Verified archive entry

Second Round K.O.

By Canibus · Targeting LL Cool J

Second Round K.O. is a diss track by Canibus targeting LL Cool J. The recording also credits Mike Tyson. The LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute.

Released1998

Annotated5

ExplicitYes

Addressable transcript

Lyrics & breakdown

Demo lines only. Select a line number to copy a stable deep link.

01
[Intro: Mike Tyson]
02
Yo, Canibus, man, what's up, man?
03
I caught you on that cut with Wyclef
04
Man, you were booming
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But I caught these foul slouch-ass niggas, you know I mean?
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Talking foul about you the other night
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On the corner of the boulevard, man, I wasn't with that
08
But I ain't know you well enough to defend you though, right?
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But you seem like you got true game
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But peep game, man, they've been playing me all my life, man
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You know I won the title a couple of times
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Did right, you know what I mean?
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But they can't hurt us, man, we gonna do it
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Get up in this ring, man, put on these gloves
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Let me show how to handle yourself, man
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You don't got nobody out there with you
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I gots to show you, man, get up in there, move that head, man
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Come on to me, man
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But when you come, man, you gotta come for blood, man
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Come up to me, man, come on, bust that nigga whole, man, niggas talking that shit about you
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Hey, Mike Tyson here speaking
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With the Canibus man over here
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Yo, Canibus your main objective out here
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Is to do nothing but eat, eat, eat, eat MCs for lunch, breakfast
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Hey, man, they been playing me all my life, man
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You know I won the title a couple of times, did right?
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No, but they can't hurt us, man
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We gonna do it, get up in this ring man, put on these gloves
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Let me show you how to handle yourself, man
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[Verse 1: Canibus]
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Yo, I'ma let the world know the truth, you don't want me to shine
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You studied my rhyme, then you laid your vocals after mine
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That's a bitch move, somethin' that a homo rapper would do
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So when you say that you platinum, you only droppin' clues
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I studied your background, read the book that you wrote
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Researched your footnotes 'bout how you used to sniff coke
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Frontin' like a drug-free role model, you disgust me
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I know bitches that seen you smoke weed recently
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You walk around showin' off your body 'cause it sells
Multi-line diss block
40
Plus to avoid the fact that you ain't got skills
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Mad at me 'cause I kick that shit real niggas feel
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While 99% of your fans wear high heels
Block noteAttacks the target's ability to rap
TargetLL Cool J
MeaningWhat it means: In “Plus to avoid the fact that you ain't got skills,” Canibus challenges LL Cool J on writing, delivery, flow, or command of the microphone rather than relying only on a personal insult. Why it was said: The LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute. This goes to the qualification that gives LL Cool J standing in a rap battle; if the craft is weak, the reply loses authority before its other claims are considered.
ContextThe LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute.
43
From Ice-T to Kool Moe Dee to Jay-Z
Multi-line diss block
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Now you want to fuck with me? You must be crazy
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You drippin' with wack juice and you can't get it off
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You better be prepared to finish what you start, nigga
Block notePoints to a claimed failure or contradiction
TargetLL Cool J
MeaningWhat it means: In “You drippin' with wack juice and you can't get it off,” Canibus treats the refusal, inability, or contradiction named in the lyric as evidence against LL Cool J's public position. Why it was said: The LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute. The wording tests LL Cool J's image against a specific action; the gap between the two is what the audience is being asked to remember.
ContextThe LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute.
47
[Interlude: Mike Tyson]
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Yo Canibus, man, you gotta hit harder than that man
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You don't want no bitch-ass niggas hanging out with me, man
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We're warriors man, when we go into battle
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We come out or don't come out at all
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[Verse 2: Canibus]
Multi-line diss block
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You better give me the respect that I deserve or I'ma take it by force
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Blast you with a .45 Colt, make you somersault
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Shock you with a couple hundred thousand volt thunderbolts
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Before you wanted a war, now you wanna talk?
Block noteChallenges the target's public standing
TargetLL Cool J
MeaningWhat it means: In “You better give me the respect that I deserve or I'ma take it by force,” Canibus questions whether LL Cool J's attention, audience, or reputation reflects genuine respect. Why it was said: The LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute. Visibility can be mistaken for victory, so the artist recasts LL Cool J's recognition as temporary, manufactured, or disconnected from credibility.
ContextThe LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute.
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It's about who strikes the hardest, not who strikes first
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That's why I laugh when I hear that wack-ass verse
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That shit was the worst rhyme I ever heard in my life
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'Cause the greatest rapper of all time died on March 9th
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God bless his soul; rest in peace, kid
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It's because of him now at least I know what beef is
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It's not what I would call this, see this is somethin' different
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A faggot nigga tryna make a livin' off of dissin'
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Somebody that he gotta know is better than him
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But he feelin' himself 'cause he got more cheddar than him
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Well, let me tell you somethin', you might got more cash than me
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But you ain't got the skills to eat a nigga's ass like me
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And if you really want to show off, we can get it on
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Live in front of the cameras on your own sitcom
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I'll let you kick a verse—fuck it, I'll let you kick 'em all
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I'll even wait for the studio audience to applaud
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Now watch me rip the tat from your arm
Multi-line diss block
74
Kick you in the groin, stick you for your Vanguard award
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In front of your mom, your first, second and third born
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Make your wife get on the horn, call Minister Farrakhan
Block noteMakes the feud personal through family
TargetLL Cool J
MeaningWhat it means: In “In front of your mom, your first, second and third born,” Canibus brings a relative or family boundary into the exchange with LL Cool J, moving the dispute beyond music and into private life. Why it was said: The LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute. Family references explain why the conflict feels personal: they raise the emotional cost for LL Cool J and make the line more consequential than a routine comparison of rap skill.
ContextThe LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute.
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So he could persuade me to squash it
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I say, "Naw, he started it, he forgot what a hardcore artist is"
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A hardcore artist is a dangerous man
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Such as myself, trained to run twenty miles in soft sand
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On or off land, programmed to kick hundreds of bars offhand
Multi-line diss block
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From a lost and forgotten land
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You done did it, man, you done spitted some wack shit
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And probably thought that because it's been a minute I'll forget it?
Block noteMakes the confrontation explicit
TargetLL Cool J
MeaningWhat it means: In “You done did it, man, you done spitted some wack shit,” Canibus addresses LL Cool J directly and makes the situation described in the quoted line the point of confrontation. Why it was said: The LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute. Naming or plainly addressing LL Cool J removes the safety of a subliminal and makes the quoted claim something the target can either answer or leave standing.
ContextThe LL Cool J–Canibus feud began after Canibus referenced LL's microphone tattoo on “4,3,2,1”; altered verses and response records escalated the dispute.
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Fuck that! 'Cause like Common and Cube, I See the Bitch in Yoo
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And I'ma make the world see it too, motherfucker!
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[Interlude: Referee]
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Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new lyrical weight champion
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By second round knock out
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Three minutes and forty seconds, Can-i-bus
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[Outro: Mike Tyson]
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Yo, Canibus, man, you moving like Mike Tyson Jr
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Man, you in-and-out, and you're agile with your flow, man
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But dig right, you got to eat, man
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That's your name Canibus
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Your whole agenda is to eat these niggas, man
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They have no business to be in the same stage with you
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Holding the mic with you, but dig right
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Hey, Mike Tyson here speaking
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With the Canibus man over here
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Yo, Canibus, your main objective out here
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Is to do nothing but eat, eat, eat, eat MC's
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For lunch, breakfast, dinner; that's your agenda, baby
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Your agenda to consume them
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Their whole existence, they can't exist in your presence
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The Canibus is here to rule forever, Mike Tyson, on the def