriend, I don't know what you did to me
But it sure feel like something good for me
Stay on my mind all day and all night
I'm seriously contemplatin on makin you wife
Yup, I'm twenty-seven girl I need to settle down now
I don't need to be up in the club chasin the brown round
You don't need to to be up the streets chasin these clowns down
Let's say we catch a matinee today, downtown
So I can tell you bout this dream I had lately
The one on the house on the hill and the baby
The picket white fence, in a field full of daisies
The amg kit on the silv-er Mercedes
Would it hurt you to try me, huh mami
Every good man got a good woman behind him
And every superhero got a good woman beside him
Girl stop playin... I wanna hold your hand

Look chocolate,
Lately I been feelin awkward
Finally found someone to talk with
Walk through the park with
I'm on some Joan of Ark shit
I need a rider with me
Sometimes I sit and wonder why you even bother with me
Look Shawn
Looked in your eyes and seen dawn
Dewdrops on the leaves in the lawn
I breathe calmly
Read qu ran see
Silver sixty
Love heals all past wounds you assist me
You with me
The butterflies came to get me
Cupid cocked back the four pound, squeezed one of the shot hit me
North of the kidney, and now I'm head over...
Wait heres..."

What happened to the type of spit that used to help a fellow out? - Homeboy Sandman

Homeboy Sandman
Rain
First of a Living Breed
 







"Don't run with a dame cause a dame's fetching
We run with a dame cause her pro-fession is playing her po-sition
Not talking about hoes or staying home in the kitchen
I'm talking about queens, homey those different, they roll for the whole mission
...My Mrs ain't sub-missive
A leader
I don't need her to do my dishes I need her to do my stitches"

Mr Sandman on healthy relationships, selecting the right life partner, and rattling the cage of gender roles.

If Revolution Had a Movie I'd be Theme Music - Common

Are we done with revolutions? 

If not, what artists or genre of music is going to spark it? Lead it? I'm sure there are many underground and indie musicians doing good work in all genres. But I am talking about something, someone, that is going to appeal to the masses. 

"Music is important in the struggle, every revolution has music." I'm paraphrasing here, but this is the spirit of what the legendary Grace Lee Boggs said during her opening speech at the North Dakota Study Group in Detroit, MI last weekend.  Later a woman got up with her acoustic guitar, echoed her comments and then proceeded to lead the group in singing a protest song from the '60s.

One hour later we were on a bus taking a tour of Detroit. As we passed the old "Hitsville USA" I began to come back to that idea of music and social change. Are we going to have another What's Going On by Marvin Gaye? War by Edwin Starr? Then again, the struggle was so different then, so visible, so tangible. This made it easier to be outraged. The enemies, the issues were clear. Despite more media, the struggle now is more elusive. Is a musical artist going to write a song railing against institutional racism? Develop a catchy chorus that shines a light on predatory loan practices? How do you describe those things? Do you write about the cause, or the results?

That evening, performances included a Detroit rapper named Invincible who, along with a versatile flow and solid wordplay, carried with her a strong message of change and hope.  This also made me return to the idea of change and music. I wonder what role rap music can have and will have.

This is going to be the first of yet another series of posts that highlights lines, phrases and rhymes that are aimed at societal change. It is hard to do that topic well but I plan on holding a high standard. Important and prophetic words alone will not be good enough. Ultra-technical and "deep" artists may not always get posts. Flow and wordplay are going to be just as important content. It's rap after all, not spoken word poetry. It has to be musical.

All of my reoccurring posts have a title that is drawn right from the topic itself. Vomitspit, Come Back Like Jordan...,  7MCs, and Camay are all representative of lyrics or song titles by particular artists (DOOM, Jay-Z, Rakim and Ghostface Killah). "If Revolution Had a Movie..." is props to Common.  

Come Back Like Jordan Wearin the 4-5 - Chuck D

Public Enemy
Rebel Without a Pause
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back










"Simple and plain, give me the lane
And I'll throw it down your throat like Barkley"


With all of the sports media coverage about Michael Jordan's 50th birthday, many have forgotten that Charles Barkley recently turned 50 years old as well. 

The only thing wrong with Chuck's line is that Barkley never needed to be "given" the lane...he just took it.

Valentines cards and birthday wishes?!...

Method Man x Mary J Blige
All I Need
Tical









 "It be true me for you that's how it is
I be your Noah, you be my Wiz
I'm your Mister, you my Mrs. with hugs and kisses
Valentine cards and birthday wishes? Please!
We on another level of planning, of understanding
the bond between man, woman, and child
The highest elevation, cuz we above
All that romance crap, just show your love"

...wishful thinking.

7 MCs - DOOM

De La Soul feat. DOOM
Rock Co. Kane Flow
The Grind Date














"He eat rappers like part of a complete breakfast
They rhymes aint worth the weight of they cheap necklace"


DOOM on just how routine it has become for him to outperform lesser skilled rappers.

Vomitspit - Elzhi

Elzhi
Halftime
Elmatic

"Cuz i'm an animal, scratch that I'm the manual..."

It's embarrassing that this is my first post from this project. Go get it now please.

Vomitspit - Gza

Gza
I Gotcha' Back
Liquid Swords 









"I was always told my do's and don'ts 
My do's I did, and my don'ts I said I won't..."

Come Back Like Jordan Wearin the 4-5 - Raekwon the Chef

Wu-Tang Clan feat. Cappadonna
Triumph
Forever












"Sickening, guaranteed made'em jump like Rod Strickland"


He is now known as an assistant coach for the University of Kentucky. A guy who has mentored point guards, Tyrek Evans, Derrick Rose, John Wall, Brandon Knight and Marquis Teague.

He was known as one of the most under appreciated point guards in NBA history. Led the league in assists one year and is 8th on the all time assists list.

 And the metaphor works because he had an incredible hesitation move.

"Heavyweight rhyme writer..." - Ghostface Killah

There is a short list of rappers who can 'set it off' on a Big Daddy Kane beat. Ghostface Killah is one of them. The beats-per-minute of this Kane track far exceeds what Ghost typically spits to, though you would not be able to tell by listening to it. He is as comfortable on this as he is on a Rza or Mathematics produced track. The content is very much in line with what you'd expect from him, story telling, imagery, metaphors and earnestness. 

Vomitspit - Joey Bada$$

Joey Bada$$ 
Fromdatomb$ 
1999








 "I got sick of class and started writing classics"


Joey on being bored by uninspiring educators.

Vomitspit - Rakim

Eric B and Rakim
I Ain't No JokePaid in Full 










"I hold the microphone like a grudge
E'll hold the record so the needle don't budge"


From a time when it was unthinkable for an MC to not have a DJ with them. Also not unusual for the DJ's name comes first on the marque.

Camay - Homeboy Sandman

One late night at work 3 years ago there were only four people in the building, me, two female co-workers and the night custodian. One of my colleagues came to my classroom and asked if I was planning on leaving any time soon. I told her yes, but that the night custodian was still there. I don't remember her response but I could sense that she was still leery of being there. I didn't understand her hesitance. To me, the night custodian was harmless. Just as I was attempting to make sense of her unease, my other colleague walked into the room and was posed with the same question. Before she could even mention not wanting to be there with just the custodian the second colleague almost finished her sentence. It was like she knew exactly what she was feeling. They shared a giggle and left. I left. It took me a while to understand what they understood.

Vomitspit - C Rayz Walz

Monster (Adrenaline Mix) - Vast Aire F. Sadat X, C Rayz Walz











"My ganja, was camouflage contra
Anonymous armor, brought to you by drama
Sponsored by karma..."

This one reads awkward out of the original context. Copy, paste and listen to it.

Vomitspit - Bun B

  
Big Beast - Killer Mike f. Bun B, T.I. from R.A.P. Music












"Once upon a time in the projects
An O.G. saw a young Bun B as a prospect
Thought that I would understand the streets from a very young age
So he opened up the G code to the front page
He sat me on the porch, said, "This where little dogs sit"
Pointed at the yard, said, "That's where big dogs shit"
He said, "Don't leave til your ass get growed
And don't come back till your ass get throwed"


U.G.K. veteran using a Killer Mike track to share coming of age advise distilled from a neighborhood elder.

"You're not artistic, and you have no intergrity!" Jerry Seinfeld

 Sometimes I randomly come up with lines or songs that I think are post worthy. Other times I'm more intentional. I have a playlist that I drop post worthy songs into. The other day an early Wale song came on, and it reminded me of just how skilled of an MC he was is. Soon thereafter, my joy turned into disappointment, then sadness. While he has grown in terms of fame, notoriety, and finances, his overall craft has suffered. It's selfish, but I feel cheated of his talents. 
Wale crafts some of the dopest sports metaphors in rap so I am going to try and use one here. Billy Owens was a dominant college player, who's game just never developed once he made it to the NBA. Once Wale signed to a major label he regressed as an MC. 

Free and 'Free'

While this is not a complete freestyle, and includes some "free"styles, it still is sooo hip-hop. Most of my posts herald the written word, but there is more than enough space for raw sptittage. This is beautiful, all the way down to the awkward Mexican kid. Teenagers doing hip-hop music well. I love it.

Come back Like Jordan Wearin the 4-5 - Jay-Z

 Jay-Z- , My 1st Song The Black Album









"Had to make moves like Olajuwon
Started out sellin dimes and nics
Graduated to a brick
No exaggeration, my infatuation with the strip"

The challenge with a good rap sports metaphor is that you can't be too general, "pass like (fill-in-the-blank-point-guard)"  See, it has to really be something that is representative of the the player, game, etc.  Well, "moves" is likely the first word that follows the name of Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon.

Vomitspit - Rakim

 Eric B & Rakim - You Know I Got Soul, Paid in Full






"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"