Rap Genius: The top 5 rap lyrics of the week — Childish Gambino is slick

RAP GENIUS - This week found an incredible variety of artists making great music, from Golden Age vets to legends-in-the-making to, well, whatever RiFF RaFF is...

Nov 15, 2013
Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Hi. This is Shawn Setaro, LOTW author. Allow me to break with the customary royal we for a second and address you all directly.  I have had a fantastic time for the past months writing these Lines of the Week, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them.  They will continue on, but this is a last hurrah for me as their writer.  Thank you, audiences and artists alike, for all the love and positive feedback (and even, on one memorable occasion, heated face-to-face critique) on these columns.  I know you’ll love the new voices to come giving you the highlights of the week’s hip-hop.

Now, with that done, let’s get on to the business at hand.  This week found an incredible variety of artists making great music, from Golden Age vets to legends-in-the-making to, well, whatever RiFF RaFF is.  Below, the (final, for Shawn at least) Lines of the Week:

5.  “Let’s make ’em jealous, you and me both/I don’t believe it, she telling me she Tim Tebow/Jones, Lolo, let the mood do something to ya/And see the light, hallelujah” — Childish Gambino, ‘Relations (Remix)’ lyrics

Leave it to the notoriously sex-obsessed Childish to make a slick reference to celebrity virgins.  And the subtle nod to Tebow’s very public Christianity is superb as well.

4.  “I been out here trying to save us/Since the first wack sh*t signed to the majors” — Masta Ace, ‘Glory (Finish Hard)’ lyrics

Masta Ace is not usually one to exaggerate, and that’s as true of this line as the rest of his catalog.  He’s been dropping great verses since the late 80s, and is still going hard today.

3.  “Hadn’t been for my past tense, I wouldn’t be rapping/But now I’m here, GQ Man of the Year” — Kendrick Lamar, ‘GQ Man of the Year 2013 Freestyle’ lyrics

Kendrick Lamar rose to fame with an intense and detailed chronicle of his teenage years.  It’s amazing to see his well-deserved success, and we’re happy to see him celebrate it in rhyme.

2.  “Pimp snicker, Benz whipper, Hen’ sipper/Skin shiver, snakeskin sneaker slither” — Roc Marciano, ‘Capos’ lyrics
Roc has long been one of our LOTW favorites.  The quick stream of rhymes in these bars, and the assonance of the last phrase, sound as ominous as the content would indicate.

1.  “Now I’m Doogie Howser with the polar bear fist/Diamonds dancing on my wrist like Taylor Swift” — RiFF RaFF, ‘Real Boyz’ lyrics

It’s only appropriate that I leave my LOTW duties with a final RiFF RaFF head-scratcher. Taylor Swift dancing?  An out-of-nowhere Neal Patrick Harris reference?  Random animal reference?  Sounds like Jody Highroller to me!

 

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