Does Jay-Z's 'Friend or Foe' give off DMX vibes?

[Inspect Her Deck]

I'm not talking about the fierce voice but more so the delivery and the flow. It's very stop/start and carry over on this particular track. This is a conversational track too and DMX often has many of those in his songs so it is easier to draw comparison.

I was just listening to it randomly and heard the similarities.

Also as a side note, this is one of the most underrated songs in Jay-Z's catalogue, let alone the album. Amazing.

 

[DoomzdayzV]

I see what you are saying.

funny enough....to me.....the premier cuts on RD are some of the weakest ones on there. My favorite tracks are Politics as Usual and Coming of Age....and I always skip Friend or Foe D'Evils and Bring it On

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

I see what you are saying.

I'm a knucklehead so I forgot to expand in the OP.

Basically I wanted to know whether you think this may have had implications for someone biting someone else? This sounds too much like DMX, BUT this did come out 2 years before DMX's debut. Did they hang out prior to that? Was DMX rapping before that? Was someone else rapping in that sorta style before Jay?

I'm curious.

Damn haha we have completely different tastes. Premo's tracks are best to me. D'Evils is my favourite Jay song EVER. Bring It On is top 3 on the album and this might be top 5 or something.

 

[DoomzdayzV]

Jay was on a track with DMX in 95 on Mic Geronimos first joint

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

Jay was on a track with DMX in 95 on Mic Geronimos first joint

 

[the cac mamba]

 

[DarkmanX]

Yea i see what you're saying. I remember noticing that before. But i'm
sure it's not much to it really and just a coincidence, regardless if Jay-Z has
bitten before.

Edit: Oh, you're asking if DMX bit Jay-Z for that? Highly unlikely. X was rapping like that since the early 90's. His style changed around 1991. He sounded more "East coast-y" before, influenced by Rakim at the time. And also had that spellbound style.

But it's also known that that's just how DMX talks. That's why the saying always been that "X talks like he raps". It's true. He talks like that. So i'm sure that's where that rap style came from.

And yeah, Jay was familiar with DMX since somewhere in the 90's (ca 1993) thru Irv Gotti, the battle & shyt and they did some joints.

 

[SonnyEMC]

I'm a knucklehead so I forgot to expand in the OP.

Basically I wanted to know whether you think this may have had implications for someone biting someone else? This sounds too much like DMX, BUT this did come out 2 years before DMX's debut. Did they hang out prior to that? Was DMX rapping before that? Was someone else rapping in that sorta style before Jay?

I'm curious.

Damn haha we have completely different tastes. Premo's tracks are best to me. D'Evils is my favourite Jay song EVER. Bring It On is top 3 on the album and this might be top 5 or something.

DMX has been rapping forever, a lot of his stuff that was released later on was written in the early 90s.

 

[SonnyEMC]

Also X was signed to Colombia in like 91

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

It's not like Jay ran with that style anyway, it was only one song, and Reasonable Doubt is literally an embarrassment of different flows. But I did find it interesting.

Firstly, you got these lyrics:

You enterprising though, and I like'ya
But fukk with the big dogs yo, I gotta bite you

If that isn't DMX-esque idk what is.

Then if you listen to the song and the way he delivers this:

So please would you, put your hand back in sight
They don't like to see me nervous you can understand that, right?
You draw, better be Picasso, you know the best
Cause if this is not so, ah, God bless

Sounds exactly like DMX, just with Jay's voice.

 

[BronxFleeZ]

Sound just like X flow. But he did that flow through the whole album, no?

 

[Mike Otherz]

you think dmx wrote jays lyrics? since cats say certain songs on AG and TBA sound like Lupe and just assume Lupe wrote them?

 

[Inspect Her Deck]

Sound just like X flow. But he did that flow through the whole album, no?

nah breh the album has so many different flows, that's where Jay excels. Always switches it up.

you think dmx wrote jays lyrics? since cats say certain songs on AG and TBA sound like Lupe and just assume Lupe wrote them?

idk tbh but I have to imagine there was something that came with this track. Some prior knowledge of both artists and idk who borrowed from who. Now remember that this is the only album where Jay wrote lyrics, the rest of his albums were effectively free-styled. So about AG and TBA I doubt it that Lupe wrote but who knows. This album though? It certainly raises an eyebrow.

 

[Grand_Verbalizer]

Absolutely