Rhyme Pays chords by 
Ice-t 
N/A•
Key: A minor•
Verse 1
E
Am
A child was born in
G
the east one day (day)
Moved to the West Coast after
F
his parents passed away
E
Never understood his fascination
with rhymes or beats (or beats)
Am
In poetry, he was considered elite
G
Became a young gangster in
the streets of L.A. (of L.A.)
F
Lost connections with his
true roots far away
E
But no matter the job
A
or crime (crime)
Am
He never lost his hard core
G
obsession to rhyme
Verse 2
G
New York's hip hop movement
F
broke loose (loose)
E
Dj's cut records, raps had the juice
Am
Since busting rhymes was his natural
G
thing (thing)
He was crowned the West Coast
F
MC king (king)
But after his inauguration
E
there was a rush (rush)
Am
Of wack rappers with one intention
to crush (crush)
G
This master rapper and take
his throne
F
A simple job, he had no crew,
he stood all alone (all alone)
E
Assassins came in groups of one through
Verse 3
E
five
Am
With raps no mortal MC
G
could survive (could survive)
But he showed no mercy,
F
he rapped bloodthirsty
E
Battlin' from friday on
Am
throughthursday (thursday)
Never losin' a 'bout,
never ending in doubt
G
Every confrontation K.O. Knock
F
out (knock out)
On his never ending journey
E
to the T- O- P
The L.A. player M.C. Ice- T (Ice-
T, Ice- T, Ice- T)
F
Verse 4
Magnificent rhymer,
I'm the ill beat designer
If they ask you if I'm def,
don't front and say kinda
Merciless, meticulous,
so fresh it's ridiculous
I'm raised in the heart of Los
Am
A- N- G- E- L- E- S
F
King word connector, the vocal projector
Your girl tried to jock me, I
Verse 5
had to reject her
F
Always adventurous voice
some say is sensuous
Now, I'm on the mic,
Am
so I think I better mention this
F
I don't like Gucci, FILA, Louis, or Fend
Those are fads and I ain't trendy
Whether your name's Lucy,
Terry, Laura, or Cindy
Ice got the beef and this ain't Wendy's
Bust a move while I'm walkin' sucker
rappers I be stalkin'
E
When they see me on the street
F
with my homeboy walkin'
They slow down,
E
F
turn around and ask was that Ice?
Then they see me cold
countin' my cash
Verse 6
F#
Rhyme pays! (Rhyme pays!)
F
G
F#
F
Verse 7
F
Moves must be busted, girls can't be trusted
I looked at your lady and I was disgusted
Came into the party just to rock the place
And your big zombie lookin' freak
still won't get out of my face
I don't mean to diss her,
but do you kiss her?
Look at her lips,
she got them crazy blisters
Body that smells like the New York Mets
Arm pits all nappy packed full of sweat
I hope this something that you never forget
Verse 8
F
E
F
Tie that freak outside next time
you come in the set
Because my jams be crazy,
packed with all fly ladies
I'm talkin' def girlies and
I don't mean maybe
The way I rhyme no one will ever slay me
E
And I ain't lyin' rhymes do pay
F#
me (pay me)
Interlude 1
F
G
F#
F
Verse 9
F
I'm notorious, I'm infamous,
like a snake I'm venomous
For those who may diss I think
you should consider this
I can make a rhyme complicated
as a puzzle
Dangerous and as violent as
E
Eb
F
a pit bull in a muzzle
But this record is for radio S- T- E- R- E- O
It's not to be banned or for
some underground mix show
My heart's in my pen every
time I begin
Sometimes my lyrics go crazy,
E
and I just can't control 'em my friend
F
I try to edit what I'm rappin' about
But I can't write polite my anger
just jumps out!
Verse 10
F
Perpetrators in the business claim
they're hard as hell
Talkin' that gangster shit,
know'n they're soft as jell- oh
I better chill out before I ill- out
G
F
And my negative potential
just might spill out
And then this record won't
be gettin' played
I'll save that rap for another day
Verse 11
F
F
The front stage area goes into hysteria
As I start to rhyme and unleash my criteria
Of what is to come during
the beat of the drum
And Evil agitates the records
with the use of his thumb
Using his intricate moves,
the record stays in the groove
Verse 12
F
My boy cuts like Jason,
it's easy to prove
That Evil E is the great,
his cuts are real not fake
Not emulated effects or a
playback tape
So suckers witness your fate
F
while Evil demonstrates
I'm 'bout to get off this mic,
E., dog the break
Interlude 3
Kick it! (Kick it!)
F
F
F
E
F
F
F
E
F
F
F
F
Verse 13
F
Like me if ya want'a, diss
me if you're gonna
F
But my jam will still be kickin' on
your neighborhood corner
As my bass is max'n out the
V.U.S. on your box
F
There'll be no doubt within your
mind whether this MC do rock
Like granite, I planned it, So you
could understand it
If someone's talkin'
when I'm rhymin'
F
Then just say, "Damn shut up!"
("Damn shut up!")
While Ice is breakin' the boy
don't be fakin'
Maybe they're just jealous of
the dollars I'm makin'
F
But you're
Verse 14
down with me.
You know god gifted me
F
Black kids say I'm trech, white
F
kids say I'm nifty
F
Spell out my name, ya go I- C- E- T
F
But right now it's time for Evil E to hit
Interlude 4
me! (Hit me!)
F
F
F
F
F
Rhyme pays,
Verse 15
F
buys my food every night and day
It pays my rent my bills I guess I'm doin' ok
F
But when I say rhyme pays,
I mean in different ways
'Cause rappin' gets a lot of kids
out of the streets each day
It makes me feel real nice when
someone likes the Ice
F
Or some young MC asks me for advice
F
But there will always be
rappers who hate Ice- T
F
Maybe I dogged 'em in a battle
or just jealousy (jealousy)
F
Inevitable situation,
Verse 16
sucker rapper frustration
I rhyme too tough to bite,
too intricate for notation
F
Syllables jumble,
competitors crumble as they witness mic attack
F
And the microphone rumbles like hurricane
I maim, sometimes I go insane
Step toward my rap and I inflict the pain
F
No shame Ice capital T's my name!!
F#
F
Damn there I go illin' out again
Outro 1
Rhyme Pays! (Rhyme Pays!)
F#
F
How did you like the song?
You need to log in to leave a rating.
Autoscroll20%
Popular chords globally
Most played chords & tabs across all users
Frequently asked questions
The original key of Rhyme Pays by Ice-T is A minor.
The primary chords used in Rhyme Pays are E, Am, G, F, A, F#.
No capo is required for this song.
Yes, this version uses open chords like E, Am, G, F, making it a great song for beginner guitarists.
The tempo of Rhyme Pays is approximately 194 beats per minute.
You can easily change the key of Rhyme Pays using our Transpose button located in the toolbar. This will automatically update all chord diagrams on the page to match your new key.
Yes! Click the Print icon to generate a clean, one-page version of the chords and lyrics for Rhyme Pays. This is perfect for practicing offline or adding to a physical songbook.
Yes, we have integrated a Mini-Tuner directly on this page. Use it to quickly check your string pitch (Standard Tuning: E A D G B E) before you start playing along with Ice-T.
Absolutely. Click the Save or Heart icon to add Rhyme Pays to your account. You can access all your saved songs under My Library at any time.
You can view the full chord sheet and lyrics for Rhyme Pays by Ice-T on this page for free. We provide high-quality, verified chords to help you start playing immediately.