#Bars: 51 Rhymes Proving Hip Hop's Love For Halle Berry
#Bars: 51 Rhymes Declaring Hip Hop’s Love For Halle Berry - Page 15
Source: Deborah Feingold / Getty
Halle Berry turned 51 this fall, yet the iconic actress is still as lovely as she was when she first hit the scene in the early 90s.
After appearing on A Different World in 1991, the Cleveland, Ohio native snagged unforgettable roles in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever, Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang and the heart-wrenching Losing Isaiah, starting a run that would make her one of the most visible Black actresses of the 1990’s.
She further solidified her place in history in 2001 when she became the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for best actress.
According to IMDB, Halle’s 2017 films Kidnap, Kings, and The Kingsman: The Golden Circle will mark make 51 film and television appearances since 1989, but her credit list on genius.com‘s lyric database is far more impressive.
Source: Rachel Murray/Getty Images Entertainment / Getty
The bars don’t lie. And when aligned with her IMDB timeline, they’re proof that constant name-drops from MCs have helped Halle’s movement in a major way.
So far, her name has been mentioned at least 965 times on the record — from male rhymers like Ghostface Killah and The Notorious B.I.G., who shamelessly lusted over her beauty, to lady emcees Cardi B, Jean Grae, Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj and Foxy Brown, all of whom have name-checked Ms. Berry to describe their own desirability.
To honor Ms. Berry’s 51st year of brilliance, GG combined 51 bars she’s been mentioned in over the course of her career.
The timing and line of her rise through the film industry prove why her name will be remembered as one of the millennial era’s most enduring sex symbols.
Hit the jump to start in 1992, when Halle first piqued Hip Hop’s interest.
Source: John D. Kisch/Separate Cinema Archive / Getty
1992
The year before The Chronic dropped, Halle played Samuel L. Jackson’s addict girlfriend in Jungle Fever.
Even then, MCs minds were sparked by her potential. And it was even easier to notice the young actress’ beauty in Boomerang later that year.
By the film’s end, Halle stole the show and leading man Eddie Murphy from a star-studded cast of alpha-women that included Robin Givens, Grace Jones and Eartha Kitt.
The first recorded mention of Halle on a Hip Hop album is on a skit from Dr. Dre’s legendary solo debut, The Chronic.
The “$20 Sack Pyramid” interlude was a play on the old school game show The $10,000 Pyramid, that featured prolific rhymer The D.O.C. participating in an explicit version of the classic game.
#1.
Artist: Dr. Dre and The D.O.C.
Song: “$20 Sack Pyramid” (Skit)
Album: The Chronic
Lyrics:
“Uhh, En Vogue, uh, uh, Halle, Halle, Halle Berry
Shit. Bitches? Uh, bad bitches?”
Source: Ron Galella, Ltd. / Getty
1993
In 1993, Halle carried the positive charges of Jungle Fever and Boomerang into higher levels of Hollywood. Staring alongside Patrick Swayze (Fatherhood) and a young Omar Epps (The Program), she shined.
Around the same time, a lyrical prodigy named Nasir Jones had a deafening buzz across New York City as the rap world anxiously anticipated his debut album, Illmatic.
A year before Illmatic dropped, Nas and his Braveheart crew visited Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito‘s infamous college radio show and dropped a freestyle that included a bar honoring Halle’s ill figure.
The mention, by Braveheart member 6″9, didn’t play on MTV or radio airwaves, but it was a clear sign that Halle’s rep was growing. It also proved that the hood recognized and acknowledged her star potential long before most of Hollywood did.
#2.
Nas, Jungle, Nature and 6”9
“Freestyle”
Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito’s show on WKCR, later Released on Illmatic XX (2015).
Lyrics:
“Hey, Yo, Six-Nine a true to life nigga
Yo, my style is iller, iller than Halle Berry’s figure.”
Source: Ron Galella, Ltd. / Getty
1994
In 1994, Halle scored a supporting role in a big-budget remake of The Flinstones. The same year, Biggie Small’s debut album Ready To Die dropped, instantly making the late Brooklyn MC one of the largest names in rap.
B.I.G. didn’t mention Ms. Berry on his classic debut, but he shouted out her iconic short-cut on of his legendary demo cuts, “Macs & Dons,” which circulated the streets before the album was released.
Around the same time, Yonkers spitter Keith Murray also noticed Halle’s rising profile. The Def Squad member mentioned her on his aptly-titled debut The Most Beautifullest Thing In The World album, which, as far as we know, wasn’t inspired by Halle’s looks.
#3.
The Notorious B.I.G.
“Macs & Dons”
Lyrics:
“What kind a girls do you like?”
Well, that’s various
I like long hair or them Halle-Berry-cuts
Real big butts, yeah, thick with lipstick
Cause when it come to girls I’m optimistic”
#4.
Keith Murray
“Straight Loonie”
The Most Beautifullest Thing In This World
Lyrics:
“I rise my eyes burnt like cherry
Get wise to my style more fly than Halle Berry”
Source: Ron Galella, Ltd. / Getty
1995
In 1995, Halle starred in a made-for-TV movie as the biblical Queen of Sheba in Solomon and Sheba.
She also starred alongside Cuba Gooding Jr. in Losing Isaiah, where she plays an addict who abandons her young son then returns for him after a White woman has adopted him.
Meanwhile, the Hip Hop community was still paying close attention to Ms. Berry’s blossoming career; East coast lyricists Mic Geronimo, Treach of Naughty By Nature and the late great Big L all mentioned Halle’s name with varying degrees of charm.
#5.
“The Natural”
Mic Geronimo
Lyrics:
“Cristal and Dom-P, getting sexed in the ‘telly
From bitches, who’s in the running (how they look?) up with Halle Berry”
#6.
Big L
“8 Is Enuff”
Lyrics:
“I’m hotter than Cali, wicked like Harry
And fuck Sally, I rather marry Halle”
#7.
Treach of Naughty By Nature
“Respect Due”
Poverty’s Paradise
Lyrics:
“And ’bout as brown as Bobby wit’ a trolley
To bury Halle, it’s chocolate, so pardon Dolly as a hobby”
Source: Ron Galella, Ltd. / Getty
1996
While Halle starred in action flick Executive with Steven Seagal, rappers like OutKast, Ghostface Killah and Fat Joe were all singing her praises during one of Hip Hop’s true golden years.
With classic albums like ATLiens, Ironman and Reasonable Doubt dropping weekly, 1996 was a big year for rap music’s on the mainstream stage.
And it was also a stellar year for Halle, who added solid credits to her IMDB profile with the family friendly science flick Race the Sun, and The Rich Man’s Wife, a thriller in which she plots to kill her husband over a bad prenup.
#8.
Outkast
“Elevators (Me & You)”
ATLiens
Lyrics:
“Passes getting thrown like Hail Mary’s
And they looking like Halle Berry’s
So so fine”
#9.
Ghostface Killah
“Camay”
Ironman
Lyrics:
“Your hairdo way more class than Halle Berry
Caught visions of me and you riding on the ferry.”
#10.
Fat Joe
“(Stay Away From The) Nasty Hoes”
Sadat X’s America Is Dying Slowly
Lyrics:
“Seductive red dress, lookin’ Halle Barry-ious
What’s your name Miss? “Sixty-Nine” Nice alias”
Source: Harry Langdon / Getty
1998
Busta Rhymes‘ right-hand man Spliff Star kept Halle’s name ringing in ’98 on the Flipmode Squad’s compilation album, The Imperial.
In Hollywood, Halle continued to build her resume with roles in Warren Beaty’s Bulworth and as one of Larenz Tate’s wives in the Frankie Lymon biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love.
For good measure, she even made a guest appearance on the primetime NBC series Fraiser.
#13.
Spliff Star
“Money Talks”
The Imperial
Flipmode Squad
Lyrics:
“Our squad legendary, I’ma bump it till you hear me
Spliff doing love scenes on big screens with Halle Berry”
Source: Ronald Siemoneit / Getty
1999
HBO’s Introducing Dorothy Dandridge wasn’t a blockbuster hit, but it seriously upped Halle’s rep as an elite actress around Hollywood; It even won her a Golden Globe.
The film was also a personally rewarding experience for Berry, who had long idolized Dandridge, the first woman of color to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress for her 1954 film Carmen Jones.
While Halle was working to increase her prestige, Biz Markie and Chris Rock dissed her for Sharon Stone, Pamela Lee and Meryl Streep on the satirical track “Snow Flake.”
By now, Halle is known on a one-name basis in pop culture alongside supermodel Tyra Banks and actress Vanessa Williams as a standard of beauty.
#14.
Biz Markie and Chris Rock
“Snow Flake”
Bigger And Blacker
Lyrics:
“Halle and Tyra just put me to sleep
Give me Sharon Stone, Pamela Lee and Meryl Streep”
#15.
Nas on Mobb Deep’s “It’s Mine”
Lyrics:
“Silk shirts on my chest show what a flirt
Halle Berry blew a kiss at the Barbara Streisand concert”
#16.
Silkk the Shocker
“All Because Of You”
Made Man
Lyrics:
“If I wasn’t Silkk the Shocker would like really try to sweat me
I always had girls but not like Halle and Vanessa”
Source: Frank Trapper / Getty
2000
Halle became a global power in X-Men, when she played white-haired heroine Storm. But as the millennium turned, Halle was still getting the most attention from the Hip Hop world—including a second shoutout from Ghostface in only four years.
On the skit “Who Would You Fuck?,” Ghost and his Wu-Tang associates discuss which famous beauties they would choose if they could. Of course, the epic showdown between Halle and the eternally gorgeous Nia Long was saved for last.
That same year, Halle was also in a highly-publicized car accident, suffering a forehead gash that required 22 stitches, according to LA Times.
She was given three years probation and community service after it was ruled that she fled the scene of the crash, leaving the other driver with a broken wrist and other injuries to be rescued by other drivers.
#17.
Wordsworth
Q-Tip’s “Making It Blend”
Lyricist Lounge 2 by Rawkus Records
Lyrics:
“Yo, I like a woman wit a bangin’ body, the face and frame of Halle
Attitude – angry, snotty, speaks slang and cocky”
#18.
Ghostface Killah
Supreme Clientele
“Who Would You Fuck (Interlude)”
Lyrics:
“Nia Long or Halle Berry?”
Source: S. Granitz / Getty
2001
All the rappers who spent the 90’s admiring Halle’s figure had their prayers answered in 2001 when she made big news by appearing nude twice, first in the crime thriller Swordfish, and then in Monster’s Ball, which won her an Oscar but also caught a lot of side-eyes from the folks that initially made her a star.
The most talked-about scene in Monster’s Ball was a sex scene between Halle and Billy Bob Thornton, and the racial politics the scene evoked made it hard for some to focus on her historic victory she earned from the Academy.
Still, that didn’t stop Fredro Starr from including Halle on his track “Perfect Bitch,” or Chino XL from joking about her 2000 car crash. Still, we can’t forget the fact that Sean Didddy Combs played her estranged lover in Monster’s Ball, making her scene with Billy Bob all the more painful for Hip Hop heads around the world.
#19.
Chino XL self-titled track
I Told You So
Lyrics:
“Still floss on the daily, out of the ordinary,
Surviving drunk driving with Halle Berry”
#20.
Fredro Starr
“Perfect Bitch”
Firestarr
Lyrics:
“Lips like Aaliyah, haircut like Nia
Wit a twist of Halle, body like Jennifer”
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
2005
With her Hollywood legacy firmly in tact, Halle took a risk on a passion project based on Zora Heale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Berry and Michael Ealey shined in the Jim Crow-era narrative, which was produced by Oprah and aired on ABC. And she also found time to lend her voice to the star-studded kids movie, Robots.
On the record, 50 Cent daydreamed about the prospect of knocking Halle up, spitting”Shit, I’d give that child support up with no problems.” Meanwhile, Common used her name as a synonym for soft and scary on “Chi-City,” and Webbie showed that true savages weren’t tripping over Halle’s Monster’s Ball sex scene.
Oh, and young ‘Ye made the first of many references to Ms. Berry’s beauty on his Freshman Adjustment mixtape.
#30.
50 Cent
“What If”
Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ Soundtrack
Lyrics:
“Man what if Halle Berry was my next baby moms?
Shit I’d give that child support up with no problems”
Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty
#31. Common
“Chi-City”
Be
Lyrics:
“I’m harder than the times, you hardly scary
Holdin’ gats inside, you cats is Halle Berry.”
#32.
Webbie
“Like That”
Savage Life
Lyrics:
“Ever seen that movie Monster Ball?
Bend over like Halle Berry on that part when ole boy knocked her off”
#33.
With a Ferrari and a dinner date with Halle Berry
Went from fifty g’s to fifteen hundred in a week.”
Source: Kevork Djansezian/NBC / Getty
2010
Halle’s return to acting came in a movie that she also produced, the psychological drama, Frankie & Alice, which stars the actress as a biracial woman who’s mental health issues complicate her racial identity. Halle’s real mother, a White woman, used to work in a psychiatric ward in Ohio, and her Black father was reportedly a patient there.
In the rap world, Halle’s biracial kinfolk J. Cole asked his love interest to be his co-star like Halle, and Kanye West dreamed of one-day raising a Hollywood queen, telling his future partner, “We’ll raise us a Beyonce, maybe she’ll be a Halle.”
#40.
J.Cole
“Higher”
Friday Night Lights
Lyrics:
“Cause yo ass got me fiending for ya so far
My life is like a movie, would you be my co-star
Like Halle Berry? Your old nigga act like a bitch, like Tyler Perry
You caught him down in Memphis cheating like Calipari.”
#41.
Kanye West
“Don’t Look Down”
G.O.O.D. Friday
Lyrics:
“We pulled up at the valet, we’ll teach our daughter ballet
We’ll raise us a Beyonce, maybe she’ll be a Halle.”
Source: Jeff Kravitz / Getty
2011
In 2011, Halle made brief appearances on The Simpsons and in the ensemble movie New Year’s Eve, but she mostly kept a low public profile. Still, Ms. Berry didn’t have to do much to earn this a shout out at the BET Awards, keeping her annual streak of being mentioned in at least one rap verses alive and well.
In the BET cypher, Nitty Scott dubbed herself “the real life rap Halle Berry,” before upping the the ante and calling herself Hip Hop’s Coretta (Scott King).
#42.
Nitty Scott
“2011 BET Cypher No. 5”
Lyrics:
“Word-vomit on the mic, don’t touch it after me B
Cos that would be unsanitary
Oh Snap, it’s the real life rap Halle Berry
I think I’m better now, I think I’m Coretta.”
Source: Lalo Yasky / Getty
2012
Halle returned to Hollywood’s radar in Cloud Atlas with Tom Hanks and also shot the low-profile indie film Dark Tide in Mexico.
But her name never left rap’s radar as Kendrick Lamar and Waka Flocka Flame included her on two of the biggest tracks of the year.
#43.
Kendrick Lamar
“Money Trees”
good kid, m.A.A.d city:
Lyrics:
“It go Halle Berry or hallelujah
Pick your poison, tell me what you doin’.”
#44.
Waka Flocka Flame
“Round Of Applause”
Lyrics:
“That girl look like Halle Berry when I’m on them beans
When I hit the scene girls yelling and they scream.”
Source: Rachel Murray/Getty Images Entertainment / Getty
2013
Halle got mixed reviews for her crime thriller The Call, where she plays a heroic 911-operator. And she also found time to appear in Elizabeth Banks’ Movie 43 ensemble cast. But her biggest credit of the year came thanks to Drake, who announced his intentions to impregnate her on the Migos’ smash “Versace.”
Royce Da 5’9 later mocked Drake’s dreams with a slick bar in his BET cypher that said, “I’m trying to do is give Halle Berry a baby today/Then I’m outtie tomorrow, after that maybe Drake can adopt it.”
Juicy J also confirmed that Halle was still “super bad” and JAY-Z continued to highlight Halle and his wife Beyoncé as the highest possible standard of beauty in his eyes.
#45.
Juicy J
“Sh!t”
Lyrics:
“Your money funny like Jim Carrey
I got bitches that’s super bad like Halle
And we still keeping that white like Barry.”
#46.
Drake
“Versace”
Young Rich Niggas
Lyrics:
“I’m all on the low, take a famous girl out
Where there’s no paparazzi
I’m tryna give Halle Berry a baby and no one can stop me.”
#47.
Royce Da 5’9
“Slaughterhouse BET Cypher”
Lyrics:
“From doing me I stayed in the pocket
Now all I’m trying to do is give Halle Berry a baby today
Then I’m outtie tomorrow, after that maybe Drake can adopt it.”
#48.
Jay-Z
“Beach Is Better”
Magna Carta: Holy Grail
Lyrics:
“Girl why you never ready?
For as long as you took you better look like Halle Berry
Or Beyoncé, shit then we getting married.”
Source: Vincent Sandoval / Getty
2014
In 2014, Halle returned as Storm in X-Men: Days Of Future Past and joined the cast of the CBS sci-fi thriller Extant. Migos member Offset used Halle and producer Tyler Perry to complete a bar on “Ain’t Mine,” but for the first time in a long time, it was a slow year in Hip Hop for Halle.
#49.
Migos (Offset)
“Ain’t Mine”
Rich Nigga Timeline
Lyrics:
“Look how she standin’, she Halle Berry
I laugh at the bitch like I’m Tyler Perry.”
Source: Alessio Botticelli / Getty
2015
Ms. Berry held down her network television role in Extant and saw her Hip Hop stock boosted to a new level by a shoutout on Future’s monster-hit “March Madness.” The Dirty Sprite emcee admitted that he had a thing for mature women and claimed that he could make a cougar feel like she was Halle Berry if she let him.
#50.
Future
“March Madness”
56 Nights
Lyrics:
“Fuck a cougar like she Halle Berry
Future Hendrix, Dirty Sprite, legendary.”
Source: Steve Granitz / Getty
2016
Halle’s only acting credit of 2016 was in Kevin Hart’s What Now stand-up special, where she played herself and Kevin’s love interest in the ridiculous introductory skit.
Sadly, her Hip Hop credits also came up kind of short, as Tyga tried to crown his then-girlfriend Kylie Jenner as a young Halle on his track “Happy Birthday.”
The bar raised eyebrows from those who were still waiting for him to admit he was in a relationship with the Keeping Up With The Kardashians co-star.
#51.
Tyga
“Happy Birthday”
Lyrics:
“Young Halle Berry’s in my theater room reclining
Fuck what they talkin’ ’bout, you know you can’t deny it.”
Source: Jason LaVeris / Getty
2017
In August, Halle returned to the big screen in Kidnap, where she plays a mother in search of her abducted son.
And over 25 years into the game, Halle shows no signs of slowing down as an artist or icon.
In 2017, Future gave her “caramel complexion” a shoutout on his number-one album HNDRXX.
Meanwhile, Halle remains adamant about playing revolutionary Angela Davis in a biopic one day, meaning this definitely isn’t the last we’ve seen or heard of her.
And for good measure, a bonus bar to wish Ms. Berry many more years of universal juice.
#52 (BONUS TRACK)
Future
“Sorry”
HNDRXX
Lyrics:
“It can get scary when you legendary
Caramel complexion, that’s a Halle Berry.”
#Bars: 51 Rhymes Declaring Hip Hop’s Love For Halle Berry - Page 15 was originally published on globalgrind.com
