Rap Lyrics

Rap artists are often maligned for their subject matter and dismissed for their use of profanity, as if curses are the only words rappers know. Here, inspired by Matt Daniels' compilation of data on the breadth of rappers vocabularies ( available here) we take another view and explore the rappers who use advanced vocabulary to get their points across. The words below range from medical terminology to biblical reference by way of Thomas Hobbes, so it may be time to really listen to what these rappers have to say.
11 words 10955 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. Zeitgeist
    the spirit of the time
    Flash that buttery gold, jittery zeitgeist
    Wither by the watering hole, Border patrol
    Aesop Rock, None Shall Pass
  2. bourgeoisie
    a socioeconomic group that is neither wealthy nor poor
    ...schemin' they gon' jump the boy
    For spitting all that bourgeoisie, my watch, my car
    I'm a star—I'd rather be a comet by far--
    rrrahhh
    —Outkast, Skew it on the Bar-B
  3. leviathan
    monstrous sea creature symbolizing evil in the Old Testament
    The black mic is like a red violin
    Ok, everybody back to the lab, try again
    Bloody rap game like leviathan
    — MF Doom, Books of War
  4. psychedelic
    producing distorted sensory perceptions and feelings
    I don't mean no harm it's the hood in me...
    Psychedelic colors in my jewelry
    Suckers hella jealous cause you're diggin' me
    — E -40, U and Dat
  5. prognosis
    a prediction about how something will develop
    My funk prognosis make my brains comatose
    One hundred percent funk runs blood straight through your nose.
    — Redman, Funkorama
  6. acquiesce
    agree or express agreement
    Released to rock, too acquiesced to shock
    All biters get writer's block
    When it's Rhyme Tyme
    — Kool G. Rap, Rhyme Tyme
  7. unadulterated
    without qualification
    Take that, challengers, get a tune up
    Universal, unique, untouched
    Unadulterated, the raw uncut
    Verb vice lord victorious valid
    Violate vibes that are vain make 'em vanish
    — Blackalicious, Alphabet Aerobics
  8. wallow
    roll around
    During the service he swallowed up the poor
    And after they heard this, they wallowed on the floor
    — Killah Priest, B.I.B.L.E. ( Basic Instructions for Leaving Earth)
  9. morbid
    suggesting the horror of death and decay
    Yo ill insanity that's cold and morbid
    But when I'm in your orbit you soul absorb it.
    —The Roots, Thought @ Work
  10. dastardly
    extremely wicked
    Ringworm cause I'm filthy and guilty, dastardly mastery
    My felony melody has to be a bastard's masterpiece
    —RZA, Holocaust
  11. retention
    the act of keeping something
    ...common mistakes and nice intentions
    But when false love retention is simply
    vice invention
    It's only right to mention the fights you
    get in
    —CunninLynguists, Love Ain't
Created on Wed Jul 29 16:07:58 EDT 2015 (updated Wed Jul 29 18:13:57 EDT 2015)

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