Let’s face it, there’s nothing more satisfying than successfully rapping along with every lyric of your favorite song. When it comes to rap verses, there are certain ones that will always hold a special place in our hearts. Whether it was an early Nicki Minaj verse or a Lil Wayne feature, certain rap songs had the ability to make you and your friends learn every breath.
TBH, you probably still know all of the lyrics even to this day. So, everyone shut up and turn the volume full-blast, because we made a list of 17 iconic rap verses that you definitely know every word to.
1. Nicki’s Verse in “Bottoms Up” by Trey Songz
Let’s be honest, this was probably one of THE most iconic rap verses that put Nicki Minaj on the map. The song itself was honestly just-okay but as it was relatively unexciting. Enter: Nicki’s verse. Her explosive and super-fast verse pretty much made the whole song worthwhile. We had heard from Nicki before in “Bedrock,” but that verse had nothing on “Bottom’s Up.” The second you heard “can I get that ‘tron can I get that Remy…” the entire party would stop whatever they were doing to try and keep up with Nicki’s bars. Good times.
2. All of “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj
This was another one of Nicki’s earlier songs that was crazy impressive. When it comes to rap verses, almost no one could spit as quickly as Nicki. There was a while when this song came out that it just seemed crazy because almost no other rapper had made a verse with so many words in such a short amount of time. If you claim that you didn’t spend an entire day sitting with your friends trying to memorize every breath of this song, you’re straight-up lying to yourself.
Also, we can all agree that the best part is when she’s all “I am Nicki Minaj I mack them dudes up, back coupes up and chuck the deuce up,” right?
3. Lil Wayne’s verse in “Down” by Jay Sean
This was another one of those rap verses that makes the entire song worthwhile. Every middle school dance was pretty much guaranteed to have a circle of sweaty 14-year-olds trying to impress each other with their rapping. If you were able to recite every word to Lil Wayne’s verse in this song, you had to make sure everyone knew. As far as verses go, it’s actually pretty short. It seems like Lil Wayne would just kind of show up on pop songs, spit a few bars and then quietly fade into the distance.
4. Jay-Z’s verse in “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé
As far as rap verses go, this one was kind of unnecessary. No offense to Jay, but “Crazy In Love” totally slaps on its own. The reason this one was so great was that everyone was in love with Beyoncé and Jay-Z as a couple, so seeing them doing a love song together (especially one that wasn’t mushy or boring) was totally iconic.
This verse was pretty laid-back which made it fortunately easy to learn for its primary audience of pre-teens. Honestly the best part of this verse is when it ends and Beyoncé comes back in belting, full-blast.
5. Missy Elliott’s verse in “1, 2 Step” by Ciara
Ci- ARAAAAA! Every single lyric to this song is extremely important. This is also definitely one of Missy Elliott’s best rap verses. Aside from Ciara’s iconic first few lines (automatic, super-sonic, hypnotic funky fresh — duh), everyone knew that the best part of this song was when Missy came in.
Every single line was 100% quotable and memorable. For example, “shake it like jello, make the boys say hello cuz they know I’m rockin’ the beat” or “I’m 5 foot 2 I wanna dance with you and I’m sophisticated fun.” This was every cool, independent girl’s anthem, not to mention there was a dance to go with it. You really couldn’t ask for more.
6. Eminem’s Verse in “Smack That” by Akon
As far as super-fast rap verses go, you can pretty much count on Eminem to deliver. This song was one of the more ~risqué~ songs of its time, especially Eminem’s verse. Luckily for moms everywhere, he raps so quickly it’s pretty much completely indecipherable. Any kid at a party who could rap along with this entire song was basically awarded star status for the evening. Nothing got us more hype than the sound of the chorus ending and Eminem shouting “OH” before absolutely going in on his verse.
7. Nicki’s verse in “Monster” by Kanye West
Believe it or not, rumor has it that Kanye almost didn’t want to go through with releasing this song because Nicki’s verse completely outshined everyone else. For a song that features ‘Ye, Rick Ross and Jay-Z, Nicki not only held her own, but she 100% stole the show. Every single lyric is totally iconic.
I would even venture to say that this verse is some of Nicki’s best work of all time. The song is pretty long, and let’s be real — most people skipped the beginning few verses to get straight to Nicki. No lyric will ever bang as hard as “pink wig, thick ass, give ‘em whiplash.”
8. T-Pain’s verse in “Kiss Kiss” by Chris Brown
Aw, this was super early in Chris Brown’s career. Y’know, before it became public knowledge that he was The Worst™. However, at the time, this song was super catchy and was responsible for making a lot of teen girls completely fall in love with C. Breezy. Plus, you can pretty much guarantee that any song with rap verses featuring T-Pain touches are going to be complete bangers.
“Kiss Kiss” is no exception. He comes in hard with that “shawty lemme holla at you, you so hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!” part and it only gets better from there. Everyone would holler especially loud at the part where he goes “(YEAH) I got money on me (YEAH) Baby girl no problem (YEAH) You rolling shawty? (YEAH) Let’s hit McDonald’s.” Classic.
9. All of “Gold Digger” by Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx
We couldn’t pick just one of the verses in this song, because they’re all equally important. If you were gonna rap along to “Gold Digger” by Kanye West, you had to know every single breath to this song. I mean, obviously, the most important part was shouting “WE WANT PRE-NUP, YEAH!” but the entire song as a whole is truly iconic. This was one of Kanye’s songs that really put him on the map as a legendary rapper, and you can guarantee that it will be played at every party for the rest of your life, probably.
10. Kanye’s verse in “American Boy” by Estelle
Before he was super famous on his own accord, you could catch Kanye appearing in rap verses on songs like “American Boy” by Estelle. The thought of 2017 Kanye being featured in a cheesy pop song like this is pretty much unthinkable, which makes it so much better. This whole song was crazy catchy, and Kanye’s verse only made it better. In the interest of being completely accurate, Kanye had two verses in this song. His intro verse is great, but it’s the second one that’s really the one to know.
11. Kanye’s verse in “Knock You Down” by Keri Hilson
And of course, if we’re talking about rap verses including early Kanye, we had to mention “Knock You Down.” The best part about this song is that Kayne’s verse kind of doesn’t fit into it. Like, the song itself is pretty slow and sappy but Kanye’s verse is undeniably aggressive. It starts off pretty romantic and cute like the rest of the song with the whole “you was always the cheerleader of my dreams and seemed to only take the head of football teams” bit. But at the end, Kanye gets all “Now I’m mad, real mad, Joe Jackson, you should leave your boyfriend now.” Easy, there.
12. All of “A Milli” by Lil Wayne
This was the song screamed by middle school boys everywhere to try and impress people. Rap verses like the ones in “A Milli” are just so fast and full of wordplay that they basically challenge you to learn them. This is definitely one of Lil Wayne’s masterpieces. In the minds of every kid who learned this song, you were basically as talented as Lil Wayne. Just two seconds into hearing the iconic “a milli a milli a milli” at the beginning is enough to make an entire party erupt into a rap battle.
13. The first verse of “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie
While the whole song is a total classic, most people only really bothered to learn the first few verses of “Just a Friend.” This is another one of those rap songs that just won’t die. Ever.
For most college-aged kids, you don’t really remember the first time hearing it, you just know it. It’s kind of hard to pinpoint what exactly is so great about this song. The flow and lyrics aren’t particularly remarkable, and it’s definitely not Biz Markie’s singing abilities. It might just be the feeling of wailing along the whole “Ohhhh baby YOUUUU” part.
14. Every rap-esque verse in “Fergalicious” by Fergie
OKAY — the song is definitely a pop-rap hybrid, but regardless the lyrics are iconic. Whoever can say they’ve never responded to a text asking what they were doing with “I be up in the gym just workin’ on my fitness” while they’re doing anything athletic is really missing out. Trust me, nothing impresses friends more than being able to recite this whole song and it’s even better when you can keep up with all the words when Fergie really breaks it down around ~2:24 in the song. (It’s fast — but it’s pretty short so it’s not THAT hard, TBH.)
15. T.I.’s verse in “Fancy” by Drake
Honestly, what is T.I. up to these days? Pretty much every song in the mid-2000s featured rap verses from T.I. Whether it was “Live Your Life,” “Whatever You Like” or of course, “Fancy,” T.I. was making hit after hit for a couple of years. Seeing it perform live for the first time at the VMAs is what made this one so popular so quickly. While Drake‘s verses are equally great, there’s something about T.I.’s verse that just makes the whole song even better. Sorry!
16. All of “Get Low” by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. The Ying Yang Twins
Oh, man. If you want to make a group of drunk girls excited, all you have to do is let them hear the first few “dum dum dum”s of this song.
“Get Low” is probably one of the most incredible hip-hop songs of all time. When Lil Jon tells you to get low, you can guarantee that everyone at the party or in the club is gonna do it. Pretty much everyone experiences something nearly-religious when the Ying Yang Twins shout “TO THE WINDOOOW.” Plus, there’s nothing more iconic than the sound of Lil Jon shouting “YEAH” and “OKAY.”
17. Ludacris’s verse in “Yeah!” by Usher, Lil Jon and Ludacris
Okay, it’s honestly hard to choose whether this song or “Get Low” is more iconic, but why put the two in competition when you can appreciate both? The two songs are bangers for the ages, with rap verses that shaped a generation. While Lil Jon is a key component of this song, it’s Ludacris’ verse that was truly impressive. Being able to rap along to his verse meant that you were a certified rap genius. While the whole verse is guaranteed to get you fired up, being able to shout the last line of “we want a lady in the street but a FREAK in the bed” is what truly sealed the deal.