Mr. Smith

I Shot Ya

LL Cool J

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

End

246

Internal

113

Multi

302

Slant

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight

[Verse 2: Prodigy]

I conversate^✦ with many^✦ men (What), it's time to begin^✦ again^✦

Forgot^✦ what I already knew (ayo), you hear me, friend?

Illuminati want my mind, soul, and my body^✦

Secret^✦ society, trying to keep they eye on me (Nah, nah)

But I'ma^✦ stay incogni', in places^✦ they can't find me

Make my moves^✦ strategically, the G.O.D.

It's sorta^✦ similar, but iller^✦ than a chess player

I use my thinker,^✦ it coincides^✦ with my blinker^✦

While you wondered^✦ what we saying on the records real (What)

Yeah, you motherfucking right, kid, you know the deal

My Mobb is Infamous, just like the fuckin'^✦ title read

You get back-slapped so hard, make ya nose bleed (Ahh!)

Some Def kids feeling guilty^✦ 'bout the space shit

The truth hurts, baby^✦ girl, so just face it (Alright)

But anyway,^✦ back on the real side of things

My niggas^✦ sling cracks and wear fat diamond rings

Not only^✦ is it inside^✦ the songs that we sing (Kid)

Everything is real, not just a song that we sing (Word up)

From my life to the paper^✦ (What), very^✦ accurately

Give you all of my two so maybe you can three

Prodigy will forever S-H-I-N-E (Shine, baby,^✦ shine, shine, yeah)

My shit attract^✦ millions like the moon attract^✦ the sea

How dare you ever^✦ in your life walk past me (What)

Without^✦ acknowledging this man as G-O-D

I shot your faggot^✦ ass

[Verse 3: Fat Joe]

Ugh, now, who the fuck you think you talking to?

I pay dues, I spray crews

Look, I'm Joey Crack, motherfuckers be like, "He's bad news"

Runnin^✦ this racket,^✦ from New York to Montego

Slaughtering people, bring a ton of keys from Puerto^✦ Rico^✦

I'd rather^✦ be feared^✦ than loved,^✦ because the fear lasts longer^✦

These bitch-ass niggas^✦ know we stronger than these weaklings

Seeking for respect that ain't there

Knuckleheads beware,^✦ there's^✦ mad tension^✦ in the air

Tommy^✦ guns for fun, shotties^✦ for block parties^✦

While fresh lead heats up your insides^✦ like a fifth of Bacardi

Call the ambulette,^✦ this man's wet

Bullets^✦ cut him down from the root up just like a Gillette^✦

Razor—which I keep hidden^✦ in my oral^✦

Ready^✦ to spat out at any^✦ adult that wants to quarrel

These Feds want me for some tax evasion^✦

Mad at the fact that somebody's getting lucci^✦ that's not Caucasian

Bullets^✦ be blazing through these streets filled^✦ with torture

Joey Crack A.K.A.^✦ Keyser^✦ Söze

[Verse 4: Foxy Brown]

What the deal, pop? Ugh

Thug niggas^✦ give they minks to chinks, tore down

We sip drinks, rockin'^✦ minks, flashin' rings and things (On the real)

Frontin' hardcore, deep inside^✦ the Jeep, mackin'^✦

Doin' my thing, fly nigga,^✦ you a Scarface^✦ king (Uh)

Bitches,^✦ grab ya ta-tas,^✦ get them niggas^✦ for they cheddar

Fuck it, Gucci^✦ sweaters and Armani^✦ leathers (Uh)

Flossin' rocks like the size of Fort Knox

Four carats,^✦ the ice rocks, pussy^✦ bangin'^✦ like Versace^✦ locs, pops

(So what the deal?)

Wanna^✦ creep? Open^✦ like raw asscheeks

I'm sexin'^✦ raw-dog without^✦ protection,^✦ disease infested, uh!

Italiano,^✦ got the Luciano^✦

I gets down, fuckin'^✦ with Brown, Fox, extra^✦ keys to the drop

Boo, I'm jingling, baby^✦ (Ugh, yeah yeah)

I got crazy^✦ Dominicans who pay me to lay low, I play slow

Roll with The Firm, mafioso crime kingpin

It all real, nigga,^✦ what the deal? I shot ya!

[Verse 5: LL Cool J]

What the fuck? I thought I conquered^✦ the world

Crushed Moe Dee (Uh), Hammer,^✦ and Ice-T's^✦ girls

But still, niggas^✦ want to instigate^✦ shit

I'll battle any^✦ nigga^✦ in the rap game quick

Name the spot, I make it hot for you bitches^✦

Female^✦ rappers too, I don't give a fuck, boo

Word, I'm here to crush all my peers

'Rhymes^✦ of the Month' in The Source for twenty^✦ years

Niggas^✦ scared,^✦ I'm detrimental to your mental^✦ state

I use my Presidential Rolex to be the bait

Niggas^✦ fight, Glock cocked,^✦ ya temple gets fucked^✦

MCs that fuck with LL, they gets bucked^✦

That's real, what's up with that "I Shot Ya" deal?

Light shit, niggas^✦ slip, now, how the bullet^✦ feel?

New York appeal,^✦ in L.A., they gangbang

But if you touch a mic, your motherfuckin' ass hang

That's facts, niggas^✦ don't receive no type of slack

'Cause if they do (Uh), they ass is always^✦ runnin'^✦ back (Yeah)

Not this time, but next time, I'ma^✦ name names^✦

LL, shitting from on top of the game

I shot ya!

Technical Breakdown

8.5

Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres7.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm8.0

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity8.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control9.0

Performance and control

Computed Score8.50

Production

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Critic Analysis

RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Prodigy delivers an authoritative, paranoid-gritty performance that perfectly captures the mid-90s Mobb Deep aesthetic through high-density rhyme schemes and a signature 'clinical' flow.

9.5

Multisyllabic

9.5

Internal Rhymes

Cadence / Flow

Vocabulary

7.5

Wordplay

Delivery

Internal Rhyme SaturationAssonance-heavy phrasingParanoid thematic consistencyDynamic ad-lib interjectionsMultisyllabic anchoring

Rhyme Architecture: Prodigy utilizes a dense, internal-rhyme-heavy structure that relies on AABB and AAAA couplets extended via polysyllabic terminal rhymes (e.g., 'body/on me/incogni/find me'). He consistently places the primary rhyme on the downbeat, grounding the listener while providing rhythmic variety through frequent, aggressive ad-libs.

Verified Doubles & Entendres

"I use my thinker, it coincides with my blinker"

① Physical act of using his mind to calculate strategic moves.② A metaphor for anticipation/signaling his next 'move' or trajectory before acting, similar to a car turn signal.

"Give you all of my two so maybe you can three"

① Reference to the progression of knowledge or skill development.② A numerical progression implied by his 'two' (the verse/the content) allowing the listener to 'three' (reach the next level of understanding).

"My shit attract millions like the moon attract the sea"

① His music reaches a vast commercial audience.② A scientific metaphor for gravity: just as the moon creates tides via gravitational pull, his influence creates movement in the culture.

Exceptional command of the 'deadpan/menacing' delivery style

Seamless integration of internal rhyme schemes that don't compromise narrative flow

Strong atmospheric consistency

High-impact ad-lib placement that emphasizes the 'conversation' aspect of the verse

Relies occasionally on common street-rap tropes

Some metaphors (e.g., chess player) are genre-standard rather than revolutionary

Narrative tension dips slightly in the middle-eight before recovering

I Shot Ya

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

Technical Breakdown

Production

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