The Big Picture
Size 'Em Up
Big L
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
25
End
195
Internal
54
Multi
161
Slant
10
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Break]
What?! Word up man, them niggas✦ is hungry✦
They ready✦ to bite a nigga✦ arm off
[Chorus]
All my wolves✦ in the house, are you live or what?
See, Harlem✦ 'bout to get it, all eyes on us
Only✦ ghetto✦ niggas✦ shine, who gon' rise wit' us?
And the first cat who act, we gon' size 'em up
All my wolves✦ in the house, are you live or what?
See, Harlem✦ 'bout to get it, all eyes on us
Only✦ ghetto✦ niggas✦ shine, who gon' rise with us?
And the first cat who act, we gon' size 'em up
[Verse 2]
Ayo, I hear a lot of bitch in your talk, see a lot of switch in your walk
Only✦ thugs get rich in New York
Time is runnin'✦ out, niggas✦ like, "L, when you comin'✦ out?"
Because they sick of all this drag queen shit
Your wife's✦ missin',✦ I'm the nigga✦ she was last seen wit'
Me and Ron hit it up on some tag team shit
A bunch of niggas✦ got smoked✦ for the cash
Used✦ to ride Greyhounds with dime hoes who stuff the coke in their ass
Crazy✦ beefs got provoked in the past – lot of wigs got split
A lot of innocent kids got hit
Harlem✦ World be the place of my birth, believe me, son
We breed the smoothest niggas✦ on the face of the Earth
Mics I steadily smoke, rhymes✦ cleverly wrote
As long as I can rock a crowd, I'ma✦ never be broke
Some hoes treated me like a bum nerd when I was unheard
Now I'm icey,✦ I ain't gotta✦ say one word, you dumb bird
I push whips while you walk all day
And I hate when strange niggas✦ wanna✦ talk all day
Clown ass shit, hate to be around✦ that shit
You don't know me, just say, 'What's up', give me a pound, that's it
When I was at the steak house, pullin'✦ cake out
You was at some cheap Chinese shit gettin'✦ take out
How you make out, you took the fake route, you ought to break out
You couldn't get a bitch before✦ you put your tape out
[Break]
What?! Yeah, fuckin'✦ punks
Niggas✦ like you will get robbed✦ everyday
[Chorus]
All my wolves✦ in the house, are you live or what?
See, Harlem✦ 'bout to get it, all eyes on us
Only✦ ghetto✦ niggas✦ shine, who gon' rise wit' us?
And the first cat who act, we gon' size 'em up
All my wolves✦ in the house, are you live or what?
See, Harlem✦ 'bout to get it, all eyes on us
Only✦ ghetto✦ niggas✦ shine, who gon' rise wit' us?
And the first cat who act, we gon' size 'em up
[Outro]
Gyeah
Flamboyant✦ Entertainment, Big L, Rondell
C-Town, NFL, you know how we do
One time
Can't forget✦ my partner
Big brother, Big Lee, holdin'✦ it down
The overseer
Flamboyant✦
Technical Breakdown
8.6
Multisyllabic Rhymes8.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes9.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres8.0
Clever language, metaphors, punchlines
Cadence / Rhythm9.0
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 Score8.59
Production
— Big L, Ron BrowzBe the first to rate the production
Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
Big L exhibits a masterclass in internal rhyme density and rhythmic precision, utilizing his signature conversational yet aggressive tone to maintain an elite, commanding presence that defines the mid-90s boom-bap era.
A
8.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
9
Cadence / Flow
6
Vocabulary
8
Wordplay
9
Delivery
multisyllabic internal rhymingrhythmic syncopationconversational aggressionnarrative brevity
Rhyme Architecture: A complex web of internal rhyme patterns, notably utilizing AABB/CCDD structures while bleeding multisyllabic end-rhymes (talk/walk/York, out/out/shit/wit/shit) across bar transitions to maintain momentum.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"see a lot of switch in your walk"
① Physical observation of someone's gait indicating cowardice or effeminacy.② A double-entendre implying the target is fickle, disloyal, or capable of 'switching' sides under pressure.
"tag team shit"
① A reference to professional wrestling matches involving partners taking turns.② A street-level description of sequential sexual infidelity involving the narrator and his associate.
"size 'em up"
① To evaluate or assess an opponent's physical threat level.② A menacing threat of violent confrontation leading to the physical termination (sizing up for a coffin/grave) of the victim.
exceptional breath control allowing for dense, multi-layered rhyme chains
authoritative and menacing vocal inflection
thematic consistency within the gritty Harlem aesthetic
efficient narrative progression
some imagery relies on established genre tropes of the era
vocabulary is functional rather than overtly complex or esoteric