Posts in Category/Tag: Lyrical

Summary: Kendrick Lamar is the truth. This song is so smooth, so hard, so fire.

About Artist: Kendrick Lamar has been the reigning king of the west coast for over a decade. I’ve been a fan since I saw him perform in Los Angeles just after the release of his debut album Section.80 in the summer 2011.  With 50 Grammy nominations, 29 BET awards, and a Pulitzer Prize, Kendrick has is one of the most highly regarded rappers alive today. In February 2025 Kendrick hill headline the Super Bowl  halftime show.

About Song: This untitled track dropped on Instagram on September 11th. It is the first song Kendrick has released since the his beef with Drake earlier in the year. This track was produced by Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Pasqué & Anca Trio Plus One.

Favorite Part: The jazzy melodic instrumental track in the background is amazing, so smooth and juxtaposes so nicely with Kendrick’s assertive lyrics.

“Why reason with these (…) if they can’t see the future first?
Why argue with these clowns if the circus is well at work?
Just walk that man down, that’ll do everyone a solid
It’s love, but tough love sometimes gotta result in violence” -0:36

“Influencers talk down ’cause I’m not with the basic shit
But they don’t hate me, they hate the man that I represent
The type of man that never dickride ’cause I want a favor
The man that resides in patience, so where the soldiers at?
The one’s that lost it all and learnt to learn from that
A thirst for life, head inside a book ’cause he concerned with that
Information that’ll change his life because he yearns for that
Dedication, findin’ out what’s right ’cause he can earn from that” -1:00

“The flashy (…) with nasty decisions usin’ money as a backbone
I want his head cracked before he’s back home
The radio personality pushin’ propaganda for salary
Let me know when they turn up as a casualty, I want agony
Assault, and battery, I see a new Earth
Filled with beautiful people makin’ humanity work” -2:37

“My (…) Jay Estrada said I gotta burn it down to build it up
That confirmation real as fuck, it ain’t too many real as us” -4:28

Other:

The Day The Party Died (Lyrics)

Kendrick Lamer (Wikipedia)

Summary: Pure Nas with a fire verse from Ms. Hill

About Artist: Nas and Lauryn Hill are two of the greatest to ever do it.

About Song: Nas’s 14th album Kings Disease II dropped last week and this song “Nobody” is just one of many smooth classics on the album. Lauryn Hill has a great verse and it’s got those illmatic vibes.

Favorite Part:
“My awareness like Keanu in The Matrix
I’m savin’ souls and y’all complainin’ ’bout my lateness
Now it’s illegal for someone to walk in greatness” (3:15)

“I’m in the secret place, I keep a sacred space
They keep showin’ their hands, but keep hidin’ their face
If I’m a messenger, you block me then you block the message
So aggressive, the world you made is what you’re left with
Pride and ego over love and truth is fucking reckless
Y’all … got a death wish, the stupid leaves me breathless”  (3:50)

Other:

King’s Disease II (Wikipedia)
Nobody Lyrics

Summary: Go watch Judas and the Black Messiah

About Artist: Masego is best known for his 2017 collab “Tadow“. JID is up and coming signed with Dreamville, and Rapsody is a long established independent veteran.

About Song: This song was put together for a companion album to the movie “Judas and the Black Messiah” which tells a story of Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers. Go watch it.

Favorite Part: Masego’s vocals really bring the vibe and this verse from JID…
“‘Cause we can never murder hate but can murder a hater
What’s a more American way to try to give ’em a taste of they own medicine?
Prevalent ethnic rebel, the revolution of melanin
Bust a move to the ghetto, we must improve the development
Brought some food for the fellowship, got a noose on my brethren
Call the goons and the government, come correct the corruption
Break the racial construction buildin’ up
In the spirit of liberation, give me life or I’ma take it
That’s my human right, universally, you and I, we could be unified
But when you speakin’ truth beyond your youth, they want you euthanized
Creepin’ through the night, hear something movin’, right?
Intruders, intruders” (0:56)

Other: JID Wikipedia, Rapsody Wikipedia,  Masego Wikipedia, Judas and the Black Messiah Wikipedia

Summary: Throwback to a sunnier summertime.

About Artist: J. Cole is one of the reigning kings of lyrical hip hop.

About Song: This song is off of an EP called “Truly Yours 2” which came out in 2013 just before his second album “Born Sinner”. This song, like many of his, is also produced by J Cole himself.

Favorite Part: I really like the sample and the vibe J. Cole created in the production booth.
“B*****s saying: “You a rapper n****, ain’t you s’posed to tip more?”
I don’t see no pussy, baby, ain’t you s’posed to strip more?
Confessions of a cheap-ass n****
But I finally put my Momma in that E class, n****
And I told her quit her job, but hold your horses
If my next album flops it’s back to the post office, both of us, shit
They’re saying that’s a real possibility
The thought alone is killing me” (1:03)

Other: Truly Yours 2 (EP)

DOWNLOAD MP3 Reason-FlickItUpftAbSoul.mp3
Summary: …and we’re back.
About Artist: Reason and Ab-Soul are both part of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) headed by Kendrick Lamar. The whole TDE crew is West Coast royalty and this track shows it.
About Song: This is the first single off of Reason’s debut album “New Beginnings” which dropped in the October of 2020.
Favorite Part:
“Pick up the pacemaker
Your heart ain’t strong enough, brain ain’t smart enough
Gang ain’t hard enough, dollars ain’t long enough
Promise I’m droppin’ a gem, you should” (2:11)
Links:
Reason Wikipedia
Ab-Soul Wikipedia
New Beginnings Wikipedia
Top Dawg Entertainment Wikipedia

Download
Summary: Rest in Power George Floyd.

About Artist: Over 15 artists featured.

About Song: 24 minutes long. Goes from melancholy, to anger, to sadness, to hope.

Other: So much pain, so much rage, so much injustice.

Download
Summary: The CD runs 77 minutes in 50 tracks featuring over 60 artists. I hope you find your new favorite song. I know we can all use a little more music in our lives rights now.

About: I wanted to create a mixtape that had a little something for everybody. The tracks are edited to be short but offer a glimpses into pop hits and odd audial obscurities and alike. A project of the quarantine.

Other: Enjoy some easy listening or get out Shazam and find your new favorite song!

DOWNLOAD MP3 Bas-JustMadeBailftJCole.mp3
Summary: Free your mind and everything will follow.
About Artist: Bas is signed to J Cole’s Dreamville records. They are both great rappers with great messages.
About Song: It looks like Bas and J Cole both got a lot of exciting stuff cooking up at the moment but this one is back from 2014 from Bas’s debut album Last Winter.
Favorite Part: I love the bossa nova guitar sample, and J Cole’s verses are always fire.
“If we the new slaves
I am Frederick Douglass of rhetoric ahead the the others
You motherfuckas better get free
This for that insecure girl, your name I won’t mention
On Instagram straight flickin’
Bitch you a nipple slip away from strippin'” (2:38)
Other:
Bas Wikipedia
J Cole Wikipedia

DOWNLOAD MP3 Nas-EverytingftTheDream.mp3
Summary: If I had everything…
About Artist: What is there to say about NaS, theking of New York. Obviously one of our aging hip hop royals. Time hasn’t been great to NaS but I like this song.
About Song: This track is off of “NASIR” which was one of the super short albums that Kanye West produced in the summer of 2018. The album wasn’t great but this song stuck with me.
Favorite Part: “If I had everything, I could change anything”
“Some people have everything they probably ever wanted in life. And never have enough” (2:56)
Other:
Nasir Wikipedia

DOWNLOAD MP3 TravisScott-GoosebumpsftKendrickLamar.mp3
THIS SONG HAS BEEN REMOVED DUE TO A COMPLAINT BY THE RIAA.
Summary: I get those goosebumps everytime Kendrick goes off.
About Artist: Travis Scott is a 24 year old rapper from Texas. He was a XXL Freshmen in 2013.I saw him perform with Kanye and Chance the Rapper in 2015 and have had my eye more on him since. Kendrick Lamar is hip hop’s west coast king.
About Song: This song is off of Travis Scott’s second album “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” (2016). I really liked the album, and another song Pick Up the Phone (ft. Young Thug) which was pretty successful (it’s the song with the super mario steel drums).
Favorite Part: Ahhh! This song had me on one for more than a minute in early September. I love the track! I have like four different instrumental/cover versions. I like how the song slowly builds and Travis sounds nice on it. Then Kedrick Lamar comes in and completely destroys it. It’s not a long verse but it kills. Love it.
Other:
Goosebumps (lyrics via RapGenius)
Travis Scott (Wikipedia)

DOWNLOAD MP3 ChanceTheRapper-GrownAssKidftMickJenkins.mp3
Summary: “My favorite rapper a Christian rapper”
About Artist: Chance the Rapper is has been growing on me a lot since 2013. His album Acid Rap was amazing, I don’t know why “Good Ass Intro” or “Cocoa Butter Kisses” isn’t on this blog. I was super fortunate to see Chance the Rapper perform Kanye’s Family Business at a show with the both of the them in the summer of 2015. Then Chance dropped Coloring Book in May 2016 and the first time I heard it I knew it would probably be my favorite album of the year. Mick Jenkins is considerably less famous but I was obsessed with his 2015 mixtape “The Water[s]”.

About Song: Grown Ass Kid should have been track 11 on “Coloring Book” but it didn’t make the album because copyright law.
Favorite Part: beat, flow, the whole thang.
Other:
Chance The Rapper Wikipedia
Mick Jenkins Wikipedia

DOWNLOAD MP3 BigKRIT-SoBad.mp3
Summary: Freshh! classsic.

About Artist: Big K.R.I.T. is a raw funky southern rapper. He is extremely talented and produces almost all of his own songs. Big K.R.I.T. has been goin hard since 2011 when he dropped Return of 4eva.

About Song: So Bad” dropped this week as a 5 year celebration since the release of “Return of 4eva“. This is the 3rd Big K.R.I.T posted on gregshiphop.

Favorite Part:

1. Chipmunk early-Kanye Style Sample
2. Frunky Raw Southern Bars
3. Positive Uplighting Message
3. The Beat Switch at 1:46

Other:
Big K.R.I.T. Wikipedia
So Bad Lyrics (via RapGenoius)

DOWNLOAD MP3 PharoaheMonch-EvolveprodbyExile.mp3
Summary: Lyrical. Powerful.

About Artist: Pharohe Monch is most famous for his single “Simon Says” (1999) but is also a respected MC who has continued making revolutionary music. This track is produced by Exile who is a super talented producer and who began his early career in a duo group alongside Aloe Blacc.

About Song: This song came out on Pharoe Monch’s third album “W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)” in March 2011. It was never a single but it did re-apper on Exile’s mixtape “Intro to the Outro” in September 2011.

This is the 2nd song from “Intro to the Outro”to be posted in gregshiphop. Check out “Wait For Me (ft. Big Sean, Lupe Fiasco)”

Favorite Part:
1. Listening to Pharoahe Monch speak truth
2. Pharoahe Monch’s pure lyricism
3. The jazzy gospel track

Other:
Pharoahe Monch Wikipedia
Exile WIkipedia
Evolve Lytics (RapGenius)

DOWNLOAD MP3 KendrickLamar-KingKunta.mp3
Summary: …and we’re back. Since my last post this classic album dropped.

About Artist: Kendrick Lamar, what can I say. He might be my favorite rapper right now. He’s the new king of the west coast and has taken over the rap game. His latest album To Pimp A Butterfly is a must must must listen (you can listen here)

About Song: This song is just one of many great songs on To Pimp A Butterfly. Check out the lyrics below

Favorite Part: Everything

Other:
Kendrick Lamar Wikipedia
King Kunta Lyrics (via RapGenius)