Rappers who addressed 9/11 in their songs, Eminem, Nas, Jay-Z & More.
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the twin towers who shocked the world. The World Trade Center twin towers were hit by two commercial airlines, that were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists. The first plane, American Airlines Flight 11 was flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center complex at 8:46 am, seventeen minutes later, the south tower was hit by United Airlines Flight 175. The hit resulted in both 110-story towers collapsed within an hour and forty-two minutes. The attack is remembered as one of the most deadly terrorist attacks in history. Around 2750 people died that day, along with thousands injured.
The attack which changed the world is often mentioned in music as well, especially in Hip-Hop. Since the 9/11 attack happened in 2001, many rappers have responded to the attack through their pen, mentioning the incident in some of their tracks. The list included MCs like Jay-Z, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, 50 Cent, Eminem, and more. Check out a list of some of the tracks below.
Jay Z – Run This Town
Jay Z has spoken out several times on 9/11. Part of this might be due to the fact that his critically praised The Blueprint LP was released on the same day as the September 11th attacks. Jigga’s raps inspired by this.
“Terrorists attacked New York City and took down our towers / They believed that it would weaken us / they were sadly mistaken / On Sept. 11, when I looked on the TV, I saw the strength and resiliency that made New Yorkers New Yorkers / I was proud to be from here / Now we stand here tonight eight years later even stronger / This is our town / We run this town, New York City. New York City, we run this town.”
JAY-Z also rapped about the incident on “9/11 Freestyle.” “Bootleggers, bombers, Bin Laden,” he raps. “I’m still cracking’/ I will not lose/ I simply refuse/ I drop the same date as the Twin Towers/ I show power/ Still I show compassion for others/ sent money and flowers.”
Eminem – Public Enemy
Slim expresses similar sentiments on “Public Enemy #1,” a track from Shady Records’ 2006 LP Eminem Presents: The Re-Up. On the tune, he raps, “I can feel the tremors tremendous / In remembrance of September eleventh / Flash back to September seventh when Tupac was murdered in Vegas.”
Ab-Soul – Terrorist Threats
“I seen an image of Hitler / in the picture / when the Twin Towers dropped.”
Eminem – My Dad’s Gone Crazy
“More pain inside of my brain than the eyes of a little girl / Inside of a plane, aimed at the World Trade / Standing on Ronnie’s grave, screaming at the sky / Until clouds gathe, it is Clyde Mathers and Bonnie Jade.”
Wu-Tang Clan (Ghostface Killah) – Rules
“Who the f**k knocked our buildings down? / Who the man behind the World Trade massacres, step up now / Where the four planes at, huh, is you insane, bi**h? / Fly that sh*t over my hood and get blown to bits.”
50 Cent (Feat. Eminem) – Patiently Waiting
“I’m innocent in my head / Like a baby born dead / Destination heaven / Sitt and politic passengers from 9-11.” – 50 Cent
“S**t, what you know about death threats, cause I get a lot / Shady Records was 80 seconds away from The Towers / Some cowards f**ked with the wrong building. They meant to hit ours.” – Eminem
Lupe Fiasco – Words I Never Said
“I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullsh*t / Just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets/ How much money does it take to really make a full clip / 9/11, building 7, did they really pull it?”
Nas – Queens Get The Money
“You don’t know how high the sky is / The square mileage of Earth or what pi is / I’m the shaky hand that touched George Foreman in Zaire / The same hand that punched down devils / That brought down the Towers.”
Jay Z – Thank You
“I was gonna 9/11 ’em, but they didn’t need the help / And they did a good job, them boys is talented as hell / ‘Cause not only did they brick, they put a building up as well / They ran a plane into that building and when that building fell / Ran to the crash site with no masks and inhaled / Toxins deep inside their lungs, until both of them was filled.”
Immortal Technique – Bin Laden
The hook for this Immortal Technique song was Jada’s “Why,” which also incorporates Mos Def’s vocals and a sample from an Eminem track.
“All they talk about is terrorism on television / They tell you to listen, but they don’t really tell you they mission / They funded al-Qaeda, and now they blame the Muslim religion / Even though Bin Laden was a CIA tactician / They gave him billions of dollars and they funded his purpose / Fahrenheit 9/11? That’s just scratchin’ the surface.”
Cam’ron (Feat. Jay-Z & Juelz Santana) – Welcome To New York City
“It’s the home of 9/11, the place of the lost Towers / We still banging, we never lost power, tell ’em.”
Talib Kweli – Around My Way
“The way we saluting the flags / wrapping them around our heads/ When ni**as ain’t become American ‘till after 9/11.”
Jeezy – F.A.M.E.
“Blowing bin Laden in my Porsche 911 / Just left Ground Zero, on my way to kush heaven.”
Jadakiss – Why
“Why did Bush knock down the Towers?”
[VIA]
