So we can end all the Biggie and Jay never used pen and paper talk :

[CHICAGO]

CEASE SAID BIG WROTE SONGS
FOR LAD WHEN HE WAS
IN THE HOSPITAL SO I
NEVER TOOK IT TOO LITERAL



​

 

[BlackDiBiase]

It's not impossible or even hard to do. Some people write that way out of necessity, not a flex. My handwriting is horrible, probably due to ptsd so that was the easiest way for me to go about it.

Similar to how nikkas punch in every line...you just do the same thing, in your head until you have a verse or if you're skilled enough memory wise a whole song. What people are marveling at is the memory aspect.

Even Jay who turned it into a flex didn't start doing it because it was cool, but because he was on the move and would forget the lines before he could get a chance to write them down. He just started memory banking things that came to him til he could memorize a song at a time.

I've heard Jay say that a couple of times once on Oprah lol.

I guess like a stand up comedian you memorize a few bits here and there then smooth it all out when performing. Music might be a little more intricate though. The sheer lack of lyricism in the game makes you wonder about this "technique" when it should be all about the execution.

 

[Cladyclad]

I dont know about best albums bro, sh1t is funny to me though

Huh wanting to be right sometimes clog the

i said B coming is a lot of people favorite Beanie album

on topic

when I did rap

not writing down lyrics helped my flow 1000%

when I rapped off paper. I stayed sounding like a robot. once I used Jay method I was able to play with words and flowed improved leaps and bounds

i would let y’all listen

but y’all would Crumple my ass (pause)

 

[O.Red]

Pure knowledge we should call you 'Science God'.

I highlighted the part there about not being as good as Big or Jay even Big and Jay would be miles more potent if they wrote which I believe they do and has been proven. The sh1t Jay said on 'lyrical exercise' about memorizing 2 bars at a time doesn't even make sense lol. They have great memory though but pen and paper is your best works.

Beans said Jay took his pen and paper from him one day when he was writing in the studio and said do it without it lol. We all know Beans fell off at a time and now we can trace it. I dont even believe in music the technique should be applauded just the end result. It's not a cooking show and so many rappers Lil Wayne even back when SP fell off he was going round talking bout not using a pen and paper.

I prefer effort over nonchalant art. No pen and paper doesn't make you any more sonic booming to me.

But the sh1t I quoted in red though, that was powerful

I think once you reach a certain threshold it doesn't matter However you get there is how you get there

I also don't think it's fair to make it an effort/no effort dichotomy. I can't look at Jay and Big's catalog and say "no effort". Also few rappers have accomplished the technical feats they have

It really is specific to the artist and their intentions. TI made his best music writing in his head. Then when he made an announcement about using pen and paper you could tell. His shyt got too verbose and diminished his delivery. You know TI loves showing nikkas all the words he knows

Lupe has done both very effectively. And hell Marvin Gay used to mumble melodies in the mic and come up with bars to punch in similar to Future

Whatever works for you. I try not to romanticize any particular method because they're all within reach of any person, but my jump shot ain't Steph Curry's

 

[SunZoo]

The last time Jay was really around Beans was for the B coming. By that time beanie stop writing. Making with some say is his best album

You can hear/feel less restraint in his rhymes.

Don't get me wrong, I 100% believe writing things down and give you structure/consistency. But there is a level of abstraction that's easier to access when you're not making conscious effort to write every word you're trying to say, line it up between margins ect.

 

[L. Deezy]

If you a rapper like Common, I'm more inclined to believe you don't write. Dude can freestyle his ass off. Every Jay and Big freestyle were written. And not in their head. Fuhhkouttahere

 

[SunZoo]

I've heard Jay say that a couple of times once on Oprah lol.

I guess like a stand up comedian you memorize a few bits here and there then smooth it all out when performing. Music might be a little more intricate though. The sheer lack of lyricism in the game makes you wonder about this "technique" when it should be all about the execution.

The lack of lyricism more about intention than technique.

For someone like Jay or Big, they had the intention toward mastery.

Rappers these days don't care that much about it. If they punching in or even "freestyling" it's to save time and effort. To be able to brag about how they make money just fukking off pushing buttons and doing minimum effort shyt to people who think it's a flex.

 

[Cladyclad]

You can hear/feel less restraint in his rhymes.

Don't get me wrong, I 100% believe writing things down and give you structure/consistency. But there is a level of abstraction that's easier to access when you're not making conscious effort to write every word you're trying to say, line it up between margins ect.

Reading off paper felt like I was playing a shooter with input lag vs going off the dome

 

[Cladyclad]

If you a rapper like Common, I'm more inclined to believe you don't write. Dude can freestyle his ass off. Every Jay and Big freestyle were written. And not in their head. Fuhhkouttahere

Jay z is not freestyling entire rhymes. He just remembers lines in his head he said over and over. He might freestyle a bar or 4. Not a whole song breh. Y’all making this more than it is lol

i remember going to restauran this waitress took a order for a party of like 8-10 people. No pen or pad. She got everyone order. My homeboy said you ain’t gon write this down. She said she got it.

she got everything right except she bought us one extra drink. My boy bought it for her. He was so impressed

some people memory just crazy good breh

 

[DANJ!]

If I can memorize a verse long enough to get home and write it down (which I used to do often), I can believe it's easy to memorize it long enough to walk in the booth and recite it. Not sure why anyone thinks that's impossible. Nobody ever said they went in the booth and came up with it spontaneously.

 

[Ziggiy]

If you a rapper like Common, I'm more inclined to believe you don't write. Dude can freestyle his ass off. Every Jay and Big freestyle were written. And not in their head. Fuhhkouttahere

Common
Lupe Fiasco
Cyhi

Are some of the best at doing both.

 

[O.Red]

Jay z is not freestyling entire rhymes. He just remembers lines in his head he said over and over. He might freestyle a bar or 4. Not a whole song breh. Y’all making this more than it is lol

i remember going to restauran this waitress took a order for a party of like 8-10 people. No pen or pad. She got everyone order. My homeboy said you ain’t gon write this down. She said she got it.

she got everything right except she bought us one extra drink. My boy bought it for her. He was so impressed

some people memory just crazy good breh

Memory is a skill that compounds. I bet on her first day she was

In addition to what I've already said about Jay writing in his head we also have to consider that Jay has been using this technique for over 30 years. After that much practice I'm certain he's just navigating rhymes in his head all day

So when you hear stories like "Jay listened to the beat for about 3-4 minutes, walked in the booth and laid that shyt down in one take" It's not hard to believe because this nikka has had his synapses on a treadmill for decades

Nikkas mythologize it because they don't actively use their brain/memory as much. I bet if you explained Jay's technique to a high traffic bartender/waitress or a NYC cab driver they'd say yea that makes sense

Y'all should learn some memory techniques. You'll be surprised at what your brain can do

 

[Harry B]

Why is Jays name mentioned. Jay-z derangement syndrome still being highly persistent with these Nas Stans is astonishing

 

[Tommy Gibbs]

i've said it was a lie for over 20 years. It's always been a lie. Jay and Big were professionals. They'd show up with their lyrics ready while adding in a name or 2 to make it seem like they just wrote it. No way a mf sitting there for 2 hours writing a song in their head and just spitting it one take. Stop the bullshyt people!!! Only a fool would believe this. Then there are people saying, "I saw him write it in his head". No dumbazz, he had the rhyme prepared before he got there

 

[904]

Why is this shyt still a conversation

Yes Jay-Z has kept up this lie consistently for 30 years and the 50 or so people who have reported on this after working with him are all in on it too

It's not even that serious

This shyt is reaching moon landing conspiracy levels