Jadakiss is the Great White shark of hip-hop. The guy has never had to evolve because he’s always been that good. Consistency is the key to Jada’s style. He never, and I mean never, drops a wack verse and his flow is flawless. He’s respected by peers and fans alike as one of the greatest to ever do it and for all intents and purposes has been one of the only true New York City MC’s for the last ten years. He was dope as a Bad Boy, a Ruff Ryder, and signed to Def Jam. He’s hot as one third of the Lox and alone. One of the knocks on Jada has always been that he doesn’t have a lot of variation in his subject matter but that only shows how great he is and how smart the man is because Jada realizes if it ain’t broke then don’t try and fix it. There’s no need to try and reinvent the wheel when you’re mentioned in the same breath as Biggie on a regular basis. Looking through Jada’s catalogue to find his top 10 verses is no easy task but we managed to do it. Check it out.
1.Money, Power & Respect/ Money, Power & Respect
This is a classic joint off of the Lox album released on Bad Boy in its heyday. With the Lox all spitting hot verses and Lil’ Kim on the hook, it was a good radio friendly track for the Lox. Still, Jada stood out.
Yo it’s nothin’ but the hotness
Whenever we drop this
Monotonous for ya’ll to keep hatin’
‘Cause ya’ll never gon’ stop us
I keep my rocks spotless
And my hoes topless
Take time try to figure out who the Lox is
Fear no one
Kick rhymes like Shoguns
You scared to blow one
Get robbed wit’ your own gun
If I don’t respect you I’ma check you.
And if I don’t kiss you I’ma peck you
Right before I wet’ you
I sneeze on tracks and bless you
I’m special
And if you like workin’ out
Then I’m gon’ stretch you.
Hustlin’ is dead but we still get red
Turn the spots into bakeries to get back bread
And ya’ll said my monies spent
But it’s in the Bent’
So when the feds come the dogs can’t get a scent
As for my story, self-explanatory
That I’m the hottest thing on the street
And ya’ll ain’t got nothin’ for me
2.Wild Out/ We Are The Streets
Wild Out was a hot song for the Lox and saw the kind of return their more hardcore roots. It’s a banger to this day, nearly 15 years later and Jada killed it as he does.
For every check I deposit, it’s just a new burner in the closet
And the big one’ll kill you, ya brother and ya pops quick
Might take one slug to get y’all both
‘Cause muthafucka, I’ma make sure I hit y’all close
And whoever’s left guaranteed he getting’ it all
‘Cause his ass coulda ran when I was lookin’ at y’all
I get rap money, plus I’m in the hood wit dimes
And I ain’t got no felonies, I’m good wit crimes
Not all that wit macs, but I’m good wit nines
Great wit eights
Nigga, I’ll heat ya face
And I got a hungry lawyer that’ll eat the case
I used to cop so heavy that the block got mad
And niggas start callin’ up the cops like cabs
My 16’s make niggas go to they dorm
Lock in and workout, then come out in the mornin’
Wild out and blow a CO just ’cause it’s borin’
Wild out nigga
3.We Gonna Make It/ Kiss Tha Game Goodbye
This track found Jada and the Ghost going bar for bar and it was seriously dope. Jada jumped in to deliver the final verse and in true Jada fashion, bodied it.
You know dead rappers get better promotion
Why we don’t laugh at death, and cry at birth
Never say you can’t do it ‘til you try it first
Be the young niggas eager to pull it
But it’s a message in everything trust me, even a bullet
Go to war with the eight and the pound
Think you got your ear to the street now, put your face in the ground
‘Cause my shells is expensive
You’ll know exactly why when you yellin’ in intensive
My felons is offensive
Lucky ‘cause I got guns that crack your back
But that’s not what I prefer I manufacture crack
And niggas turn bitch when you show ’em the steel
But we know how to bid so y’all go ‘head and squeal
I’m comfortable far from home
Eatin’ right, gettin’ good rest either on the far or the foam
I’m the reason niggas got deals the past few years
Sound anything like ‘Kiss then sign right here
And y’all just talkin’, I’m doin’ it well
Jadakiss motherfucker I’ma see you in hell
4.Why?/ Kiss of Death
This was Jada’s first bona fide solo hit record. The hot beat, Anthony Hamilton, on the hook, and a dope them for the record made it a success. It was new ground for Jada but despite that he delivered.
It’s dead real
Yo, why is Jadakiss as hard as it gets
Why is the industry designed to keep the artist in debt?
And why them dudes ain’t ridin’ if there part of your set?
And why they never get it poppin’ but they party to death?
Yea, and why they gonna give you life for a murder?
Turn around only give you eight months for a burner, it’s goin’ down
Why they sellin’ niggas CD’s for under a dime?
If it’s all love daddy why you come with your nine?
Why my niggas ain’t get that cake?
Why is a brother up North better than Jordan
That ain’t get that break?
Why you ain’t stackin’ instead of tryin’ to be fly?
Why is rattin’ at an all-time high?
Why are you even alive?
Why they kill Tupac n’ Chris?
Why at the bar you ain’t take straight shots instead of poppin’ Cris?
Why them bullets have to hit that door?
Why did Kobe have to hit that raw?
Why he kiss that whore?
Why?
5.Letter to B.I.G/ The Last Kiss/ Notorious Soundtrack
A lot of people may not chalk this up as one of Jada’s greatest verses but the feeling in it is undeniable. How could anybody not like hearing Kiss talk to his mentor Biggie? Faith Evans delivers on the hook and Jada kiss the verses.
Dear Christopher Frank White Wallace
Yeah it’s your boy Kiss I just wanna holla
In your memory I keep the Coogi in my closet
Kangol on the rack, a fresh pair of Wallies
You know I’m still the liquor and the weed child
And still got Branson on speed dial
And everybody’s the king now
You ain’t gotta be nice gettin’ shot is the thing now
Mafia was doin’ their best they separated
Now Roc and Gutta doin’ a stretch, uh, yeah
Kim is still in it to win it
I seen Money L a while ago but I ain’t heard from Cease in a minute
People in power is queer
I could go on for a year ’bout how it would be if you were still here
The game got cheaper, rappers is more commercially successful now
But the heart’s a lot weaker
You know me still got the flow that’ll pop speakers
First option on offense the top feature
It’s easy BIG all you need is a protool set
And I ain’t touch the paper that I was supposed to yet
Everybody that’s somebody show respect
Only a matter of time before they notice that
I’m an impeccable lyricist
And with the right mechanics, I could take over be clear of this
They well aware of ‘Kiss the light of the city
And I ain’t on the label no more but I’m tighter with Diddy
I got my own plan handle mine like a grown man
Long as I know I’m nice; fuck it I’m my own fan
Remixed the joints you had
But they could never ever duplicate your swag
Meanwhile I’m a keep it so on my lil’ plans
And you might bump into a few of my lil’ mans
Up there steppin’ with God
Down here Mister Cee in BK still reppin’ you hard
Tianna so pretty, CJ turned into a Lil’ Biggie
Just a little lighter but so witty
On your born day, we get the highest
Groovy still the best with the garments, he keep me the flyest
Tonight, Patron is dead
Only right that I take a bottle of Bacardi Limón to the head
And before I end it, I gotta say thanks
‘Cause not only was your time well-spent, it was splendid
Miss you, my nigga
One Love
6.Made You Look (Remix)/ Nas feat. Jadakiss and Ludacris
Jada alongside Nas and Luda, does it get any better? This is just Jada at his most lyrical and being an utter monster on the mic.
Yo it ain’t nothin’ but trouble God
When I kick in the door with D-Block, Bravehearts and the Double R
Don’t make me let the machine off
This is methadone music that you can lean off
“Made You Look,” the remix with me up on it
I copped your shit, now I break weed up on it
And everything is real I see
Like my niggas that been home but they only got a jail ID
I helped the game, it ain’t help me
I’m top five dead or alive and that’s just off one LP
And, I still buzz, they feel ‘cause
‘Cause they know the flow’s ill just like Will was
I’m just tryin’ to make sure that my sons wealthy
Out of shape but I make sure that my guns healthy
I’m a ape; you can’t stand ‘Kiss
Comin’ through the hood in a Aston Vanquish the color of dandruff
They said we jumped him; I just let the gun snuff him
Copped P then turboed soon as they uncuff him
This goes out to all of your mans
Why put you in the verse when I can put in a coroner van?
D-Block
7.Rite Where U Stand/ GangStarr feat. Jadakiss/ The Owners
You wanna know why I invest all my money into haze and into dope
‘Cause right now, I’m currently a slave for Interscope
Respect first, then money, basic shit
If you got niggas under pressure, you could take they shit
Listen, I’ma leave you right where you stand
Have the ambulance pass ya Timberlands off right to ya man
‘Cause he pussy, he ain’t gonna do nothin’ but look
When it come to beef, he don’t wanna do nothin’ but cook
As soon as the chrome scope him, right there, two in the dome
Smokin’, Kiss keep funeral homes open
I fall back; smoke an ounce in the dark
Bounce on a Preme track like I bounce on a NARC
Keep playin’, y’all niggas will burn
And you know they say it takes something to happen for niggas to learn
Let the .40 Cal give ‘em a perm
This industry is like bacteria and my flow is a germ
Just mad ‘cause you’ll never be as nice as I am
J to the mwah and I’ll leave you right where you stand
8.New York/ R.U.L.E. / JA Rule feat. Jadakiss and Fat Joe
You can’t make an ode to New York and not have Jada on it. On this dope track that looked like it might be the beginning of a comeback for JA Rule, Jada once again delivered some lyrical heat.
I swear it couldn’t be sweeter, Life’s a bitch
Depending on how you treat her, you might get rich
It’s guaranteed you gonna die, you might get missed
For maybe 2 or 3 hours, ’til they light their spliffs
And that coke will get you a long time
But when I let ’em know the dope is out, it’s like America Online
Wise has awoken
And you know they say that you deserved it whenever you die with your eyes open
I still hold the title, because I’m in the hood like them little motorcycles
Stick up kids, hoppin’ out with them old rifles
Just doin’ shit for nothin’, it’s so spiteful
Ha I’m just like you
Word that niggas wanna murk you is in the air
A double shot of yak and the purple is in the air
And I’m not cocky, I’m confident
So when you tell me I’m the best it’s a compliment
9.Resevoir Dogs/ Jay-Z feat. Beanie Siegel, The LOX and Sauce Money/ Volume 2 Hard Knock Life
This is a classic posse cut if there ever was once. Jay, plus the LOX, plus Beans, plus Sauce equals a track full of dangerous MC’s in which every single one did their thing. Still, ‘Kiss managed not only to hold his own but stand out.
Now if I kill you I probably do ten in the box
Come down on appeal then I’m killin’ your pops
You feelin’ The LOX, nigga why you grillin’ The LOX
If this rap shit don’t work niggas still in the spot
You bring it to me; I gotta lose your family
Gangstas don’t die; they get chubby, and move to Miami
Shit is deep now dog but it gets deeper
Fuck it, the weather’s nice and the price is much cheaper
I put it on tape, you gon’ buy it, I put it in a bag
You gon’ try it, y’all niggas can’t deny it
Lot of cats still tryin’ to study my last bounce
Tell you what; get a beat tape and a half ounce
They got me where I can’t be without my large gat
Teflon long sleeve and my hardhat
Don’t matter if I’m openin’ up, or headline
Doin’ the speed limit or pushin’ red lines
Six months in the county or fed time
I’ma be the ‘Kiss nigga, until it’s bedtime
Anything I’m on is a classic, any nigga
Ever had beef with, son is a bastard
Anytime I spit, spit acid, L.O.X.
Ruff Ryder you heard? We got the game mastered
10.They Ain’t Ready feat. Bubba Sparxxx and Timbaland/ R3: In The R We Trust
Bubba Sparxxx and Timbaland joined ‘Kiss on this track for the third volume of the Ruff Ryders Compilation. The beat is bananas and is a Timbaland classic. The hook is catchy and Bubba and ‘Kiss go back and forth trading verse about their respective birthplaces. This song is crazy.
Ayo, this I’ll make ya head hurt
When the hawk take the day off
I make the lead work; I’ll put you in the red dirt
Ice make ’em look like stars, they comin’ through
On the bikes, but they look like cars, it’s something new
And Jada talk so good, but ya brain is
Nowhere next to ready for this stainless
It’s no helpin’ you when them things melt in you
And way down in Athens, ‘Kiss is a bell ringer
I’ma bring the hood to the farm
Bless ’em with some purple haze; remove the wood from the bong
Introduce them to the yak and the cranberry
And make sure Bubba Spark good, then I’m gone
Even if we run to war, I’ma still run the raw
You can come and see me; I got ’em for twenty-four
Double R and Beat Club, who hard as us?
“R3: In the ‘R’ We Trust,” c’mon
Article By: Jon DaBove
