Best Rap Verses of the Month

This month's roundup of best verses is socially conscious, as America has recently been forced to look at itself in the mirror and acknowledge its history of racism. It's not the first time this conversation has arisen in rap, but it has not been at the forefront like this for quite some time. J. Cole's stunning "Be Free" gives goosebumps with every listen, and his performance on the Late Show With David Letterman was amazing. Kendrick Lamar offered a heartfelt performance on the Colbert Report, and even Nipsey Hussle got in on the action and offered his two cents. Like Nas said on "Star Wars," "Came from the streets, we the voice of the youth/America's nightmare was given a mic booth." So keep talking that "hip-hop isn't conscience" bullshit you keep kickin'. 2015 is going to be a monster year for great rap.

Date: Dec. 4

"One Shot got life, Zimmerman got acquitted

Talkin' 'bout a carjackin', we talkin' 'bout a killin'

Wonder why we never have faith in the system

Look at young niggas like a waste of existence

And when we do make it, look at how they try to twist it

Become the world champ, and then y'all enlist us

Get rich off of rap, y'all search us for pistols

It's like it ain't no respect 'til we burn up the buildings"

Nipsey is back with some very "conscious" raps on "50 Niggaz." It's short, to the point, and appropriate for all the madness that's going on. Raise your fist for the Muhammad Ali reference.

Date: Dec. 11

"Forget this chain, 'cause this ain't me

Though I'm eternally grateful to Jay Z

Was so elated, we celebrated like Obama

Waited until his last day in office

To tell the nation, brothers is getting their reparations, hey!

A man can dream, can he?

No disrespect, in terms of change

I haven't seen any

Maybe he had good intentions

But was stifled by the system

And was sad to learn that he actually couldn't bring any…

That's what I get for thinking…

This world is fair

They let a brother steer the ship

And never told him that the ship was sinking

But I got other shit to think about…

Like my bank account

Forget that watch, you paid too much for it

You ought to be ashamed

When brothers back home be dreading when the seasons change

Cause they ain't got no heat

And they ain't got no AC

WalMart distribution fired my homie

He just had a baby

You wonder why it's been so many B and E's lately

While brothers from the hood shooting like it's TNT lately

Since all the ballers leaving college early

I turn on the TV and don't see no brothers with degrees lately"

Man, this song is so powerful. You can say whatever you want about Cole, but he's one of the most relatable artists out there. This song is very difficult to listen to because you can feel the emotion in it. We just want to be free.

Date: Dec. 13

"Niggas actin' like their kings 'til I walk up on their throne

Take a piss, kiss the ring, know it hurts, know it stings

Red alert on the beam… Flocka home

The kids misdirected and the cops are wrong

Man, they rattin' on each other, then they back at home

Actin' like it never happened, backstabbin' whoa!

What's next? Another rapper dead, no flex

I'm goin' at your head, who the best?

Cut the check, closed mouths never get fed

Take the food off yo' plate, chew it in yo' face

I can't hear your shit, moment of silence

Condonin' the violence if you're proposin' a rising

Their fan base mad I killed their favorite rapper

I'm still your favorite trapper's favorite trapper

Fuck freestyles, kill 'em with the written rhymes

And all you cokehead rappers better get in line

No subliminals, I'm direct gettin' off

Your clique is soft, let your bitch kick it with a boss

We're two people from the bottom, we're just different lanes

Cole I feel your pain, feel like I was born again

This the tiger and the lion, this is David and Goliath

This Qua-ran and the Bible, this the pistol and the rifle

In the cypher I ignite you—boom!

It's a cold fuckin' world and I'm sneezin' bricks

And we got grey tickets, on my season shit

Break them chickens down, then we season it

Re-press it, then send it, that's an easy flip

Crush my enemies, they just envy me

Now it's business entities, it was meant to be

SquadLlife 'til they sentence me to centuries

Can't get to me, I handle shit differently

We never had shit, wonder why we lootin'

If he ain't got a pistol, why the fuck he shootin'?

I think them drugs pollutant, should've stayed a student

But then I wouldn't be on stage givin' out the blueprint

Holler at the movement, I'm about to lose it

And when I do, lay it down, ain't no fuckin' movement

They like, “Flock, what up with EDM?”

Same rappers lowkey don't wanna see me win

50 thou for a verse, I don't need a friend

And I don't really like your music, so why pretend?

And how you gangbangin' after you famous?

Swear half of you brainless, you rappers are aimless

You rappers are anus, I'm clappin' the stainless

This accurate aimin', start droppin' your names in

It's a new world order

Made a dollar out a quarter, made some dollars out of quarters

Now the show's across the boarders and they're slaughterin' our daughters

And they're killin' all our sons, this shit ain't just for fun

We used to put our hands up and box on the block

Now you put your hands up and get shot by a cop

I sat first class by Donnie McClurkin

He said, “God got a plan, young man, keep workin'

I know. Flocka!"

I had to highlight the whole freestyle because Waka Flocka went the fuck off. The beat fits him perfectly, plus he was socially aware and took shots at his peers. Apparently he can rap.

Date: Dec. 9

"Me and Pharaoh is like Dorothy and Toto down the brick road

Crossin' at the crissroads

The valleys and the alleys where the gods switch to bitch mode

I came through, the Harley pipe was loud like a lion

The title on the marquee said “Child out of Zion”

Contemplatin' on another plane, hoverin' down lover's lane

Won a great debate against the state about the mother plane

He called me by that other name, I called him by his other name

Then lightnin' struck the internet like a screen door in a hurricane

Jay Electricity, baptized near Felicity

Where he been for the past three years is just a mystery

If it ain't come from one of my peers, it ain't a diss to me

I'm 1,000 leagues under the sea, niggas can't get to me

The F in my middle name with the period stands for “Victory”

I came from the bottoms of Hell with Jezebels

Sniffin' blow with her friends in the dens of iniquity

When I was young, I was confused, I thought God was a mystery

But everything I knew since the time I began to groove

Was taught to me by the wickedest men, who twisted histories

Who pulled out the cuffs of deception and and hitched their wrist to we

Now all praises due to Allah, we seein' crystally

The Pyramids is there to bear witness to the gods

So when the angels heard me spit, they bit their lip, this shit is hard

Utterly unstoppable, in high school I was voted most popular

By the unpopular, phantom of the chakras" —Jay Electronica

Drop that album, lord. Spike Jonze should direct Being Jay Electronica because this cat is on some other shit. What is his process? How does he come up with this stuff? That album is coming to Earth attached to a comet.