Quotes & Sayings About Rap

Be a king? Think not.
Why be a king when you can be a God? — Eminem

Rap music is really good when you're traumatized. — Kim Gordon

I never see the whips niggas be claimin' they drivin,
I guess 'entertainment' means blatantly lyin'. — Nas

I left my Phillie at home, Do you have another? I wanna get blunted, my brother. — Daryl Barnes

We got hookers with heaters that'll stray pop and put more shells in your top than Adidas. — Kool G Rap

Valentine cards and birthday wishes?
Please ... be on another level of planning, of understanding
The bond between man and woman and child.
The highest elevation, cause we above
All that romance crap, just show your love. — Method Man

Rap's the occupation, but one day watch I'll be Pimp of the Nation. — Kid Rock

People who mock rap and say, "I don't like it" should go and check out Kanye [West] in the studio rapping, or Marshall, Eminem, when he's in the studio. It's a phenomenon. Don't knock it until you've seen it. It may not be your cup of tea, but don't ridicule it. — Elton John

This one's for you, and I truly hope you hear me,
Through all your travels, I'm wishing you a peaceful journey. — Heavy D

When hip-hop was born she had no commercial home, and was an invention of beautiful creativity. Born from a beautiful struggle, today she is mostly a 'ratchet' bitch spitting nonsense from her pimp's mansion. — T.F. Hodge

Not everyone agrees on music. Some people like rap, some like country - it's all an opinion. F the critics. — Vanilla Ice

The FBI is urging all Americans to beware of any letters or packages that have badly misspelled words. Man, this is going to be terrible news for the rap industry. — Jay Leno

Know what you did last summer, so I started hookin' — Method Man

You know the evil that men do, hell is where the men go.
We snatched him by his hands and feet and threw him out the window:
"Up, up, and away cause I don't play, clown,
Buck, buck, buck, take that with you on the way down."
I'm hoping you got springs and wings on your shoes,
But you lose, because I got the Ill Street Blues. — Kool G Rap

While also, importantly, not wanting to dumb it down or pretend the days of 'difficult' poetry are over, because we live in a pluralist culture and there's room for 'difficult' poetry alongside rap and everything else. And poetry won't be for everyone, but everyone should have the choice. — Andrew Motion

Ayo, shout out to Mobb Deep, the Extra P
Busta Rhymes, De La, the J Beez, so don't sleep — Q-Tip

We Gonna Win' is a song of triumph, It represents my personal belief that with hard work, talent and dedication, everything is possible. It's a one of a kind marriage between rap and classical music, where the music doesn't accompany the vocalist, but rather stands on its own. — Miri Ben-Ari

It's lifestyle music. It's not like some secretary who likes some pop song, but can't name who the band is; whereas a heavy metal fan is into every aspect of it. We'll see if rap holds up to that. Run-DMC seemed to be the Led Zeppelin of rap. — Rob Zombie

I love Dr. King, but violence might be necessary;
Cause when you live on MLK and it gets very scary,
You might have to pull your AK, send one to the cemetery. — Killer Mike

Boredom has a bad rap. Its true character reveals you are deep inside your comfort zone. Boredom is a docent beckoning toward the edges of a labyrinth. — Gina Greenlee

There were people who incorporated melody before me, but I would deem myself the first person to successfully rap and sing. — Drake

When I leave I always come right back here. The young spitter that everybody in rap fear. — Drake

All we want in this life is peace, prosperity and a little paper. — Q-Tip

We just wanted to get as far away from the rap-rock scene as possible, because its been done and other bands do it better than us anyway. — Adam Rich

A lot of singers find a musical genre people like and stick with it. That's being a conformist. I sing ballads, rock, salsa, rap. — Thalia

Cops just surrounding me with pistols everywhere.
They put me in the backseat of their car handcuffed,
Pushed out them chests like they're big rough and tough.
A cop come and said 'You'll never sell your guns now.'
I said 'It doesn't matter, you'll sell them anyhow.
You take the guns from me, you sell them for a fee;
Anyway you put it, they'll get in the city!' — KRS-One

Size me up and get goosebumps, boys. I'm the widowmaker and the slayer of jungles, the mean-eyed harbinger of desolation! I've ripped a catamount asunder and sprinkled his fragments in my stew; one screech from me makes vultures fly, one glance puts blisters on grizzly bears, devastation rides on my every breath! Where is that stately stag to stamp his hoof or rap his antlers to these proclamations! Where is the mangy lion what will lick the salt off my name! — Ron Hansen

I'm at a point where I don't have to wait for the income from the record to survive, so I'm in a comfortable zone, but I'll make rap records as long as I feel I have something to rap about. — Ice-T

There is a gambling element to being somebody who is going to take on the job of constantly trying to represent and prop up people who might be somewhat shady. That notion is probably part of how they got the rap. But, I have to find the balance of being colorful, being at times despicable, and also being somebody who does believe in something. — Greg Kinnear

We have to remember that the experience of gangsta rap as such in its foundation is an anti-systemic experience primarily. And it is an anti-systemic experience that is not in some cases politicized, but in general results in a much more transgressive, much more uncomfortable music for the structures of power, than conscious rap or political rap. — Bocafloja

I believe in heaven more than hell, lessons more than jail.
In the ghetto, let love prevail with a story to tell.
My eyes see the glory, and well,
The world waiting for me to yell, "I Have A Dream!" — Common

You're living up in Heaven, but I know you're mad as Hell. — MF Grimm

When you look at a guy like a Jay-Z or look at a guy like a Nas, you don't necessarily qualify them as conscious rap purely, although they are extremely conscious of the social inequities that prevail. — Michael Eric Dyson

I'm givin' more flat lines to niggas than loose-leaf. — Kool G Rap

I can rap in a London accent, make weird faces, wear spandex, wigs, and black lipstick. I can be more creative than the average male rapper. — Nicki Minaj

I got mouths to feed,
Unnecessary beef is more cows to breed. — GZA

MC's they retreat cause they know I can beat 'em,
And eat 'em in a battle and the ref won't cheat 'em.
I'm the best takin' out all rookies,
So forget Oreos ... eat Cool J cookies. — LL Cool J

Not all dogs are perfect dogs, but all dogs are inherently good. Like people, we are affected by environment and circumstance. Some breeds get a bad rap because sometimes humans breed them to be a certain way, like overly macho or protective. In our life on earth we are dependent on humans for everything, including our breeding. We can be bred for aggression or we can be bred for peace. — Kate McGahan

I love beats that are hardcore, dirty and raw.
I love takin niggas burners when they scared to draw.
I love plottin on my enemies, I love to attack.
I love beatin down niggas when they rhymes is wack! — Bumpy Knuckles

You've got to realize that the world's a test,
You can only do your best and let Him do the rest.
You've got your life, and got your health,
So quit procrastinating and push it yourself. — Cee Lo Green

I loved Debussy, Stravinsky, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, anything with romantic melodies, especially the nocturnes. Nietzsche was a hero, especially with 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra.' He gets a bad rap; he's very misunderstood. He's a maker of individuals, and he was a teacher of teachers. — Joni Mitchell

I judge wisely ... as if nothin ever surprise me,
Loungin, between two pillars of ivory.
I'm lively, my dome piece is like buildin stones in Greece.
My poems are deep, from ancient thrones I speak. — Killah Priest

All I want is peace and love on this planet.
Ain't that how God planned it? — Chuck D

I don't like rap that you can't understand. The youth is so quick and alert. — Roy Ayers

I always felt that rap didn't cause crime; it just reflected it. — John Legend

Laugh now, cry later: this is the karma.
Hip-hop never died, it's just sick of the drama. — Cormega

I do like alternative rock and rap, but as far as inspirational, then I go full-on orchestra. It fills up your entire being. — Osric Chau

This year Halloween fell on a weekend
Me and Geto Boys are trick-or-treatin'
Robbin' little kids for bags ... — Bushwick Bill

We talking about revolution because that's the era that you're caught in. — H. Rap Brown

The mind tricks the body,
Body thinks the mind is crazy ... — Buckshot

I got into rapping by being a victim of circumstances; it was a hard situation with my brother. Mainly my older brother got hit with a life sentence, so he kind of inspired me. — Trae Tha Truth

They say time is money but really it's not
If we ever go broke, then time is all we got
And we can't make that back, no you can't make that back — J. Cole

In a way, all recorded music is reduced to the same level, no matter what it is. You find it in the store, you put it on and, "Oh, that's not cool. That's gangsta rap. That's white supremacist punk." But in a way, the content is removed from the intention of the people that made it. That's the commercial level of music. — Eyvind Kang

The Devil crept into Heaven, God overslept on the 7th,
The New World Order was born on September 11. — Immortal Technique

One of the first albums that I remember, rap albums I remember really listening to, was LL Cool J 'Mama Said Knock You Out.' — Damian Marley

A homeless man once told me that dancing to rap music is the cultural equivalent of masturbating, and I'd sort of fell the same way about playing John Madden Football immediately after filing my income tax: It's fun, but - somehow - vaguely pathetic. — Chuck Klosterman

God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down — Kanye West

I'm a thinker; I think too much. So for me to freestyle rap, it's like I'm thinking three, four time steps ahead, and I hate it. — Andre Benjamin

Why shouldn't rap be esoteric, able to take in current events, history and criticism? I guess it's this old idea of containment - that rappers, because they're black, can't and shouldn't aspire to look outside the ghetto for influence. — Saul Williams

Im straight ... But my girl a faggot ... Potato on the barrel ... Potato salad — Lil' Wayne

I think Lafayette wants to rap in French now. I have to go learn some French.
Damn it, Lafayette — Lin-Manuel Miranda

Life is real, reality is not a dream.
Those who chose to sleep ... I wake em up,
Cause you're sleepin with your mouth open hummin deez nuts. — King Sun

Took two drags off the blunts, and started breaking down the flag:
The blue is for the Crips, the red is for the Bloods,
The whites for the cops, and the stars come from the clubs
Or the slugs that ignite, through the night,
By the dawn early light, why is sons fighting for the stripe? — RZA

My favorite song is Eminem's 'Rap God.' That joint is just incredible, It's six-and-a-half minutes of him just crushing the whole game. It's so different from what I hear if I listen to the radio. — Mekhi Phifer

All I really want is a beat from Kanye West. I've met him, and I think he's real cool with us. If I get that beat, I'm going to rap the best verse I ever dropped - even if it's his worst beat. — Domo Genesis

With rap, it's a funny thing. You can say things, and people can take 'em the way they wanna take 'em. — Young Jeezy

I gotta make a move, I gotta do this now,
If they don't know your dreams, they can't shoot 'em down. — J. Cole

I used to wanna rap like Jay-Z,
Now I feel I could run laps around Jay-Z,
Nas ain't seen nothing this nasty,
B.I.G. & Pac got it coming when I pass too.
You got the mic, I ain't the one you wanna pass to — Ab-Soul

I don't dislike rappers or hip-hop or people who like it. I went to the Def Jam tour in Manchester in the '80s when rap was inspirational. Public Enemy were awesome. But it's all about status and bling now, and it doesn't say anything to me. — Noel Gallagher

Rap is from the streets and I'm from the streets. That's why a lot of people accept me. — Vanilla Ice

If we're all saying that rap is an art form then we gotta be more responsible for our lyrics. If you see everybody dying because of what you're saying, it don't matter that you didn't make them die, it just matters that you didn't save them. — Tupac Shakur

Occasionally, a great band would come along, like Blondie or OutKast who could be pop and bring interesting ideas into the mainstream at the same time. That's now gone, because of this weird mutation of pop, rap, R&B, bad rave, and supposedly soulful singing on top of it. — Johnny Marr

I use a pick in my hair without force.
You use a lawn mower-you got peat moss. — Extra P

Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal,
MC's spit rhymes to uplift their people. — KRS-One

No, I can't do rap music! — Dolly Parton

Biggie was a lyrical genius: he was a musical painter with words. As he rapped, you would see the picture come to life as you heard his story. You hear a lot of rappers rap; you hear a lot of singers sing, but you don't see the movie in your head the way you do when you hear Biggie rap. — R. Kelly

Thanks for comin out, God bless you, good night ...
What of fame?
Everyone knows your face, the world screams your name
And never again, are you alone.. — Tupac Shakur

Long as I live large, life will be luxury,
Ladies in Lamborghinis ... love is like luck to me. — Redman

Rap is really just too conventional. Everybody does the same thing. No one ever pushes the box. — Tyler, The Creator

I'm not blowing my own trumpet here, but I made a rap song 20 years ago with Afrika Bambaataa. — John Lydon

I'm out for presidents to represent me (Say what?)
I'm out for dead presidents to represent me. — Nas

"Vell," said Mr. Weller, "Now I s'pose he'll want to call some witnesses to speak to his character, or p'raps to prove a alleybi. I've been a turnin' the bis'ness over in my mind, and he may make his-self easy, Sammy. I've got some friends as'll do either for him, but my adwice 'ud be this here-never mind the character, and stick to the alleybi. Nothing like a alleybi, Sammy, nothing." — Charles Dickens

I don't like putting a name on my music. It's not just country and rap; it's got Southern rock, classic rock. — Big Smo

Rap records don't make you feel good no more. Six months after release, it can't come back as a classic. — Wyclef Jean

Rap started on the street, and religion is everywhere, even on the streets. — Ebony A. Utley

Guns turn you boys into pussies, sex change — Lil' Wayne

You hate it before you played it. I already forgave ya. — J. Cole

I find that with some girls, the words 'work' and 'education' have gotten a bad rap. — Sandra Bullock

A poet's mission is to make words do more work than they normally do, to make them work on more than one level. — Jay-Z

Yo, you 14-carat gold slum computer wizard,
Tappin' inside my rap vein causes blizzards! — Ghostface Killah

I think what's exciting about doing it as found footage - if we all are being honest, found footage gets a little bit of a bad rap sometimes, but I think that there's a lot of potential in the medium in taking it seriously and in treating the audience with respect and in treating the characters with respect in terms of, why is the camera really on? Where would the camera be when it is on? — Dean Israelite

The music becomes more pure and soulful when it's true, and it has to be true these days with the way the internet works, and the way the game works, everyone wants authentic raps. — J. Cole

For every single dark night there is a brighter day. — Tupac Shakur

We went from candy bars, to handle bars, to hangin' in bars, to being behind bars — MF Grimm

Even through the unseen, I know that God watches,
From one King's dream, he was able to Barack us. — Common

It's drones over Brooklyn, you blink, you could get tooken,
And now you're understanding the definition of 'Crooklyn.'
Pigs on parade, but bacon fryin' and cookin',
Cause kids' tired of dyin' and walkin' round like they shooken. — Killer Mike

Of course, growing up, I was a big fan of rap so that was something that I got into. I was a fan of a lot of artists. You can be a fan, but at the same time, you gotta carve your own swagger and carve out your own style. — Kirko Bangz

1,2,3, I'm at the Chelsey Hotel, like, Sid and Nancy, with knife, and two grams of candy — Yelawolf

Rap was my drug. — Eminem

Havin' cash is highly addictive, especially when you're used to havin' money to live with. — Prodigy