Yeeeah Baby

It's So Hard

Big Pun

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

13

End

104

Internal

37

Multi

123

Slant

7

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Hook adlibs: Big Punisher]
It's hard work, baby✦
I just lost a hundred pounds, I'm tryin' to live!
I ain't goin' nowhere
I'm stayin' alive,✦ baby✦
That's my wife, I paid for them titties!
Get your own! Your own! Ya heard?!
[Verse 2: Big Punisher]
Rollin'✦ with the Squad, we like Gods
Catch us at the bar-de-bar-de-bars, strip bars in Miami✦
Almost✦ came home with the Grammy✦
Next year, bringin' home three for the family✦
Watch me, you can catch it live on Hitachi
Poppin'✦ shit like a Nazi,✦ iced out like DeBiase
Fuck that! Liberace,✦ fo'-X Versace,✦ somebody stop me!
Never✦ that! SKEE-YU! Where my niggas✦ at?
Uptown!!✦ Uptown!!✦ You know you feelin'✦ that
Cash rule – hardcore, you can dance to
That old Biggie "Gimme One More Chance..."
Take a glance, then I'm off with yours
With both hands, take off my drawers and jerk me like The Source Awards
I love Hip-Hop,✦ I ain't even✦ probably the best lyricist alive✦
Terror Squad, nigga✦ – stop sleepin'!
[Hook Adlibs: Big Punisher]
What you say your name was again?✦
And I know you from where? Elementary school?
I don't know you, mannnnnnnn!
Money,✦ not you again,✦ go that way
Loser✦
[Hook: Donnell Jones]
And it's so hard, yeah
Niggas✦ wanna✦ be like Pun
But they don't bust they guns
And it's so hard!
Niggas✦ wanna✦ fuck my wife
Niggas✦ wanna✦ take my life
But it's so hard!
[Outro: Donell Jones]
Yeah, you ain't fuckin'✦ my wife, takin'✦ my life
And if you just hatin',✦ just walk on by
All you haters, just walk on by
See, me and Big Pun be rollin'✦
Schemin' on you and your homie
Better✦ just walk on by
While we roll back and talk for a while
And to the Boricuas — stay up, stay up, stay up!
And to all my homies — you gotta✦ know what's up!

Technical Breakdown

7.9
Multisyllabic Rhymes7.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres7.0

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm7.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity6.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control9.0

Performance and control

Computed Score7.87

Production

— Younglord, Jay "Waxx" Garfield

Be the first to rate the production

Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Big Pun utilizes an aggressive, percussive delivery style that prioritizes phonetic density and internal rhyme chains over traditional narrative linear progression, characteristic of his late-90s stylistic peak.

B+
7.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
7.5
Cadence / Flow
6
Vocabulary
7
Wordplay
9
Delivery
Multisyllabic rhyme chainingInternal rhyme stackingDynamic vocal cadence variationAggressive phonetic alliterationColloquial cultural referencing
Rhyme Architecture: Dense, polysyllabic internal rhyme-heavy structure that employs masculine end-rhymes (Squad/Gods/bars/stars) integrated with high-velocity internal chains (Hitachi/DeBiase/Liberace/Versace).
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"Iced out like DeBiase"

① Literal reference to the excessive wearing of diamond-encrusted jewelry (iced out).② Metaphorical comparison to 'Million Dollar Man' Ted DiBiase, connecting wealth, wrestling iconography, and arrogance.

"jerk me like The Source Awards"

① Physical act of pulling down pants/undergarments.② A direct dig at the controversy surrounding The Source Awards, implying the publication 'jerks' (cheats or unfairly handles) artists in their editorial/award processes.

Unmatched command of breath control and vocal texture

Exceptional rhythmic integration of disparate cultural references

High-energy delivery that maintains focus despite dense phonetic patterns

Occasional sacrifice of thematic cohesion for the sake of rhyme speed

Some metaphors rely heavily on name-dropping rather than intricate subtext

User Scores