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Track #5 of Killer Mike and El-P’s collaborative album Run The Jewels. One of the most heavily praised tracks on the album, Mike and Jamie both go H.A.M. over an El-P-produced banger, with stories of robbery, cannibalism, shots towards a few of rap’s greats, and crawling out of the water and into sanity.

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What is this?

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The second track off of Shad + Skratch Bastid’s collaborative EP The Spring Up, Skratch comes through with a sample-heavy moody beat that Shad speaks his mind over.

Samples include Shuggie Otis' “Aht Uh Mi Hed” and Blackalicious' “Make You Feel That Way*.

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Shad believes that he is obliged to re-enter the rap game although he may never be on top when it’s all said and done.

This sets the tone showing Shad in a more depressing and self-doubting mood, often proclaiming that he is the greatest rapper ever. This is Shad spending too much time isolated away, often thinking irrationally.

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What is this?

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Track 3 off of Redman’s classic debut, Whut? Thee Album, Red comes through with some incredible braggadocio laced with humour… and weed.

The samples include Parliament’s “P. Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)”, The Mohawks' “The Champ”, The Headhunters' “God Make Me Funky” and The Meters' “Handclapping Song”.

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The best way to describe the the texture and especially the smell of cottage cheese is funky. Maybe in a different context than Redman would like to think of himself, or knowing Reggie, maybe not.

This isn’t the only time that Red has referenced cottage cheese and its funk.

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What is this?

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Talib uses sarcasm in this line to drive his point home.

The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, achieved through hard work.

People try to achieve the American Dream but it doesn’t last; what you thought was your secure home with a family can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. Everyone ends up losing.

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What is this?

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Talib Kweli & Statik get together to make a feel-good song about the importance of a home.

Statik uses a sample of Wee’s “Aeroplane (Reprise)” Sound familiar? Fellow June 18 album dropper Kanye West used this sample on his album closing “Bound 2”, featuring Charlie Wilson

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What is this?

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The 8th track off of Blackalicious' 2002 classic Blazing Arrow album. The track was produced by Cheif Xcel and verbally laced by Gift of Gab, following the concept that he is the best rapper in the world, or the “Paragraph President”. The song samples De La Soul’s “Daisy Age”.

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Don’t sell out; don’t abandon your hood roots to try and make glittery, friendly, commercial pop music. You are making a fool of yourself and will lose all the credit you’ve built up in the streets.

It’s a shout-out to whoever goes “pop” just to be more mainstream and gain more success.
N.W.A instead keeps it real.

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What is this?

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The intro for Shad’s sophomore album, The Old Prince. The spoken-word segment sets the tone of the album about a, well, Old Prince. This is a metaphor for achieving one’s full potential, and is referenced throughout the album.

Shad then opens up and rips the track apart, dropping two of his best verses about living one’s life, and including many random pop-culture references.

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