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I. What is Rap?
II. How to Rap
III. The Components of Rap
Here are a few definitions from www.indiana.edu/~a594/what_hh.html
1. "There's no such thing as rap music. Rap is rhyming lyrical form over any kind of music. So long as there's different types of music, rap will always be around. Besides, there will always be people that can't sing" Fresh Prince gave this definition.
2. "Lyrics. That's the most important thing. You can't just be talking out of the side of your neck. 'I'm this. I'm that. I can get that girl. I can screw him.'It's got to be intellectual enough to make somebody sit back and say, 'Dang. That shit makes some sense" Kid Frost gave this definition.
3. "Real rap comes from the soul and the mind, from the inner self" Chuck D gave this definition
4. "Rap is like the polio vaccine. At first no one believed in it. Then, once thy knew it worked, everyone wanted it" Grandmaster Flash gave this definition
5. 1: TALK, CONVERSATION; also: a line of talk: PATTER 2a: a rhythmic chanting often in unison of usually rhymed couplets to a musical accompaniment b: a piece so performed" Merriam-Webster Dictionary gave this definition.
All these definitions of rap are correct. Rap as we know it as far as music as the modern world knows it; is of Chuck D, The Fresh Prince, Grandmaster Caz( who actually wrote Rapper's Delight), 2Pac, Biggy, Rakim, Run DMC and so many more is of the nation that is called Hip-Hop. Grandmaster Caz gives a beautiful defintion of the Hip-Hop we discuss and participate in everyday as lyricist. That definition is:
"A culture given birth by inner city youth in the mid-70s, consisting of four basic elements (graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, and MCing) and a creative ideology" Grandmaster Caz.
So for anyone to say that you like Hip-Hop music is talking about rap such as "Juicy", "Dead Presidents" etc. Hip-Hop is not music, Hip-Hop is Rome and Rap is the Coliseum, a legion, or a citizen. Simply a piece to a larger puzzle.
Rapping is simple and does not always have to be to a beat. But it does deal with rythym. If you've ever beat on a table you've rapped or made a rapping sound because you made a consistent rhyming pattern that may or may have not changed and you'll see the parallels to this dimension when we begin to talk about the actual "spitting" of words. Rapping in itself is easy to do because its foundation like anything else is simple. There are those who excel at certain things and rap is no different. Much like playing basketball, there are those who play as much or more than NBA players do, but NBA players have more talent and skill than the average player across the globe. While there are anomalies on either side; meaning some of those may who are not in the NBA may be better than some there and vice versa. But all you need is the ability to speak and follow or to create rythym with your voice in order to rap. You're born with the ability.
Flow is defined as; the act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression, the motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases), any uninterrupted stream or discharge, the amount of fluid that flows in a given time, dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas.
Let's deal with the words, continuous progression, any uninterrupted stream or discharge, and successive ideas. This is what flow is and it does not death with rhyming totally. Flow is the way the words come out. They must be smooth and uninterrupted by stuttering, mumbling, or leaving a word out that should be there. In rap however, for something to truly flow it must eventually rhyme. If you like to think of rappers with awesome flows you'd think of Biggy, Jay, Eminem, Ludacris, Chuck D, Rakim, Big L, and of course probably number one is Big Pun. All of your good rappers have a great flow. One who also comes to mind as a new age rapper is Lloyd Banks. He is known for his flow and what will discuss next. Multis. All great rapper possess some type of unforgettable flow, it is what sets the cream of the crop away from weak emcees. Here is an example
Motherfucker better duck quick, cause
Me and my dogs love to buck shit
Fuck the luck shit, strictly aim
No aspirations to quit the game
Spit yo' game, talk yo' shit
Grab yo' gat, call yo' click
Squeeze yo' clip, hit the right one
Pass that weed, I got to light one
All them niggaz I got ta fight one
All them hoes I got ta like one
Our situation is a tight one
Whatcha gonna do, fight or run?
---B.I.G. on Life After Death "Notorious Thugs"
turnin an addict is like turnin a trick-
n you can see their whole life turnin to shit
from the first sniff-
or even the first time they're burnin a spliff...
---MC Wisdom "through the realness"
newarks classic writers don't clash wit biters--WE--
smoke em like nicotine wit plastic lighters--
drastic fire that scorch and outlast attire--
so ahead of our time, we coulda made your past retire--
a class pass safire admire, we on diamonds and rubies--
and get more money than cosby since hirin rudy--
---Primal the liquid linguist aka sharif-ali "Drag Music"
Multis are what many young emcees do not understand. All of us in our beginning stages of rap use them and do not know that we are. Multis are something that is so natural in rap that it's overlooked and left in a simple stage by so many emcees. Two of the most notable users of Multis are Fabolous and Lloyd Banks. If you listen close to their rhymes you can here the purposeful usage of multis. Mutlis are repitition of perfect syllable sounds. Everyone who has listened to rap has heard a multi that was simple and complex without knowing what they were. The average and uneducated listener of rap or uneducated listener would say he has an ill flow, or killer flow. The educated emcee or listener of rap would say that he or she uses multis well..
Simple Multis(2 syllables):
i sit back and just "pitch crack"
use guns to "hit backs"
use knifes to "split crack"
dog you better "get back"
--Primal the liquid linguist
The multis are wrapped in quotations. This is the form of the most common multi that is heard in raps all around the world. Do not be mistaken, even the most season veterans use multis like this. It is absolutely nothing wrong with using multis this way. Yet, the cognizant individuals such as Fabolous and Lloyd Banks are blatant and are more complex when using them.
Complex Multis(4 or more syllables):
These niggaz "gots to be punched"
Act stupid, get shells in ya stomache, like you ate "pasta for lunch"
If I let this "diablo door raid"
I'ma have the front of ya crib lookin like "Diallos doorway"
---Fabolous
(6 Syllables):
we "slidin thru the rucka"
wit "pradas on the chucks"
all these spring break hoes home from "college wanna fuck us"
i aint here to drop "knowledge on you suckas"
i sick "rockwilders on you fuckas"
"cops followin to cuff us"
---Lloyd Banks
These multis are so blatant, so purposeful and it's beautiful to hear. Mostly all of the emcees at the FreakStylaz use multis as blatant as these. Multis such as these will make your flow ten times better than what it initially is.
This is another fascinating element of rapping. Rhyme schemes are the way you flow your words that are unique and not common to see or hear. There are flows so simple as the ones outlined in the flow section, some like those laden with multis like Fabolous and Lloyd Banks. Rhyme scheme is what sets many emcees apart from each other.
Worse then "old braces", im shutting the door on shit like "cold cases"/
Then drifting off to my "own placement", cuz my thoughts are so "sacred"...
Like "teachings of Buddha", but im still "reaching for buddah"/
Cuz i stay smokin like the "releasing of rugers", stay "being so frugal/"
Cuz cash is "decietful and ruines"...i just had a "meeting in Juddah"/
----LyricalTerrorist
If you look closely at what i've put in quotations. Lyrical Terrorist's rhyme scheme is to rhyme multis within a line to those that end his line. He could have simply done what fabolous did and simply rhymed his multis at the end of every line. But he rhymed at the front or in the middle with the end of the line. That's his rhyme scheme. Constant repitition of sound throughout a line which as another dimension to his flow.
Another example:
can't be
birthed again--
if he
squirts and wins--
i'm dead gone--
that lead song, the chorus of death--
courage and rep, but yet, i have no storage for breath--
---Primal the liquid linguist
If you pay close attention here you can see two different sets of multis rhymed together to create a scheme. This is blatant and purposeful and strengthens flow as well.
Many seasoned veterans still misinterpret wordplay. Wordplay can be used as multis or rhyme scheme. Be sure to remember that multis are a particular rhyme scheme is done correctly. But wordplay is simply not the repitition of sound. It is the repitition of precise words to create different meanings. The english language is perfect in giving emcees this flexibility with the complexity of our language. We don't think that our language is complex because to us it seems so simple. But a chines man would have no problem flowing in chinese, but if he never spoke english our ways of using the same words for so many different defintions would confuse him. And do not think wordplay is limited to separate definitions, it is just using that word over again, even for the same meaning.
here is a simple example:
cuz ya lookin off like cookie "batters" dats lime/
i had to climb da latter in rhymes,
n keep balls in ya bitches hand like catchers when da "batter" is blind/
---Selph
If you read you can see that Selph uses one word for two different meanings. It's perfectly done and he's playing with that word. The Diplomats (Cam'ron, Jim Jones, and Juelz Satana) are excessive users of wordplay.
It's JR Writer, yes the one the girls love and dig
A pimp wit da cane don't get your girl dugged and digg
---J.R. Writer
Prime and Trav music, is drag music--
foot to the bumper on a string, drag you and--
your whole team!!!--
..aint no mothafuckas better than us--
you fags knew it--
Prime and Trav Music, is drag music--
---Primal the liquid linguist "Drag Music feat: Travesty"
As you can see, choruses/hooks to songs use a lot of wordplay.
Punchlines are the most fun for almost everyone. Punchlines are used mostly for jokes. Punchlines can be very simple or very complex. But a punchline is supposed to suprise, shock, or make you laugh depending on the nature of it. A punchline is definte as "the point of a joke or humorous story". A punchline does not always have to be funny but many of them are. Punchlines are a part of creativity and it keeps and emcees audience interested in him. The most important aspect of a punchline is that it makes sense.
Examples of punchlines(Important Components are Hi-Lited wit Quotations"
I know the watch botherin your vision But reach and i'll "put a dot on your head" like it's "part of your relgion" ---Lloyd Banks: as you can see here, the red dot signifies both a infrared beam and a hindu dot that is positioned in the middle of the head of hindu women of the religion of hinduism. Infrared beams are usually put in the middle of the head before people are blown away.
What's great about punches is that the listener must be able to draw these similarities on their own or they wont get em. Hearing them is harder to get then reading them because sometimes we're just listening to the beat and really don't care for the words.
More examples
where cats like me known to get more "props" than "Broadway shows"--Travesty
Like "Flue Sneezes to your face" man i'm "sick to Domes"--Primal the liquid linguist
cuz i'm jus use to bein greasy like mcdonald's employeez/--Selph
my dick "hang ten" like "surfers"--Primal the liquid liguist
my trigger finger itchin like it got genital warts--Cassidy
Metaphors sometimes are confused for punchlines because a punchline can be a metaphor. Yet the classic and correct defintion of a metaphor is "a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity" Saying "My mind is bright like the sun" is a metaphor because your mind could never be bright like the sun because your brain would be so hot that you'd die. But what you're alluding to is your intelligence. If you return your attention above when Primal says. "My dick hang ten like surfers". This is what I like to call a Punchline-Metaphor. Because Primals sick does not surf but he is alluding to his dick being ten inches long, as it states hanging ten. Hang Ten is an expression used by surfers.
Here are the best examples I can give you of metaphors. - Meniacle Metaphors by Dyanmic Impact (Selph and Primal the liquid linguist).
Primal aka P. Ness:
Ness a computer..then i'm strictly congested wit a virus/
i can't picture your intelligence...really dyslexic in my iris/
call me a loose shirt...i'd never hug your body/
P a military gun talkin.."i wanna slug somebody"/
check the emotion..i just hope for your death/
feel like you chokin outta breath? i'm that rope to your neck/
like hormome pills to body chemistry..evokin the sex/
and yeah it's nuclear thoughts...i wanna hurt the world/
yes i'm that bad hand that gropes the girls/
weed to your lips..i smoke the world/
just like sayin i choke the green/
or in hippy terms, Cas blaze the earth/
Prime's like hot nike cleets, i'll blaze your turf/
and i aint alludin to your pigskin classic/
didn't i say i was a slug that be blastin, how i dig skin drastic/
Cas the reptile species, i been outlasted/
Selph and Prime..Dynamic Impact bringin the lashin/
i'm that shit under your mattrress, i spring into action/
that aint nothin but a trigger that spring into blastin/
i'm your dream when you laughin/
the joke to your giggle/
to your bitch i'm satisfyin...that OHHHHH to your middle/
Imhotep aka Selph:
I'm the ambition behind a rapper's desires...
ya the fake hero type making actors inspired/
I'm disease n it's cause,
I'm not sick but the reason you cough,
n smoke so much I join'd da legion of fog/
Hardly I speak sober words,
I'm drinkin or chokin erb,
ya bitch's a mouse,
we can touch all over her/
I'm da leaf before a blunt,
Hatrick before a puck,
Mattress before a nut,
Practice before a stunt...uhn/
ambulance style let's revive the dead,
we surviv'd n lived shots,lies, surprises, n sin/
I spit yeast to see a rise in my bread,
n thru unconscious motive I cause the sun to rise n eclipse/
like opera's ya soap'd up no lavender,
we compose dangerous adjectives and tragic verbs/
I'm not talkin help when i scream throw dem hands up,
I rap nausis,
n get hannibal to throw some hands up/
It's the Dynamic Duo,
making a Dynamic Impact,
If your nice sam cassel wears gigantic pimp hats(NEVA)...
The most awesome emcees have the ability to mesh these components of rap together. If you look above Selph and Primal have wrapped many components into a complete verse. Doing this makes you all the more "ill' "nice", "tight" or what other type of word you can use to denote yourself as hard. The ability to use these components in unison makes an emcee more dangerous as far as battling goes, and more appealing. Being able to have a punchline with a 6 syllable multi mixed into an awesome rhyme scheme is music to the ears of the fan of rap.
Here are some examples
- Through the Realness by Wisdom
- Change the Game by Travesty
- How Come by Dynamic Impact
- Journey Inside the Mind Of a Freak by Tekk
These are just a few examples but you can look around for more on your own. Don't be baffled and think that you have to mix every single on together to be a complete emcee. That is not true, but you should mix two such as Wordplay and Punchlines or Rhyme Scheme wit Metaphors. It makes your verses stand out and they become more interesting by taking the time and effort to do so. Meshing the components adds dimensions and helps us become better emcees
The easiest way to start writing a verse is to think of a topic. Such as Politics, Drugs, Sex, Murder, Battling, etc. Picking a topic helps you to gather your thoughts that you are concise and consistent throughout your entire verse.
An opening line is like the first paragraph in a book. It is what sets the tone of your post. Don't take the opening line as just the first single line. This can be 4 lines etc, but it has to be good quality lyrics. It has to set the tone for what your verse will be. If it is average then it is expected that your verse should remain average or get better. If it begins stellar then it is expected that your verse should remain stellar to the end. Falling off from there is bad and makes you look like you stopped with the effort or aren't really as good as the beginning of your verse suggested. The opening line is sometimes the hardest line for emcees to come up. Sometimes it should be simple, other times complex. But regardless, it should grab attention.
Simply your body is the meat of your verse or the middle. The body of your verse should stay on course with your topic if you topic is focused on Guns then you should stay on guns writing punches or metaphors that relate to them. Not straying off that topic speaking on sex last night. If you topic gives you then range such as one like Random Thoughts, then you are able to stray. But if your topic is centered to Politics it should remain on Politics.
What is cool about rap is that your conclusion does not always have to be great. Some people are satisfied with average conclusions. But we must be careful of this because so many times people are remembered for what they say last or the latest. It's like, you learn statistics in college and then a 15 yr old asks you do help him with geometry. You kinda only remember statistics and not much from geometry, unless you're a mathematicians. So sometimes or more than often you might wanna end with a punch or something hard that a catches attention. The conclusion wraps your verse closed
The title is the topic and sets the tone of what you'll be talking about throughout the song. The title is your frame work for a 48 bar track. Many of the same components of Topic in the Making a Verse section are the same as the Title of a song.
Your hook should be geared toward your topic by using the same exact words as the topic or have something to do with it perfectly. Like you can't have a song called Death Be With Us and have nothing in your chorus alluding to death. Whether it be strangulation or gun shots. Something in the hook has to pertain to your topic or the words of the Topic Should be apart of the hook. You've heard this done in everyday music, it's not very hard. The hook does need to be catchy for people to like it
This section is much what the previous section on writing a verse is in the other section. But this is dealing with Multiple Verses, so you want to follow the topic in each verse and try your best not to stray from the topic. Though multiple verses gives you a little leeway and luxury of straying from topic, you must be extremely careful. Verses in a song should usually tie together in telling a story or they should be very closely related when it comes to subject matter. Straying to far off course is disaster.
A lot of times it is cool to repeat the name of the song or mix the chorus into the last hook. This section is much like the one the previous section on making a verse. This is what you want your audience to remember you by in this case though, more often than not. You really want to throw something outlanding here and the conclusion can be used to bring you back on topic if you strayed. The concluding line again is not necessarily one but it may be a collection of lines that finishes your ideas completely.
Battling is the heart and soul of emceein. It goes back to before there was an industry and money involved in Hip-Hop on a very large scale. This is the street corner rap, the whole block in a circle watching two emcees go at it. The attention is on you and losing means losing rep or embarrasment. Because in battling to win means degrading your opponent to the highest degree possible through the meshing of rap components. MOstly punchlines that are funny, nasty or disrespectful in nature. Talking about somebodies mother, deadfolks, the size of their dick, the stench of their pussy, their ugly features, awkwardness and stupidity should all be employed to win a battle. Malcolm X said it best, by any mean necessary. In a battle there is no holding back. Humor, hardness, realness and most of all personal facts win battles. The more information you have on your opponent the bette. Winning the crowd is most important and an emcee needs to be on top of his game to do so. Also to win battles you need to play to the level of your competition and lower. Though it is good to battle better emcees because of course that's how you gain respect, you do not want to charge in with out being ready. The most fundamental thing of battling and the most dreadful is not being embarrassed. You should always take your A game and never hold anything back because that can mean defeat. Practice Practice and more Practice is essential to winning a battle. Whether your practice is spitting infront of a mirror or continously writing words. It needs to be done. Think of you opponent as your worst enemy and go for it.
by
Primal the liquid linguist aka Sharif-Ali
