Unless you’ve
been living under a rock, you know that Kendrick Lamar caused quite a stir with
his guest verse on Big Sean’s “Control” which dropped in mid-August. Kendrick
called out all the up-and-coming MCs in the game, as well as some more
established MCs, claiming he was out to murder them all (lyrically that is) and
make all their fans lose interest in them. Needless to say the buzz started
immediately as did the replies from all the MCs that were upset with Kendrick’s
claim of being the “King of New York” despite being from Compton.
And then there
was Kanye West taking to Twitter with this gem only a few weeks earlier: “I open the debate… The 2nd verse of New Slaves
is the best rap verse of all time….meaning … OF ALL TIME IN THE HISTORY OF RAP
MUSIC, PERIOD.” Which of course got everyone talking about the greatest
verse in rap history. And sorry Kanye, but the second verse on “New Slaves” is
not the best rap verse of all time. It’s not Kanye’s best rap verse of all
time. It’s not even the best verse on Yeezus. So let’s just but that discussion
to bed right now.
But Kendrick and Kanye both did hip-hop music a huge favor
with their respective actions. Kendrick brought the competitive juices out in
other MCs and also set the bar for artists to step their game up. There’s
nothing wrong with claiming to be the best when you can back it up and Kendrick
has yet to receive a worthy comeback to his verse. Kanye, on the other hand,
got hip-hop fans to spout off their favorite verses of all time, which got me
writing on this very topic. I’ve had ideas for this post brewing even before
Kanye’s Tweet, and was ready to launch it but life, as it tends to do, just got
in the way. Kendrick’s verse only added fuel to the fire for me to write as
people were calling his performance on “Control” the verse of the year, while I
contend that Black Thought currently wears that crown with his verse on “Bird’s
Eye View” off Statik Selektah’s Extended Play.
What’s the greatest verse in hip-hop history? Who am I to
say? I have my personal favorites and that’s what I’m going to share, but I
can’t argue with you if you pick Rakim’s first verse on “Eric B. Is President”
or Nas’ verse on “Verbal Intercourse” because they’re both classics and they
both deserve to be in the discussion. What I’m gonna do is write about the
verses that stick out the most to me and explain why. And no, I’m not gonna
post the actual lyrics for each verse. It just takes up too much space and
reading lyrics on a computer screen really isn’t that much fun. If you wanna
hear the verse, just YouTube the song and you’ll not only hear the lyrics, but
get to hear the way they’re delivered which can sometimes be just as impactful
as the words themselves.
There’s no way I can write about all-time verses and not
start with Inspectah Deck on “Triumph.” You all know the verse, “I bomb
atomically/Socrates philosophies/And high prophecies/Can’t define how I be
droppin’ these/Mockeries/Lyrically perform armed robbery/Flee with the
lottery/Possibly they spotted me…” and so on. This verse is ridiculously good.
Deck took this track and put the stranglehold on it right out the gate. It’s
lyrical perfection and there’s nothing else that needs to be said about it.
Some would give Deck the nod on another Wu-Tang classic,
“C.R.E.A.M.” And Deck’s verse is really good on “C.R.E.A.M.” But for me Raekwon
has always been the star of the show on this track. His opening verse is the
perfect representation of that gritty, raw sound the Wu had on Enter The 36
Chambers.
And while we’re discussing the Wu, let’s just jump right
into Cappadonna’s verse on “Winter Warz” which some deem as the greatest verse
of all time. Now, I’m not ready to crown Cappa based on this verse. Yes, it’s a
classic, but some regard it as the best because Cappadonna raps his ass off for
two-and-a-half minutes. Cappa brings it for the duration, there’s no
questioning that, but Kendrick went in for 3+ minutes on “Control” and
Termanology spits for almost 5 minutes straight on “The World Renown” so I
can’t give someone the best verse of all time based on length. But Cappa does
deserve his due because he never lets down and keeps you invested for the
entire 2:30. And I still rap line for line with it every time I hear “Winter
Warz” so there’s that.
Speaking of long verses that never fall off, I’d be remiss
not to mention Canibus on “Beasts From The East” from Lost Boyz’ Love, Peace
& Nappiness. “An MC so ill, I got AIDS afraid to catch me.” Canibus was
destroying every verse he spit and rightfully had the hip-hop world on the edge
of its seat in anticipation for his debut album. Unfortunately, Can-I-Bus
didn’t live up to the hype. But Canibus’ ability to spit a classic verse has
never been up for debate as evidenced on “Beasts From The East.”
Next up is Pharoahe Monch on “Stray Bullet.” Pharoahe takes
us on a ride through the eyes of a bullet and describes the horror it causes
including hitting a 6-year-old on a see-saw, going through the other side of
her head and striking a different target. Pharoahe’s command of the subject
matter, his tone throughout and the lyrics are all the things that make a
classic verse. And while I’m discussing Pharoahe, I gotta point to his verse on
“Maintain” in which he details every day stresses including being racially
profiled while stopping at a convenience store for juice. The detail and visual
that Pharoahe paints on this verse is what makes him such a gifted MC and
lyricist. And since this is about my favorite verses, I’ll give you one more
from Pharoahe and that’s his show stealing verse on “Oh No” alongside Mos Def
and Nate Dogg. There’s no theme on this verse, it’s just a lyrical beatdown.
Where one’s verse falls on a song also can impact the
strength of the verse. Sometimes we hear the best verse last as is the case
with Busta Rhymes on “Scenario.” Now let me be clear, I LOVE Phife Dawg’s verse
to start off “Scenario” which Phife opens with, “Bo knows this and Bo knows
that/But Bo don’t know jack/Cause Bo can’t rap….” That verse is timeless. But
Busta closed out the song with his most memorable verse ever and sprung board
his solo career on the strength of his performance on “Scenario.” Other
examples of classic final verses are: Sticky Fingaz on Onyx’s “Throw Ya Gunz”;
Lil Wayne on DJ Khaled’s “We Takin’ Over”; Masta Ace on “Crooklyn”; Dres on
Black Sheep’s “The Choice Is Yours” (who doesn’t know “Engine, engine No. 9”?);
and Sadat X on Brand Nubian’s “Claimin’ I’m A Criminal.”
Other times it’s the opening verse that proves to the best
as evidenced by The Notorious B.I.G. on “Flava N Ya Ear (Remix)” Here’s a track
with Bad Boy’s two up-and-comers in Biggie and Craig Mack, rhyming alongside
Rampage, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes and Biggie doesn’t let anyone else have any
shine on it because he owned the song from the jump with his verse. Looking at
opening verses, some of my favorites include: Ice Cube on N.W.A.’s “Straight
Outta Compton”; Andre 3000 on Outkast’s “B.O.B.”; O.C. on “Time’s Up”; Imani on
The Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By”; Chuck D.’s opener on Public Enemy’s “Can’t
Truss It” which he also reuses to close out the song; Snoop Dogg on Dr. Dre’s
“Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang”; Prodigy on Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones Pt. II”; Freeway
on “What We Do”; Big L on “Put It On”; CL Smooth on “T.R.O.Y.”; and Rakim on “I
Ain’t No Joke.” (On a side note, the amount of classic Rakim verses could be a
column all to itself. You could probably just list every verse off Paid In Full
and say those are the best hip-hop verses of all time and be done with it. I
went with “I Ain’t No Joke” because it just resonates with me. So many classic
lines on that verse, but seriously, pick any Rakim verse on Paid In Full and
you win.)
Then there’s the middle verse which Kendrick just proved can
be the most potent with his performance on “Control.” Nothing Big Sean said in
the opening verse or Jay Electronica said in the final verse matter because of
what Kendrick did with that middle verse. Seriously, think about a time that
another MC made the listener not care about a Jay Electronica verse. We get
shit from him so rarely that hip-hop heads savor every minute Electronica
spits. But not on “Control,” because Kendrick made Jay’s verse a moot point
(which also further strengthened Kendrick’s point about making fans not care
about other rappers). Then there’s Ras Kass on “Comewiddit” off the Street
Fighter soundtrack. Ahmad opens the track and Saafir closes it, but neither
verse matters because of what Ras Kass does with the middle verse. It’s a
hip-hop classic and is probably one of the most slept on verses of all time
because it was on the Street Fighter soundtrack, nuff said.
Getting back to Biggie, let’s talk about his verse on
“Notorious Thugs.” No. 1, it’s an incredible verse on its’ own. But what makes
it a classic is Biggie uses Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s flow and out rhymes Bone
Thugs. Seriously, how many MCs can take someone elses flow, one which is not
easy to mimic in regards to Bone, and not only do it better than the artists
he’s stealing it from, but also make it lyrically sharp as hell. Biggie wasn’t
just throwing words that rhymed together and spittin’ them fast as he can, he
laid down a classic verse lyrically and then delivered it flawlessly. Since I
gave y’all a bonus Pharoahe Monch verse, let me add Biggie’s first verse on
“Victory.” That verse probably has a little more sentimental value since it
dropped shortly after his death, but lyrically it stands up as well as any
verse Biggie has ever spit.
While we’re discussing all-time great MCs, let me touch upon
Jay-Z, Nas and Eminem. In regards to Hov, the conversation starts and ends for
me with Jay’s first verse on “Public Service Announcement.” Jay has spit so
many classic verses over his career, but his verse on “PSA” can’t be touched.
As for Nas, I’d go with his first verse on “N.Y. State of Mind” as my favorite
of his career. But I also need to mention the opening verse on “The Message” as
I absolutely love that verse from Nas as well. And let’s not forget his guest
spots on Main Source’s “Live At The BBQ” or Raekwon’s “Verbal Intercourse” both
of which are classics. As for Em, there’s so many to pick from. You can go with
the third verse on “Til I Collapse,” or his guest spot on Biggie’s “Dead Wrong”
or Dr. Dre’s “Forgot About Dre.” Of course there’s his guest spot on Jay-Z’s
“Renegade” which many consider to be the best guest spot ever. I don’t know if
I agree with that, but it’s in the conversation so I won’t flatly dismiss it.
But my personal favorite Eminem verse is on D-12’s “Fight Music.” I don’t think
it’s Em’s greatest verse of all time, but there’s something about the way he
spits that verse that makes it my favorite (remember favorite, not greatest).
Lyrically it is on point and the energy he delivers that verse with is perfect
for the subject matter.
Another classic verse goes to Boots Riley from The Coup for
his outstanding work on “Fat Cats, Bigga Fish.” The entire song is incredible,
but the opener has some of the best imagery you’ll find as Boots describes his
daily grind as an everyday street hustler: “The street light reflects off the
piss on the ground/Which reflects off the hamburger sign as it turns
round/Which reflects off the chrome of the BMW/Which reflects off the fact that
I’m broke/Now what the fuck is new?”
To close this out, I’m gonna pick two verses from
underground legends that for my money are as good as any verse you’ll find. The
first comes from Apathy on “It Takes A Seven Nation Army To Hold Us Back.”
First of all the White Stripes sample for this song is brilliant. But Ap just
absolutely destroys this track lyrically and rides the beat so well that it’s a
true example of what MCing is all about. Next is Aesop Rock’s final verse on
“Daylight.” Aesop is so complex with his lyrics and you usually need a few
listens just to capture everything he says, but his second verse on “Daylight”
is a thing of genius. “Life’s not a bitch, life is a beautiful woman/You only
call her a bitch because she won’t let you get that pussy/Maybe she didn’t feel
you shared any similar interests/Or maybe you’re just an asshole who couldn’t
sweet talk the princess.” Got lyrics? Holy shit is that dope.
Truthfully I could write about this subject for hours and
hours. I didn’t even get into R.A. The Rugged Man’s verse on Jedi Mind Trick’s
“Uncommon Valor” or AZ on Nas’ “Life’s A Bitch” but those deserve their just
due as well. As does Method Man’s first verse on “The What” and Method Man’s first
verse on “Shadowboxin’” and Method Man’s first verse on “Bring The Pain.”
Seriously, I could do this all day long.
What's the greatest rap verse off all time? It's a great question and a great debate. I don't know what the answer is, I just know what my favorites are and I hope you enjoyed them. Let the debate continue...
