EPMD Rate Lyrics by Lil Xan, Kodak Black and More

EPMD's Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith were recently tapped for BET's acclaimed Rate the Bars series and their hot takes on the lyricism of some of today's burgeoning artists was quite interesting, to say the least. The short list of artists critiqued included Lil Skies, Kodak Black and Lil Xan, who the rap vets commended for his onslaught of bars.

In the brief clip, both Sermon and Smith recite a set of lyrics from several different artists and proceed to give them a rating. Kicking things off, Smith prefaces his decision making with a few thoughts on the new wave of rap acts. "This generation be taking words that don't rhyme and making them rhyme," he says.

However, that's not to say the new generation of rap isn't capable of unleashing heat on wax. Towards the end of the clip, Smith rattles off the lyrics from Lil Xan's "Betrayed." “How my enemy a friend of me?/Why y’all feed off of my energy? Like I ain’t dead yet/Higher entity, foreign bitch that think she into me/Whip the foreign very viciously," Xan raps.

The rap vet is visibly impressed as he grunts in approval and gives Xan a rating of 5 bars. “Yeah, this is another writer,” Smith adds. To which Sermon responds, "He had the metaphors."

Yet there were a few song selections that received less than stellar ratings from Smith and Sermon. Namely a verse from Kodak Black’s “Patty Cake” left Sermon questioning more than just the Florida rapper's bars. “Listen man, I don’t know,” he says, shaking his head. “Me, I like to rhyme. Make sure that something rhyme with the feet. But ‘Sippin’ on the Bel-Aire ’cause it make me feel like I’m on ecstasy/I love my baby, when I come home, I be rubbin’ on her feet.’ See, ecstasy and feet don’t rhyme to me. Nah, this is a 2. Get outta here.”

At one point,  the legendary GreenEyedBandit and the Mic Doctor rate each other's bars. Press play on the Rate the Bars clip featuring EPMD below.

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