Friday, February 29, 2008

WORDPLAY


I love music. I'm a ole skool hip hop head to the core. I have nothing against some of these new cats who are on the scene. I just think that you have to put more effort into what you're talking about to get the results that you want. If you want to get drunk or get high before you write your verse, then you never know what that will do to your creativity. I don't knock cats for doing what they do. I just know that music ain't what it used to be. Damn...I sound like my pops.

We're gonna keep it real simple today. Today's vibe is gonna be a verse, a rhyme, or 16 bars from one of your favorite songs. It doesn't have to be rap. It can be r&B, country, rock, or poetry.

Here's mine. It was written by a young scribe named William Michael Griffith, Jr. Also known as Rakim or Rakim Allah.

My Melody
I keep the mic in Fahrenheit, freeze MC's and make em colder
The listener's system is kickin like solar
As I memorize, advertise, like a poet
Keep you goin when I'm flowin, smooth enough, you know it
But rough that's why the middle of my story I tell E.B.
Nobody beats the "R", check out my melody...

I take 7 MC's put em in a line
And add 7 more brothas who think they can rhyme
Well, it'll take 7 more before I go for mine
And that's 21 MC's ate up at the same time

29 comments:

  1. I'm gonna' hit you with two; One hip hop; the other ol' skul Rra n Bee....

    "I used to Love Her" Common
    I mightve failed to mention that the shit was creative
    But once the man got you well he altered the native
    Told her if she got an energetic gimmick
    That she could make money, and she did it like a dummy
    Now I see her in commercials, shes universal
    She used to only swing it with the inner-city circle
    Now she be in the burbs lickin rock and dressin hip
    And on some dumb shit, when she comes to the city
    Talkin about poppin glocks servin rocks and hittin switches
    Now shes a gangsta rollin with gangsta bitches
    Always smokin blunts and gettin drunk
    Tellin me sad stories, now she only fucks with the funk
    Stressin how hardcore and real she is
    She was really the realest, before she got into showbiz
    I did her, not just to say that I did it
    But Im committed, but so many niggaz hit it
    That shes just not the same lettin all these groupies do her
    I see niggaz slammin her, and takin her to the sewer
    But ima take her back hopin that the shit stop
    Cause who Im talkin bout yall is hip-hop

    Love's Holiday (Earth Wind & Fire)

    Would you mind if I touch,
    If I kiss, if I held you tight
    In the morning light
    Would you mind if I said how I felt tenderly tonight
    Again cause

    I never ever felt this way in my heart before
    Love has a holiday in my heart tonight

    Would you mind if I looked
    Into your eyes till Im hypnotized
    And I lose my pride
    Would you mind if I make love to you till Im satisfied
    Again cause

    I never ever felt this way in my heart before
    Love has a holiday in my heart tonight

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  2. Cant give you a Rap lyric, but Ol school R&B by Lalah Hathaway.
    Most of you won't know it anyway.

    Time heals all wounds, so they say, so they say,
    and the sun's gonna shine, so they say, so they say,
    but what if this is all a dream and things are not the way they seem, what about the things they say?
    Is there someone for everyone?
    Do we reap what we sow?
    Is there really good in eveyone?
    Will we ever know?
    Love lives thru time and
    There's no place like home.
    And I may be all alone.....
    but I believe what they say.

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  3. @ Trish
    I knew you'd come with an rb classic. LOL

    @ Rezidl
    Those are two classics. "I Used to Love H.E.R" is one of my all time favorites.

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  4. 12, I couldnt understand how just about everything you write...I understand to the fullest. Now I see why. We are the same age.


    [notorious b.i.g.]
    Uhh.. Im flamin gats, aimin at, these fuckin
    Maniacs, put my name in raps, what part the
    Game is that? like they hustle backwards
    I smoke blackwoods and dutchies, ya cant touch me
    Try to rush me, slugs go, touchy-touchy
    Youre bleedin lovely, witchyo, spirit above me
    Or beneath me, your whole life you live sneaky
    Now you rest eternally, sleepy, you burn when you creep me
    Rest where the worms and the weak be
    My nine flies, baptize, rap guys
    With the holy ghost, I put holes in most
    You hold your toast shaky, slippin tryin to break me
    Look what you made me do, brains blew
    My team in the marine-blue, six coupe
    Skied it out, weeded out, cleanin out -- the block
    For distances, givin long kisses b*tch

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  5. BIG didnt have to dis Tupac with that verse. The man was already dead.

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  6. @ Don
    Thanks, fam. I told you the other day that you were a philosopher! LOL. Eb told me that I'd enjoy bloggin. Thanks for puttin me in the loop.

    Long Kiss Goodnight by Biggie. It was one of my favorites on disc 2. Puff's rant at the end really wasn't necessary. He said "he wasn't talking about no other rappers." Ok Puff...who were you talking to? Suge Knight? LOL

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  7. Nas (NY State of Mind)
    "Be havin dreams that i'm a gangsta, drink moets holdin teks.
    Makin sure the cash came correct then I step.
    Investments in stock, sewing up the blocks to sell rocks, winning gunfights with mega cops.
    But just a nucca, walking with his finger on the trigger, make enough figures until my pockets gettin bigger. I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin, give me a Smith & Wesson, I'll nuccas undressin. Thinking of cash flow, buddah and shelter. Whenever frustrated Imma highjack Delta. In the PJ's my blend tape plays bullets is strays. Young bitches is grazed, each block is like a maze.

    I can go on. But I'll stop there.

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  8. @ Brad
    Here's a part of one of the hottest 16 bars from "Life's A Bitch" by NaS and AZ.

    Even though, we know somehow we all gotta go
    but as long as we leavin thievin we'll be leavin with some kind of dough
    so, and to that day we expire and turn to vapors
    me and my capers-ll be somewhere stackin plenty papers
    Keepin it real, packin steel, gettin high
    Cause life's a bitch and then you die

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  9. You did it again 12Kyle
    perfect for a Friday!

    Gotta go R&B. My Twin..Tamia
    This goes out to Big Russ!
    Time after time
    when I'm feeling low
    something inside of me let's me know
    It's alright loves on my side.
    When we touched theirs the warmest glow
    heat in the passion that heaven knows.
    It's a dream made for you and me.
    Baby I know..I gotta real thing
    here by my side
    Someone who needs me holding me tight and these special feelings
    won't ever fade. Cause your the world to me...You put a move on my heart!!!

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  10. L'Renee
    Channel that inner psycho you had in you the other day and hit us with a hard verse. LOL One about going crazy and killin a bunch of folks.

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  11. @ LRenee
    You just brought the testosterone level a bit. The dedication to your hubby is nice but does that mean I gotta go find a love song for my ole lady? LOL

    @ Brad
    Don't let the looks fool ya...LRenee prolly can rap, too. She might give you HER best verse. LOL

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  12. This is right up my alley... I love it Kyle! Aiight...
    Mos Def...
    Yo, check it.... one for Charlie Hustle, two for Steady Rock
    Three for the fourth comin live, future shock
    It's five dimensions, six senses
    Seven firmaments of heaven to hell, 8 Million Stories to tell
    Nine planets faithfully keep in orbit
    with the probable tenth, the universe expands length
    The body of my text posess extra strength
    Power-liftin powerless up, out of this, towerin inferno
    My ink so hot it burn through the journal
    I'm blacker than midnight on Broadway and Myrtle
    Hip-Hop past all your tall social hurdles
    like the nationwide projects, prison-industry complex
    Broken glass wall better keep your alarm set
    Streets too loud to ever hear freedom sing
    Say evacuate your sleep, it's dangerous to dream
    but you chain cats get they CHA-POW, who dead now
    Killin fields need blood to graze the cash cow
    It's a number game, but shit don't add up somehow
    Like I got, sixteen to thirty-two bars to rock it
    but only 15% of profits, ever see my pockets like
    sixty-nine billion in the last twenty years
    spent on national defense but folks still live in fear, like
    nearly half of America's largest cities is one-quarter black
    That's why they gave Ricky Ross all the crack
    Sixteen ounces to a pound, twenty more to a ki
    A five minute sentence hearing and you no longer free
    40% of Americans own a cell phone
    so they can hear, everything that you say when you ain't home
    I guess, Michael Jackson was right, You Are Not Alone
    Rock your hardhat black cause you in the Terrordome
    full of hard niggaz, large niggaz, dice tumblers
    Young teens and prison greens facin life numbers
    Crack mothers, crack babies and AIDS patients
    Young bloods can't spell but they could rock you in PlayStation
    This new math is whippin motherfuckers ass
    You wanna know how to rhyme you better learn how to add
    It's mathematics

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  13. @ Surreptitious NYSOM

    "Young bloods can't spell but they could rock you in PlayStation."

    Classic!

    Thanks for coming to the 12th Planet

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  14. Come on... I can't believe nobody said:

    Thinkin of a master plan
    Cuz ain't nuttin but sweat inside my hand
    So I dig into my pocket, all my money is spent
    So I dig deeper but still comin up with lint
    So I start my mission leave my residence
    Thinkin how could I get some dead presidents
    I need money, I used to be a stick-up kid
    So I think of all the devious things I did
    I used to roll up, this is a hold up, ain't nuthin funny
    Stop smiling, be still, don't nuthin move but the money
    But now I learned to earn cause I'm righteous
    I feel great! so maybe I might just
    Search for a 9 to 5, if I strive
    Then maybe I'll stay alive
    So I walk up the street whistlin this
    Feelin out of place cause, man, do I miss
    A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
    Me and Eric B, and a nice big plate of
    Fish, which is my favorite dish
    But without no money it's still a wish
    Cause I don't like to dream about gettin paid
    So I dig into the books of the rhymes that I made
    To now test to see if I got pull..
    Hit the studio, cos I'm paid in full


    Yo what happened to peace?


    PEACE PEACE peace peace!!!!

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  15. @ WEJA
    It doesn't get any better than this. It takes me back when we were at Williams Middle School and we were rhymin' in Mrs. Thompson's math class. We knew this cd inside out. No wonder we barely passed her class. lol

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  16. Thx. Glad to be here!

    Diggin through some crates...Ya'll remember these cats; Smooth da hustler and Trigga tha Gambler? Specifically that cut "Broken Language"

    No particular enlightenment to be achieved yet amusing nonetheless:

    Base your eyes on the guy that have
    no kind of worries if I die
    so p*ssy guy try
    dangerfield steppin my way
    bodies get cremated on a Friday the do or die way
    your death threat-er, sender, head spinner
    rap beginner, light dimmer
    3 knockout count winner
    the gun reacher, bustin shot teacher
    your funeral service church preacher
    your black hearse coffin seeker
    The body polluter, the gat shooter
    the Brownsville wild Brooklyn trooper
    the cock D mountain mover
    the face basher, the mista brain smasher
    the ass waxer, the drug money stasher...


    The money stasher, gun blastin razor slasher
    the human asthma breath taker
    body dump waster
    the glock cocker, block locker the rock chopper,
    the shot popper, the jock cock glocker
    The face splitter, human disgrace getter
    the lady shitter, phone joneser
    sneak over fuck your babysitter
    The chronic smokin, gun totin hearse initiator
    the crack supplier, the human drug generator
    The honey gamer, the chicken tricker
    the slick the long d8ck p*ssy sticker
    the ready to bust that ass kicker
    The track maneuver, the box barrier
    the off of the dome rapper
    the c-74 ox carrier....
    *******
    and they went on and on in this style of rap.

    ReplyDelete
  17. @ Surreptitious NYSOM

    I remember this song. I was in college when it came out. The 1st time I heard it was in a club. I remember thinking..."What is this dude talking about?" It made more sense once I saw the video.

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  18. This is one of my favorite songs: Hey You by Floetry.

    You know I see you on my blank sheet
    before I write or form oracle this situation yo,
    my memories choke me and stain my
    pillow as my voice becomes hollow as I trace tear lines around this space that won't fill
    yo I feel nothing but this way and
    the emptiness stays and its cluttered with a silence that teases me
    it leads me on like it's gonna say,
    like it's gonna say

    [Chorus:]
    Hey You, I'm Sorry that I have to leave I'll try to come back oohhh,
    Hey You I'm sorry that I have to leave I'll try to come back one day

    You know yesterday I stood outside in the rain
    in an attempt to dissolve away
    or just disappear
    or be gone
    be back
    or be
    just I try to see the point
    but I only see the pain
    My dreams cry when they're slain
    I regain
    consciousness to blurry vision
    I try to listen out for whispers of...

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  19. yeah you sound like your pops and everyone else's... my grandparents always said my parents didnt know what real music is... and my parents tell me... and I am saying the same thing now when I hear what my little cousins are listening too... every year we lose the real meaning of music and why the expression was even started... sadly... its only going to get worse... its an industry that is now only driven on money and trends and not having a diverse talent to let the consumers choose what they want to hear

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  20. @ Jewells
    I remember this joint. It was on Floetry's first cd. I like this song. Very underrated.

    @ Eb
    You are soooo right. The music industry is only a shell of what it used to be. Labels seem more concerned with having a hit than developing their artists. There is a lotta "microwave music". I don't begrudge the artists for tryna make a hit but they aren't creative...at all. Once the creativity is lost in music...we all lose.

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  21. @ Eb
    Where's yo verse at? LOL

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  22. clever

    rakim was the man but i don't know

    im a little younger and i think the greatest years in hip hop by far was 94 and 95

    think about all the great artists who had albums nas: illmatic, raekwon: only built for a cuban linx, pharcyde, sunz of man, cool g rap, king just,

    the underground scene then was in my opinion the best ever

    look at the top rap albums of those two years uncomparable

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  23. i'm kinda feeling this blog. thanks for stopping by mine as well.

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  24. i have to think of a verse i like. i'll be back.

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  25. @ James
    Those were some great years in hip hop. However, 87-89 was the Golden Era of hip hop. The cats from this era blazed a trail for those who followed them in the early 90s. From Eric B & Rakim, NWA, Big Daddy Kane, BDP, Public Enemy, 2 Live Crew, Run DMC, etc. They were so influential for the next generation of hip hop. After listening to a album from this era, it would really make us ponder if true hip hop is dead.

    @ Muze
    Thanks for coming thru. We're here erryday...like the mailman. lol.

    C'mon Muze. I KNOW you gotta a verse or 2.

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  26. Aww...RAKIM! You took me back, dude! My girl from back in the day used to date him, or his DJ, I forget which one, but I met them both...it was cool.

    So I won't kill the vibe with one of my crazy folk song obsessions and just bring the nasty with something newer than the rest:

    My favorite verse from What's Your Fantasy by Ludacris-

    how 'bout up in the library on top of books
    but you can't be too loud
    you wanna make a brother beg for it
    give me TLC 'cause you know I be too proud
    we can do it in the white house
    tryna make them turn the lights out
    champagne with my campaign let me do the damn thang
    what's my name, what's my name, what's my name
    ahh the sauna, jacuzzi in the back row at the movie
    You can stratch my back and rule me
    You can push me and just pull me
    on hay in the middle of the barn (woo) rose pedals on the silk sheets uh
    eating fresh fruits sweep yo woman right off her feet

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  27. @ Jaded NYer
    This was Luda's first big single. I met Luda when I first moved here in '97 b/c we had some mutual friends and we hung out a few times. Back then, he was Chris Luva Luva, the local DJ at the hip hop station. It feels good to see him go from that song to being a star. He's a good dude.

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  28. Check out my song.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJkXm7F-Oh0

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