pointproven214
i speak facts not emotions
You will often hear rappers refer to weak lyricists as Dr. Suess MC’s. Lets break down this label and discuss why this term is often used to describe wack rappers. Dr. Suess or Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American born children’s author born in 1904 in Springfield MA. During the course of his prolific career he penned such classic books as The Cat In The Hat, The Lorax, Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish to name a few. The stories would rhyme in a simplistic style that would not only teach children proper grammar, punctuation and pronunciation but also inspire imagination and creativity. Dr. Suess would use simple rhyme patterns like cat, hat, mat and rat. Simply stated Dr. Suess was a key part of our childhood and quite possibly our first introduction to poetry and will always be considered basic.
In the early days of Hip Hop, single syllable rhyme patterns were used frequently as rappers would concentrate their effort into flow’s instead of lyrical complexity. An example of this statement may be found in early Grandmaster Flash or RUN-DMC records produced in the early to mid 80’s. This style of rhyming is the basic structure of hip hop. Paid rhymes with made and shade. This basic style is often accepted as wordplay but will sometimes be called weak lyricism by people who do not truly understand why.
When I think of early multi syllable compound rhymes I think of Rakim, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane. The lyrical complexity that these gentlemen portrayed was astounding in the late 80’s to early 90’s era. You did not know why these rhymes were good at the time but you knew there was something that set them apart from the competition. Was it the realness that they portrayed? Was it the new styles that they came out with? Was it the gigantic gold rope jewellery? Yes and no. The difference was multisyllabic rhymes. In 1989 Big Daddy Kane wrote “Cause I can never let em on- top - of - me, I play em out like a game of Mon-op-ol-y” this line in itself was genius and extremely well written. The rhyme is basically telling people that life is like a game and he enjoys having the upper hand. The concept is easy to understand but why is this line well written? Let me break down the syllable count here, on-top-of-me rhymes with Mon-op-ol-y. In a split second Kane just rhymed a 4 syllable multi in 1989??? In an era where rhyming cat with hat was perfectly acceptable this guy just raised the bar by 300 percent. Big Daddy Kane is a legend and innovator who knew exactly what he was doing when he penned his rhymes.
Multi syllable rhymes. This is the secret of why your favorite MC is your favorite MC. It is like comparing VHS with Blu-ray, you can definitely tell the difference. This separates a brilliant rapper from a basic rapper. Presence, concept, content and delivery are important but with this key element missing you will always be a basic rapper. If you are an experienced MC you have figured out this concept at one point in your career and have probably kept it to yourself. Sorry player.
In 2012 Multisyllabic rhyme patterns are the basic expectation in lyricism. The untrained ear may perceive a rhyme being good when listening for presence, delivery and content but once this simple concept is learned it will definitely make you rethink your top five MC list. With this information I urge you to listen to a song and count syllables. Rethink, revisit and re-listen to your favorite albums like they are new again.
The Complex – The Wall 613 Breaks Down Multisyllabic Word Play
In the early days of Hip Hop, single syllable rhyme patterns were used frequently as rappers would concentrate their effort into flow’s instead of lyrical complexity. An example of this statement may be found in early Grandmaster Flash or RUN-DMC records produced in the early to mid 80’s. This style of rhyming is the basic structure of hip hop. Paid rhymes with made and shade. This basic style is often accepted as wordplay but will sometimes be called weak lyricism by people who do not truly understand why.
When I think of early multi syllable compound rhymes I think of Rakim, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane. The lyrical complexity that these gentlemen portrayed was astounding in the late 80’s to early 90’s era. You did not know why these rhymes were good at the time but you knew there was something that set them apart from the competition. Was it the realness that they portrayed? Was it the new styles that they came out with? Was it the gigantic gold rope jewellery? Yes and no. The difference was multisyllabic rhymes. In 1989 Big Daddy Kane wrote “Cause I can never let em on- top - of - me, I play em out like a game of Mon-op-ol-y” this line in itself was genius and extremely well written. The rhyme is basically telling people that life is like a game and he enjoys having the upper hand. The concept is easy to understand but why is this line well written? Let me break down the syllable count here, on-top-of-me rhymes with Mon-op-ol-y. In a split second Kane just rhymed a 4 syllable multi in 1989??? In an era where rhyming cat with hat was perfectly acceptable this guy just raised the bar by 300 percent. Big Daddy Kane is a legend and innovator who knew exactly what he was doing when he penned his rhymes.
Multi syllable rhymes. This is the secret of why your favorite MC is your favorite MC. It is like comparing VHS with Blu-ray, you can definitely tell the difference. This separates a brilliant rapper from a basic rapper. Presence, concept, content and delivery are important but with this key element missing you will always be a basic rapper. If you are an experienced MC you have figured out this concept at one point in your career and have probably kept it to yourself. Sorry player.
In 2012 Multisyllabic rhyme patterns are the basic expectation in lyricism. The untrained ear may perceive a rhyme being good when listening for presence, delivery and content but once this simple concept is learned it will definitely make you rethink your top five MC list. With this information I urge you to listen to a song and count syllables. Rethink, revisit and re-listen to your favorite albums like they are new again.
The Complex – The Wall 613 Breaks Down Multisyllabic Word Play
