What do you think is the best opening verse of all time on a hip hop song?

[everlast1986]

I was just playing NWA - Fuck The Police and it got me thinking. For me, it probably comes down to Ice Cubes verse on that and Rakim on "I Ain't No Joke" (opening album verse too). What are your guys' picks?

[D-e-f-]

opening an album you mean?

I could go with best opening lines ..(well okay usually the rest of the verse following a classic opening is just as dope..)

[everlast1986]

opening verse on a song

[smegma]

hmm... first thing that comes to mind is No Vaseline

[you gon always be my latin queen bitch]

hmm... first thing that comes to mind is No Vaseline

damn i actually jus heard that and focused in listenin to it, he murderd them other cats!
shit he shitted on dre and them!

[Lucc]

One of the best I ever heard as far as an opening verse was "Inspectah Deck" on "Triumph"......... "I bomb Atomically, Socrates Philosophys and Hypotheses(spell check, lol) cant define how I b droppin these Mockery's, Lyrically perform Arm Robbery's............... THAT SHIT BLEW MY MIND WHEN I 1ST HEARD THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matter of fact. Im about 2 bang that shit right now! LOL!

Chuuch!

Bad Lucc

[NillerTheKid]

One of the best I ever heard as far as an opening verse was "Inspectah Deck" on "Triumph"......... "I bomb Atomically, Socrates Philosophys and Hypotheses(spell check, lol) cant define how I b droppin these Mockery's, Lyrically perform Arm Robbery's............... THAT SHIT BLEW MY MIND WHEN I 1ST HEARD THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matter of fact. Im about 2 bang that shit right now! LOL!

[sceptic1]

its gotta be nas on verbal intercourse or AZ on life's a bitch on illmatic

[pootypooty]

I can't pick an absolute favorite because it's impossible.  Too many to list, but here are a few of my personal favorites.

AZ on Affirmative Action is one of the coldest openings ever.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/KcyIT6QijAA&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/KcyIT6QijAA&amp;hl=en</a>

Like Lucc said, Deck obliterated the opening of Triumph.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/pF62gPPjL-c&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/pF62gPPjL-c&amp;hl=en</a>

Crooked I on Step Up felt like he was gonna jump outta the speaker and stab me in the head.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/vUGBb_U2rqQ&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/vUGBb_U2rqQ&amp;hl=en</a>

Ghostface Killah on Tony Montana was flawless.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/LGyRIcFVLv0&amp;hl=en" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/LGyRIcFVLv0&amp;hl=en</a>

[Ali Tha Great]

One of the best I ever heard as far as an opening verse was "Inspectah Deck" on "Triumph"......... "I bomb Atomically, Socrates Philosophys and Hypotheses(spell check, lol) cant define how I b droppin these Mockery's, Lyrically perform Arm Robbery's............... THAT SHIT BLEW MY MIND WHEN I 1ST HEARD THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matter of fact. Im about 2 bang that shit right now! LOL!

[D~Nice]

I like how Pac kicked off Ambitions. That was dope. That Inspectah Deck one is no joke though. If I Die Tonight from MATW was dope as fuck too.

[D~Nice]

Kurupt on Stranded On Death Row= 

Kurupt on Every Single Day and Dogg Pound Gangstas= 

[R-Tistic]

Damm, y'all definitely named some dope ones. Deck was vicious on Triumph...Crook was vicious on Step up, that's the first time I really paid attention to him, and he became my favorite rapper for about six years after that. Rakim had the best verses in history as far as just comin off so hard with every line bein memorable....."I ain't no joke" "Mak em clap to this" "I know you got soul" "Microphone fiend" cot damm, it's hard to pick which one he ripped the hardest....the first eight bars of Fiend, know you got soul, and Ain't no joke are all major as hell.

Eazy's first verse on "Boyz in da hood" is one of the most memorable as well. On some East Coast lyrical shit, Big Pun murdered "Off the books"...the song basically falls off after he goes, in my opinion.

Good topic!

[Ali Tha Great]

hit'em up


First off, fuck your bitch and the click you claim
West side when we ride come equipped with game
You claim to be a player but I fucked your wife
We bust on Bad Boy niggaz fucked for life
Plus Puffy tryin ta see me weak hearts I rip
Biggie Smalls and Junior M.A.F.I.A. some mark ass bitches
We keep on comin' while we runnin for ya jewels
steady gunnin, keep on bustin at the fools, you know the rules

[D-e-f-]

2pac - if I die tonight
"pussy and paper is poetry, power and pistols
plottin on murderin motherfuckers b'fore they get you
puffin weed as I position myself to glock gs"

kurupt on stranded on death row

lady of rage on lyrical gang bang (now as I kick up_dust_ as I begin to bust..)

snoop on gin & juice ..and g thang

xzibit on at the speed of life
"it's been a long time comin' but we waited
Xzibit went from underrated to now most anticipated"

GZA on Wu's reunited
"reunited, double LP - world excited.."

hittman - the hiznit
"you know it's funky funky funky cause you heard it from hitt first"
(same as on LL's boomin system, but Hitt comes smoother)

king T - speak on it
"introducin' the westside strangler..."

meth on what's happenin /w busta
"I came to bring the pain, more hard to the brain
Tical... I'm bustin' that ass again
I burn like acid rain, that acid slang
These niggaz trynna see how I come ash again
Main and evident, I'm huntin', yes, Meth for president..."

Lupe Fiasco on little weapon
I killed another man today,
Shot him in his back as he ran away,
Then I blew up his hut with a hand grenade,
Cut his wife's throat as she put her hands to pray,
Just five more dawgs then we can get a soccer ball,
That's what my commander say,
How Old?
Well I'm like ten, eleven, been fighting since I was like six or seven,
Now I don't know much about where I'm from but I know I strike fear everywhere I come,
Government want me dead so I wear my gun, I really want the rocket launcher but I'm still too young,
This candy give me courage not to fear no one,
To fear no pain, and hear no tongue,
So I hear no screams and I shed no tear,
If I'm in your dreams then your end is near.
Yeah

Rhymefest on Devil's Pie
Look; times is hard, life is hard
I lost my job, baby oh my God
My wife is nauseous, she pregnant as hell
My mistress on the cell sayin she gon' tell
My Uncle in the cell sayin he want bail
My granddaddy can't see, claimin he need Braille
I'm fightin for strength, in the street grindin for cents
I know I'm ahead of my time but I'm behind on my rent
Askin Kanye for money just to pay on my gas bill
He asked me for it back, nigga brush up on your math skills
Nothin plus zip equals zero; he couldn't relate
That nigga ain't been broke since "H to the Izzo"
That's whem my man Biddle stopped by with two little
pills I could put in the bag and sell like Skittles
One for ten, fifteen for two
Now tell me what the fuck am I supposed to do?

and of course I have to put at least one of his verses in here...
Rakim
"thinkin of a master plan ..cause ain't nothin but sweat inside my hand.."

oooh there are sooo many...