Which is Nas' best couplet on Live at the Barbecue?

Verbal assassin my architect pleases / When I was twelve, I went to hell for snuffin Jesus

I move swift and uplift / your mind shoot the gift when I riff in rhyme

Should be

I move swift and uplift your mind / shoot the gift when I riff in rhyme

But Matt's right. It's really no contest.

For some reason I always think the "wavin automatic guns at nuns" is on this song.

yeah jesus is gonna win so i voted for 'swimmin in women' but what about other nas lines?

I'm the animal that Hugh Hefner created
The only nigga Sadé dated, the most hated, Nas nigga

the other verses on that are awesome too, it's too bad they always get overlooked!

Slammin MC's on cement / Cause verbally, I'm iller than a AIDS patient

It's like the point where the 80s and 90s of rap meet.

Does anyone know what "My architect pleases" means? "Would you like my architect's number? I have quite a fine one."

I always think the "wavin automatic guns at nuns" is on this song

the Big L "Devil's Son" connection ---

this vs. Keith Murray's debut:
Keith Murray's, comin from the North South East and Left
Rhymin to death, makin a world when I take a deep breath
With a body boom bash, my paragraph a trey-deuce
Human behavior in a psychopath
Ooooh, I might lose my cool, and break fool
and pull out my get busy tools
I write like a mad journalist
to funk, that's deeper than a bottomless spliff (that's my word)
The most beautifullest thing in this world
is my notion, for murderous poetry in motion
And the illiotic shit I come across
form a leash you're trapped in with explosive force
I push your head through the cracks of sanity
and leave your brain doin a bid in purgatory
It's ninety-six degrees in the shade
before I catch blood on my blade
I take my frustration to the stage
and gets open dope and stupid bumblin rumblin tracks
When I rap my jams be packed like a laundromat
My context'll wreck your whole concept
Cause my delivery is so complex
And I'm inter-galactic on plastic
with the superdistinguish that I kick
I'm high strung at the top of my lung
with my tongue makin hardcore niggaz wanna get dumb
My dialogue comes straight from the slums
Damnage to your medula, cerebrum and cerebellum
if ya got a crew ya better tell em

I'm rich and thick and got lyrics like Aunt Jemima
It doesn't take Keenan Ivory Wayans to see that Ima
Get you sucker if you bite like a piranha
So save those preschool rhymes for the kids at Wonderama

I'm partial to this debut verse--

Creep with me as I crawl through the hood,
Maniac, lunatic, call him Snoop Eastwood.
Kicking dust as I bust police
And, you'll never hear me talkin' 'bout peace.
You already know I gives a fuck about a cop
So why in the fuck would you think that it would stop
Plot, yeah, that's what we's about to do
Take your ass on a mission with the boys in blue
Dre, (whatup, Snoop) yo I got the feelin
Tonight's the night like Betty Wright, and I'm chillin
Killin, feelin, no remorse, yeah
So lets go straight to the motherfuckin' source
And see what we can find
Crooked ass cops that be gettin niggaz a gang of times
And now they wanna make a deal with me
Scoop me up and put me on they team and chill with me
And make my pockets bigger
They want to meet with me tonight at 7:00, so whassup nigger?
What you wanna do? (What you wanna do?)
I got the gauge, an uzi and the mothafuckin 22
so if you wanna blast, nigga we can buck 'em
If we stick 'em then we stuck 'em so fuck 'em!"

Well if the topic has drifted to favorite debut rhymes, here's mine.

Well now you're forced to listen to the teacher and the lesson
Class is in session so you can stop guessin
If this is a tape or a written down memo
See I am a professional, this is not a demo
In fact call it a lecture, a visual picture
Sort of a poetic and rhythm-like mixture
Listen, I'm not dissin but there's somethin that you're missin
Maybe you should touch reality, stop wishin
For beats with plenty bass and lyrics said in haste
If this meaning doesn't manifest put it to rest
I am a poet, you try to show it, yet blow it
It takes concentration for fresh communication
Observation, that is to see without speaking
Take off your coat, take notes, I am teachin
a class, or rather school, cause you need schooling
I am not a king or queen, I'm not ruling
This is an introduction to poetry
A small dedication to those that might know of me
They might know of you and maybe your gang
But one thing's for sure, neither one of y'all can hang
Cause yo I'm like a arrow, and Scott is the crossbow
Say something now ... thought so
You seem to be the type that only understand
The annihilation and destruction of the next man
That's not poetry, that is insanity
It's simply fantasy far from reality
Poetry is the language of imagination
Poetry is a form of positive creation
Difficult, isn't it? The point? You're missin it
Your face is in front of my hand so I'm dissin it

love these debuts! pls more!

Kool G Rap:

My recital will form a musical brainstorm
Powerful sound waves where ear drums are torn
The performer recites, competitors ignite
Audiences tonight I came to incite
Fascinating results, a defeat will be difficult
Equivalent to a thousand volts
To my brief rap speech you attach like a leech
Examine when I'm jamming and when I preach
Before I'm completed, you will all be deleted
You said I sucked, instead I succeeded
Fan fascinator, I supply data
According to the groove, I'm a real smooth operator
I activate a musical device
Dialogues are concise, no need to splice
My system contains musical rap rain
Instrumentals inserted inside your brain
All levels rate low with a medium tempo
I give a dramatical cameo show
And now you know DJ Polo
These party people are ready to go
See it's a demo

Here I am . . . R-A-W
terrorist, here to bring trouble to
phony emcees, I move on and seize
I just conquer, and stomp another rapper with ease
Cause I'm at my apex and others are be-low
nothing but a milliliter, I'm a kilo
Second to none, making emcees run
Also don't try to step to me, cause I ain't the one
I relieve rappers just like Tylenol
and they know it, so I don't see why you all
try to front, perpetrating a stunt
when you know that I'll smoke you up like a blunt
I'm genuine like Gucci, raw like sushi
The Sage of Rage is what rap did to me
To make me want to create chaos and mayhem
cold rock a party, until the A.M.
I'll make a muscle, grab the mike and hustle
while you stand dazed and amazed, I'll bust a little rhyme
with authority, superiority
and captivate the whole crowd's majority
The rhymes I use definitely amuse
better than Dynasty or Hill Street Blues
I'm sure to score, endure for more without a flaw
Cause I get RAW!

Ah check it out, yo
Ayo everywhere i go, brothers know my fucking name
I'm flooring niggas and i only weight a buck and change
I gave a lot of black eyes in my extorting days
Fucking with me, a lotta niggas was sporting shades
I grab the microphone and scar jerks
Niggas running up (put me on!) what the fuck, is this star search?
I'm relieving rappers like sudafed
And if the microphone was smoke then big l would be a buddha head
Ayo my crew's real smooth like lopez
I was rocking mics since niggas was wearing pro keds
I only roll with originators
Chicks stick to my dick like magnets on refrigerators
I'm a crazy mean lyracist
Many are in fear of this, yeah, so they stand clear of this
And those that refuse the order, big l bruise and slaughter
Niggas hear me and take notes like a news reporter
I'll bend a rapper like a fender, i'm slender, but far from tender
Killing niggas like a klan member
You can't touch this, your rhyme's to darn weak, front
And i'm a introduce your brains to the concrete
I keep hoes satisfied, i'm pushing the fattest ride
To take me out, troop, even the baddest try
But they fell cause my techniques are liver
I'm so deaf i need a hearing aid with an equalizer
You tried to hit a home run but you struck out
My rhymes were released, i'd like to say peace the fuck out

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

getting into mind-numblingly specific minutiae is definitely one of my favorite aspects of ILM, but shit like this really doesn't translate to a poll thread

"ohh reginald...I DISAGREE"