After the latest VERZUZ match up, Jadakiss has been the talk of the world within hip-hop (as he should be). You can check my commentary during the event and my after thoughts of that below.
He's always been in my Top 5 Dead or Alive and it's good to see he's still keeping the same energy since they day he laid his first song because he's NEVER dropped a wack verse. That got me to thinking, since Kiss has never had a bad verse, what are my favorites? After heavy deliberation, here we go (In no particular order!
1. We Gone Make it
"F*** the frail s***... Cuz when my coc come in, they gotta use the scale that they weigh the whales with.."
Talk about a hell of an opening bar. I remember hearing this for the first time like, "Damn that's the first bar?" The first verse is punchline heavy, but You also can't go wrong with the second verse either. This one has so many life gems in it that I still keep as a sacred code.
2. Made You Look
The verse that sparked the Top 5 Dead or Alive title for Jadakiss. I LOVED the original with Nas by himself but when this one dropped.... MAN!! This was the verse when I REALLY knew Jadakiss was a problem when this bar hit:
"I just wanna make sure my son's wealthy.. Out of shape, but I make sure that my guns healthy... I'm an ape, they can't stand kiss... Coming through the hood in that Aston Vanquish, the color of dandruff..."
When the beat dropped out I lost it fam! I'll never forget hearing this on the radio.
3. Blood Pressure
I didn't hear this verse til later down the line because back in my day (I'm about to date myself... Born 1988 so I'm not that old... Or am I? F*** it) the only way you're gonna hear old verses/songs is if you buy the albums or burn em (If you're like under 23 reading this, you'll probably have no idea what that means). Long story short, I had a CD man burn a "Best of Jadakiss," mixtape and this joint was on it. Probably the closest we'll ever get to a Jadakiss battle rap verse. Something about his voice that sounds annoyed more than the others that adds a different level of attack.
4. 40 Bars of Terror
Smack DVD era was something special man. I forgot which volume this was but when I saw it, I was blown away. Kiss is sliding over this beat and speaking of the beat, the fact that it has no kick really caught my attention. My favorite bar is:
"I design these things... And you know I'm in the hood like Chinese wings..."
What ya'll know about the 8 piece cut fried wings over the fried rice???
5. Run
This verse is another box checked for why Jada is a God tier MC. The storytelling in this joint is so visual. I remember seeing this video for the first time on Rap City and it blew me away at how he had punchlines and witty bars within the storytelling. The list of folks who can do that are the minimum (even TO THIS DAY!).
"Scared to death running like I got bears on me... My timbs start feeling like Nike Airs on me..."
6. Mighty D-Block
Jadakiss on the hook was a big ear catcher for me. That hook alone is iconic and I remember the first time hearing it, I PRAYED Kiss had a verse & that prayer was answered with one of his best verses ever. This verse taught me how to change the rhyme scheme out and bring it back a bar later when he said:
"Think I give a f*** what you herbs say... When I got the n**** that you trying to be watching my wordplay... Everybody ass wanna be Pac.... til they ass really get popped and die on the third day.."
WHEW that hit hard for me!
7. Professional Hood S***
Before you read past this, listen to the track and return. I'll wait.
"Yeah, I'm gentle boss, that'll send you back to heaven... Make a n**** dental floss with the Mac 11.."
JESUS DID YOU HEAR THAT?!!!! Easily one of my favorite punchlines of all time. The quadruple rhyme scheme turns this simple punchline to Haymaker. From the first 2 bars he's killing but as it continues on it just turns into a lyrical onslaught.
8. I'm Not You
Let me say, everyone's verse on this records being fire I'm sure pushed Jada's pen. The duality of subject matter is on full display here giving you metaphors, punchlines, life gems, real life horrors etc. If you ask most people what they're favorite bar, I bet they'll say, "AI Style," but for me:
"When you broke but they think you got money... Crackers start showing you love, your own people act funny.."
MMM so much truth and that line. Also, the beat is flames and this is another one Jada slid over.
9. Gator Ent Freestyle
I have family in Norfolk, VA and I use to spend summers up there with my cousins quite a bit. The more I visited, the more I realized how much they LOVE D-Block, which was dope because back home in Carolina, the fans were few. I say all that to say, they were aware of a whole bunch of D-Block records I had no clue about. I was riding with a friend of my cousin & this records dropped and it blew me away. Anytime Jada goes in for 24+ bars, you're walking away with a serious amount of quotables. There are at least 10 lines that I love from this and I'll leave you with one:
"It's better you loc... Fishing trip gone wrong, I don't know nothing they just found him dead on a boat.."
10. Right Where you Stand
This was another joint I saw on rap city (God I miss that show) and had me hype. Seeing Kiss in battle format, spitting and a 20 bar battle rap at someone just made me visual him on a smack DVD. This is also a great example of how clean his rhyming is. Every syllable matches without any mispronunciation. It's formulated science with they way he raps and I've yet to see it duplicated. The line that made me slam my hat is:
"As soon as the chrome scope em, right there two in the dome smoke em... Kiss keep funeral homes open..."
GOD LEVEL BAR SHEESH!!
So there are my top 10 Jadakiss verses. Do any of these make you top 10? If you made a list, what verses would yours consist of? Leave a comment and let me know! Thanks for reading!
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