Verified archive entry

You Should Be Dead

By 50 Cent · Targeting Rival MCs

You Should Be Dead is a diss track by 50 Cent targeting Rival MCs. The supplied transcript is a competitive battle-rap performance directed at rival MCs rather than one consistently named opponent.

Released2010

Annotated3

ExplicitYes

Addressable transcript

Lyrics & breakdown

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

01
[Intro: Newscast]
02
This bulletin just in... In a scene to rival the famed Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of the 1920 Chicago, Don Armatello, reputed crime lord and ten of his henchmen were gunned down...
03
[Intro: 50 Cent]
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I rock a nigga to sleep
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Rock-rock-a-bye, baby
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Rock-rock-a-bye, baby
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[Hook]
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You should be dead by now
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Smile but wait until my shooters come round
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With the talons and hollow tip rounds
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In my hood they know how I be down (Nigga I say dead, you dead)
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You should be dead by now
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Smile but wait until my shooters come round
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With the talons and hollow tip rounds
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In my hood they know how I be down (Nigga I say dead, you dead)
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[Verse 1]
Multi-line diss block
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Yeah I show you my teeth all through the beef
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Paint the sidewalk red with the back of your head
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Shootouts in my hood like a daily routine
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D's think I'm involved when a nigga hit hard
Block noteTurns the target into a visual punchline
TargetRival MCs
MeaningWhat it means: In “Yeah I show you my teeth all through the beef,” 50 Cent reduces Rival MCs to an exaggerated physical caricature instead of engaging the target's preferred public image. Why it was said: The supplied transcript is a competitive battle-rap performance directed at rival MCs rather than one consistently named opponent. A visual insult is easy for an audience to remember and repeat; the goal is to make ridicule of Rival MCs travel beyond the song itself.
ContextThe supplied transcript is a competitive battle-rap performance directed at rival MCs rather than one consistently named opponent.
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So when that hammer hit the shell and the hollow tip fly
Multi-line diss block
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Nigga you can cross your heart and hope not to die
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Come through squash the drama, send niggas with llamas
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To heat your ass up, fuck being masked up
Block noteImagines the battle as physical destruction
TargetRival MCs
MeaningWhat it means: In “Nigga you can cross your heart and hope not to die,” 50 Cent converts lyrical defeat into death, shooting, burial, or bodily harm directed at Rival MCs. Why it was said: The supplied transcript is a competitive battle-rap performance directed at rival MCs rather than one consistently named opponent. The violent image makes the response sound final: instead of proposing an endless exchange, the artist depicts Rival MCs as unable to return for another round.
ContextThe supplied transcript is a competitive battle-rap performance directed at rival MCs rather than one consistently named opponent.
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I was given the gift of life from Sabrina
Multi-line diss block
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Since then, I've been jammed up and bucked with the nina
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Nana raised nine kids, I turned out the meanest
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I mean a menace, fuck with me and you're finished
Block noteForces the dispute into a direct contest
TargetRival MCs
MeaningWhat it means: In “I mean a menace, fuck with me and you're finished,” 50 Cent addresses Rival MCs as an opponent who must prove the claims being made rather than rely on reputation. Why it was said: The supplied transcript is a competitive battle-rap performance directed at rival MCs rather than one consistently named opponent. The challenge narrows the argument to performance under pressure, where refusing or failing to answer can itself be presented as a loss for Rival MCs.
ContextThe supplied transcript is a competitive battle-rap performance directed at rival MCs rather than one consistently named opponent.
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[Hook]
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You should be dead by now
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Smile but wait until my shooters come round
32
With the talons and hollow tip rounds
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In my hood they know how I be down (Nigga I say dead, you dead)
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You should be dead by now
35
Smile but wait until my shooters come round
36
With the talons and hollow tip rounds
37
In my hood they know how I be down (Nigga I say dead, you dead)
38
[Verse 2]
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Homie I always pay my debts when I owe a nigga bullets
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Got an arsenal, an infantry of niggas to pull it
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Go ahead, style on me get done quick, it's nothing
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I chase a nigga down and touch him, catch him and bust him
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Bitch, get out the way, the baby uz' while I spray
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I wet a nigga like a hydrant on a hot summer day
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But you can catch me in May riding round with the 'K
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Better watch what you say, we get it popping today
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Yeah I make it hot round here, I call the shots round here
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I have a nigga tear off your top down here
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This the land of broken hearts, where bullets shatter dreams
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And everything a nigga is worth is on the triple beam, South Side!
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[Hook]
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You should be dead by now
53
Smile but wait until my shooters come round
54
With the talons and hollow tip rounds
55
In my hood they know how I be down (Nigga I say dead, you dead)
56
You should be dead by now
57
Smile but wait until my shooters come round
58
With the talons and hollow tip rounds
59
In my hood they know how I be down (Nigga I say dead, you dead)
60
[Outro]
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I'm here to tell you, your services is no longer needed in the community
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Rock-rock-a-bye, baby
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Rock-rock-a-bye, baby