Ice Cube Shares His Thoughts On Ghostwriting

[Wepa Man]

 

[OG Talk]

Is "all about the benjamins" a lesser song because puffy didnt write his verse? Of course not

Is puffy a lesser m.c because he dont write his own lyrics? Of course

Again, its 2 different things

I think it depends on the tone and subject..

Swag rap or punch line heavy rap is one thing because the words are so cookie cutter, impersonal and hollow..

But if it was discovered that someone wrote Dear Mama for Tupac the song would "sound" worse.. Because the emotions and passion behind them wouldn't be authentic..

So in that case, ghost writing would make it a lesser song..

 

[JustCKing]

You related to Aubrey or somethin?

Dre, Easy, Kanye, others have had mufukkaz writing for them. This has always been known. But they aren't seen as great MCs either even though they may have great/classic albums and material.

This is classic deflection tactics.

*edit*

I see your rep....

There's people who actually have Kanye in their Top 5 and Top 10 lists. There's other rappers in the game who have said that Kanye is an elite lyricist. We've had Hip Hop journalist put Kanye West in a top lyricist list.

Some view Eazy E as a great.

In actuality, die hard fans of those artists would argue that any of them were/are great MC's the same way Drake stans go to bat for him.

 

[Paper Boi]

be shocked a guy who ghost wrote some of the most popular songs in history for one of the most popular groups ever doesn't give a shyt about ghost writing brehs.

 

[up in here]

There's a difference between being a great artist and a great lyricist. Snoop, Diddy, Kanye, Eazy are all greats in their own ways but they are never mentioned along side the greatest lyricists. Drake can be a great artist but he will never be mentioned along side the great lyricists. I'm sure some of his fans don't care about him being a lyricist but some of yall do.

 

[hex]

@hexagram for finding that Del article because Ive seen that rumor get thrown out alot this past week too...about Del writing for Cube.

I been doing this all week man. It's damn near a full time job stopping these clowns from making shyt up.

I swear to God if another Drake stan slanders a legend with no proof....

Fred.

 

[Yagirlcheatinonus]

I think its different scenarios for each situation. If you a battle rapper or the type that boasts on being a credible mc it matters. But if you a producer that might get on the mic ie Dre, Diddy, Kanye it don't really matter because their overall work is a staple in the culture. If Lil Wayne actually had writers it would take away because he was hailed as the best rapper alive at one point. You can't be that if dudes was writing them mix-tapes. I personally don't think Gillie or Currency wrote for Wayne but there was speculation. With Drake its still kind of early on the speculation. When there was speculation about Nas/Sticman/J Electronica that would've hurt Nas brand because he's Nas his image is built on being this lyrical poet so different situations for different artists.

 

[DaveyDave]

There's people who actually have Kanye in their Top 5 and Top 10 lists. There's other rappers in the game who have said that Kanye is an elite lyricist. We've had Hip Hop journalist put Kanye West in a top lyricist list.

Some view Eazy E as a great.

In actuality, die hard fans of those artists would argue that any of them were/are great MC's the same way Drake stans go to bat for him.

Only an idiot would say Eazy E is one of the best MCs ever. Or someone who had just started listening to rap and NWA was the first group they listened to

 

[DaveyDave]

I think its different scenarios for each situation. If you a battle rapper or the type that boasts on being a credible mc it matters. But if you a producer that might get on the mic ie Dre, Diddy, Kanye it don't really matter because their overall work is a staple in the culture. If Lil Wayne actually had writers it would take away because he was hailed as the best rapper alive at one point. You can't be that if dudes was writing them mix-tapes. I personally don't think Gillie or Currency wrote for Wayne but there was speculation. With Drake its still kind of early on the speculation. When there was speculation about Nas/Sticman/J Electronica that would've hurt Nas brand because he's Nas his image is built on being this lyrical poet so different situations for different artists.

How is it early speculation? There's several reference tacks out the for Drake. That's like saying we're not really sure if Biggie wrote Queen bytch

 

[up in here]

There's people who actually have Kanye in their Top 5 and Top 10 lists. There's other rappers in the game who have said that Kanye is an elite lyricist. We've had Hip Hop journalist put Kanye West in a top lyricist list.

Some view Eazy E as a great.

In actuality, die hard fans of those artists would argue that any of them were/are great MC's the same way Drake stans go to bat for him.

You smoke crack breh?

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

There's people who actually have Kanye in their Top 5 and Top 10 lists. There's other rappers in the game who have said that Kanye is an elite lyricist. We've had Hip Hop journalist put Kanye West in a top lyricist list.

Some view Eazy E as a great.

In actuality, die hard fans of those artists would argue that any of them were/are great MC's the same way Drake stans go to bat for him.

thats cuz there was a communal effort to push kanye to the forefront of rap. most of those accolades arent genuine.

eazy was great at what he did. he wasnt an emcee tho. and he let it be known from the door.

 

[Deltron]

Only an idiot would say Eazy E is one of the best MCs ever.

This literally made me out loud.

...but I have no legit reason why.

Got colleagues wondering what the fukk I'm laughing at.

 

[Jen The Prude]

If you're a rapper, chances are you've written for someone else(like many of the hip hop greats) or had verses written for you(like Drake and Lil Kim). Either way it's bad for business to publicly bash ghostwriting. I'm not surprised everyone is sticking with the safe answers.

Now we're gonna pretend Drake doesn't know how to write based on a few generic lines on some recent throwaway tracks.


Never change...

 

[Yagirlcheatinonus]

How is it early speculation? There's several reference tacks out the for Drake. That's like saying we're not really sure if Biggie wrote Queen bytch

I say its still early for Drake because in the end when we look back on his career we will view his entire catalog. If its a few tracks and it can't really be confirmed the public will forget about it. Sad to say but that's how it is. Ghostwriting and reference tracks has always been going on I'm sure but its more technology out here now than say 1995 or hell even 2005. I didn't even know Kayne had help with College Dropout until years later. I really thought dude was a backpack rapper. It don't change how I view the album.

 

[TEKBEATZ]

Cube use to steal rhymes word to king sun......