The grace as I ease across the stage
Bars around the audience, sort of like a cage
They laugh, 'cause they assume I'm in prison
But in reality, they're locked in
Collection
East Coast rap quotes
50 lines from 27 artists filed under the East Coast, all rated 3.5 or higher. 45 are lyrics and 5 are interview lines. Sections run by the decade of each song's release; interview lines carry no year, so they have a section of their own. By release decade the dated lyrics split 1 from the 1980s, 13 from the 1990s, 11 from the 2000s, 16 from the 2010s and 4 from the 2020s.
JAY-Z, Nicki Minaj and DMX have the most lines, and the themes that come up most are wisdom, wit and justice. Next to the West Coast rap quotes page, life shows up in 12% of the lines here against 0% there and ambition shows up in 10% of the lines here against 2% there; struggle goes the other way, 16% there against 10% here (a line can carry more than one theme). The top-rated short line is “I knocked out so many teeth, the tooth fairy went bankrupt” (Big L, Let Em Have It L, 1995).
An artist's scene comes from our artist data, not from where a song was recorded. No line appears on more than two of the region, decade and old school pages, and no two of them share more than a quarter of their quotes.
East Coast in the 1980s and 1990s
I knocked out so many teeth, the tooth fairy went bankrupt
See, to live is to suffer
But to survive
Well, that's to find meaning in the suffering
I'd rather die enormous than live dormant
My emancipation don't fit your equation
Not strong, only aggressive
Not free, we only licensed
Not compassionate, only polite
Facts on tracks I recite well
Everybody wanna be like Mike, but Mike wanna be like L
It's funny how money change a situation
Miscommunication lead to complication
My emancipation don't fit your equation
It's what I live for, you take away that and I'm gone
There's a difference between doin' wrong and bein' wrong
I make you famous, turn around, then make you nameless
I scored 1.1 on my S.A.T.
And still push a whip with a right and left A.C
You showed me that everything was black because my eyes were closed
I don't look for trouble, I'm already trouble
To all the teachers that told me I'd never amount to nothin'
To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin' in front of
East Coast in the 2000s
Men lie, women lie, numbers don't
You can pay for school, but you can't buy class
Life's not a bitch, life is a beautiful woman
You only call her a bitch 'cause she won't let you get that pussy
Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests (Nope)
Or maybe you're just an asshole who couldn't sweet talk the princess (Haha)
Coke like a caterpillar, I make butter fly
These cats drink champagne to toast death and pain
Like slaves on a ship talking about who got the flyest chain
'Cause if you go platinum, it's got nothing to do with luck
It just means that a million people are stupid as fuck
I'm top 5, dead or alive, and that's just off one LP
These niggas ain't thugs, the real thugs is the government
Why is the industry designed to keep the artist in debt?
We independent women, some mistake us for whores
I'm sayin', "Why spend mine when I can spend yours?"
My little boy seven, he the sequel to the thug
So I told him the money will never equal to the love
East Coast in the 2010s and 2020s
A loss ain't a loss, it's a lesson
My regrets look just like texts I shouldn't send
I don't dance now, I make money moves (Ayy, ayy)
Fools swear they wise, wise men know they foolish
Knock me down nine times but I get up ten
I'm out for dead presidents to represent me
Because I've never known a live one that represent me
The code words to killin' a black man by police is, "He's got a gun"
Damned if he do, damned if he don't, damned if he runs
Yeah, life's short, don't ever question the length
It's cool to cry, don't ever question your strength
I would be Ivy League if America played fair
Poor excuse, and so I was
Heroes? Nah. Just common contributors hopin' that what we created inspires you to selflessly challenge and contribute.
Call it a curse
Or just call me blessed
If you can't handle my worst
You ain't gettin' my best
When I’m gettin’ introspective: that’s radio silence
When I’m fuckin’ up program directives: that’s radio violence
People sellin' drugs 'cause they can't find no job
Wonder if Christ made a million off of sellin' the cross
Cherish these nights, cherish these people
Life is a movie, but there'll never be a sequel
I am no longer trying to survive
I believe that life is a prize
But to live doesn't mean you're alive
Would you feed a grown man or expect him to hunt?
They take the money out the hood, but never invested in us
Huh, cop pulled me over in my imported Porsche
He said, "This car must be a hundred K", I said, "You forty short" (I said you short)
Just 'cause he from the ghetto, that don't mean he sellin' crack
He drivin' home from work, you pull him over 'cause he black
Think he gangbangin' 'cause he got dreads and a few tats
We cannot be trusted with the stuff that we come up with
The machinery could eat us, we just really love our buttons, um
I chose money over fame, how I end up with 'em both?
East Coast rappers in their own words
You wanna know what scares people? Success. When you don’t make moves and you don’t climb up the ladder, everybody loves you because you’re not competition.
How are you going to call it a comeback when I've been here for years, man?
The only people who are afraid of facts are those who don’t have a leg to stand on.
at the end of the game, the pawn and king go in the same box.
the chains and pajamas and champagne can’t be the endgame — not for us. Reckless capitalism kills black people.