Niggaz Done Started Something
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Verse 1: Sheek Louch
Yo, ayo let's get papers and pop Mo' with hoes up in skyscrapersIn condominiums, overlooking our drug capersNew York City, know only way to play is grittyI want cheddar, so we can front up in the 850My whole committee like to puff L's and look jiggyWho wan' test this? My semi leave you chestlessAnd ain't shit that you can say to me when you be breathlessYoung, but I done did shit that you won't doSo go ahead wit the bullshit you blab about goin' throughI got niggas who pump on yo' block and in your spotWho sit next to you? Protectin' you?But they'll murder you, playaDon status, nigga we gettin chipsesisAnd bad bitchsesis, fronting, fronting in eclipsesisVerse 2: Ma$e
Ayo, Ma$e and The LOXWe taking knots from the out of state spotsAny nigga make it hot, get found in vacant lotYou don't really wanna come try, the one guyWho stay dumb high from blunt lyeThe Rikers, Sing Sing alumniWho got more beef than a Islamic farmSo I pack enough sonic arms to neutralize atomic bombsIt's not a nigga in your gang want itMy AK slay gays, spray strays wit niggas' names on itOften I bug, then bust off on a thugHave a chump coughing blood, fill his coffin with slugsYo, you know I got enough guns to wreck a nationAny nigga wave a TEC at Mason, have a explanationYou bring your crew and 'em and I'm doing 'emThen I'm beating 'em down with aluminumThen I'm putting two in 'emYou can't touch me, I've been devil sent, wanted for embezzlementA lot of other things, but that's irrelevantChorus: Styles P & DMX
If you love the money, then prepare to die for itNiggas done started somethingYou can lay in the flames, or hug the sky for itNiggas done started somethingIf you love the money, then prepare to die for itNiggas done started somethingYou can lay in the flames, or hug the sky for itNiggas done started somethingVerse 3: Jadakiss
Yo, check out the kid that get coke like SosaNever turned down chocha, be in the CostaRica, sipping margaritas with a mamiCleaning my Tommy, showing love to my armyWhenever The Lox find rippy blocks, we kill 'emYeah I hear niggas, but I still don't feel 'emAnd this for the listeners, and prisonersAnd them jealous rap cats that prefer dissing usMy 16's be so realYou can feel 'em in your veinLike Ramello's pops from Sugar HillJ be the cause for the kiss at your wakeCartel lips, spitting clips at your faceWe started from the bottom, you'll see beg niggas' pardonWhatever, we can do it at the GardenWord life, this shit is real, BI'm making niggas blow trial even if they not guiltyVerse 4: Styles P
I want a palace for my thugs, with oriental rugsGreen bags from drugs, get whacked for the loveTwenty niggas batter me, still couldn't shatter meI'm only getting up, splitting up your anatomyOfficial LOX family, grants niggas handing meI want the finer things, and I hope you understanding meSitting at the table, planning and plug the fan inLet the sweat dry off and then grab your cannonThink you're smartest, and retaliate the hardestRegardless, if you're a thug or a rap artistRespect me like PesciAnd if rap was hockey, I be Gretzky, puffing NestleAnd y'all niggas done starting somethingActing invincible like you God or somethingIf you God, then I'ma make salat 'til you rotAnd if you a playa, then play for everything you gotAnd if you a thug, then start busting off shotsAnd if you a dog, you better bite before you barkChorus: Styles P & DMX
If you love the money, then prepare to die for itNiggas done started somethingYou can lay in the flames, or hug the sky for itNiggas done started somethingVerse 5: DMX
Don't come at me with no bullshit, use caution'Cause when I wet shit, I dead shit, like abortionsFor bigger portions, of extortion and racketeeringGot niggas fearing, fuck whatchu heard, this what you hearingHow much darker must it get, how much harder must it hitSee if your hardest niggas flip, when I start a bunch of shitI like pussy, but not up in my face, so give me 3 feet'Cause when we creep, no more than 3 deep, niggas see sheepBloodhounds found your shit buried in the mudFollowing traces of gun powder, residue and bloodA positive ID is impossible, so you knowJohn Doe is what they gon' be putting on that tag on your toeNow who gon' tell your mother, her baby's under a coverIn the morgue, stiff as a log, sniffed out by the dogs?Another hardheaded nigga that wouldn't listenSo you got what you came for(What's that?) Surgery with the chainsawI hit the fucking streets'Cause, like I said before, ain't nothing going down until I eatMuh'fuckers think it's all about impressing bitches and stressing bitchesWell, I'm testing bitches game, undressing bitches, and caressing bitchesAnd dealing with muhfuckers on all levels, what I'm dealing with is all devilsFucking with snakes running with niggas you call rebelsI got an army of 730 niggas, dirty niggasThat come through and worry niggas30 niggas that like to bury niggasAnd scary niggas get it all the time'Cause what they got is all of mine, your man was talking shit until I pulled the nineAnd if I don't know you, I don't fuck witchuAnd if you with my man, then he getting stuck witchuAnd gave it the money, 'cause I just lost my mind when he crossed the lineSent his back through his chest then I tossed the nineBoss of crime, black Gotti, I stack bodies with the black shottieBitch-ass niggas that act snottyGet itOutro: Interviewer & DMX
These niggas is for realThese niggas ain't playingThis ain't no fucking gameShe think we playing?Ruff RydersGrrWhat the song means
"Niggaz Done Started Something" is a boastful, aggressive posse track from DMX's 1998 album *It's Dark and Hell Is Hot*, released alongside the Ruff Ryders crew. It paints a picture of street life built on money, drugs, guns, and reputation. Each rapper presents himself as dangerous and successful, and the song treats conflict as something the group has already chosen to bring to its rivals.
The mood builds steadily across the verses. The opening verses brag about wealth, luxury, and firepower in a playful but threatening tone. Jadakiss adds a story of rising from nothing, while Styles P speaks about loyalty and the price of power. DMX's verse is the darkest, moving from threats to graphic images of death and violence. The outro, with an interviewer's voice and the crew's name, ends the track on a tough, confident note.
The chorus carries the song's central idea: anyone who chases money this hard must be ready to die for it, and the choice is between ruin ("the flames") and success ("the sky"). Images like "John Doe" on a morgue tag show how anonymous and grim the outcome of that life can be. Phrases like "bite before you bark" mean that a person who threatens should be ready to act. The song is meant to intimidate and impress, not to offer a moral lesson.
Key phrases explained
- cheddar
- money — slang for cash, used to show a strong desire for money
- We started from the bottom
- we rose from nothing — a phrase about humble beginnings and climbing up through hard work or struggle
- Respect me like Pesci
- show me the respect given to a feared tough guy — a reference to Joe Pesci's violent gangster roles in films
- black Gotti
- a Black version of a notorious mob boss — a comparison to the infamous Italian-American mob boss John Gotti, showing power and fear
- John Doe
- an unidentified dead person — a grim image of anonymous death, referring to the tag placed on a body in the morgue
Song info
- Release date
- 1998-05-12
- Album
- It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot
- Written by
- DMX, Ma$e, Jadakiss, Styles P, Sheek Louch, Dame Grease
- Produced by
- Dame Grease
- Featuring
- The LOX, Ma$e
- Samples
- Mighty Tom Cats – Love-Potion-Cheeba-Cheeba, Marvin Gaye – Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
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