Songs

10 Top Rap Songs About Anger

rap songs about anger
Written by Corey Morgan

Anger in rap songs can represent a wide range of negative feelings. Some songs do a good job of conveying the inner turmoil that someone with rage issues goes through. Some musicians express the emotional impact that a person’s frequent temper tantrums have on their family and friends.

Lyrics thoughtfully bring to life the wrath or rage a person feels when set off by a difficult scenario or a non-cooperative response to a threat, injury, or imagined provocation.

10 Top Rap Songs About Anger

1. You Don’t Know Me

T.I.

T.I. You Don't Know Me(dirty)

T.I. raps the hook while standing in front of an early 1970s Chevelle SS in the last minute of the “Bring Em Out” music video. In the Bring Em Out single release, this track served as the flip side.

First released on January 5, 2005 as a single, the song quickly rose to prominence. Midnight Club Dub Edition also played the track.

T.I. is shown rapping at a junkyard full of cars and other vehicles, and he and his P$C crew are seen hanging out in various Atlanta neighborhoods. Near the video’s conclusion, several people can be seen lip-syncing “you don’t know me,” and there’s also a brawl involving two women outside a convenience shop.

This song became something of a hymn on the streets since it was an open rebuke to people who sought to profit off of T.I.’s fame by claiming credit for his success.

2. Ante Up”

M.O.P

M.O.P. - Ante Up (Dirty) [HD] w/ Lyrics

This is a song of surreal dictatorship, full of over-the-top robberies that aren’t subtle at all. This song, which can only be completely appreciated when shouted at maximum volume, is maybe the most hyping rap song ever.

An excellent description of “Ante Up” was written by music critic Son Raw: “a barbarian invasion straight out of Brownsville that portrayed robbery and violence as positively happy.”

A few months ago, just around the time that the song turned twenty, Billy Danze looked back at the history of M.O.P. and examined the making of their biggest hit.

3. F*** Tha Police

NWA

N.W.A. - Fuk Da Police

This masterpiece also reflects on rap songs about anger. F*** Tha Police was rapped by Ice Cube, Mc Ren and Eazy-E. This song was written to express disapproval of discriminatory policing practices. The song was published in 1988, and since then, the phrase “Fck the police” has influenced music, cinema, and even fashion.

Native Warriors of America (NWA) were a rap group from Compton, California.

The lyrics of the song brought attention to the tensions that exist between black urban youths and the police. Particularly contentious were the verses of the song that advocated violence against law enforcement.

Since black and hispanic communities tend to have greater crime rates, police tend to treat them with more suspicion.

4. Till i collapse by Eminem

The song “Till I Collapse” is an anthem for those who want to push themselves till their very last breath. Marshall Mathers’s life goal is to rap until he is too exhausted to continue. Eminem declares that he will continue his quest with tenacity and wits until he gets what he wants.

In the song’s introduction, Eminem tells it like it is, admitting that he, too, has his share of emotional lows. It’s not like Eminem had superhuman strength from birth. The mental process and outcome of picking oneself up, brushing off the cobwebs, and carrying on with life.

5. “Holler If Ya Hear Me”

Tupac

2Pac - Holler If Ya Hear Me

Tupac Shakur’s career was founded on the pillars of uncompromising truths and disturbing the status quo, and he did this successfully by combining the revolutionary messages of Public Enemy with the shock and awe style of N.W.A.

Over the course of five fiery years (as depicted in the recently released documentary All Eyez On Me), he spoke out against racism in law enforcement, governmental censorship, ghetto profiteers, and underreported social and economic epidemics through his lyrics and writing. Pac felt that his neighborhood was being over-policed and under-protected, and he vowed to not go quietly.

6. Dead Wrong

The Notorious B.I.G. X Eminem

The Notorious B.I.G. - Dead Wrong (Official Music Video)

It’s also unsettling thanks to a few questionable lyrics by Biggie, but that just adds to the overall intimidating, ominous mood. Eminem uses his word prowess to deliver a rap stanza that is among the most technically competent ever. Anything you may want in a violent rap song is in “Dead Wrong,” including stabbings, animal sacrifices, pedophilia, and rape.

7. Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker the Berry”

The Blacker The Berry

Kendrick Lamar raps eloquently about the hardships faced by black folks in America. At the outset of the song, he explains how entrenched racism prevents most African Americans from achieving more success than they have so far and deserve.

The main theme of the song is how American culture admires the inventiveness of black people while also making an effort to hide the prejudice that is still prevalent in their neighborhoods. He suggests that the prevalence of police brutality, gun violence, and incarceration in the United States is a sign of modern slavery.

In the song, Lamar repeatedly declares his racial pride and stresses the fact that he and other black men continue to achieve success against white society’s assumptions that they should fail.

The song takes a surprising turn, however, as Lamar labels himself a hypocrite and implies that the rest of the black community share responsibility for harming their own people through gun violence in addition to current racism, jail, and murder.

8. The Way I Am by Eminem

Eminem - The Way I Am

This leads us to the song’s title and chorus. If you want to label Eminem or criticize him, that’s fine with him. That’s not to say he endorses or plans to adopt any of these ideas, though.

It seems more like he doesn’t give a damn about people’s opinions of him. Underneath it all, we may say that the title can also be read as Slim Shady accepting the fact that “he is who he is.” And he is not interested in changing his style to win over critics.

9. X Gonna Give It To Ya DMX

DMX - X Gon' Give It To Ya

It seems I’m in the minority here, but I think this song genuinely means something.

DMX is venting his frustrations over the apathy and entitlement of his fellow neighborhood residents.

“X gon deliver to ya,” “X gon provide to ya,” etc.

Since he worked hard to become successful, his friends and family want him to provide for them. However, he often finds that they expect him to give them something for nothing in return.

To those who would steal from DMX, the rapper issues a stern warning: “I will kill you.”

In such case, it’s safe to say that this song is. You, the listener, or one of DMX’s opponents may be the “you” in the title. The song’s meaning shifts depending on who is being addressed, but it always alludes to X being a serious rap artist. In addition, seemingly out of nowhere, he inserts a generally inspirational snippet into the song.

10. Kanye West’s “New Slaves” Lyrics Meaning

Kanye West - New Slaves (Live on SNL)

Kanye West is often regarded as one of the hip hop industry’s more thoughtful artists. What this implies is that he frequently releases songs that deal with heavy themes that go beyond his own life. Sometimes his music reflects a nationalistic concern for his people. Even “New Slaves” is no exception to this rule.

Thousands upon thousands of African-Americans were held as slaves in the United States, as you presumably already know. This tyranny was legally abolished nearly a century before this song was released.

Kanye is essentially arguing that institutionalized racism and other forms of racial oppression have continued long after the enslavement of his ancestors ended. This is one of the rap songs about the anger that reflects on a lot of things.