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Making the ordinary extraordinary

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This week was one loaded with unusual and noteworthy images. From chewing gum to condiments, from dogs to liquor bottles, rappers took everyday items and used them to bring us to strange new places. Below, the lines of the week:

5. “I'm like an old blues singer living in the bottle/Whose wife left him down in the bottom/Writing songs is how we solving the problem” — Nas, “Maybach Curtains” lyrics
Nas' father is jazz trumpeter Olu Dara. That living connection to black music history serves Nasir well in his guest spot on this tune. He trades on the idea of hard-drinking bluesmen and their wild love lives, and uses that as a way to talk about his own recent divorce and his use of art to carry him through hard times.

4. “The bassline'll romp like a nigga blowing a tuba/And talk to pretty bitches that still be chewing Bazookas” — Busta Rhymes, “Follow The Leader” lyrics
While the idea of the 40-year-old Busta talking to girls young enough to chew bubblegum is more than a little creepy, the rhyme of “tuba” and “Bazookas” here is bizarre and funny enough to land this lyric on our list.

3. “We heavy Chevy Malibus/On our way to Malibu/Looking for a pile of you/Eyes like a Malamute” — Kurupt, “Heavy Chevy Malibu” lyrics
Kurupt, circa Doggystyle, was the author of some of our all-time favorite rhymes. He hasn't lost a step over the years, and proves it by using the word “Malamute” in his new tune. We love this rhyme almost as much as we love actual Alaskan Malamutes (those are dogs, in case you're wondering) themselves.

2. “Time to clean our house and take our corner back/Put a message in the music — this is more than rap/Or at the very least, it could be and it should be/So I gotta pay it forward 'cause I learned a lot from Chuck D” — Ill Bill, “Severed Heads Of State” lyrics
We've been big Ill Bill supporters for a while now, ever since we first met him on the Warped Tour back in 2004. Please don't ask what either of us were doing there. This track from Bill's upcoming solo record is fantastic, and any lyric that pays tribute to our childhood hero Chuck D is more than alright with us.

1. “But the father do floss/I make your mom suck my dick with barbecue sauce” — Sean Price, “BBQ Sauce” lyrics
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Sean Price a few days ago to chat with him about his new album — you can see the hilarious results here. During our chat, he mentioned that this particular line was his interpretation of today's battle rap — those competitive leagues where contestants say the most outrageous things they can think of in hopes of impressing the crowd. While talking about this dynamic with some friends, Price decided to come up with the most disgusting lyric he could think of, as a nod to how the battle-rappers operate. We have no doubt he succeeded, and we likely will never look at our refrigerators doors the same way again.