Paper Plate Lyrics

[Verse 1]
You ever see someone who roll with Mayweather
Rhyme like Ricky Hatton
Smash whatever you throw, 1000 is what I'm battin'
Got a few hooks but no jabs
Took them out your corn dog books and notepads
I get it, you Got Rich robbing those in the industry
Bite off this one, steal from your enemy

Never try to play the hottest one out your camp
He might step off and take half the joules from your amp

Enough to make you vogue on the cover of GQ
Only missing the sheer blouse, homie, you see-through
Stop sipping on that Formula 50
They want heat, I'll give it to them burnt and crispy
Rhymes too short to box with God, so stretch it
Especially these overrated rap steppin' fetchers
I told you if I rain, there'll be an eternal drizzle
Woodwork strips being chipped to charred chisel
One verse shatter your spine and crush your spirit
No matter what, you still window shop for lyrics
If you's a pimp, put chicks on a stroll
And if those your soldiers, give 'em bigger guns to hold

Who Shot Ya? You don't have enough on your roster
Move like a Fed, talk like a mobster
That Yayo slangin, please abort it
Too many cuts on it, cokeheads they won't snort it

Spray the Flea-Unit with pesticides
You can get your best ghostwriters, get them all to testify
Have you ever been stung by a thousand hornets?
Five hundred killa bees, buzzing and really on it

Whipped with Cuban Linx, cut with Liquid Swords
Choked by Ironman 'til we crush your vocal cords

You ain't nothing but a pig in a blanket
Hoghead, the deadliest food at the banquet
All this rap crap that's trapped in your colon
Only means, get rid of the whack shit you're holdin'
Sweet-tooth dudes stay out the candyshop
You ain't gotta handcuff 'em to see the panties drop
A few cats is looking for a rat with cheese
Got something to pitch? They all swing a bat with ease
Get your ankles rolled while doing your two-step
Leave a Thank-You note for the crutches the Wu left

Proactive rap, you know they put drug in the cream
You hallucinate, see Kanye in your dream
And yo, I don't smoke dust; I dust off Smokey and the Bandits
With the brush stroke off the canvas

I walk on your Gators and lizards
Raise the lynx that was killed for your minx, you be rocking them Blizzards
Wanna be caught 'til you walk the D-Block
To get a transfer, I'll spread your wings like Peacocks
I was an emcee while you was in Nutville
On a world tour, you was gettin' your guts filled
Ten years your senior but I flow like I'm twenty-one
Straight from Medina with a mass of many suns
Supernova give off gamma-ray bursts
And I'll finish this, only 'cause I let off first, what's up?

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About

Genius Annotation

The lead single from GZAs 2008 album Pro Tools, Paper Plates is one long rambling diss against 50 Cent and G-Unit. 50 Cent has never publicly responded to the track.

According to GZA, the name of the track comes from the fact that a paper plate is disposable and not unique.

Q&A

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

What did GZA say about "Paper Plate"?
Genius Answer

You know what “Paper Plate” is about? [A paper plate is] just something that is lightweight and disposable. You can recycle it and get rid of it after you’re done with it. It’s just a statement that I wanted to get out, saying that “I’m lyrical and I’m not material.” I’m a sum of a beautiful equation and sometimes these dudes need to just realize and respect the tradition of an emcee. I’ve been working in this game for a while to try and focus on the lyrical aspect of all this. It’s saying 50 Cent and G Unit could never write like me and I’m coming at it focusing on shelf life. I’m not trying to clown all the younger rappers, but just saying that there is so many things to be inspired by, so I don’t understand why people are still rhyming about the same thing. I’m trying to move forward a tradition, and you can see that when I’m going on a Liquid Swords tour 10 years after it came out. Wu-Tang has two or three generations of fans so we must be relevant. And what does it matter that they callin' me grandpa? ‘cause I fathered your style.

– GZA

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Release Date
July 15, 2008
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