Cory McKay (March 2, 1973), better known by his stage name Cormega often ab… Read Full Bio ↴Cory McKay (March 2, 1973), better known by his stage name Cormega often abbreviated to Mega, is an American rapper from Queens, New York. Cormega’s streetwise poetics and perseverance has made him one of the most respected East Coast lyricists.

Cormega was raised in Long Island City, Queens, forming childhood friendships with future rappers such as Nas, AZ, Nature, and Capone-N-Noreaga.

1980s
He was featured on Hot Day's "Going Straight Up" from his album "It's My Turn". He was also featured on Blaq Poet & DJ Hot Day's track "Set It Off" from their album "Without Warning" in 1991.

1990s
Cormega was sentenced to 5–15 years in prison for armed robbery in 1991. Despite his incarceration, Cormega gained some attention following a shout-out from Nas on his song "One Love", from the critically acclaimed Illmatic album.

Cormega was released from prison on appeal after serving almost 4 years in New York's Mid-State Correctional Facility. Following his release in 1995, Cormega became determined to pursue rapping. Nas included him on a song entitled "Affirmative Action" for his second album It Was Written. The song also featured AZ and Foxy Brown, and became The Firm's first appearance. Based on his performance, he was signed to Def Jam and recorded an album called The Testament. Based on the buzz from "Affirmative Action," Nas, his manager Steve Stoute and producers Dr. Dre and Trackmasters joined to produce The Firm. Cormega was replaced with another artist, Nature, because either he would not sign a contract with Stoute or Stoute felt Nature was a better rapper. This led to an alleged altercation between Cormega and Nature. Cormega's dispute with Stoute also ended his friendship with Nas. Following the end of his membership in The Firm, Alex Trojano contributed in producing his album The Testament. Meanwhile, following a falling-out over creative differences with his manager Chris Lighty and Def-Jam imprint Violator Records, his debut album The Testament was indefinitely shelved. During the recording for The Testament Cormega responded to Nas' "One Love" in the form of a letter also entitled "One Love".

2000s
In 2000, he was released from his contract and he started his own record company, Legal Hustle Records. Cormega vented his disappointment with Nas and The Firm in a mixtape song titled "Never Personal".This song was never directly pointed to Nas, but the media made it look like that. In 2001, he released his new debut album, The Realness, which was acclaimed by critics. Many of the songs share a theme of betrayal. Nas responded to Cormega on his song "Destroy and Rebuild" from his album Stillmatic. Cormega retaliated with more mixtape tracks, "A Slick Response" and "Realmatic". Nas revisited the Cormega beef in his song "The Cross" on the album God's Son. In reference to Cormega, Nas rapped "What I've discovered is my brother's tryin to be/The next me, yeah I support him but he's blinded I see/ Jealousy he love me to death and I'm buggin I love him for life/ We both still mournin on our mother's life" (referencing the fact that Cormega's mother was murdered when he was four).

Cormega's follow-up album, The True Meaning won the Source Magazine's prestigious Underground Album of the Year Award. In 2004, he followed up with Legal Hustle (a compilation album showcasing his label's artists) and other talented hip-hop lyricists such as Ghostface Killah, Large Professor, AZ, Kurupt, Jayo Felony, and several others. This album is considered by some as more of a project than an actual solo album; nonetheless it was well received. In 2005, he was able to release The Testament on his own label, which saw good reviews and sales and featured the original banned version of "Dead Man Walking" as a hidden track.

In early September 2005, Cormega posted a statement on his website that he and Nas had spoken and ended their feud. Cormega explained that their conversation had come about due to the death of Cormega's grandmother. Both rappers have stated the possibility of a collaboration. On December 22, 2006 at the Nokia Theatre Times Square, Cormega appeared on stage at a Nas concert and went on to perform with Nas (and Foxy Brown as well), further evidence that their feud is over.

The feud was settled in Cormega's home in early December 2005, when Cormega and Nas realized that it was destructive for each of them. It is not known who was responsible for their meeting but both artists are now working alone. In the mid-2000s Cormega helped produce a few albums and was featured on several songs with The Jacka and the Mob Figaz.

An album collaboration with Lakey The Kid entitled My Brother's Keeper was released independently on August 22, 2006. On November 20, 2007, Cormega finally released his DVD in-the-making Who am I?. The DVD took over four years of filming of Cormega in all aspects of his life and what others thought of Cormega, unedited. The DVD was released as a soundtrack plus DVD. Cormega intended to release an album which was to be entitled Urban Legend before T.I.'s album of the same name was released (Cormega mentions this on the Who Am I DVD, dated circa 2003); the new title is Born and Raised. The album was released October 20, 2009. The first single is called "Journey."

2010s
Cormega has stated his desire to work with a variety of artists including Scarface, Lauryn Hill, Slick Rick, as well as past collaborators M.O.P., Mobb Deep, and tha Dogg Pound.
Cormega's Album "Raw Forever" was released on 2011.

His latest work is the Album Mega Philosophy. It was produced by Large Professor and released on July 22, 2014.

Introspective
Cormega Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I killed her with +The Realness+ now I'm bringin her life
Prestige is an illusion people tend to lose sight
I will always be Cory, youngest child of Dorothy
My brown eyes mirrors the pure ferocity

I slung the E, held my first heat with curiousity
Slept with it, rep with it, streets empower me
I came from curses, cuffs, and suede Pumas

To painting slums as visual as James Evans Jr.

I became a criminal when few though I wasn't
My shot wounds, my birthmarks a thug injustice
And with the [unknown]
The quarters not working I question my purpose in life

It must be to write, son I'm very determined
I child of the ghetto like a very young Sherman
Bread not moldin', the chosen upholding

Unwritten laws of those behind walls closed in, picture me rollin
But don't look at me differently on the strengh that I'm holdin
This is Mega you never heard my chain got stolen
I pitch like Randy Johnson

Dudes needed work I assist like Magic Johnson
Before rap my name was ringing in the projects
We took the block and props of every gram cooked
The rap game a change gon' come like Sam Cook

And Big didn't give the crown up and this means
His unwilling departure still makes him king
Cor-mega, will forever still born in Bedstuy, never ran never will

My life is very real a tribeam couldn't measure my skill
Or +True Meaning+ who want to bring it, I'm right here...

Overall Meaning

In Cormega's song Introspective, he talks about his journey from being a criminal to being a rapper. He starts by saying that he brought life to his music career through his previous album 'The Realness', but also humbly admits that prestige is just an illusion that people tend to lose sight of. He then introduces himself as Cory, the youngest child of Dorothy, and how his brown eyes held pure ferocity within them. Cormega then talks about how he started his journey in the criminal world by selling drugs and carrying his first heat which he slept with and felt empowered by. He came from a background filled with curses, cuffs, and suede Pumas, but now he paints slums through his music that is as visual as James Evans Jr.

Cormega then reveals how he became a criminal when few thought he wasn't and how his shot wounds and birthmarks became a thug injustice. Despite all of this, he still questions the purpose of his life which he believes to be writing. He's very determined and compares himself to a very young Sherman who grew up in the ghetto. He follows the unwritten laws of those behind closed walls and holds the chosen one. Cormega continues to explain that he may be rolling with the rap game now but he will never forget where he came from. He ends the song strongly by saying that nobody can measure his skill and he’s ready to face anyone who challenges him.

Line by Line Meaning

I killed her with +The Realness+ now I'm bringin her life
Cormega is bringing his music to life, as he killed it with his album 'The Realness.'

Prestige is an illusion people tend to lose sight
People often forget about the true value of things and become blinded by external appearances of prestige.

I will always be Cory, youngest child of Dorothy
Cormega will always be himself, and he is proud of his humble beginnings as the youngest child of his mother named Dorothy.

My brown eyes mirrors the pure ferocity
Cormega's brown eyes reflect his raw power and brutality on the streets.

I slung the E, held my first heat with curiousity
Cormega began selling drugs and carrying guns out of curiosity at a young age.

Slept with it, rep with it, streets empower me
Cormega found strength and power in the streets, which led him to sleep with his gun and to represent his crew with pride.

I came from curses, cuffs, and suede Pumas
Cormega grew up in a tough environment, often dealing with negative energy, incarceration, and the fashion of wearing suede Puma shoes.

To painting slums as visual as James Evans Jr.
Cormega is able to vividly describe the struggles of the ghetto in the same way that James Evans Jr., a character from the TV show 'Good Times,' painted pictures.

I became a criminal when few though I wasn't
Cormega started committing crimes when others didn't expect him to.

My shot wounds, my birthmarks a thug injustice
Cormega's bullet wounds and scars from birth represent a life of thug injustice.

And with the [unknown]
The meaning of this line is unclear, as the next line does not provide context.

The quarters not working I question my purpose in life
Cormega is questioning his life's purpose when he doesn't make enough money from selling drugs.

It must be to write, son I'm very determined
Cormega decides that his purpose is to write music, and he is very dedicated to his craft.

I child of the ghetto like a very young Sherman
Cormega, like a young Sherman Hemsley, grew up in the ghetto and faced many challenges, but he learned to overcome them.

Bread not moldin', the chosen upholding
Cormega's bread (money) does not go to waste, and he is chosen to uphold certain unwritten laws within his crew.

Unwritten laws of those behind walls closed in, picture me rollin
Cormega will keep confidential information and secrets of those currently in prison, but he will continue to be successful and successful in life.

But don't look at me differently on the strengh that I'm holdin
Cormega doesn't want people to judge him based on the material possessions he has, but rather on who he is as a person.

This is Mega you never heard my chain got stolen
Cormega is saying that he is not like other rappers who brag about their chains, and that one of his chains was actually stolen.

I pitch like Randy Johnson
Cormega is a skilled artist, similar to how baseball player Randy Johnson is a skilled pitcher.

Dudes needed work I assist like Magic Johnson
Cormega will help others in need, similar to how Magic Johnson helped his fellow basketball players score.

Before rap my name was ringing in the projects
Cormega was well-known in his community before he started rapping.

We took the block and props of every gram cooked
Cormega and his crew gained respect and popularity in their neighborhood by selling drugs.

The rap game a change gon' come like Sam Cook
Cormega believes that the rap game is changing for the better, similar to how Sam Cook believed change was coming for civil rights.

And Big didn't give the crown up and this means
Biggie was considered the king of rap at the time, even though he has passed away.

His unwilling departure still makes him king
Biggie's death has solidified his status as the king of rap.

Cor-mega, will forever still born in Bedstuy, never ran never will
Cormega will always be from the Bed-Stuy neighborhood and will never run away from his past.

My life is very real a tribeam couldn't measure my skill
Cormega's life experiences are so real that they cannot be measured by a device like the TRIBEAM, which is unknown but could be a way to measure skill.

Or +True Meaning+ who want to bring it, I'm right here...
Cormega is confident in his ability to handle anyone who wants to challenge him, especially when it comes to expressing the true meaning of his lyrics.

Lyrics © APM MUSIC ASSOCIATED PRODUCTION MUSIC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS