There's quite a bit of repetition in the game these days, and specific lyrics tend to get overlooked. This is an opportunity to take a closer listen and really consider what these artists have to say. We encourage your opinions.
Keep in mind, these are the most noteworthy lyrics of the week, not necessarily the best. Also, it's hard to get everything right - if you notice any errors, don't hesitate to let us know in the comments section. Lines we're not quite sure about will be bolded.
This series is brought to you by our collaborators at gotbars.com, currently one of the most efficient providers of the latest hip-hop and R&B lyrics. Get familiar and create an account with them to continue the discussion directly:
Most Popular: Drake ft. Big Sean & 2 Chainz - All Me
No surprise here. The words to Drake's new "All Me" single were by far the most popular of the week, the numbers boosted by big features from 2 Chainz and Big Sean. Backed by a minimalist but bass-heavy instrumental from Key Wane, all three emcees take a braggadocios approach, Drizzy especially so. The dialogue at the beginning is Aziz Ansari's character Randy in the 2009 Judd Apatow film "Funny People".
"All Me" will appear on Drake's upcoming album Nothing Was The Same, which drops on September 17th. Thoughts? Whose verse was the strongest?
Read excerpts below:
[Verse 1: 2 Chainz]
You need that work, I got that work, got bitches in my condo
Just bought a shirt that cost a Mercedes-Benz car note
From the A to Toronto, we let the metal go off
And my dick so hard it make the metal detector go off
This that sauce, this that dressing
"Givenchy!" - Nigga, God bless you...
If havin' a bad bitch was a crime, I'd be arrested (true)
[Verse 2: Drake]
I touched down in '86
Knew I was the man by the age of 6
I even fucked a girl that used to babysit
But that was years later on some crazy shit
I heard your new shit, nigga hated it
Damon Wayans told me don't play that shit
I get paid a lot, you get paid a bit
And my latest shit is like a greatest hits
[Verse 3: Big Sean]
Ho, shut the fuck up
I've got way too much on my mental
I learned from what I've been through
I'm finna do what I didn't do and still wakin' up like the rent's due
Not complicated, it's simple - I've got sexy ladies, a whole Benz full
And to them hoes I'm everything... everything but gentle
But I still take my time - man, I guess I'm just old fashioned
Wearin' retro shit, that's old fashioned
Niggas see what I'm sayin', no closed caption
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Best Wordplay: Dizzy Wright - Can't Stop, Won't Stop
A visual leak from Dizzy Wright's upcoming mixtape The Golden Age, which we'll be premiering on August 19th. The rising Las Vegas emcee proves his worth yet again, effortlessly murdering the spacey instrumental with marathon verses, dense wordplay and a smooth but determined flow.
Can you dig it?
[Verse 3]
I've been rappin' all of my life
And I ain't askin' y'all for no stripes
I would go toe to toe with any hoe nigga
I ain't askin' y'all for no rights
Fuck your platinum plaques, if you gettin' lazy
I'm takin' off in your light
Pick up the pace as I grace that fight
Can't relate, he a fake cause he ain't that nice
Pick up the eighth at night
Crazy how they praise my life
Nigga workin' like a slave at night
(But you hate that right?)
For my niggas in the cage at night
This the music that'll save your life
(When it ain't alright)
Left it on a nigga brain all night
Let it sit so it cook right (cook right)
So many people are attracted to the possibility
Of what it looks like, you hear the hook right?
I was birthed to be the man
But is it worth it to be the man?
I love my life a little too much to hate on your's
So I work for me and my fans
When I'm deservin', I still hustle
Like I have not earned it
Concerned with not nothin', I'm learnin'
These niggas ain't been on my level for weeks
Ahead of my time, let my legacy speak
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Best Collab: Pete Rock & Camp Lo ft. Ab-Soul - Don't Ya Just Love It?
The older and younger hip-hop generations unite on this standout cut from Camp Lo and Pete Rock's new mixtape 80 Blocks From Tiffanys Pt II, the New York veterans having enlisted Ab-Soul, one of the most promising new voices coming out of the West Coast.
However disjointed and dialogue-heavy Rock's instrumental may be, this is an impressive display of lyricism on all counts, with Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede's brief, tag-team verses leading into a solid closing verse from Soulo.
Thoughts? Read excerpts below:
[Intro: Geechi Suede]
Centipede, set it in seven speed
Crookk ceremony, crawlin' out the cranberry breeze
Thai and Hawaiian, tattoo your fantasy island
Pneumonic neolites life prowlin'
[Verse 1: Sonny Cheeba]
Pulled out the punisher
This ain't the run of the mill
Shoot the valkyrie
Rock it out the trunk of the Seville
Hit the predator
...Megatron blast on the 80 blocks
From a planet where saints are the savages
[Verse 2: Geechi Suede]
Glamour coalition, new inspection
We trespassin' in your section
Offshore accounts in Barcelona
Watchin' Apollonia ridin' Ramona
Rubik's Cube sittin', twinkle on the index
Aimin' it asymmetrical at your apex
[Verse 5: Ab-Soul]
You shavin' points like the game had a goatee
I silenced the lambs - and now the goat's me
Scary, like writin' rhymes in the cemetery
Next to someone you knew that was buried
Berry Gordy, no Motown
Probably up in your town
Or clumsy in the Garden of Eden
Knockin' hoes down
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Most Multisyllabic / Melodic: A$AP Ferg - Hood Pope
Fergenstein channels Bone Thugs-N-Harmony on the latest leak from his upcoming Trap Lord album, which drops August 20th. The young Harlem emcee takes a characteristically grimy sing-rap approach on the contemplative instrumental, laying down heartfelt, multisyllabic verses amplified by a sense of melody.
Thoughts on this one?
[Verse 1]
And we sip 'cause we hurtin'
Pull a chrome fifth when they murk them
Them murked off an excursion
All 'cause a nigga be lurkin'
Big money shit we earnin'
A bunch of hooligans need churchin'
I'm the hood pope, these my children
And I'll be their Donnie McClurkin
Gold teeth when I'm smirkin'
Bunch of little kids runnin' round need nuturin'
Lord know that I ain't really perfect
All of these clowns run around this circus
Lord please witness my purpose
But stop fuckin' these Persians
Poppin' these bottles and poppin' these models
Please tell me, where is the Sherman?
And I'm smokin' my weed, put me in my zone
Demons chasin' me, 'cause they want my dome
And I carry the heat, and I sleep with the chrome
'Cause I'm in some beef, and they want my dome
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Most Spiritual: Jetpack Jones - Infinite Life
A standout cut from Jetpack Jones' new Beyond Infinity project, which is now available in our mixtape section. The rising Lakewood, California emcee, always open-minded, spits spiritually-fuelled bars over a meditative instrumental from Yo Asel.
This is Zen rap. Can you relate?
[Verse 2]
Come to my funeral and turn up
Cremate me, watch me burn up
I hope my life helps you learn up
I wanna leave the world better than I came in it
I'll live forever, my soul is infinite
And if you think I'm crazy, then you really don't get it
Told you before, I don't set no limits
In this Jetpack Lifestyle, ain't no gimmicks
So if you really with it, then you'd better be with it
Word to the fam' and to all our critics
Collect good vibes then we all gon' split it
I smoke buddha with Buddha, green tea in it
Ganesha removing my obstacles
Ra bringin' light to my vision
All praise to the most high
Whatever name you wan' give it
Most Drug-Addled: Tech N9ne ft. Danny Brown - Thizzles
Tech N9ne joined forces with Danny Brown for this bonus cut from his new album Something Else. The track is a nod to Mac Dre and The Bay Area's thizzle movement, and who better to assist on a track about rolling than the molly king himself? Both the rock-oriented instrumental and the emcees' lyrical approaches are positively bugged out.
How'd this one make you feel? Read excerpts below:
[Verse 1: Tech N9ne]
T-H-I-Z-Z-L-E-S - in my belly, yes
We stay high, we be helly X'd, so don't be jelly, just
Get up in the midst of the party
Got a fistful of molly and a bitch with a body
I think I wanna grab another chick from a hottie
Make her lick on my lollipop, I hits when I'm naughty
[Verse 2: Danny Brown]
M-D-M-to-the-A, on that plate, got me hella straight
We just took some dips, we just met, but we gon' fuck today
So pop that pussy for a goon, now I got four hoes in my hotel room
Got a zip of that Marley and I'm filled with that Henny
And a gram of that molly we about to go pop
Bitch, it's Tech Nina and your boy Danny Brown
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Honorable Mention: Big Sean ft. James Fauntleroy - Fire
Big Sean's "Fire" was the runner up for most popular lyrics this week, so we thought we'd mention it. Lyrically speaking, there's nothing really remarkable here - Sean spits fairly honest bars over a pop-rock leaning instrumental from DJ Camper, with assistance from James Fauntleroy on the hook.
Hall Of Fame hits stores on August 27th. Ya'll looking forward to it?
[Verse 1: Big Sean]
I woke up this morning, rolled a joint, then got to it
Dealt with real life shit, manned up and got through it
I'm a real D-boy, take a look up in my face
Never did real estate and still put you in your place
And I don't trust dog hoes, dog hoes got fleas
From where they rock ski-masks and don't nobody ski
Every time I spit a verse, my city like "preach!"
Niggas thought I got evicted how my shit up in the streets
B-I-G Sean, ain't nothin' obese but the feast
Swear I'm skinny cause I'm always on my feet
Gotta hustle every second, stackin' paper every week
Boy, I'm in the field for real, I might run up in some cleats
Was in Japan so long, I almost learned to speak
Had to leave... back to the 'hood
Where they don't understand unless you speakin' trapanese
If I fall down, bet I only trampoline, bounce back
Back on my feet, that's just how I be
I be out of town reppin', valid as an absentee
Lord Jesus, jealous motherfuckers tryna absent me
Fuck these niggas up, now it's absent teeth
Tryna pass on me, when I'm first place in the playoffs, bitch
I'm even workin' half days on my day off, bitch
Say it's gon' kill me? Fuck it, I work graveyard shifts
'Long as that weed and money chillin' in a pile
Bitch, I need that fuckin' fire...
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No Comment: DJ Khaled - I Wanna Be With You
ft. Nicki Minaj, Future & Rick Ross
Hype for the latest single from DJ Khaled's upcoming Suffering From Success album was built around his allegedly fake marriage proposal to Nicki Minaj. We'll leave the commentary on this one up to all of you.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s Lyrics of the Week, folks. Thanks for joining the discussion.
[Verse 1 (Excerpt) - Nicki Minaj]
I wanna be where the commas'll be
But I need a hood nigga with the llama degree
Get that limited edition Audemar, it could be
In a pivotal position, got to pardon the fee
'Cause he bought a couple bags and he sent a couple whips
And he took a couple trips and there's dinner in the mix
And he's never with another chick, frontin' like he's slick
'Cause it's levels to this shit, and she could never be Nick
[Outro - DJ Khaled]
Suffering from success
You witnessing greatness
I'm the best that ever did it
I wanna be with you...
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