Before Tupac and Lord Jamar, LL Cool J was the emcee I wanted to be like. I went through a stupid number of cassette tapes of Bigger and Deffer before I finally got a CD and treated it like the Holy damn Grail.
As we all know, over time LL’s attention was split and he fell off hard, releasing shitty album after shitty album. But there was a brief period in the late 90s — you know, around the time he was beefin wit Canibus — when I thought LL was going to reassert his dominance and become the longest running great rapper alive.
This verse is one of the main reasons why:
I’m incredible I mix up shit like cake mix
Keep it blazin hot, rhymes burn to keep you frost bit
MC’s is assed out cause they lost it
Peep my foundation, the way I reinforce it
I monitor movements precisely
Makin niggas hit high notes like the Isleys
Finally some asses I can touch up
Tie em to the grill of my Six pop the clutch up
Hush up I rush up, inside your cut
Make you puss up, then bust up, cause my shit bumps
This Don’s Trumps, kill straight cats and all chumps
Cause “Life is like a box of chocolate,” Mr. Gump
Uh, the ultimatum, lets abbreviate em
LL platinum again, don’t you hate ‘im?
A thin line between darkness and sunshine
Five Percenters that was raised on swine
Known to be wise, and you wise to understand
Bringin me drama’s a handstand in quicksand
I’ve been hot so long, I’m immune
Your rap career get cut short like Poom-Pooms
Simply – economy of phrasing. There are no extra words in this verse. Every word hits hard.
I miss LL….*sigh*
Enjoy the crazy-ass video:
