Biggie not writing lyrics a myth ? Method Man interview

RTF

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The pen & pad thing is an obvious myth re: Jigga/Biggie. They were probably both in the studio and someone noticed neither was using a pen & a pad and developed the story.

Also I remember hearing Biggie hated being in the studio. While he loved the craft being in the studio all day just wasn't his thing. He once came to record a song with Redman and some other guys (forget the name). This was like 4 maybe 5 MC's. When Biggie arrived the atmosphere was like "who's going to go first? Who is going to write and drop that first verse". Biggie wasn't having it. "I aint got time for this, I'm going first". He already had the 16 in mind. Two takes. Finished. Ducked out. Gone. He wasn't trying to vibe off with the other guys.

Lucky he was just that talented. All these other artists are doing themselves an injustice by trying to follow Big in this way. Crack open that pen & pad and try to match or surpass his raps first. If you can do that, then perhaps try and do ti without writing.
 

Cloud McFly

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The pen & pad thing is an obvious myth re: Jigga/Biggie. They were probably both in the studio and someone noticed neither was using a pen & a pad and developed the story.

DJ Clark Kent

http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2011/05/book-of-rhymes-may-2011-issue/

In the mid-1990s, a few notable rappers began constructing dense, vivid rhymes within the soft circuitry of their brains, instead of on paper (as opposed to freestyling, the verses were premeditated). It started with Jay-Z, as so many trends have. While recording tracks with Brooklyn producer DJ Clark Kent in the early stages of his career, Jay-Z would listen to beats, order lunch, and then lay down vocals without any writing. “It was insane to see, because it was so fast,” says Kent. Jay-Z explained that he tailored rhyme patterns around drum rolls and then used the flow and rhythm to remember the lyrics.

According to Kent, The Notorious B.I.G., who would also become known for composing rhymes in his head, learned the technique from Jay-Z during the making of “Brooklyn’s Finest,” their duet on Jay-Z’s 1996 album, Reasonable Doubt. When Kent brought B.I.G. by Manhattan’s D&D Studios to get on the track, Jay-Z jumped into the booth and redid the song with lyrics that left space for B.I.G.’s verses. Jay then looked at his Brooklyn counterpart. “You ready?” he asked, pushing a pad toward B.I.G. “Your turn.” B.I.G., who had been in the practice of writing out his lyrics up to that point, declined the notebook and opted to record his parts at a later time. “The face on Big was like, ‘What? Are you serious?’” says Kent. “It was a really serious revelation moment.”

Kareem "Biggs" Burke

http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2006/06/the-making-of-reasonable-doubt-told-u-so/

Biggs: Biggie came to the video for “Dead Presidents,” and he was saying how much he liked Jay, the whole style. Dame was talking about it, and said, “Do a record tomorrow.” Him and Dame was drinking. They drank like five bottles of Cristal, shot for shot. Dame threw up outside. Dame had told Biggie to call the next day at five o’clock. I remember being in the office, and at five o’clock the phone rings. We went to the studio, and we spoke to him. We had a date, and they went in and recorded. It was funny, ’cause they came in with a pad, and Jay pushed the pad to Biggie. They’re both looking at the pad like, Go ahead, you take it. No, you take it. That’s when they found out that both of them didn’t write.
That day we went in, I think Jay laid down his whole part. Biggie lay down like a line or two, then he said he couldn’t finish, he had to go home and finish it. We had Biggie come and smoke 60 blunts. But he came back and laid down a little bit more, left again, and then he came back and finished it. We had fun the first [session]. Afterward, we all went to see Bernie Mac at Radio City Music Hall.

Angela "Mecca" Scott (sung the hook to Feelin' It)

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/03/angela_mecca_scott_qa_jay-z.php

How was Jay-Z when he recorded his vocals for the song?
He's a combination of laid-back and intense. It depends on where he is in his rhyme. At the beginning of the verse, he's very calm, but as his bars climax he gets very intense. He definitely uses the emotion in the music. I think that's why he's able to not use a pen and a pad and not write anything down -- it's in his heart, in his soul, in his brain, and he definitely displays that when he's in that booth.

I don't think they have a reason to lie. I was wrong though, as according to Clark Kent, BIG learned it from Jay-Z.
 
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meth68

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I'm not impressed by this "I didn't put it on paper process"

It's like when a waitress tries to impress a table without writing down your order.

All I care about is the end result..It just so happens BIG was a goat. But back to my order situation

Uno Pizzera...
Girl comes up to us table of 5.. no pad and we are ordering a ton of shyt, so I give her the :francis: look, shes like what? I am like... your not gonna write any of this down its a lot of stuff :russ: shes like no its ok I got it :troll:

Or orders come out ALL fukked up so I look at her with the :comeon::sas2: shes like what, I am like we are missing stuff and the stuff that came out, some we didnt even order? :heh:


I am impressed by an accurate order not of your memorization skills :skip:
 

BlackMajik

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My understanding is that he developed them in his head over time then spat them out..hence Cease claiming Big had 7 songs in his head when he died.

They were not exactly freestyles. His freestyles have their own signature, whereas his pre written material is more refined.
Jay also stopped writing after he discovered Big was no longer writing.
Jay the #1 dikkrider in Hip Hop :mjlol:

Stays sucking other rappers dikks
 

DANJ!

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When you're an MC, lyrics come to your mind all the time... it's not really that hard to believe that a nikka didn't sit at a table with a pad every single time he made up rhymes. shyt, I used to be at school or work havin' lines pop into my head, connecting one to the next... sometimes i remembered em long enough to write them once I got my hands on paper, other times I'd forget parts of it. Either way, it's not hard to believe a nikka can sit in the studio, listen to a beat and put a verse together in his head, then go into the booth and spit it... it ain't for everybody (especially the nikkas just doing it cause they heard Jay didn't do it or whatever) but it ain't an impossible feat
 
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