Drizzy
"Last name Ever, first name Greatest. Like a sprained ankle, boy, I ain't nothin' to play with."
Forever - Drake ft. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem
Simile
(Drake is comparing here that "like a sprained ankle" his basketball skills are "nothin to play with.")
"We don't look like nothin' like the people on the screen. You know the movie stars, picture perfect beauty queens."
Crooked Smile - J.Cole
Simile
(J. Cole is comparing the looks of people in the real world to the celebrity's looks that we see on the TV screens.)
"Every time I write these words they become a taboo."
Poetic Justice - Kendrick Lamar ft. Drake
Metaphor
(Kendrick Lamar is comparing his words or lyrics to be a "taboo". A "taboo" is something/topic that can be unacceptable to mention or discuss for different social groups. For example, a "taboo topic" for some individuals may be politics or religion. Kendrick Lamar is stating that his songs may bring up "taboo topics" that are not typically discussed in other rap songs (i.e., money, cars, material things.)
"Buzz so big, I could probably sell a blank disc."
- Best I Ever Had - Drake
Metaphor
(Drake is comparing his "buzz," popularity in the rap game, to being able to sell a blank album and people would still buy it.)
"The real is back, the ville is back
Flow bananas, here, peel this back
and shot you'll find is, your highness
can paint a picture that's vivid enough to cure blindness."
- January 28th - J.Cole
Hyperbole
J.Cole compares his multi-layered flow to bananas and his lyrics to curing blindness. While one must peel a banana to get to the edible part, his lyrics are so descriptive he could cure blindness.
"Makin' sure my punctuation curve, every letter here's true. Livin' my life in the margin and that metaphor was proof."
Poetic Justice - Kendrick Lamar ft. Drake
Metaphor
(Kendrick is comparing his life to the margins on a paper, which are the small blank spaces at the end of the lines on the paper that he writes on. Metaphorically, Kendrick is stating that he lives his life differently then those around him.)
"Swimming in money come and find me, Nemo."
- Forever - Drake ft. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Eminem
Hyperbole
(Drake makes this extreme exaggeration by trying to say that he has so much money that he can "swim" in it.)
"Paint a picture like a young Pablo, Picasso."
- Trouble - J. Cole
Simile
Pablo Picasso was one of the greatest painters in the history of mankind. Many rappers express how they can actually spit images with words. (e.g., Nas) Nas is one of J. Cole’s idols since he first heard him, so he’s going to try and do the same thing.
"I just win again, then win again, like Wimbledon, I serve."
D.N.A - Kendrick Lamar
Simile
(Kendrick is comparing his success with winning seven Grammys in two years, with Wimbledon. The Wimbledon is known as “The Championships,” and is a renowned London-based tennis Grand Slam tournament, founded in 1877. Kendrick’s fellow Compton natives, Serena and Venus Williams, have 11 Wimbledon singles trophies between them and have won Wimbledon doubles six times together. Lastly, "I serve," is stating the lyrics that he serves in his music.)
"Why you always touching road? Used to always stay at home, be a good girl. You was in the zone, yeah. You should just be yourself, right now you're someone else."
- Hotline Bling - Drake
Hyperbole
(The phrase "touching road" is actually a Jamaican slang that is commonly used in Toronto, Canada. Drake uses this specific phrase in Hotline Bling as an exaggeration that means that his girl seems to be going out more and staying in less.)
"Know you was tired like the Michelin man."
- Sparks Will Fly - J.Cole ft. Jhene Aiko
Simile
J. Cole uses a homonym on the word tired. The Michelin Man is a character created by Michelin, a large, you guessed it, tire manufacture.
J.Cole compares his girlfriend being "tired" (exhausted) to the Michelin man.
"I got animosity buildin', it's probably big as a buildin'."
Good Kid - Kendrick Lamar
Hyperbole
(Kendrick makes this extreme exaggeration to describe how much hatred he has built up inside.)
"You hate it when I coat things all in sugar. You want to hear the real talk, well girl, who wouldn't?"
Faithful - Drake
Idiom
(Drake is using the phrase "coat things all in sugar," which is an expression that doesn't actually mean he coats objects/food with sugar. This specific phrase means that Drake may say things that make something seem nicer or better than what it actually is.)