What exactly makes a dope MC?

[Music Fiend]

Rapping requires character and precision. I feel like most dudes who "rap" have one or the other. Some dudes just got some lively vocals, but they can't catch the beat for 16 bars. Then you got some who can catch the beat but you can't even feel what they saying cuz its lifeless and dull vocals.

Energy and vibe is another. You gotta come with the energy and override the beat and the vibe part is just having a good ear for what you'd sound good on.

out of the box bars.Until you say something that I've never even thought about you're not impressing me.

Flow. Can i hear everything you say and make out the words, even though you're coming with slick schemes?

Last though I think is creative versatility. Nonstop content and concepts.

 

[Art Barr]

First is voice quality. Better rappers can actually carry a tune usually. Very distinctive voices also carry weight.

Rythm is critical. Hip Hop is essentially "beats". Voice as instrument: Rap is moreso percussion.

Emoting. Good rappers are actors on the mic. They convey emotion.

Bars are actually less important than I like. Ill enough bars can overcome some flaws, but usually dope writers end up writing for rappers that have the above qualities.

That's my $0.02. Add on.

your description is that of a voice over actor.
it is not a description of what an emcee is,..
let alone what makes/constitutes a dope emcee.


art barr

 

[Art Barr]

dope emcee characteristics

ability to write on an advanced technical level
ability to freestyle on an advanced technical level
mic presence
convincability
flow
delivery
vocal tonality
vocal quality
charisma
content
stage presence
spontaneity

if they can't do any of this, chances are they were given their deal, props based on semantics and not skill.
a real emcee has no issues with any of the concrete qualities i have listed.


art barr

 

[Art Barr]

Dope MC = lyrics and delivery and then flows


Nas doesn't translate well into this 808 era .... Jay-Z does

jay is one of the least skilled in this 808 era.
he is living off of past draws and glory.
he has not been overly skilled since, volume iii.
which was more a trickle down from the contingent of rappers who he purposefully surrounded himself with to ramp up.
after volume iii, we don't know what or who wrote for him afterwards concretely.
plus, on roc la familia was the last time he employed a skilled biter based cadre of parlor tricks to fool the public.



art barr

 

[Ghost Utmost]

your description is that of a voice over actor.
it is not a description of what an emcee is,..
let alone what makes/constitutes a dope emcee.


art barr

DJ Akshun wasn't actually shooting off a cops knees (Scarface) but the recording certainly conveys the energy of him doing such. To achieve this he has to get his mind into a state that actually makes him feel the emotion he's trying to express. This is no different than what Ice Cube does on screen when he bodies Ricky's killer. This doesn't make the acting "fake". Actors in movies actually cry cause they make themselves sad. Facemob's verses on "This Can't Be Life" is as much of a tear jerker as any monologue from any play. He was drawing from true emotion, but he didn't just speak from the heart off the cuff, he wrote the bars and likely did multiple takes. He could likely reproduce this same feeling on demand right this second even though that was long long ago. This is what actors do.

A rapper like GZA who is essentially deadpan on the mic can appeal to the few, to the critics, but he seldom is in the hunt for the top 10 of all time.. Even within the Wu the more emotional members are placed above GZA but GZA has some of the best bars in history. GZA lacks the emotive quality that ODB possesses. OBD's bars are child's play compared to GZA. ODB is still doper.

 

[DaveyDave]

First is voice quality. Better rappers can actually carry a tune usually. Very distinctive voices also carry weight.

are you saying good rappers should be able to sing? not really a prerequisite IMO many good rappers CAN sing but there are probably more that can't sing well. have you ever heard Playa Hater or Stay Schemin? Nas & BIG can't sing to save their life, KRS probably can't sing very well, i bet Jigga can't do a duet with Bey. it doesn't work the other way either, not many singers make good rappers. i can't think of many (if any) that have made a good transition from singing first to rapping or incorporate rapping into their repertoire. Chris Brown?

 

[Art Barr]

DJ Akshun wasn't actually shooting off a cops knees (Scarface) but the recording certainly conveys the energy of him doing such. To achieve this he has to get his mind into a state that actually makes him feel the emotion he's trying to express. This is no different than what Ice Cube does on screen when he bodies Ricky's killer. This doesn't make the acting "fake". Actors in movies actually cry cause they make themselves sad. Facemob's verses on "This Can't Be Life" is as much of a tear jerker as any monologue from any play. He was drawing from true emotion, but he didn't just speak from the heart off the cuff, he wrote the bars and likely did multiple takes. He could likely reproduce this same feeling on demand right this second even though that was long long ago. This is what actors do.

A rapper like GZA who is essentially deadpan on the mic can appeal to the few, to the critics, but he seldom is in the hunt for the top 10 of all time.. Even within the Wu the more emotional members are placed above GZA but GZA has some of the best bars in history. GZA lacks the emotive quality that ODB possesses. OBD's bars are child's play compared to GZA. ODB is still doper.

odb was not doper than gza.
you just like the comical voice over quality of odb more than gza.
plus, there is hordes of information and facts.
about where odb's actual rhyme originate from that disprove what you are saying from a cultural standpoint.
if odb was doper than gza.
then wu tang would never exist as gza was the one who garnered the look of majors.
that eventually authenicated the wu being able to garner the looks from major to continue on as a group.
after gza and rza both failed as solo artists.


art barr

 

[Ghost Utmost]

are you saying good rappers should be able to sing? not really a prerequisite IMO many good rappers CAN sing but there are probably more that can't sing well. have you ever heard Playa Hater or Stay Schemin? Nas & BIG can't sing to save their life, KRS probably can't sing very well, i bet Jigga can't do a duet with Bey. it doesn't work the other way either, not many singers make good rappers. i can't think of many (if any) that have made a good transition from singing first to rapping or incorporate rapping into their repertoire. Chris Brown?

Except I have heard BIG sing a hook. Nas too. KRS too.

The actual syllables that they spit while rhyming have some kind of "note". Some measurable frequency. If it's not somewhat harmonious/melodic then it doesn't sound as good. Pac, Face, ODB (again) are examples of rap styles that have a melodic quality.

 

[Art Barr]

are you saying good rappers should be able to sing? not really a prerequisite IMO many good rappers CAN sing but there are probably more that can't sing well. have you ever heard Playa Hater or Stay Schemin? Nas & BIG can't sing to save their life, KRS probably can't sing very well, i bet Jigga can't do a duet with Bey. it doesn't work the other way either, not many singers make good rappers. i can't think of many (if any) that have made a good transition from singing first to rapping or incorporate rapping into their repertoire. Chris Brown?

he continually constructs a pass system built on rnb.
that was phased out in the old school way of thought, during the force md's situation.
that, he does not understand the reason why it is phased out.
was so rap would not be near its dying legs as a draw, like it is now.
like it would have been if not for the cultural revolution of the hardcore bboy.
over the sellout beaugoise bboy of the oldschool way of thought.
who had rap pegged as a fad, and since the revisiting of oldschool way of though melody making fake ass rap.
rap is headed right back to the low quality doldrums of non-drawing hell it was mired in before krs came throughed't and crushed the buildings.
by making a cultural spin, on melody and infusing it with a cultural connection in scope and execution.
plus, being the inventor of the slow flow.
that created the clarity and ability for rap to create quality submissions album to album, record to record.
that previously did not exist in the melody maker old school way of thought quality wise, record to record.



art barr

 

[DaveyDave]

Except I have heard BIG sing a hook. Nas too. KRS too.

The actual syllables that they spit while rhyming have some kind of "note". Some measurable frequency. If it's not somewhat harmonious/melodic then it doesn't sound as good. Pac, Face, ODB (again) are examples of rap styles that have a melodic quality.

when does BIG sing a hook? KRS can do that reggae kind of style but not on the level of someone like Barrington Levy. i wouldn't say ODB "can sing" in the way people usually talk about singers.

 

[Ghost Utmost]

odb was not doper than gza.
you just like the comical voice over quality of odb more than gza.
plus, there is hordes of information and facts.
about where odb's actual rhyme originate from that disprove what you are saying from a cultural standpoint.
if odb was doper than gza.
then wu tang would never exist as gza was the one who garnered the look of majors.
that eventually authenicated the wu being able to garner the looks from major to continue on as a group.
after gza and rza both failed as solo artists.


art barr

GZA can never make Brooklyn Zoo. In fact, I don't think GZA has one song that's a hit. I think GZA is more fun to listen to when I'm alone but he doesn't move the crowd as much.

 

[Art Barr]

GZA can never make Brooklyn Zoo. In fact, I don't think GZA has one song that's a hit. I think GZA is more fun to listen to when I'm alone but he doesn't move the crowd as much.

your personal preference is not based or welled on any actual knowledge built around skills.
especially if you think odb is better than gza.
again, it has been said over and over,...
odb, used countless rhymes from older performances of gza and others.


art barr

 

[Ghost Utmost]

GZA writes for ODB as stated in the OP.

I wish bars were more important, but I'm just reporting what I see. No one would seriously argue that Canibus is the GOAT but you could argue that he has the GOAT bars.

 

[DaveyDave]

GZA can never make Brooklyn Zoo. In fact, I don't think GZA has one song that's a hit. I think GZA is more fun to listen to when I'm alone but he doesn't move the crowd as much.

i think it was Meth that said ODB's 1st album is mostly GZA & RZA rhymes that Dirty stole or had them write. in fact i think it's on that album where GZA has a verse & later on ODB says the same verse on a different song. can't remember which songs they are off top.

was GZA’s shyt. I remember GZA and ODB got in an argument one night and GZA was like, ‘nikka most of that shyt on your fukking album is mines anyway!’

 

[Cynic]

jay is one of the least skilled in this 808 era.
he is living off of past draws and glory.
he has not been overly skilled since, volume iii.
which was more a trickle down from the contingent of rappers who he purposefully surrounded himself with to ramp up.
after volume iii, we don't know what or who wrote for him afterwards concretely.
plus, on roc la familia was the last time he employed a skilled biter based cadre of parlor tricks to fool the public.



art barr

Cool.