Does “So Help Me God” by Phonte have the best opening bars in the past decade?

[Listen]

“They say they want bars, but it’s unfounded/
cuz when they get bars, nikkahz be dumbfounded”

I keep coming back to this track going “fukk me” the past 2 years.

Tiggalo really broke his foot off in these kids on this track brehs.

This gonna hold up, I can tell.

“Chuck D said my uzi weights a ton now its/
time to go the distance in a ring full of 1 rounders”

First verse, opening round KO.

 

[Insensitive]

That whole album breh went off.
There wasn't a ton of multi-syllabic rhymes, verbal and vocal acrobatics, or other
shytty contemporary backpack tropes.

But there was raw, unfiltered HIP-HOP, served with a DISTINCTLY BLACK slant.
Such a fukking fantastic album.

@ Phonte

 

[Listen]

That whole album breh went off.
There wasn't a ton of multi-syllabic rhymes, verbal and vocal acrobatics, or other
shytty contemporary backpack tropes.

But there was raw, unfiltered HIP-HOP, served with a DISTINCTLY BLACK slant.
Such a fukking fantastic album.

@ Phonte

I’ve been a little Brother Stan since they came out and Phonte’s flow and voice has always stood out as upper echelon to me.

When this dropped, it’s the fastest I’ve hit pause on a song since Thieves in the Night by BlackStar.

 

[Trav]

So help me God, I murder these nikkas

 

[Taadow]

That whole album breh went off.
There wasn't a ton of multi-syllabic rhymes, verbal and vocal acrobatics, or other
shytty contemporary backpack tropes.

But there was raw, unfiltered HIP-HOP, served with a DISTINCTLY BLACK slant.
Such a fukking fantastic album.

@ Phonte

I’m finna say something.




I slept hard on Little Brother, but the few things I’ve heard from Phonte has all been real chit.
Like you say, (from what I’ve heard from him) he doesn’t have do no lyrical gymnastics, he
just with that realness. I get the same vibe from him I get from Too $hort.

 

[thaKEAF]

Phonte as an emcee has aged like fine wine. nikkas was sleeping because he had started signing more but he slayed this and the LB album. There’s still shyt I catch now from him that has me

 

[DredScott]

one of my fav. cuts in the last few years....

phonte is one of the dopest mc's bar for bar in the last ten years and dude only raps 50% of the time...it's kinda ill how all the dope mc's always end up singing; mos, 3000, monch, cee-lo, tay.

it's like once they master the art of rhyme, they need something else to motivate them/bring them joy.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

One of the most slept on hard records from an elite emcee in the past few years

he does so much and sounds so effortless on there at the same time

 

[Positive Posting]

“They say they want bars, but it’s unfounded/
cuz when they get bars, nikkahz be dumbfounded”

I keep coming back to this track going “fukk me” the past 2 years.

Tiggalo really broke his foot off in these kids on this track brehs.

This gonna hold up, I can tell.

“Chuck D said my uzi weights a ton now its/
time to go the distance in a ring full of 1 rounders”

First verse, opening round KO.

Ras kass did alot of behind the scenes work with them and it wouldnt surprise me if he wrote those opening bars. sounds like something he would say.

 

[F**K IT]

No.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Ras kass did alot of behind the scenes work with them and it wouldnt surprise me if he wrote those opening bars. sounds like something he would say.

I gotta cape for my guy Phonte here. I been in the studio around him for the better part of a decade. No one writes a damn thing for Phonte. He's a writer first and foremost. He stopped using a pen and pad a long time ago except for when he sings. In those cases he still puts pen to pad.

But Phonte ain't letting anybody write a damn thing for him. No one else's words have ever been rapped by Phonte. He's one of the most traditional minded cats I've ever seen in a studio. He's also way too private. He's always off in a corner coming up with his verses when others are shooting the shyt and collaborating. He's real big on keeping everything to himself until it's time to go in the booth and record.

EDIT: And Ras Kass most definitely did not do much if anything with Little Brother. Now, Ras and Pooh made music together in the mid 2010's. But as far as LB goes? Nah. And when LB reunited they didn't even let people know they were making an album. No one that produced on MTLW knew what beats got used until the album hit streaming services.

 

[Professor K.]

Ras kass did alot of behind the scenes work with them and it wouldnt surprise me if he wrote those opening bars. sounds like something he would say.

Proper username/post ratio

Be glad I looked over it again before you caught this neg

 

[KravenMorehead™]

I gotta cape for my guy Phonte here. I been in the studio around him for the better part of a decade. No one writes a damn thing for Phonte. He's a writer first and foremost. He stopped using a pen and pad a long time ago except for when he sings. In those cases he still puts pen to pad.

But Phonte ain't letting anybody write a damn thing for him. No one else's words have ever been rapped by Phonte. He's one of the most traditional minded cats I've ever seen in a studio. He's also way too private. He's always off in a corner coming up with his verses when others are shooting the shyt and collaborating. He's real big on keeping everything to himself until it's time to go in the booth and record.

Homeboy name is TROLLing so I'd take that comment w/ a grain of .

Thread might get derailed from tigallo appreciation if you proceed to argue w/ dude

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Homeboy name is TROLLing so I'd take that comment w/ a grain of .

Thread might get derailed from tigallo appreciation if you proceed to argue w/ dude

Thank you. I'll leave what I said at that and I'll post one of my favorite recent Tay verses

 

[Piff Perkins]

The idea that Rass Kass wrote for Phonte is laughable lol. Have you listened to Rass Kass albums in the last decade, verse Phonte albums? No disrespect to Rass, I still fukk with that Apollo Brown album he did heavy...but Phonte been on another level.