Lyrics & breakdown
Demo lines only. Select a line number to copy a stable deep link.
- 03
Tell me something nigga. Do you know who McGregor Mathers is? You don't know McGregor Mathers is Elvis' grandfather? I only met Proof one time in 2000 on Elvis' tour bus in Syracuse, New York. The nigga stepped to his business with me in defense of Elvis cause he loved Elvis. We almost came to blows on that bus over how much this nigga loved Elvis. And all I did was tell Elvis the truth about how I wasn't comfortable with what he said with that "cancerous coulda respond back with a battle rap you wrote for Canibus" shit. I done said it a million times that I felt it was an ambiguous line to say about somebody you claim you idolized, especially with all that shit I was dealing with. That's why when Clef told me Elvis was ghostwriting for L, I didn't even understand why the fuck Elvis came to my video set for "I Honor U", talking 'bout "I just want to do something with you, dog." Everybody and their momma in this music industry turned their back on me, A&R's, DJ's, artists, fans, everybody. Twelve albums later, niggas want to act like they don't know how much I love hip-hop, and what I stand for in hip-hop, and how I don't lay down for knowing justice is against the culture. The way I feel about this shit, it goes all the way back to betrayal because at the end of the day, niggas like you only give a fuck about yourself, and devil rewards you for selling out your own niggas, real talk
Multi-line diss blockBlock noteTurns money and possessions into leverage
TargetRoyce da 5'9"
MeaningWhat it means: In this extended passage, Canibus contrasts financial power or possessions with Royce da 5'9"'s alleged lack of money, access, or control. Why it was said: The track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments. The comparison converts status into material evidence and is meant to make Royce da 5'9"'s success claims look hollow beside something listeners can picture and measure.
ContextThe track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments.
- 04
Let me ask you something, Royce. Why did the nigga that used to run with Proof real tough get on the phone and tell me "thank you" for holding them down cause DeShaun's family was starving? This was before I wrote my fucking verse for "Air Strike." He told me to throw Rosenberg under the bus. He told me wasn't nobody over there eating, none of the Holtons or D12, none of them. I couldn't even believe it. I didn't even write my verse for Air Strike and this nigga's telling me "thank you." 'Til this day, the only way I can rationalize it is to think with my heart and know that Proof was talking to me through this nigga, telling me "thank you", cause after "Air Strike" came out, Elvis and Rosenberg doubled back to feed Holton's family. Listen, I respect D12, but how can I tell them that? Why would they listen to me? They're not gon' bite the hand that feed them, so I made it easy for niggas. I lit the wick and they cut the fuse. I gave them the chance to tell the whole world the same shit Proof told me through his man. I gave them the chance to tell the world about how they really feel about Elvis pushing them to the side to sign Voltron 5. You will have to be blind, deaf, and numb not to see how them niggas must feel right now. I guarantee you after I said that line, y'all niggas came together like a team cause y'all had a common enemy, me. Recognize what's real, nigga. Stop talking about you don't want nobody dividing you when you ain't doing nothing for niggas any goddamn way. It's fucked up cause Crook is a real nigga, and Ortiz is cool too, but you're the one that's trying to divide niggas. How you're gon' do a HRSMN record without me on it, motherfucker?
Multi-line diss blockBlock noteMakes the feud personal through family
TargetRoyce da 5'9"
MeaningWhat it means: In this extended passage, Canibus brings a relative or family boundary into the exchange with Royce da 5'9", moving the dispute beyond music and into private life. Why it was said: The track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments. Family references explain why the conflict feels personal: they raise the emotional cost for Royce da 5'9" and make the line more consequential than a routine comparison of rap skill.
ContextThe track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments.
- 05
You so gangster? The fuck you're doing on Twitter talking to some fake ass account anyway? You don't think I know what's going on? You think I don't know what the fuck is going on? You think I don't know Elvis got the whole hip-hop industry on payroll, including you? How easy is it to read between those lines? I ain't seen near one site confirm what the real Canibus Twitter is. They just keep repeating the fake Twitter account to fuck me around instead of trying to rectify the problem, so when you do the HRSMN record without me on the shit, everybody gon' think I did it to myself. Wow, genius, huh? Act like you know, nigga. Canibus don't need no Twitter to tell you what the fuck he feeling, nigga. I mastered my pen and I mastered these rhymes. Go make some fucking music and stop typing into a freaking machine
Multi-line diss blockBlock noteTreats the target's persona as fabricated
TargetRoyce da 5'9"
MeaningWhat it means: In this extended passage, Canibus says Royce da 5'9"'s public story or image is false rather than a reliable account of who the target is. Why it was said: The track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments. Once the persona is presented as invented, the boasts and accusations built on it become easier for listeners to dismiss.
ContextThe track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments.
- 06
I won the whole hip hop franchise in '98 when I started my album up with a dial-up modem. I was the first MC with a website. All of a sudden, nobody in the first-world country could function without technology, but instead of niggas using this shit to be more real, they used the smoke and mirrors to make us antagonize each other with the exponential ability to brainwash the entire hip-hop generation to turn their backs on the champions of the culture, to isolate and alienate the artists who the media has purposefully blackballed, like yours truly
Multi-line diss blockBlock noteMakes identity part of the conflict
TargetRoyce da 5'9"
MeaningWhat it means: In this extended passage, Canibus uses racial, ethnic, or cultural identity as part of the accusation directed at Royce da 5'9". Why it was said: The track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments. The line shifts the dispute from individual skill to belonging and legitimacy, asking who has the right to claim authority inside the culture surrounding the record.
ContextThe track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments.
- 07
You know what, I'm done, man. Fuck you, Royce. You don't give a fuck about hip-hop, man. How you gon' call yourself a lyricist and disrespect me? Keep doing what your master tell you to do, 'cause there's always a company that's gon' buy you that number one spot for selling that watered-down bullshit until they switch you out. And check this out, all that weapon talk, yada yada, tell them super security niggas to teach you how to disassemble, clean, and reassemble your shit if you're trying to get funky like that, nigga
Multi-line diss blockBlock noteImagines the battle as physical destruction
TargetRoyce da 5'9"
MeaningWhat it means: In this extended passage, Canibus converts lyrical defeat into death, shooting, burial, or bodily harm directed at Royce da 5'9". Why it was said: The track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments. The violent image makes the response sound final: instead of proposing an endless exchange, the artist depicts Royce da 5'9" as unable to return for another round.
ContextThe track comes from Canibus' dispute with members of Slaughterhouse and responds to their recorded or public comments.