Toughness has been an admirable trait in the world of hip-hop for quite some time. The game has always placed a premium on street cred, which is a testament to one's reputation throughout the areas they frequent and beyond. Street cred can be attained through various means, but striking fear in others is one of the more prevalent -- and effective -- ways to go about being respected in the streets, as well as in the realm of hip-hop. Going back as early as pioneers like Melle Mel, who was one of the first street-certified MCs in rap, hip-hop had its fair share of imposing figures during the 1980s, including Just-Ice, Eric B., Big Daddy Kane and other legendary rap luminaries.

While there were more than a few fearsome figures in rap, much of the music made prior to 1988 -- when acts like N.W.A. began to popularize gangsta rap -- was lighthearted jams for the party or based around cautionary tales and social commentary. But by the time hip-hop crept into the 1990s, violent overtones were the norm in rap songs, drawing the ire of political pundits and activists who were appalled by the content featured in the culture's songs.

That decade would see hip-hop continuously come under fire due to controversial lyrics. The critics perceived the lines as promoting violent acts and criminality under the guise of "keeping it real." As time passes and changes are made, mainstream America and the hip-hop community have since inched closer to being on common ground. Fans and the greater public have become somewhat desensitized from the harsh realities laid on wax and now categorize it as closer to entertainment than a testimonial. Besides, who doesn't like a little bit of hardcore rap from time to time?

With that in mind, XXL highlights 50 of the most violent lyrics we've come across throughout the years. Eminem, Future, Cam'ron and Lil Durk are just some the rappers with lines that will make you cringe. Parental advisory is highly suggested.

  • "Kim"

    Eminem

    "You and your husband have a fight/One of you tries to grab a knife, and during the struggle/He accidentally gets his Adam's apple sliced (No!)/And while this is going on, his son just woke up/And he walks in, she panics/And he gets his throat cut (Oh my God!)/So now they both dead, and you slash your own throat/So now it's double homicide and suicide with no note"

  • "X-Is Coming"

    DMX

    "Man, if we was up north, niggas would have been fucked you/But then we in the streets, niggas should haven been stuck you/Plucked you like a chicken wit' your head cut off/They'll find you wit' your back open and your legs cut off/And as for your man, don't you ever in your mothafuckin' life/Know when I gotta gun come at me wit' a knife, a'ight?/And forgetting you ever saw me is the best thing to do/Don't give a fuck about your family, they'll be resting with you

  • "Patiently Waiting"

    50 Cent Featuring Eminem

    "Niggas shouldn't throw stones if you live in a glass house/And if you got a glass jaw you should watch your mouth/'Cause I'll break your face/Have your ass running, mumbling to the jake/You going against me, dawg, you making a mistake, I'll split ya/Leave ya looking like the Michael Jackson jackets with all them zippers/I'm the boss on this boat, you can call me skipper/The way I turn the money over you should call me flipper" -- 50 Cent

  • "Straight Outta Compton"

    Ice Cube

    "Going off on the motherfucker like that/With a gat that's pointed at your ass/So give it up smooth/Ain't no telling when I'm down for a jack move/Here's a murder rap to keep y'all dancing/With a crime record like Charles Manson/AK-47 is the tool/Don't make me act a motherfucking fool"

  • "Ex-Girlfriend"

    Esham

    "I used to love her, too bad I had to put a slug through her/Dumped her body in the trash like I never knew her/Blood runnin down the gutter into the sewer/Her body stunk for weeks like horse manure"

  • "Danger Zone"

    Big L

    "L's the nigga that crime follows/I'm hittin' fine models and stabbin' punks with broken wine bottles/I beat chumps til they head splits, then break em like bread sticks/I sex chicks, I'll even fuck a dead bitch"

  • "Shook Ones Part II"

    Mobb Deep

    "The Mobb comes equipped for warfare beware/Of my crime family who got 'nough shots to share/For all of those, who wanna profile and pose/Rock you in your face, stab your brain wit your nose bone/You all alone in these streets, cousin/Every man for they self in this land we be gunning" -- Prodigy

  • "Shoot 'Em Up"

    Nas

    "One 44, two 45's/Three loaded clips, four niggas roll, one nigga drives/500 Benz, six reasons why this kid should die/We shooting every mothafucka outside/Pulled on his block, jumped out the car/Guns in our hand, at the same time everybody ran/There that nigga go, hiding in the crowd/Let the trigger blow, seven shots now he lying on the ground"

  • "Fuck You"

    Jadakiss

    "Yo, everybody's a snake, that's why I try to keep the grass cut/So I can see 'em when they coming, then I heat they ass up/'Cause them niggas that you went to school with/Will catch you while you in your new whip and turn your brains into Cool Whip"

  • "Can't C Me"

    2Pac

    "Give me my money in stacks/And lace my bitches with dime figures/Real niggas fingers on nickel-plated nine triggers/Must see my enemies defeated/I catch em while they coked up and weeded/Open fire, now them niggas bleeding"

  • "Jesse James"

    Scarface

    "Snuck up behind him, had his hands in his pocket/Took my pistol out, unlocked it/Pulled the hammer back and cocked it/And left his shit all on the carpet/I seen a (murder, murder) I pin-pointed my target/I'm making my way up out the building/I got the nigga that I came here to get, notify his children/That they old man done fell up out the game/Because I came through this motherfucka/And killed his ass just like Jesse James"

  • "Dead Men Tell No Lies"

    Compton's Most Wanted

    "I been quiet for too fucking long so now its time to break the silence/I start with the killing so fuck stopping the violence/I got something for your monkey ass. So peep/Better yet like a stray dog I put your ass to sleep/No more faking and taking my snaps/Sorry fool, Eiht goin' step 'n get the straps/Geah, I puts my work in and fuck up your shit/Now you gotta bow down and suck a fat dick" -- MC Eiht

  • "Warning"

    The Notorious B.I.G.

    "Touch my cheddar, feel my Beretta/Buck, what I'mma hit you with you motherfuckers better duck/I bring pain, bloodstains on what remains/Of his jacket - he had a gun he shoulda packed it/Cocked it, extra clips in my pocket/So I can reload and explode on you rasshole/I fuck around and get hardcore/C-4 to your door, no beef no more nigga"

  • "Another Execution"

    Above the Law

    "At this second her boy walked in/I said man do I have to act crazy again/Then I grabbed my weapon it's time to get ill/You can say it is cool or you can straight get pilled/With buck shots I mean all over the place/In your back, your side/In your stomach, in your face/Cause I don't really care what your girlfriend says/If you keep talkin' shit you get a bullet in your head" -- Cold 187um

  • "Boyz-N-The-Hood"

    Eazy-E

    "Donald B's in the place to give me the pace/He said my man JD is on freebase/The boy JD was a friend of mine/Til I caught him in my car trying to steal an Alpine/Chased him up the streets to call a truce/The silly cluck head pulls out a deuce deuce/Little did he know I had a loaded twelve gauge/One sucker dead L.A. Times front page"

  • "Bout It Bout It"

    Cam'ron Featuring Master P and Jim Jones

    "I represent where them killers at/145th and Broadway. You get your head cracked/Get your legs snapped, arm-twist, ribs cracked/Wig tapped, "play fair!" Day care, kids napped/You think you real? Well, my posse is crazier/Your moms? Mobbing and raping her, Saudi Arabia/I'm 89 tho, Audi and Avias/Beef in N-O, I had to call No Limit up" -- Cam'ron

  • "Niggaz Wanna Act"

    Ma$e

    "For my legion, fill up the season and start squeezin'/Niggas talkin' shit, be behind the cars weavin'/There's no breathin', ain't nobody in here leavin'/You kill my man, I kill your bitch, now we even/I'm from a cold world, where it's bleeding 20 degrees in/Fahrenheit, niggas get sniped for no reason/Do a lot of work, got plenty funds and many guns/Many sons, niggas do anything to anyone"

  • "Serial Killa"

    Snoop Dogg Featuring Daz Dillinger, RBX and Kurupt

    "Half steppin with your weapon on safety/Now break yourself motherfucker, 'fore you make me/Take this 211 to another level/I come up with your ends, you go down with the devil/Now roam through the depths of hell/Where the rest your busta ass homeboys dwell"

  • "Run for It"

    Juvenile Featuring Lil Wayne

    "I be comin' up wit da Glock toy/You can stop boy/You ain't heard I'm off tha block boy/Chipp-pedy chop boy/Off in ya cut is where I'm layin'/Ready fo' sprayin'/Soon as I see yo face and hand/I ain't wit dat playin'/My daddy showed me how to play it in a situation/My daddy tol' me I ain't shit wit outta occupation"

  • "Here I Go"

    Mystikal

    "Rhyme slayin', straight, suckaz I'm slayin'/Hoes, I'm layin', niggas can't barely stand/I got 'em layin' and prayin', delayin', decayin/Ask them hoes, I ain't playin' with 'em/Wanna get beef, I have to turn my cheek/Cock back like like Mad Max and knock out one of dem fuckin' teeth/I'm a mean, gene machine, the executioner, be appeased with gillotine"

  • "Eyes on Your Enemies"

    Master P Featuring Silkk the Shocker

    "He was on the road, it took 'em 10 to do him in/The killas fled, damn, but they'll be back again/He was Polo'd down with the matchin' socks/I mean stuffed like a turkey with a half a key of cooked rocks/The reaper came and took him/I saw the tears from my baby mama's eyes over look him/As I walk through the shadow's of death/Where no rapper or no man can spare no breath"

  • "Faneto"

    Chief Keef

    "Talkin' out his neck, pistol to his throat/Blow this motherfucker, he gone choke/On the ground, on the floor/Someone pick him up, take him to the morgue/I'm ridin' through New York/Finna go and shoot New Jersey up/Tryna take my chain, I ain't goin'/We gon' come and blow New Jersey up"

  • "100 Rounds"

    Lil Durk

    "I just bought a chopper, gave it to Numbanine/Slipping up in traffic that’s a one to nine/I catch an opp on traffic I'mma gun him down/Posted up on normal on the summer time/My block my block, you an opp, you get shot/That drum beating like chop/So get back or get that
    Now run up on me and get wacked, in other words get stretched/And if Durk is here he���s gonna catch"

  • "Some Niggas"

    Styles P and Jadakiss

    "But me, I grab the banger, I don't care about size/Hope the whole block watch when I tear out your eyes/C-O pullin' the pin, turtles is comin'/But before I hit the box dog, I'm murderin' something/Thick is thick, frail is frail/Make sure that my name ring bells wheneva I'm in jail/It's the belly of the beast, bottom of hell" -- Styles P

  • "Whatcha Gonna Do"

    Shyne

    "It's the young Frank Matthews the rap version/Touch my trap on my smack the gats burstin'/That's certain leave ya face and ya chest and ya back jerkin'/Uh, y'all got me fucked up like/My desert eagle and my sick doom bust right/Like my guns is racin', muthafucka don't you know I/Make ya heart stop and ya body start shakin'/Now you know the bottom line of this rhyme crime/25 to life plus nine"

  • "Fuck You"

    The L.O.X.

    "Yo, everybody's a snake/That's why I try to keep the grass cut/So I can see 'em when they coming, then I heat they ass up/'Cause them niggas that you went to school with/Will catch you while you in your new whip/And turn your brains into Cool Whip" -- Jadakiss

  • "Gangsta"

    Schoolboy Q

    "My momma said don't be that, the little nigga that sell crack/Gangbanger that street jack/Always trying to figure where the beef at/Knock, knock, put your brain on the doormat/Bitch nigga, what you call that?/We on block patrol, nigga fuck your roll, got the gat on me/Nigga look, it's right here, bulldog bark, you could die right here/Real gangsta niggas don't have no fear/Real niggas never tattoo their tears"

  • "Twinz (Deep Cover '98)"

    Big Featuring Fat Joe

    "It'll be a cold day in hell the day I take an L/Make no mistake for real, I wouldn't hesitate to kill/I'm still the fat one that you love to hate/Catch you at your mother's wake/Smack you, then I whack you with my snub tre eight" -- Fat Joe

  • "Ill Street Blues"

    Kool G Rap and DJ Polo

    "Hopped out the back seat they gave me a revolver/Blass, you distract him while I go and whack him/Entered through the back side of the bar and then attacked him/He's screaming for his life, reaching for his wife/Shot him in the back of the head and shanked him with a knife/And that goes for anybody who's gotta pay they dues/You lose, cause I got the Ill street blues" -- Kool G Rap

  • "How About Some Hardcore

    M.O.P.

    "Don't sleep, I get deep when I creep/I see right now I got to show you it ain't nothin' sweet/Go get your muthafuckin' hammer/And act like you want drama, I send a message to your mama'Hello, do you /know your one son left?/I had license to kill and he had been marked for death/He's up the Hill in the back of the building with two in the dome/I left him stiffer than a tombstone" -- Billy Danze

  • "Break Yourself"

    Spice 1 Featuring MC Ant

    "Coming hard as fuck I be like acin' and I'm icing/Stepping into the ring fuckin' 'em up like Michael Tyson/Gimme all your cash, cause I'm about to blast/And bust 50 bullets in your motherfucking ass/Niggas think I'm crazy cause I'm poppin' off at the mouth/And plus I had the chopper pointed at your damned house/My name is Spice 1 I be a vicious motherfucker/Get you for a key and leave you lyin' in the gutter" -- Spice 1

  • "Stranded on Death Row"

    Dr. Dre Featuring Bushwick Bill, RBX, The Lady of Rage, Kurupt and Snoop Dogg

    "I'm stackin' and mackin' and packin' a 10 so/When you're slippin', I slip the clip in, but ain't no set-trippin'/'Cause it's Death Row, rollin' like the mafia/Think about whoopin' some ass, but what the fuck stoppin' ya/Ain't nothin' but a buster/I'm stranded on Death Row for pumpin' slugs in motherfuckers/Now you know you're outdone, feel the shotgun/Kurupt inmate cell block one" -- Kurupt

  • "Let Me Ride"

    Dr. Dre

    "Checking my rearview/'Cause niggas, they will do jack moves, black fools cause I smack fools/Try to set me up for a 2-11/Fuck around and get caught up in a (1-8-7)/But I don't represent no gangbang/Some niggas like lynching, but I just watch 'em hang"

  • "That's Why I Carry"

    UGK

    "My nigga, you done pushed the wrong button/I ain't never ran this hot/Now you the number one nigga I wanna whoop the piss out/And this not a threat, bet that, I ain't gonna let that slide/Gotta get that bitch right, want him dead by midnight/I followed him from his crib to the crack spot/I watched him go in and come back out, I got ready to pull the Mac out/Sandwiched him by the feeder of 610/Unloaded the pistol, now dirt is now what his dick in" -- Bun B

  • "Lil One"

    Future

    "Solitaires on me, no cards/Niggas gon' pull up and spray in broad/Got that yopper on him right now/And he ready to pull up right now/Choppa hit a nigga with the scope/Fuck that pussy shit, we sellin' dope/Turn the hood into Iraq/On the corner, flippin' that pack"

  • "Run With My Chopper"

    B.G.

    "We ridin' all night, finally got lucky/We saw 'em chillin' back, turned on the block hustlin'/Hit the lights, park, jumped out, walked/Crept down on 'em, let them AK's bark/One of them niggas broke out, I broke out behind him/Went down the alley, went under the house, I went behind him/Caught him, then I ch-chopped him up/In the process my Reeboks got fucked up"

  • "Never Scared"

    Bone Crusher Featuring Killer Mike and T.I.

    "Let a choppa go plow, to your melon/Now the plasma is oozing out of yo cerebellum/Attention! Fuck nigga, now you swellin'!/You ain't talkin hardcore, now is ya? Lil' bitch!/Got' em runnin scared of a bigga nigga/'Cause I put that heat to his um, Hilfiger/Now on dat drank and on some of dat dank/My pistols gettin' thirsty now it needs another drank" -- Bone Crusher

  • "Hard in the Paint"

    Waka Flocka

    "I go hard in the muthafuckin' paint nigga/Leave you stankin' nigga, what the fuck you thinkin' nigga/I'm gon' die for this shit or what the fuck I say/Front yard broad day with the SK/See Gucci, that's my muthafuckin' nigga/I hang in the Dale with them hit squad killers/Waka Flocka Flame, one hood ass nigga/Ridin' real slow bendin' corners, my nigga"

  • "Ima Boss"

    Meek Mill Featuring Rick Ross

    "No love cry when only babies die/And when I go that casket better cost a hundred thou/I pray to god I look my killer in his eyes/Snatch his soul out that shirt let's take him for that ride/OG is one who standin on his own feet/A boss is one who guarantee we gon eat/Fuck a blog dawg cause one day we gon' meet/I'm a spazz on yo ass like I'm Mo'nique" -- Rick Ross

  • "Hot Nigga"

    Bobby Shmurda

    "I'm Chewy, I'm some hot nigga/Like I talk to Shyste when I shot niggas/Like you seen him twirl then he drop, nigga/And we keep 'em nine millis on my block, nigga/And Monte keep it on him, he done dropped niggas/And Trigger he be wildin', he some hot nigga/Tones known to get busy with 'em Glocks, nigga/Try to run down and you can catch a shot, nigga"

  • "Bang Bang"

    Young Buck

    "Just think if I ain't empty the clip and he killed me/Would I still be living, would my homeboys miss me?/How many niggas bust they gun when they have to/Don't need no ski-mask when it's time to get at you/I'm glad you didn't see what it looked like when we left/Brain fragments for shotgun blasting, I'll take a nigga breath"

  • "Ambitionz"

    Meek Mill

    "Money the root of evil, wait 'til them shooters see you/Lurkin in Grand Marquises, scopin' on you, your people/Made a movie with niggas, murder and you the sequel/Bullets gon' riddle you, they gon' use tubes to feed you/Momma gonna pull the plug/Head big as Hey Arnold's is, full of blood/Smell the death in the air when we pullin' up/Bullets go B-B-BRRRR, fill 'em up"

  • "Murder for Fun"

    Gucci Mane

    "Man I murder fo' fun but my job is never done/From morning morn' to the setting of the sun/Bad men come come, come get murdered for fun/The hundred round drum in my tommy gun/Be a cat in the Hum' I'll cut out your tongue/Me and Ox, man we murder fo' fun/Talk talk bad man, come get murdered fo' fun/The Gucci Mane, man I murder fo' fun"

  • "It's On"

    Beanie Sigel Featuring Jay Z

    "Or Osama bombin' shit/We slay niggas wit K's, we the drama men/Get it right young scrap don't even try it boy (boy)/You rather slide down the razor blade slidin' board/I'm a live wire, hula hoop barb wire/Run through hell with gasoline draws on/You can't mute me put the pause on/My guns shoot like fast-forward's on/And dress cute when the war's off" -- Beanie Sigel

  • "My Dogz Iz My Gunz"

    Sticky Fingaz

    "My dogs is my guns/They attack any nigga that comes or any niggas that rings/If my Glocks on safe that means my dogs on the leash/Twenty shells in the clip, each bullet's the teeth/Keep my dogs starvin', they ain't ate in days/Keep my guns loaded, they can't wait to spray/My Glock is a rot, my Four-Fifth is a pit/My D.E. a bullmaster, who wanna get bit?"

  • "Throw Ya Gunz"

    Onyx

    "To all competition slide back then listen/I’m kicking all that shit to the doormat/Claiming this domain, cause mad pains, bloodstains, long range/Got gats, crazy clips, I sink ships, cut faces like a pirate/I’m never caught or sought for the mad shit that I did/Heard? You got the word so observe/I shatter and splatter bodies and bones and bust nerves open/I always leave my barrel smoking" -- Suave

  • "Murda On My Mind"

    Freddie Gibbs

    "Seventeen homeboys up in the clip/Before I bail like a bitch Im a hit me a lick/On everythang/Lay you on that stretcher man/Bust that thang or rest in flames when you disrespect the game/Can't do that don't sell cocaine/Cock that four fifth back and aim/Do my dirt all by my self/No witnesses to say my name"

  • "Mo' Murder"

    Krayzie Bone

    "Popped off to the coffin/Pick up my pump dump chumps in the gutter pain/Nigga got ta fucked up bang/Taking no shorts so fuck ya man/Claim my thang to slang them bloody bodies/Kill 'em all, send them hoes up in flames/Krayzie insane to the brain/Hey we slay niggas who think we play"

  • "Adrenaline Rush"

    Twista

    "Like when a motherfucker have to go pick up the pump/To make his opposition chest kick up and jump/When you lit up the gun to make your body get up and uhh/That's your adrenaline rush/Like when a motherfucker have to go pick up the pump/To make a trigger pick up and dump"

  • "Protect Ya Neck"

    Ol' Dirty Bastard

    "First things first man, you're fuckin' with the worst/I'll be sticking pins in your head like a fucking nurse/I'll attack any nigga who slack in his mack/Come fully packed with a fat rugged stack/Shame on you when you step through to the Ol' Dirty Bastard straight from the Brooklyn Zu/And I'll be damned if I let any man/Come to my center, you enter the winter"

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