Number One Chief Rocka

Long before the Wu-Tang Clan made Mafioso rap popular, Kool G Rap was acting like John Gotti, and driving a Maserati. He was making Mafia references in his raps and telling Mafia related stories in his songs long before it became popular to add “Gotti” to ones rap name. One of the originators of hardcore rap, Kool G Rap along with D.J. Polo are probably one of the most slept on acts in rap music. They have never gotten the respect they deserve, and as time goes on, G Rap continues to make solid albums and they continue to make relatively little noise. Probably because he doesn’t pump out a video of him acting like a gangster in some paradise location while he is sipping on Champaign. And you know what? I’m fine with that. I’ll take his little known raps that please my eardrums and be more than happy. If you’re unfamiliar with G Rap, start your journey with “Road to the Riches” and go from there. G Rap won’t disappoint and your need for real rap music that exists within will thank you for it.



A Thug will mug for drugs, he eventually bugs
Lookin for crack on carpets and rugs
The squealer tells, but the dealer still sells
Little spoiled kids inheritin oil wells
I was the type on the opposite side
Of smokin the pipe, in a beef I got hype
Cos rags to riches switches men to witches
Become stitches, body bags in ditches
Bloodshed, I painted the town red
People fled as I put a dread's head to bed
That mean's dead, in other words deceased
Face got erased, bullets got released
Bombs were planted, the kids were kidnapped
In fact that was a way to get back
At enemies who tried to clock G's
on my block, now they forever knock Z's
Plans of rampages went for ages
Some got knocked and locked inside cages
Some bit the dust for crumbs and crusts
In God We Trust, now rots to rust
Plus caps to cops, policeman drops
You blew off his top when the pistol went pop
Troopers, soldiers, rollin like boulders
Eyes of hate and their hearts get colder
Some young male put in jail
His lawyer so good his bail is on sale
Lookin at the hourglass, how long can this power last?
Longer than my song but he already fell
He likes to eat hardy, party
Be like John Gotti, and drive a Maserati
Rough in the ghetto, but in jail he's Jello
Mellow, yellow fellow, tell or hell, hello
One court date can turn an outlaw to an inmate
But just ?stay?, ship him upstate by the Great Lakes
And than a-wait and wait and wait
Til he breaks, that's all it takes
So he fakes to be a man, but he can't stand
On his own two feet because now he's in a new land
Rules are different and so is life
When you think with a shank, talk with a knife
Not my lifestyle so I made a U-turn
More money I earn, more money to burn
Pushin all buttons, pullin all switches
My name is G. Rap, I'm on the road to the riches

Long before Ice Cube set the stage for modern diss tracks with “No Vaseline”, KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions laid the foundation for a diss track released on an actual album. Taking their beef with MC Shan and the Juice Crew further than dissing them live on stage or in a freestyle battle, BDP littered their initial offering and rap music classic “Criminal Minded” with swipes at the Juice Crew. They took it a step further with “The Bridge is Over”. Perhaps my all time favorite rap song and my favorite beat, KRS-One carves up MC Shan, Marly Marl and the rest of the Juice Crew with lyrical precision. Sure there were other battles going on in rap music like Kool Moe Dee vs. LL Cool J, but there tracks back and forth while powerful in their own right just went on and on. KRS came out in no more than 3 minutes and some seconds and dropped the hammer on the Juice Crew. 2 quick verses and one big ass beatdown. I might be partial to KRS-One, but this is how it should be done.

Di-di di-da, di di-di, dida di-day, aiy!
All you sucka MC, won't you please come out to play, cause
Here's an example of KRS-One, bo!
Here's an example of KRS-One
They wish to battle BDP, but they cannot
They must be on the dick of who? DJ Scott LaRock
Cause, we don't complain nor do we play the game of favors
Boogie Down Productions comes in three different flavors
Pick any dick for the flavor that you savor
Mr. Magic might wish to come and try to save ya
But instead of helpin ya out he wants the same thing I gave ya
I finally figured it out, Magic mouth is used for suckin
Roxanne Shante is only good for steady fuckin
MC Shan and Marley Marl is really only bluffin
Like Doug E. Fresh said "I tell you now, you ain't nuthin"
Compared to Red Alert on KISS and Boogie Down Productions
So easy now man, I me say easy now mon
To KRS-One you know dem can't understand
Me movin over there and then me movin over here
This name of this routine is called Live At Union Square
Square, square, square, ooooooooooooooooooooooo
What's the matter with your MC, Marley Marl?
Don't know you know that he's out of touch
What's the matter with your DJ, MC Shan?
On the wheels of steel Marlon sucks
You'd better change what comes out your speaker
You're better off talkin bout your wack Puma sneaker
Cause Bronx created hip-hop, Queens will only get dropped
You're still tellin lies to me
Everybody's talkin bout the Juice Crew funny
But you're still tellin lies to me

You cannot be a rap music fan living in New York State if you don’t like “The Infamous” album from Mobb Deep. In a mere 2 short years they went from “Juvenile Hell” to the epitome of grimy, gritty, hardcore rap. Havoc and Prodigy whip out their paint brushes and paint a picture of ghetto life with the skill of Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. KRS might have laid out a blueprint and Jay-Z might has dropped his own version, but this album could be classified as the blueprint of a hardcore East Coast Album at the tail end of perhaps rap music’s greatest era. Prodigy is the main vocalist while Havoc provides the beats. When the backup rapper drops verses that would put some of the best artists out at the time to shame, you know you are listening to a masterpiece.

“The Infamous” is an album that seems to be slept on in the grand scheme of things. The Mobb’s follow up album “Hell on Earth” was a worthy follow up, but unfortunately after that album the Mobb started to slip. While I still checked out all their albums, in my opinion, they lost their edge. They had made their money. They were no longer struggling to survive in the hood. They lost their grit, their hunger their toughness. Now they had loot and were chilling with the rest of the Cristal sipping big money rappers. This is almost single handedly the reason why I think rap music started to suck…but that’s just me. Either way, I’ll be tapping the 2nd and 3rd Mobb Deep albums for excellent verses. I’ll start off the Mobb presence here with a verse from probably my favorite track – “Survival of the Fittest”.

There's a war goin on outside, no man is safe from
You could run but you can't hide forever
from these, streets, that we done took
You walkin witcha head down scared to look
You shook, cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks
They never around when the beef cooks in my part of town
It's similar to Vietnam
Now we all grown up and old, and beyond the cop's control
They better have the riot gear ready
Tryin to bag me and get rocked steady
by the mac one-double, I touch you
and leave you with not much to go home wit
My skin is thick, cause I be up in the mix of action
if I'm not at home, puffin lye relaxin
New York got a nigga depressed
So I wear a slug-proof underneath my Guess
God bless my soul, before I put my foot down and begin to stroll
And to the drama I built, and all unfinished beef
You will soon be killed, put us together
It's like mixin vodka and milk
I'm goin out blastin, takin my enemies with me
and if not, they scarred, so they will never forget me
Lord forgive me the Hennesey got me not knowin how to act
I'm fallin and I can't turn back
or maybe it's the words from my man Killa Black
that I can't say so it's left a untold fact, until my death
My goal's to stay alive
Survival of the fit only the strong survive

Now that I’m done shitting on Busta Rhymes, let me get to the actual top verse of “Scenario”. Its gotta be from my man Phife Diggy cause he got somethin’ to say! From his opening lines “Aiyyo Bo knows this (what?) and Bo knows that (what?)” he set the tone for the entire song. This is the verse that people should talk about when they talk about this song and not Bustas drunken wisdom style-e. Phife’s verse is a perfect example of why A Tribe Called Quest was so great during this time frame. “The Low End Theory” is one of the best rap albums of all time. It earned 5 mics from The Source back when that magazine and its rating system actually was worth something. “Scenario” became the magnet that attracted fans of all different backgrounds to the Tribe. They’re popularity exploded and ATCQ kept up the good work with another 5 mic album to follow “The Low End Theory”. Eventually the Tribe started to slip, but they were victims of their own success. Remember, there’s “no holds barred, no time for move fakin” so go on and check this song out!

Aiyyo Bo knows this (what?) and Bo knows that (what?)
But Bo don't know jack, cause Bo can't rap
Well whaddya know, the Di-Dawg, is first up to bat
No batteries included, and no strings attached
No holds barred, no time for move fakin
Gots to get the loot so I can bring home the bacon
Brothers front, they say the Tribe can't flow
But we've been known to do the impossible like Broadway Joe so
Sleep if you want NyQuil will help you get your Z's troop
But here's the real scoop
I'm all that and then some, short dark and handsome
Bust a nut inside your eye, to show you where I come from
I'm vexed, fumin, I've had it up to here
My days of payin dues are over, acknowledge me as in there (YEAH)
Head for the border, go get a taco
I'll be wreckin from the jump street, meaning from the get-go
Sit back relax and let yourself go
Don't sweat what you heard, but act like you know

One of the greatest posse cuts of all time and for as great as the song is, its remix might be even better. This song was the launch pad for Busta Rhymes of L.O.N.S. His off beat flow became a rage and as Busta’s popularity grew he grew bigger than the Leaders and they split up. Busta went on to have a very successful rap career as well as making a very small dent on the Silver Screen as well. But, as I have shown with Tim Dog, this blog isn’t always about the best verses but memorable, or bad or influencing verses. This verse is memorable to me, but as far as being good…I think it sucks. The lyrics are nothing to write home about. Mostly they sound like a drunken nursery rhyme. His unique yet muffled and abstract flow takes away from the overall congenialness of the song. The song itself doesn’t suffer from Busta’s effort; however I just don’t get what the hype is all about!

Watch, as I combine all the juice from the mind
Heel up, wheel up, bring it back, come rewind
Powerful impact BOOM! from the cannon
Not braggin, try to read my mind just imagine
Vo-cab-u-lary's necessary
When diggin into my library
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!
Eating ayea toadstool like the one Peter Tosh-a
Uh, uh uhh, all over with the track man
Uh, pardon me, uhh, as I come back
As I did it yo I heard you beg your pardon
When I travel to the Sun I roll with the squadron
RRRRRROAW RRRRRRROAW like a dungeon dragon
Change your little drawers cause your pants are saggin
Try to step to this, I will, fits you in a turban
And had you smellin ripe, like some old stale urine
Checkady-choco, the chocolate chicken
The rear cock diesel, buttcheeks they were kickin
Yo, bustin out before the Busta bust a nut the rhyme
the rhythm is in sync (UHH!) the rhymes are on time (TIME!)
Rippin up this dance just like a radio
Observe the vibe and check out the scenario!!
*chorus starts* Yeah, my man motherfucker!

Anybody who knows me, knows I’m a big Wu-Tang Clan Fan, and that my favorite member is the GZA/Genius. Whether he is rocking a verse with the Wu, or tearing shit up on a solo joint he usually just blows me away. It was in 1995, over the summer of that year I believe that I picked up (on cassette no less) the GZA’s “Liquid Swords” and from that time on, rap music changed for me.

As a rule, Wu-Tang albums whether as a group or on a solo effort, the initial offering on the disk has always been a great track. I can’t speak so much for the most recent solo Wu efforts, but back in the day this was true. Whether it was “36 Chambers”, ODB, “Wu Forever”, “Only Built for Cuban Lynx” etc. “Liquid Swords” was no different. The title track being the initial offering slaughtered my eardrums with an infectious and crushing beat. An appearance by the RZA, the GZA dropping two outstanding verses and of course the minute or so long intro which is a reader’s digest version of the opening scenes of “Shogun Assassin”. A classic martial arts movie that the GZA uses freely for interludes all throughout his album. Long before this movie influenced Q-Tarantino in his “Kill Bill” movies, “Shogun Assassin” was helping shape one of the best rap albums of all time. This won’t be the GZA’s only appearance on this blog. To be honest, I could start a new blog based off of just GZA’s verses. For excellent production from the RZA, a hard hitting Wu style beat, mind bending lyrics from the GZA, check out “Liquid Swords”.

I'm on a Mission, that niggaz say is Impossible
But when I swing my swords they all choppable
I be the body dropper, the heartbeat stopper
Child educator, plus head amputator
Cause niggaz styles are old like Mark 5 sneakers
Lyrics are weak, like clock radio speakers
Don't even stop in my station and attack
while your plan failed, hit the rail, like Amtrak
What the fuck for? Down by low, I make law
I be justice, I sentence that ass two to four
round the clock, that state pen time check it
With the pens I be stickin but you can't stick to crime
Came through with the Wu, slid off on the DL
I'm low-key like seashells, I rock these bells
(when the MC's..) Now come aboard, it's Medina bound
Enter the chamber, and it's a whole different sound
It's a wide entrance, small exit like a funnel
So deep it's picked up on radios in tunnels
Niggaz are fascinated how the shit begin
Get vaccinated, my logo is branded in your skin

While this blog is no doubt for top rap verses (as the title would lead you to believe), I will include memorable verses, notable verses, verses that kicked your ass every now and then. Today’s entry will be one of these.

Tim Dog’s “Fuck Compton” was one of those songs that when first heard, you instantly hit rewind (we had tapes back in those days’ people) and listen to it again. Around the turn of ’93 when I picked this album up, my man B-Shan was with me. He has heard about it so after my purchase we headed back to my house and popped it in the deck. I remember both of our jaws dropping as we listened to Tim Dog go after the mighty N.W.A and Ice Cube. It was pretty much intense for a couple white boys…well I’m white and the jury is still out on Bill but I digress.

The twist with Tim Dog is this. Dude fucking sucks as a lyricist. I’ve actually farted out a better rhyme than what this guy would drop on his album. However for pure shock value he gets the high grade. For blowing me away with his rhymes even if for the wrong reasons, he gets the nod here on top rap verses. Should you want to hear some of the early gas that helped ignite the East Coast / West Coast feud, give Timmy D a download or two.



(Why you dissing Eazy?)
'Cause the boy ain't shit
Chew him with tobacco, an' spit him in shit
I crush Ice Cube, I'm cool wit Ice T
But NWA ain't shit to me
Dre beating on Dee from Pump it Up
Step to the Dog and get fucked up
I'm simplistic, imperialistic, idealistic
And I'm kicking ballistics
Having that gang war
We want to know what you're fighting for
Fighting over colors?
All that gang shit is for dumb muthafuckas
But you go on thinking you're hard
Come to New York and we'll see who gets robbed
Take your jeri curls, take your black hats
Take your wack lyrics and your bullshit tracks
Now you're mad and you're thinking about stomping
Well I'm from the South Bronx
Fuck Compton