Given Hip Hop culture’s socio-economic urban roots and storied history of friction with authoritarian forces, its universal disdain for snitching is more than reasonable.
In the streets (and everywhere, really) it’s understood that if one willingly partakes in a particular lifestyle or activity, they should be prepared to accept potentially unavoidable consequences without dropping more dimes than that Sprint lady.
Here at HipHopDX, we’ve compiled a list of 25 songs where some of the biggest artists around let their listeners know exactly how they feel about rats, snakes and loose lips in general.
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JAY-Z & Too $hort— “A Week Ago”
Over a J-Runnah-produced instrumental JAY breaks down the story of a dealer-turned-informant who succumbs to the reality of being locked up and turns on his closest partner. The song’s most poignant bars describe the lifelong stigma of a snitch label: “You’ll always be in jail nigga, just minus the bars.”
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Master P & Snoop Dogg — “Snitches”
This collaboration with Master P and his one-time No Limit signee Snoop is a particularly searing declaration of “on sight” as it pertains to those who spill the beans in tight situations. It’s (still) unclear who Snoop was referencing when he spits, “I caught a nigga one day jumping out of a cop car, I ain’t saying no names, but this nigga’s a rap star.”
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Flo Rida & Lil Wayne— “American Superstar”
In this gem, which was frankly overshadowed by the other hits on his debut — namely “Low” and “In The Ayer” — Flo Rida and Weezy make one thing clear: if you’re a snitch, you probably shouldn’t find yourself in their circumference. “That’s what a snitch nigga do they tell, I don’t want nothing to do with that deal,” Flo Rida spits. Ladies get roses, though.
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MF Doom & Mr. Fantastik — “Rap Snitch Knishes”
This often forgotten gem is extra relevant in a new era of Hip Hop where art imitates life a little too closely at times. While it’s a more humorous take on snitching, it’s quite brilliant. Mr. Fantastik steals the show on the song’s chorus as he points himself out in court as the perpetrator, adding “Fuck around and get the whole label sent up for years.”
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Uncle Murda — “Please Don’t Snitch”
Uncle Murda makes an excellent point amid his (almost) terroristic threats to snitches: if you’re not built to handle the heat stay out of the kitchen. “You ain’t gotta be a thug, do something else dog,” he raps over JAY-Z’s “Threat” instrumental.
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Scarface with FaceMob & Hoodlumz – “Don’t Testify”
Scarface and his guests make their point pretty simple: don’t testify. “If you don’t you live and if you do you die,” he notes in the chorus. Periodt.
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The Diplomats – “Your Way”
J.R Writer, Juelz Santana, Cam’ron trade verses about close acquaintances that — for various reasons — began to sing like Bilal. Cam’s verse is especially vivid, noting that the man was the one who told him to christen his son. “Shoulda came for a loan, you know that scrilla’s like … but what’s ill tonight, Killa gotta kill his wife.” Damn, son.
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Cam’ron – “Funeral”
This is one quite dark, as Cam’ron describes the mixed emotions in the air as he sits at his childhood friend’s funeral. The twist is, he’s the one who killed him — because he was a rat. “Every meeting that we had done, no snitching we stated … he had me on fire now he getting cremated.” Yikes.
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Shyne – “Whatcha Gonna Do”
“Whatcha Gonna Do when shit hits the fan, take it like a man or snitch like a bitch,” Shyne raps. Shortly after his debut album dropped, the world found out Shyne’s answer to the question: take it like a man. The ex-Bad Boy rapper spent ten years in prison following a nightclub shooting incident that left three people injured.
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Inspectah Deck – “Word On The Street”
Inspectah Deck delivers a high-energy storytelling record that follows the Wu-Tang member as he flees the long arm of the law — tipped off by one of his associates who “turned state.” The song ends with a strong message to the NYPD: “Fuck the Five-0, swappin’ info for doe.”
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The Game & Black Wallstreet – “Testify”
Amid his G-Unit departure, most prominently claiming that 50 Cent was a rat, The Game (and his crew) dropped this diss record that further hammered in his point. “50 gonna testify, come into the court looking extra fly,” he humorously raps on the chorus over the instrumental to Kanye West’s “Touch The Sky.”
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Beanie Sigel & Omilio Sparks – “Bitch Niggas”
Who would snitch on Beanie Sigel at his height is beyond us, but this record reiterates the consequences of crossing State Property. “Would rather die than to be labeled a snitch,” Mack spits.
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Mobb Deep – “Get At Me”
Queens’ finest make clear that snitches get stitches, and frankly, they wish a motherfucker would. “Put it right where their back be, GET AT ME!” howls Havoc and the late, great Prodigy.
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Immortal Technique – “That’s What It Is”
As is his style, Tech talks about snitching on a global level, and compares himself to NRA president Oliver North during the Iran Contra scandal. “I was Oliver North during Iran Contra, cause I never snitched, and that’s backed by evidence,” he said.
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Future – “Monster”
Navydius Wilburn takes a few minutes out of his day to stop rapping about fucking bitches and sipping lean to talk about how rat-snitches like cheese, before going back to rapping about fucking bitches and sipping lean. “I’m a monster on these hoes, I’ma monster/I can’t be scared of none you niggas, y’all some snitches,” he said.
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Chamillionaire – “No Snitchin'”
“Plenty niggas get they head turned red for da bread,” Chamillionaire warns, as he raps a cautionary tale about the aforementioned tattle-tales.
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Big L – “All Black”
Found on his debut album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous, Big L growls about double-crossing punks over a smooth Lord Finesse beat. “And I squeeze triggers, not just on niggas, but hoes too/So don’t try to test me, ’cause I can’t stand testers/Fuck around, I’ll introduce you to your ancestors,” he promises.
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Obie Trice – “Snitch”
The former Shady Records affiliate teams up with Akon to warn snitches to stay as far away from him as possible, lest they get their top rocked. “Anything you need, believe me I’m gon’lace you, yeah,” he snarls.
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Lil Wayne – “Snitch”
Weezy F. Baby comes through with an important message for everyone: he may run with Tyga because he don’t know any better, but he sure doesn’t run with no snitches. No ma’am. “Don’t let your mouth open up/Cause you don’t want to see the handgun open up, no,” he warns.
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YG – “Stop Snitchin'”
He calls out “bitch niggas, ho niggas, and snitch niggas. ” It’s safe to say YG has a problem with snitches, bitches, and hoes.
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Mac Dre – “Don’t Snitch”
Straight, simple, and to the point: snitching sucks, so don’t do it. And if you’re doing it, stop doing it. “You niggas keep on, you’re gonna be ducking some rounds,” was the promise here.
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Pusha T & Pharrell – “S.N.I.T.C.H.”
King Push delivered an acronym with “Sorry nigga, heh, I’m tryna come home” that’s still being used to this day.
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Scarface – “G-Code”
Snitching goes against the G code, so Scarface is here to warn you not to do it. “I don’t want to run no more, but I know that if I stop/I’ll be another nigga headed to heaven, hangin’ with ‘Pac,” he says, concerned.
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Crooked I – “Quit Snitching”
“Don’t snitch, don’t be a bitch/West Coast let’s get rich,” exclaimed Crooked I. ‘Nuff said.
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Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg – “Deep Cover”
When Dr. Dre came out with “Deep Cover,” it was the first time rap fans had heard the MC without his N.W.A counterparts. For the first time, too, we’d heard the future global icon — then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg — and this song was meant for the film of the same name. Though the movie — which starred up-and-coming stars, Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum — has been mostly forgotten, the song remains a classic.
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“On a nigga’s time, and a nigga’s place/Take my strap just in case one of his boys recognize my face/Cause he’s a sheisty motherfucker/But I gives a fuck; cause I’m going Deep Cover,” spits Dre, as Snoop promises to go “187” (commit murder) on an undercover cop who’s kneedeep on the wrong side of the game.
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