Chuck D: 3rd Verse in Hip Hop Is Useless

[KingsOfKings]

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On July 14, 2015 Public Enemy will release its 15th album, Man Plans God Laughs. During Chuck D's interview on The Library with Tim EInenkel, Chuck tells Tim why they decided to eliminate the use of the 3rd verse on this album.

We eliminated the 3rd verse....Which I think increasingly as we go in hip-hop the third verse is becoming useless. That's why you see a lot of collabs. The collaborations and remixes are like the NBA. It's like the 3-pointer. To a point, it's like Yes, it's a weapon and then after awhile it becomes a crutch and then after awhile the game just morphs..."

Tim Einenkel's full interview with Chuck D will be heard soon on The Library and also on ANDYOUDON'TSTOP on RAPstation.com.

 

[KingsOfKings]

@feelosofer @Art Barr

 

[BlackDiBiase]

respect but i dont agree with none of that shyt. smh.

 

[The Bookie]

Gas old NY nikkas into thinking that they're the supreme authority on Hip-Hop, brehs.

 

[newworldafro]

Some of the best songs have 3 verses.......Chuck D is that dude...but nah breh......what's next, get rid of the choruses cause the first freestylers with DJ Herc didn't have choruses and is a crutch...

 

[feelosofer]

I think Chuck D is one of the smartest minds in hip-hop and in actuality, I think he might be on to something. Hip-hop songs have gotten a little to bloated and have followed more of a rock/format with the 3rd verse being akin to a guitar solo. I think with eliminating the 3rd verse, he makes an album that is concise and to the point, because if it snaps, you're gonna put the song on repeat and if it sucks, you're on to the next one. Quite Frankly, especially when it comes to veteran rappers, they use guest spots to spit 3rd verses and a lot of times, the collabs are either weak or unnecessary. I would say it's smart thinking. I mean Public Enemy's later discography is still quite good, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Deltron]

Respect to Chuck..but I think it all really depends.

Some of the best verses I've heard were the third/fourth/etc verse.

Sometimes, songs with only 2 verses are too short and the way it just ends kills the momentum.

 

[CrimsonTider]

STFU

 

[dubs]

Retarded.

The third verse is as useful as whoever wrote it, wants it to be.

 

[Hades]

Moka Only has been doing that for years. Check any of his albums from 2007 (Vermilion, Clap Trap, Carrots & Eggs, Martian XMAS 2012) onwards to today. Sean Price's last album did the same. I still disagree because you have to completely rethink the way that you approach songwriting. Hit/ popular songs need three verses or at the minimum, three choruses. That is the crux of making something that catches people. You lose a huge part of the repetition especially with the decreased attention span. I also don't like how he thinks he's invented, or reinvented, the wheel with this realization.

His analogy of the three pointer falls flat as well. I admit that I don't like analogies in the first place as they often conflate two separate things incorrectly but in what way is the three pointer a crutch? That would mean that he third verse is a crutch as well and that doesn't make the slightest bit of sense to me. At all. Chuck just sounded like he wanted to pat himself on the back for something that others have discovered, done and perfected way before him.

 

[Redwing80]

No one has 3 verse songs anymore anyway

 

[KingsOfKings]

i honestly feel like it could go either way. also why limit yourself to just 3 verses?