In the 20 years that I have been alive, I have heard some verses from some of my favorite rappers that have sent chills up my spine, and it makes me wonder how corrupt the world really is. With this article I'm going down the list of my favorite rappers and their prolific verses. So let's get started:

1. Ice Cube – "When Will They Shoot"

"Cause I like Nat, Huey, Malcolm, and Louis / Most got done by a black man's bullet... When they shoot, no, it won't be a cracker / They'll use somebody much blacker."

We all know that Nat Turner led the slave rebellion, Huey P. Newton was one of the leaders of the Black Panther Party, Malcolm X was also a big part of the Civil Rights movement speaking about the Nation of Islam, and Louis Farrakhan who is also Muslim and a spokesman for the black community. Their deaths however, are another important part of history. Nat, Huey, and Malcolm were all assassinated because they were making a change within the black community. Nat was shot by a white man, and Huey and Malcolm were killed by black men. Which alludes to Cubes next line, "When they shoot, no, it won't be a cracker. They'll use somebody much blacker." Cube is saying that when the white man feels threatened, he'll hire a black man to do his dirty deeds, because it makes the white man look less suspicious and keeps the black community from questioning what's really going on.

2. Common – "I use to Love H.E.R."

"I might've failed to mention that this chick was creative / Once the man got to her, he altered her native / Told her if she got an image and a gimmick / That she could make money, and she did it like a dummy / Now I see her in commercials, she's universal."

Throughout the song Common constantly refers to hip-hop as "her", as do many other rappers. Common also reveals throughout the song that hip-hop was his first love, which only makes sense to call hip-hop, her. I choose this verse because it explains what state of mind hip-hop is in today. hip-hop no longer has a positive message for young black kids. hip-hop and its artists used to appreciate its roots, and referenced afrocentricism as often as possible. They rapped about what went on in black neighborhoods and how we could make a change. Now, hip-hop has sold its soul to make money and crossed over to other genres. hip-hop is now about having a gimmick and belongs to every other race besides black. The only way to crossover now in hip-hop is to make a new dance song, have a gimmick, or talk about self destruction in the black community. That is why Common use to love H.E.R.

3. Jay-Z – "Justify my Thug"

"For every action there's a reaction / Don't have me relapsin' / Relaxin's what I'm about, but about mine / Don't be actin' like you can't see street action / Take me back to Reasonable Doubt time."

The first line of this verse Jay is basically saying I'm not going to wait for karma to get you, I'll take matters into my own hands. Jay is also telling us just because he has made millions of dollars now, don't forget about his street credibility. Having guys mess with him by throwing shots, is making Jay reminisce about his "Reasonable Doubt" days.

4. Nas – "One Mic"

"One God to show me how to do things his son did / Pure, like a cup of virgin blood / mixed with 151, one sip'll make a ni$$a flip / writing names on my hollow tips, plottin' sh@t / mad violence who I'm gon body next? This hood politics / acknowledge it, leave bodies chopped in garbages / seeds watch us, grow up and try to follow us / police watch us, roll up and try to knock us."

In the fifth line of this verse, Nas admits that he wishes there was someone in his life that could've showed him to do things the Holy way. Then he continues and says he wants to be pure like virgin blood. Nas contradicts it by rapping he'll mix the pure blood with Bacardi 151, which is 75 percent alcohol. This takes away from the pureness of the blood. Which further explains his next line; Nas is about to break one of the 10 commands, Thou shall not Kill. He has a lot of enemy and people that have crossed him, that he's now plotting on. The list is so long he doesn't know who he wants to kill next. This also explains the hood politics, they're unwritten rules that when living in the hood people have to follow. Nas also acknowledges this vicious cycle. He also realizes that their seeds are watching this survival of the fittest behavior and want to be just like their daddy's. All the police is doing is keeping these men locked up in the system.

5. Tupac – "Pain"

"Even as a youngster causin' ruckus on the back of the bus / I was a fool all through high school, kick in up dust/but now I'm labeled as a troublemaker; who can you blame? / smokin weed helped me take away the pain / so I'm hopeless rollin down the freeway swervin, don't worry I'm about to crash up on the curb 'cause my vision's blurry / maybe if they tried to understand me; what should I do? / I had to feed my fu$kin family; what else could I do but be a thug?"

In the first few lines Pac illustrates how he is a product of his own environment. Asking who can you blame, if he never had anyone in his life to be a positive role model. Then he further explains why he smokes weed to help take away the pain and escape his reality for a little while. Maybe if society tried to understand him and the environment he grew up in, they wouldn't be so quick to judge. Pac raps he did what he had to do in order to feed his family. Tupac also poses the next question, what could he do but be a thug? This last line poses a lot of debate, such as people from richer backgrounds always wants to debate that people from poor and drug infested neighborhoods and low income families have the same opportunities as them. No one wants to acknowledge the obstacles these kids face when they can't get help from the people that are supposed to be a support system. So, is Tupac really wrong for being a thug?

6. The Notorious B.I.G – "Ni$$as bleed"

"(Ni$$as bleed just like us) / picture me being scared of a ni$$a that breathe the same air as me / (NI$$as bleed just like us) / picture me being shook / we can both pull burners, make the motherfu$king beef cook /(Ni$$as just like us)/ picture a ni$$a hiding, my life in that man's hands, while he was just deciding /(Ni$$as bleed just like us) / I'd rather go toe-to- toe with all of y'all / running ain't in my protocol."

I chose to analyze the chorus because I feel that this is one of the most important parts of the song. Biggie uses repetition rapping, "Ni$$as bleed just like us". Explaining that we all bleed red blood and why would he be scared of another ni$$a that breathes the same air as him. Biggie will never let anybody see him scared, so if someone doesn't like him, they can go to to war. He also reveals through the chorus that he'll never put his life in another man's hands. If war is what you want with Biggie, then he's ready to go toe-to-toe because running is not in Big's blood.

7. J. Cole – "Rich Ni$$as"

"I hate rich ni$$as, god damn it / cause I ain't never had a lot dam it / who you had to kill, who you had to rob, who you had to fu$k just to make it to the top damn it / or maybe that's daddy money, escalator no ladder money / Escalade new caddy money / worst fear going broke cause I'm bad with money / crooked smile ni$$a momma never had the money."

Cole opens with stating he hates rich ni$$as, not because of their money, but because they never have to work for anything. This also goes into the next line; Cole asking what demeaning actions have you done to get where you are. Then he raps, "maybe that's daddy's money," which further explains his disdain because that's old money and has been in the family for generations. The offspring definitely didn't have to work for anything. Now that Cole has money, his worst fear is going broke, because he knows that he is not good with money. Crooked smile refers to one of the last songs on the album, but it's also in reference to his mom never having the money to fix his crooked smile.

8. Kendrick Lamar – "The Blacker the Berry"

"I'm the biggest hypocrite of 2015 / once I finish this, witnesses will convey just what I mean / been feeling this way since I was 16 came to my senses / you never liked us anyway, fu$k your friendship, I mean it / I'm African American, I'm African / I'm black as the moon, heritage of a small village / pardon my residence / my hair is nappy, my di$k is big, my nose is round and wide / you hate me don't you? / you hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture / you're fu$kin evil I want you to recognize that I'm a proud monkey / you vandalize my perception but can't take my style from me... you sabotage my community, makin a killin."

Lamar begins every verse with being angry about white-on-black crime, but says he is a hypocrite because he is not as angered by black-on-black crime. Lamar has been feeling this way since was 16 years-old and has finally come to his senses that white people never liked his race. Lamar first refers to himself as African-American, then retracts and says he's African. Expressing that he is not apart of white America. Kendrick also realizes that Black History month is more of a way to isolate black people from being a part of American history. He goes on to rap with pride that he isn't ashamed of the stereotypes black people have been plagued with. He also wants his oppressors to know that he is a "proud monkey." He's been lied to about his history and where he has come from but his style won't be stolen. The last line refers to the Ronald Regan era and one of his main agendas while in office was to keep drugs out of the rich neighborhoods and dump the poison into the poor neighborhoods, causing thousands of killings. It's also a play a words; making a killing i.e. making a lot of money, or literally as Lamar has witnessed making a killing.

9. The Game – "Last Time You Seen"

"Then they killed Biggie, he just came through to visit."

Although this is the fifth line in the verse, to me this is the most important. It has been widely noted that there are conspiracies about both Tupac and Biggie's murders. Many believe that Tupac was shot by a crip, while Biggie's death was more political. If you asked me, I believe that Pac's death was more political, because of his background Pac grew up around Black Panthers. The government knew that Tupac could be an influence within the black community. This goes on to say that since the birth of hip-hop, the government has tried to dispose of its culture. Making hip-hop illegal and putting censorship on its music. For example NWA, wasn't allowed 'F tha Police' because of the political statement it made. With the crack epidemic plaguing the 80's, more artists were rapping about the truth. So many young black people listen to hip-hop. It is the biggest threat to break away the shackles from the young minds. So the government decides to kill off the two biggest names in hip-hop at the time.