I’m not the biggest fan of R.A. The Rugged Man, I certainly appreciate his talent but his style, for the most part, just isn’t to my particular taste, outside a few songs, Learn Truth with Talib Kweli and his verse on Hallelujah for example, his multi-syllable rhyme schemes, maniacal flows and tongue and cheek delivery just don’t capture me beyond the moment hearing them. His verse on Uncommon Valor though, well, that’s a different matter!
Here’s the lyrics.
Call me Thorburn, John A., Staff Sergeant
Marksman, skilled in killin', illin', I'm able and willin'
Kill a village elephant, rapin' and pillage a village
Illegitimate killers, U.S. Military guerrillas
This ain't no real war, Vietnam shit
World War II, that's a war, this is just a military conflict
Soothin' drug abusin', Vietnamese women screwin'
Sex, gamblin' and boozin' — all this shit is amusin'
Bitches and guns, this is every man's dream
I don't wanna go home where I'm just an ordinary human being
Special Op, Huey chopper gun ship, run shit
Gook run when the minigun spit, won't miss
Kill shit, spit four-thousand bullets a minute
Victor Charlie, hair-trigger, hit it, I'm in it to win it
Get it, the lieutenant hinted, the villain, I been it
The killin', I did it, cripple, did it
Pictures I painted is vivid, live it
A wizard with weapons: the secret mission, we 'bout to begin it
Government funded, behind enemy lines
Bullets is sprayin', it's heatin' up a hundred degrees
The enemy's the North Vietnamese, bitch please!
Ain't no sweat, I'm told be at ease
Until I see the pilot got hit, and we 'bout to hit some trees
Tail rotor broke, crash land
American man in Cambodia, right in the enemy hand
Take a swig of the Whiskey to calm us
Them yellow men wearin' black pajamas
They wanna harm us, they all up on us
Bang bang, bullet hit my chest, feel no pain
To my left, the Captain caught a bullet right in his brain
Body parts flyin', loss of limbs, explosions
Bad intentions, I see my best friend's intestines
Pray to the one above, it's rainin', I'm covered in mud
I think I'm dyin', I feel dizzy, I'm losin' blood I see my childhood,
I'm back in the arms of my mother I see my whole life,
I see Christ, I see bright lights I see Israelites,
Muslims and Christians at peace, no fights
Black, Whites, Asians, people of all types
I must've died, then I woke up, surprised I'm alive
I'm in a hospital bed, they rescued me,
I survived I escaped the war, came back
But ain't escape Agent Orange: two of my kids born handicapped
Spastic, quadriplegia, micro cephalic
Cerebral palsy, cortical blindness — name it, they had it
My son died, he ain't live
But I still try to think positive, ‘cause in life, God take, God give
Here’s the full version with Jedi Mind Tricks.
R.A.’s verse has literally everything you could hope for in a Rap verse, complex multi-syllable rhyme schemes that aren’t forced at all, an amazing delivery that he manages to keep up for a full three minutes and that never sounds awkward, interesting and thought provoking content and well mixed vocals that sit beautifully on a fairly calm but poignant instrumental that carries an emotional feeling but allows the lyrics to shine.
‘’There’s nothing more influential than Rap music’’ to quote Kendrick Lamar and since the birth of the genre we’ve been blessed with many legendary Hip Hop verses, off the top of the head, Kendrick Lamar’s Control verse, Eminem’s verses on Renegade and maybe Wretch 32’s verse for his Fire in the Booth or Ghetts’s Grime Daily verse spring to mind, there’s more than I can think of in the moment but R.A.’s Uncommon Valor verse is definitely up there!
What’s your favourite Rap verse of all-time?