Yukmouth is one of Hip-Hop's most gifted rhymers. The Oakland product has earned his reputation on a string of albums, guest spots, and battle raps/beefs that have proven he's not one to take lightly on the mic ever. In the late 1990s, Yuk partnered with the Houston-based Rap-A-Lot for what would be a remarkable solo run. 

He co-founded the Luniz with Numskull and the duo broke through big in the mid-1990s with the stoner anthem "I Got 5 On It;" but Yuk's creativity sparked a solo career that's run for more than 20 years. Projects like Godzilla and The West Coast Don have cemented his legacy, but just in case you were sleepin,' we picked some of our favorite showcases of the Bay Area legend's rhyme writing. 

Yukmouth definitely got bars. 

"Do Ya Thug Thang" feat. Da Outlawz (Thugged Out: The Abulation, 1998)

Yuk and the Outlawz all shine here on an underrated track from his debut album. His Pacand affiliation runs deep, and he gets to go off here, while also standing strong alongside the legendary Shakur's crew, less than two years after Pac was gunned down. 

CLASSIC VERSE:"Niggas used to hit me up/Till they see that fuckin' regime/Stick me up, up in the sky/Firebreathin' dragon/Niggas bout to die/Niggas feel like Armageddon/When I be headin'/And wait niggas up at they own weddingWith they own weapons/Counterfessons/Ghetto lesson number one: Never try to go to war without your gun..." 

"Game Ova"

Yuk and Game had bad blood ever since Game was still down with G-Unit. After Yukmouth made it clear he was no fan of 50 Cent, Game took aim at the Bay rhymer to rep for his crew. Yuk fired back with this heat rock after Game dropped "I Got A Mil On It" dissing the rapper. 

CLASSIC VERSE: "You ain't a Compton blood, M.O.B. mobbed out/How you got a million when you living at your mom's house?/On the Interscope DVD at your mom's house/See me on my DVD drop coupe, rocked out/This nigga faker than Eminem on Wash house/Come down South to get knocked out, popped out/Watch out!/Make strategic movements, J Prince already ran/The G-Unit outta Houston/Y'all niggas music, I peeped the blueprint/Suge Knight slapped that nigga, he didn't do shit!/Got slapped two different times, he didn't do shit/Disrespect the Eazy tattoo, you ain't Ruthless/Dropped the album with JT, that didn't do shit/Now he mister hard body since he with the Unit/Wanna beat my ass?/Then prove it! What you gon' do?Sucker punch me and run, and D'mack for da gun?/I don't play that!I'll put you in da coffin with nuns, prayin' for you, you ain't Eazy-E's son..."

"It's In My Blood, Pt. II" (Thugged Out: The Abulation, 1998)

Yuk's street sensibility was always obvious; his hustler tales come from a real place. In case you needed affirmation, he gave it to you on this classic from his first solo album. Nuff said. 

CLASSIC VERSE: "See my fam is hungry/Eat a can of phony emcees, then dump they ass in San Antoni/Cuz niggas bologna like Oscar Myers/Mob attire/Makin cops retire the way I, hurdle over barber wire/Fence thisI pimp shit/RelentlessThe Guinness Book World Record holder, for fuckin over the most bitches/Regime shit, the thug preachable/Individual-ly, put niggas faces up on the obituals/I was taught to get the dough/It's In My Blood since I was crawlin on the rug/And pops was in the kitchen rockin up drugs/Yes sir!Back then, I knew who I was, a thug/And still a thug until they make me feel the slugs, nigga..."

"Still Ballin'" (Thugged Out: The Abulation, 1998)

The murder of Tupac Shakur shocked Hip-Hop and the world, but no one felt it harder than the Bay Area. Yukmouth dropped this dedication to the fallen soldier, and while there was no shortage of Pac tributes in the late 1990s, this has to rank amongst the very best.  

CLASSIC VERSE: "Hey 'Pac we still ballin, congregate the bloodz and cuz/Vice Lords and Disciples, I got luv for thugs/Even the hoodrats and scrubs that we duck in the club/Sucka for love, I introduce bustin dem slugs/Hustlas and drugs, we all lust for money and fast cars/The life of a rap star, floatin in jaguars/Ball with a rappa,learn how to stack tall/Money longer then Shaq y'all..."

"Kalifornia G'z" feat. E-40, Crooked I, Nate Da Nut (United Ghettos Of America, Vol. 2, 2004)

A semi-compilation of excellent hardcore rhyme shit, UGOA, Vol. 2 also happens to include a scorcher of a Yuk verse on this underrated track. If you love West Coast lyricism, this is where you go. All about that Bay. 

CLASSIC VERSE:"I'm the boss, so the bottles pop, models jock, flips cars off the lot/That transform like Autobots/Push a button and the top'll dropAnother button, I pop the glock, with bricks for the block to cop/I rep the Bay-Bay/Kids move that pay-pay/Grab the mic, it's payday/Dynamite, like J.J./Fuck a say-say, Imma do it the Bay way/Imma swing the AK/Drama king like Kay SlayAnd Imma a outlaw/LIke dude from Jersey/2:30 move birdies/LIke I'm found in Jersey/And I step with the Desi on the waist/Cuz the Presi got a 10K Bezzi on the face/Oakland raider like Jerry Rice/Heavy ice, sideways through every light/Let you know my Chevy tight/712, 510, 310From Crenshaw to E one-fo'..."

"So Ignorant" feat. Kurupt, Nate Dogg, Kokane (Thug Lord: The New Testament, 2001)

Another showcase for straight up Cali rhyming, this is one of Yuk's best bars, hands-down. Spitting alongside a rhyme animal like Kurupt is no easy task, but the two emcees bring out the best in each other. And Yuk goes awf.  

CLASSIC VERSE:"And to spit at a few clicks, rob motherfuckers who move bricks/Pop motherfuckers wit loose lips/Bitches who snitch out's finna get hit, get put in a ditch/Yukmouth runnin, livin this shit/"Ice Cream Man," I invented this shit/Ain't no gimmicks to this, my shit is rugged and hardcore/Give Killa Cali niggas what they starve for/Bring y'all war like, "What's the issue?"/I shoot up everybody, even an ugly fat bitch too/If I get you another shit on you ridiculous/Give that nigga some tissue, let that bitch know, I'm ig'nant..."

"Do My Thang" (Godzilla, 2003)

Yuk's third album was, in many ways, his definitive showcase as a rhymer. And this super underrated track features some of his most impeccable lyricism, as he makes sure he lets you know nobody flosses quite like he can. Another highlight that features Kurupt (and Roscoe, doing his thing).

CLASSIC VERSE:"They call me Godzilla/Gargantua, tarantula, venom -- hot and handler/Flip cakes like spatulas/The Westside master. Diss me? You die faster/I have the South and West Coast blasting nines at cha/The spectacular -- Peter Parker/The heater sparker/Beef starter, reefer sparker, who team is harder?/I go hard in the paint like Vince Carter/Harder than a dick in a strip parlorI spit lavaI make it drip harder than sherm sticks in water/And get my dick licked by chicks in Prada/Get them dollaz/Bounce like a six Imapala/Drink Cris til I piss the water/With J. Prince the father/Of the South/Yukmouth, the Don/Roscoe, Kurupt, Saddam/Taliban, Holy Quran/Imma show you how the West Coast rock/When you can't leave your house without a vest and a glock..."

"Thug Lord" (Thug Lord: The New Testament, 2001)

Every artist has industry battle stories. Yuk has no love for shady industry cats and on this track, he unloads his frustrations with flossing would-be "moguls" who are pimping artists for their talent. 

CLASSIC VERSE:"Niggas ridin' Bentley's, your artist stuck in the house, starvin'/Broke as fuck in the apartment, stuck in the south/I'm weighed out, niggas somewhere in Germany, burnin' weed/Learnin' these foreign languages, tourin'/Always performin' like Lauryn Hill, my shit's sore as steel/I'm real, like Slim Shady, bitch quit ignorin' skills/I kill, niggas better stop smokin fry, and poppin' pills, I drill/But all you muthafuckaz, I'm the illest nigga, I feel..."

"Godzilla" (Godzilla, 2003)

Yukmouth came blasting with both barrels on this one. He stomps through his verse, crushing lesser rhymers under his feet with every bar. He makes sure to call out fakers who try to ride his jock, and it announced his third album in style. 

CLASSIC VERSE: "The thug lord ayatollah ran wit' twelve disciples/One hand held the Bible/One hand held the rifle *gunshot*/All hail my arrival/From VL's Disciples/To Crips and Piru's and rivals/Run for survival/It's murder and mayhem/Them birds on the Greyhound/From the curb in they town/Get served and sprayed down *gunshots*/Pounds of herb to break down/The cops run a search and shake down/Ever since I signed with my niggas from H-Town/Prince J and stayed down/Made me put them cakes down..."