Morning Anthem posted by O.W.

Mobb Deep: The Infamous Prelude
From The Infamous (Loud, 1995)
When The Infamous first dropped, I never paid much attention to this intro...not the least of which is because it just seemed highly unlikely that the same dudes who cut, "Hit It From the Back," would suddenly turn out to be the grimiest rappers in history. But whenever I go back and listen to The Infamous nowadays, I sometimes just put this on repeat. Whether Prodigy's thug pose is truly convincing or not is for the listener to decide but his own sense of conviction is highly entertaining in its own right. P drops enough gems to fill a royal crown:

"When you see me at the show, on stage, or in the street, I definitely got the gat on me."
"I used to be in the clubs, the Muse, the Tunnel, whatever the f---."
"You ain't got to waste your time, or your money, or your hospital bills."
"There's a good chance your ass might get shot, stabbed or knuckled down - one out of the three."

...and the grand finale:

"To all them rap ass n------ with your half assed rhymes talking about how much you get high, how much weed you smoke, and that crazy space sh-- that don't even make no sense, don't ever speak to me when you see me. Know what I'm saying? Word. I might have to get on some ol high school s---, start punching n------ in the face just for living."

Man, I miss '95 sometimes.