BY JAKE PAINE / FEBRUARY 5, 2018
In the “Rate The Bars” series, guests on the video program are challenged when they are provided excerpts of verses from peers who often happen to be homies, band-mates, or nemeses. It is a test of objectivity set against the craft of MC’ing. This has led to some memorable appearances, including spots from Rah Digga, Raekwon, Redman, and T.I.
Scarface is the latest to rate the bars. BET hands one of Hip-Hop’s most respected songwriters a series of rhymes from Geto Boys brother Bushwick Bill, past Rap-A-Lot Records label-mate Bun B (“Trill Recognize Trill”), and some of his own famed rhymes, courtesy of “Diary Of A Madman” from his 1991 solo debut. Facemob is hard on himself (2.5-3, he quantifies, after saying “it’s not the best line I ever wrote in my life…it’s pretty damn good.”) With that sense of grading in place, he shows strong love to Immortal Technique (“Civil War” grabs a perfect rating), and fellow Texan, The D.O.C. Rating 1989’s “The Formula,” ‘Face says “those are some of the greatest lines in the sport,” with a 4.5-5 rating to match.
Scarface’s ratings can be a bit flexible. In Bushwick Bill’s case, he scores “3, 4, or 5,” in grading “Six Feet Deep” lines (from Geto Boys’ Til’ Death Do Us Part). ‘Face, who reportedly wrote some of Bill’s lyrics in the past, also notes, “I felt this way at some point in my life.”
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Best guide to hip hop, soul, reggae concerts & events in San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles & New York City + music, videos, radio and more
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