Rap Genius: The top 5 rap lyrics of the week — hip-hop keeps right on grinding

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

From all of us at Rap Genius to all of you readers, have a happy commemoration of the death of Native Am…er, Thanksgiving!  While most of the world was looking forward to eating until they burst and getting into vicious arguments about the election with relatives they almost never see and probably don’t like very much, the hip-hop world kept right on grinding.  Joe Budden and Action Bronson both released excellent new mixtapes, and seemingly everyone else in the genre had a new single, freestyle, or remix to keep us satiated.  Below, the Lines of the Week:

5.  “F**k whoever’s nice, f**k whoever’s not nice/Fuck about your whip, I pop you up at the stoplight” — Styles P, ‘Show N Off Freestyle’ lyrics
The great Styles P has continues to earn his title as the “world’s most hardest MC,”, as his new album puts it.  On this quick a capella, his hatred spews in all directions — rappers who are good, rappers who stink, people who, um, ride in cars.  The complete lack of discretion is both amusing and a little scary.

4.  “These bad b*tches is all in my face, they think I’m illy/And giving me they faith and I tell ’em it’s no biggie” — Paypa, ‘Grinding’ lyrics

We hadn’t paid much attention to Paypa prior to hearing this collaboration with Troy Ave.  We will soon be correcting that oversight.  Paypa’s verse on this tune is smooth, smart, and funny.  Here, he somehow finds a new way to pun on Biggie Smalls’ name, by including his wife’s moniker in the joke as well.

3.  “I’m quick to bust, like a man that never got sex/But you don’t get the message, like a blind man that got text” — Cassidy, ‘Bang Bang’ lyrics

Cassidy has lately been in the headlines for his will-they-or-won’t-they potential $100,000 battle with Meek Mill.  So it’s easy to forget that he also makes music, and is pretty damn great at it.  Here, he operates in the grand rap tradition of making you laugh just enough to forget that you’re actually being threatened.

2.  “Cancelled, flicks with Mickey on the mantle/Flicks with Yogi Berra lifted in some sandals/Smoke the wax like a candle/It be that shit you can’t handle” — Action Bronson, ‘Dennis Haskins’ lyrics

Having grown up in Yankees country, we are always excited when great puns are made about a great team.  Here, Action not only mentions Mickey and Yogi, he manages to include a subtle joke on Yankee candles as well.

1.  “All I ever been was a outcast/This time in the moment, I moved past that/But the burner name is Jackson/And your alias is Baghdad” — Joe Budden, ‘Cut From a Different Cloth’ lyrics
Joe Budden is a long-time Rap Genius favorite, and his superb new mixtape A Loose Quarter continues to keep him near the top of our list.  This song, a collaboration with last week’s LOTW victor Ab-Soul, is one of the tape’s highlights.  On this rhyme, the tough talk nods to two OutKast classics, “Ms. Jackson” and “Bombs Over Baghdad”.

 

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