Song #28: Dolla - "Corner High School"

Song #28: Dolla - "Corner High School" (2010)

The Miseducation of Dolla

"Young niggas do or die, anytime you're welcome to swing by."

Dolla's "Corner High School" is one of the many songs by the late rapper that, I believe, released commercially or even officially, would've shook the rap community something fierce. The song is three minutes of some of the most breakneck rapping I've heard in contemporary times, with Dolla breathlessly illustrating his years of school and education, which were obtained and conducted through the way of hard knocks or "the corner." Assisted by amazing production, the song ranks as one of the most satisfying songs from the man himself and paints a deeper picture of a man who died too young and whom we knew too little.

The song works, first and foremost, because of its chorus, which is catchy and says more in a few lines than most rappers say in a song. In just a few lines, Dolla details an environment, attitude, and lifestyles crafted out of desperation to survive and see tomorrow. He explains how he wasn't blessed with prestigious education and grandeur and that he was only given what the streets would provide him with, which was often some drugs and a wealth of opportunities that, while dangerous, paid incredibly well.

And that was just the chorus, mind you; "Corner High School" carries on for an incredible, deeply moving three minutes in a way that cements my statement that Dolla is, in my opinion, one of the strongest rappers of all time and far, far too unrecognized and under-appreciated.

Give "Corner High School" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2jMjvrEzrA