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The Rip Off - Canibus



     
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The Rip Off Lyrics


{crowd chanting}
Can-i-bus, Can-i-bus, Can-i-bus
Can-i-bus, Can-i-bus, Can-i-bus [2x][Hook: 2x]
Can I rip it? (Yes you can!)
Can I rip it? (Yes you can!)
Can I rip it? (Yes you can!)
Well I'm gone (Ohhhhhh!)[Verse 1]
Yo, my brain races to create these lyrical mosaics like paintings
To me record store and art galleries are merely the same thing
I feel like I'm Rembrandt and my man Van Gogh is amazin
Canibus is not some average rap patron, have patience
I went through changes, not being with the majors and all
'Til my man Louie Lombard gave me a call
and talked about some other way to cake off
I thought hmmm.. I could make more, he said "Sure"
"I could put you in about three thousand stores,
and get at least fifty thousand orders"
"Maybe more 'Bus, who knows your fanbase is emormous"

Well of course, look who I've toured with; Wyclef
I didn't sell twenty million 'cause it wasn't my time yet
I'm satisfied with the line up I rhyme with
Kool G Rap, Pharoahe Monch, and Rakim
Including future superstars I've worked with thus far
Like Free, from 106 and Park
You need to understand somethin; 'Bus is raw
Raw to the floor, raw like reservoirs,
Auger mechanical mandible jaws, split you in half
Addicted to rippin jackers, but I rip a jackass
Before we battle, there's two questions I have to ask
Are you carrying any firearms, and did you pack your bags?
Cool, 'cause I'ma make you feel real bad
And I'ma make you so mad, you'll probably spazz
I can see you tryna get me like they got Biggie
Somewhere in the city, on a pretty day when I dressed in Jiggy
And I got security with me
I'll give you a buck-fifty so quickly,
you won't even know that ya nose dripping
So much blood on the floor, you might as well be pretending
to be mudwrestling a dozen bitches PMSing
Sounds kinda tempting, doesn't it?
Dissing me wasn't really worth it, was it?
I'm buggin, I know a lot of y'all loved it
and tryed to convince the public to safe bug this
But just think, I played y'all like a bunch of puppets
You play Russian Roulette with a musket,
and got busted in your own nugget
A twenty-one gun salute with no bullets and no trumpets
While the rain pours and the storm thunders
Your rotten carcass smells so pungent, it turns my stomach
Attracts the buzzards, on Fox Eyewitness News coverage
Rip the Jacker's on the loose in London,
he slipped through US customs and flew to Dublin
Frontin as a janitor in a school or somethin
Workin for little or nothin, I'm warnin you DON'T TRUST HIM
He's a complete risk to the American public
And don't ever call the law 'cause he thinks he's above it
Let's get one thing straight; you can't touch him,
Outsmart him, out muscle him, or out hustle him
You can't beat 'em - join 'em, you can't join 'em - fuck 'em
Can-I-Bus, either ya hate him or ya love him[Hook: 2x]

Enjoy the lyrics !!!
Born Germaine Williams in 1974 in Jamaica, Canibus moved to the United States with his mother at a young age. Because his mother's career required constant relocation, the family moved frequently and the soon-to-be rapper found solace within himself. His rhetorical abilities blossomed later, once hip-hop became the guiding force in his life. He began rhyming and in the mid-'90s joined a group called T.H.E.M. (The Heralds of Extreme Metaphors.)

This group consisted also of his partner Webb. Following a fallout with his partner, Canibus pursued a solo career and began infiltrating the mix-tape circuit. By 1997, he had approached the brink of the major-label rap game, guesting regularly on high-profile releases: He contributed to "Uni-4-orm," an inclusion on the Rhyme & Reason soundtrack also featuring Heltah Skeltah and Rass Kass; "Love, Peace & Nappiness," an inclusion on the Lost Boyz's Love, Peace & Nappiness also featuring Redman and A+; "Making a Name for Ourselves," an inclusion on Common's One Day It'll All Make Sense; the non-album remix of Wyclef Jean's "Gone Till November."

And most famously, "4, 3, 2, 1," an inclusion on LL Cool J's Phenomenon also featuring Redman, DMX, and Method Man.

Of the several guest appearances, "4, 3, 2, 1" certainly meant the most, as it brought together many of New York's preeminent hardcore rappers and thus ushered Canibus into that same elite class. At the same time, however, Canibus lashed out shortly afterward with the Mike Tyson-featuring "Second Round K.O.," where he rhymed, "So I'ma let the world know the truth, you don't want me to shine/You studied my rhyme, then you laid your vocals after mine."

In fact, the entirety of the song directed barbed rhymes at LL: "You walk around showin' off your body cause it sells/Plus to avoid the fact that you ain't got skills/Mad at me 'cause I kick that sh*t real niggaz feel/While 99 percent of your fans wear high heels," and so on. Shortly thereafter, LL sought his revenge, releasing "The Ripper Strikes Back" on the Survival of the Illest soundtrack (1998) and thus channeling even more attention toward Canibus.

From the track's chorus ("Can-I-bus? Yes you can!") to practically every line of the verses ("You soft as a newborn baby takin' a nap/Make my dick hard with that bitch-ass track/Where you at? smokin' in some one-room flat/Suckin' on Clef's dick hopin' to come back"), LL unleashed a fury of insults and threats. The media, of course, elevated the battle to grand heights, as even MTV gave the story headlines. In the aftermath of 2Pac's and Biggie's deaths, such confrontations fascinated the rap community, and Canibus certainly capitalized on his newfound publicity.

As for his debut full-length, Can-i-bus (1998), though, the response was sobering. Critics expressed little support, and sales quickly dropped as listeners also felt genuinely disappointed. Executive produced by Wyclef, the album suffered on many levels, both production-wise and rhetorically as well (critics targeting Canibus' delivery more than his lyrics or themes). The momentum that "Second Round K.O." had generated simmered almost immediately, and it didn't help that LL's "Ripper Strikes Back" found substantial acceptance at the time as well.

In the two years following the release of Can-i-bus, the rapper maintained an extremely low profile, much in contrast to the regular guest appearances he had made leading up to his debut. As a result, when he finally did return with his follow-up album, 2000 B.C. (2000), few noticed, it came and went generally unheard, and Canibus returned to the underground after parting ways with Universal. He continued to record albums and release them on the independent circuit (including 2002's Mic Club, 2003's Rip the Jacker, and 2005's Mind Control); furthermore, he retained a small base of fans as well, yet his days as the next-big-thing had clearly come and gone, as they similarly had for so many other talented rappers.

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