8 Iz Enuff Lyrics

[Intro: Big L]
Yo, my crew is in the house
Terra, Herb McGruff, Buddah Bless
Big Twan, Killa Cam, Trooper J and Mike Boogie
And I'ma set it like this

[Verse 1: Big L]
A-yo! Folks who quote what I wrote get choked
You better surrender before you get smoked
You niggas be thinkin' this kid is a joke?
I put chumps to rest fast when my Smith-Wes' blast
So just dash, or trespass and get your chest smashed
Rap New York rules! I sport jewels and extort crews
Don't get me pissed, I got a short fuse
I go berserk when I put in work or do dirt, jerk
So stay alert, no smirk, 'cause these knuckles hurt
I'm from the alley, not the valley, I'm hotter than Cali
Wicked like Harry, and fuck Sally, I rather marry Halle
I revive crowds with live styles
Don't hang with jive pals
Adios, ghost, I'm 5 thous'

[Verse 2: Terra]
Well, I'm flav, and I was down with the crime wave
Now it's time saved, yo, 'cause now I'm a rhyme slave
In '87, I sold cracks, collected some dough stacks
Hold gats, a joker got his soul taxed
Innovated, rappers — you know who made it
Tell the Terra to rotate it, his raps are gold-plated
This nigga Terra is past butter, sharp like a glass cutter
Ass brother, I leave your rhyme trash gutter
I'm more rare, the MC in this warfare
Put you in a morgue where it's too late for that Lord prayer
Power struck, Terra drops the follow-up
Sour luck, niggas gotten props to swallow nuts
[Verse 3: Herb McGruff]
For those that don't know, yo, I'm Herb McGruff!
I'm on some murder stuff! And when I talk, every verb is rough!
Front on this and get beat bad
With big bats that bruise, break bones
Then wind up bloody in a body-bag
MC's are live, but I'm mad liver
A-yo, my rhymes are more funky than an African cab driver!
Step to this and get sliced with ease, ate up like rice and peas
(Herb, can you fight?!) Yo, I'm nice with these
Ask the nigga in my last bout
He thought I just was on some gun shit, I had to knock his ass out!
Microphones I gotta tear
Peace to Big L, straight from Hell, I'm the fuck up outta here!

[Verse 4: Buddah Bless]
Ayo, it's time to get drastic, but God bless the fantastic
Herb passed it, now I melt the mic like it's plastic
I rag crews 'cause I'm bad news
In a mad mood, I'm servin' brothers quicker than fast food
Step to this and get your body blown
'Cause I'm a no maricón, for poems I slide the hotties home
Here's some advice — I'm mad nice
A-yo, I'm quick to lick the mag' twice and cold take a fag's life

My swellin' melon got niggas jealin'
A-yo, fuck bribes! I'm takin' niggas lives like a felon
[Verse 5: Big Twan]
Yo! I'm bustin' chumps like a Glock 10
When I drops in, the Top 10 is rocked when it's locked in
I just abuse the flow, don't need a fuse to blow
Bruise the groove slow, when I rhyme, I just kill your show
I got lines that's deeper than a jail bid
No frail, kids get nailed and read braille when they fail, dig?
Yeah, and I'm nasty, too nasty to trash me, bash me
Ay-o, that's dead, so don't ask me!
You'd get bumped off if beef ever jumped off
I never come soft, I got a pump that's sawed-off
But when I let slugs out, you will get rubbed out
For dissin', you'll come up missin' like a cub scout

[Verse 6: Killa Kam (Cam'Ron)]
Rappers be funny like Fletch 'cause they sections say they slaughter, son
Talk about 9s and TEC's and never shot a water gun
But Killa Kam — I get erratic when it comes to static
There you have it, a trigger fanatic with a automatic
Increase the peace that cease 'cause once I release
My crew from the East, we leavin' at least 20 police deceased
It's the beast on attack, so make tracks
I break backs, I jack with def gats and black MAC's
On Lenox Ave., ain't no light looks
You fight crooks, left and right hooks
If you front, get your life took!
[Verse 7: Trooper J]
I'm havin' nail-sharp pains in my brain like a Hellraiser
I'm blazin' trails from jail cells, so a trailblazer
Who find crime and fill the 9 with nothin' but lead?
Boom-bye-bye! Dem find another batty bwoy dead
In backyard alleys, but I call 'em crack-more valleys
And I pack more rallies than riots back in Cali
And people wanna know the reason why I blow my fuse
I'm in a daze, and I'm so confused
From seein' heads shake so many times the lead make
And Mike Boogie's next up to keep my head straight

[Verse 8: Mike Boogie]
I should never rhyme 'cause every time I step into a contest
Kids evacuate the premises like it's a bomb threat
'Cause they know when I start droppin' poems
That I be knockin' domes, poppin' bones
And sendin' niggas hoppin' home
Word to God, it's kinda hard for a fag to touch this
So if you're comin' to see me, nigga, bring a cast and crutches
And niggas, I don't need a gun for you, none of you!
'Cause I can kill you dead with the lead from my Number 2

And it's death in every paragraph
And niggas learn when I burn their motherfuckin' ass to ash
No need to question am I nice 'cause it's a fact, friend
I shoot the gift like Santa Claus with a MAC-10
And niggas ain't half as nice, so they get sacrificed
And sent to the afterlife, they ain't no match for Mike
Now I'm 'bout to skate in a rush, just finished makin' it tough
Peace to Big L, a-yo, 8 iz enuff!

[Outro: Big L]
True, true! And before I get up outta here
I gotta say peace to D-Whiz and Short Man
Brothers that was there since the beginnin'
What's up to Rock-N-Will from the Hard Pack Crew
Peace to Ma$e Murda and the B.B.O. Crew
The Best Out Crew, The M&M Crew
And all the other crews that's representin' in Harlem
You know what I'm sayin?
And last but not least
I gotta say peace to the 139th Street NFL Crew, my crew!
Word up!

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About

Genius Annotation

Playing off the title of the 1980s TV show Eight is Enough, Big L brought in seven other rappers from his Harlem neighborhood to join him on this track, including his fellow Children of the Corn crew members Herb McGruff and Cam'ron.

In a 2010 interview with HipHopDX, Lord Finesse provided some background information on the track:

With that [song] L just thought he had to do a track with the rappers from his hood. And he definitely wanted to put on [those particular emcees]… We looking like, ‘How you gonna put eight niggas on one track?��� [And he was like], ‘Don’t worry, I got this.’

[His] N.F.L. [crew stood for] ‘Niggas For Life,’ and Children Of The Corn was another crew [consisting of L, Mase, McGruff, Bloodshed and Cam’ron], but he was clearly cool with both of ‘em and he just thought these are the up and coming rappers I think is nice and I wanna start my own movement with the crew here…

The funny thing is I asked L [sometime in the late ‘90s], ‘Why didn’t you put Mase on that?’ ‘Cause Mase, [then known as Murda Mase], was hanging around at the time. And L said, ‘Mase wasn’t rhyming nothing like how he rhymes now. That was a different Mase [back in ‘92].’ As time went on, Mase style grew and developed. Because I always [used to] say [to L], ‘Yo, y’all crew, why didn’t [you] ever put him on?’ And that was the story that he gave me. [But L] thought Cam was ready. He thought everybody on that track was ready. [D.I.T.C.] knew a little ‘bout Cam, but we were sold on Herb McGruff. We knew that was [L’s] partner-in-crime. We was definitely sold on McGruff.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Big L say about "8 Iz Enuff"?
Genius Answer

Lord Finesse:

With that [song] L just thought he had to do a track with the rappers from his hood. And he definitely wanted to put on [those particular emcees]… We looking like, ‘How you gonna put eight niggas on one track?’ [And he was like], ‘Don’t worry, I got this.’

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