Do you know what a Lyricist is ? (hiphop music)

[BlackDiBiase]

If these rappers are lyrical to you, then you probably wont know.

. Canibus
. Talib Kweli
. Pharoe Monch
. etc

The art of capturing an illusive feeling or picture with words

The art of making the complex simple with words

The art of expressing deep personal emotion or observations with words

The MC's like the ones named above go the long way round to describe the simple, basically a bunch of encyclopedia dictionary fillers. Just articulated gibberish.

Kweli/Canibus/etc will say this :

my opticals statued the wood vertical rectangle moved the metal 90 and welcomed the view

Big/Nas/etc say this :

I opened the door

and moved on to more important topics and matter. These MC's the Nas and Pac's and etc, they make poetry they paint pictures and a young Nas is equal to the great music lyricists like Bob Dylan and Co.

I switched my Motto instead of saying fck tomorrow that buck that bought the bottle could have struck the lotto

He is saying to hell with this doom and living like its your last, Im going to take chances in my life and have a brighter outlook.

I need a new n1gga for this black cloud to follow cos while its over me its to dark to see tomorrow

a reverse, saying his had enough and would be better dead than live more of this.

These are lyrics, these are poetry. Equal to The Smiths - This Charming Man (rockband) having a similar feeling with beautiful words like this that capture that picture and feeling with words.

Why pamper lifes complexities when the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat

Saying to hell with all the extra aggro, living is alright right now.

2pac did this effortlessly, Big, Prodigy, Nas ... This is why Mase is Kanye West favorite rapper. Anyone can rhyme but what are you saying ? This is lyrical these are lyrics to make you say damn.

Mama dont cry cos i aint happy here, i blew trail no smiles for a couple years

 

[intilectual recipricol]

Canibus is not a lyricist... he dont deserve to be in a category with Monch and Kweli.
And youre simply doin the same thing as niccaz that claim those other niccaz are the true lyricists but from another angle.

True lyricists have a mastery over the language and literary devices. That, my nicca, is Wasalu Jaco

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Anyone can rhyme but what are you saying ? This is lyrical these are lyrics to make you say damn.

Mama dont cry cos i aint happy here, i blew trail no smiles for a couple years

it makes me say damn, cause your dumbass can't even get the lyrics right.

 

[BlackDiBiase]

Canibus is not a lyricist... he dont deserve to be in a category with Monch and Kweli.
And youre simply doin the same thing as niccaz that claim those other niccaz are the true lyricists but from another angle.

True lyricists have a mastery over the language and literary devices. That, my nicca, is Wasalu Jaco

You know what i was going to put Lupe on that list, he is having the same troubles with trying to get people to enjoy his music and words. That 'Bad B*tch' track for example and trying to hard to come off as slick,dope,poetic ..... he loses his listener and thats not someone who is captivating like a true lyrical mc is.

but i agree with the bolded.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

I was ever since I saw the thread title....

5* for the comedy.

 

[BlackDiBiase]

Thats why when a few say 2pac wasn't a lyricist, english isn't their first language probably german or dutch who just love that canibus rhyme school sh1t, mostly foreign wu fiends who just dont get it what they actually said and represented.

 

[The Ruler 09]

This isn't true, it's not just about making complex things simple, the artists mentioned are great lyricists and so it Pac, there's different styles of lyricism, there isn't one set way.

 

[Insensitive]

Kweli screams the motto "KISS" he doesn't rap sh1t like canibus.
He does use big words from time to time but he doesn't use
large words for the sake of it.

That's strike 1 against you.

Second Canibus has a ton of tracks where dude isn't on some
"Intergalatical,tatical, battleship comin to unravel you".

Poet Laureate II has some of the most beautiful lyricism I've ever
heard in any fvcking genre.

That's strike 2 against you.

I'm going to assume you've never listened to either of these artists
otherwise you wouldn't be spewing such obvious bullsh1t.

I do however agree Lyricism isn't just OD'ing on literary devices in an attempt to appear more complex to
the listener.
That sh1t is pointless.

 

[BlackDiBiase]

Kweli screams the motto "KISS" he doesn't rap sh1t like canibus.
He does use big words from time to time but he doesn't use
large words for the sake of it.

That's strike 1 against you.

Second Canibus has a ton of tracks where dude isn't on some
"Intergalatical,tatical, battleship comin to unravel you".

Poet Laureate II has some of the most beautiful lyricism I've ever
heard in any fvcking genre.

That's strike 2 against you.

I'm going to assume if you've never listened to either of these artists
otherwise you wouldn't be spewing such obvious bullsh1t.

I do however agree Lyricism isn't just OD'ing on literary devices in an attempt to appear more complex to
the listener.
That sh1t is pointless.

I have and i was a hard hiphop head in the golden era up until 2003 where things began to decay. I saw the bullsh1t TheSource used to defy lyrical MC well before XXLMAG took over and never cared for the MC just the hype.

I noticed (especially white listeners) mouth salivating at long winded dictionary type rhymes that really hold no weight in content or meaning. I have listened to a lot of Talib Kweli and dude is a victim of long winded abstract gibberish.

The Mag's pigeon holed lyrical MC's and since the messageboard era, dudes have gone crazy with who they are labeling lyrical.

 

[†ZULU â€]

@ OP referencing Bob Dylan as a "great lyricist"

 

[BlackDiBiase]

@ OP referencing Bob Dylan as a "great lyricist"

 

[Klos2God]

Lyrics are not subject to be just one way though. That’s the standard definition of being lyrical. Canibus and allot of others are what you would call complex lyricist. It’s not right or wrong either way just what you are looking for in your lyrics. This is why I frown on people that say Pac wasnt lyrical when in fact he was very lyrical when it came to reaching his listeners. Some of the most simple things can be called lyrical even though some might thinks it’s simple.

 

[Insensitive]

I have and i was a hard hiphop head in the golden era up until 2003 where things began to decay. I saw the bullsh1t TheSource used to defy lyrical MC well before XXLMAG took over and never cared for the MC just the hype.

I noticed (especially white listeners) mouth salivating at long winded dictionary type rhymes that really hold no weight in content or meaning. I have listened to a lot of Talib Kweli and dude is a victim of long winded abstract gibberish.

The Mag's pigeon holed lyrical MC's and since the messageboard era, dudes have gone crazy with who they are labeling lyrical.

I disagree with the bolded a great deal.
Talib tends to be straight to the point focusing moreso on punchlines and word play.
He isn't someone who tends to use metaphor and euphisms to say something without directly saying it.


A dude like Aesop Rock has that sh1t to the bad, his music can be a chore to listen to because he OD's on being "Abstract" to the point where I'm certain most of his lyrics are things only he can explain because they're just that out there.

I do agree that it tends to be mostly white listeners who go nuts over vocab even eschewing the vital skill of Flow just to hear MORE WORDS.

They go crazy over dudes who just link together a ton of words that rhyme but ultimately add up to nothing which to me screams lazy lyricism.
If anyone doesn't believe me look up all those Youtube rappers who shun people like Jay-Z or Pac but lose their loads over dictionary rappers, you'll notice their lyricism tends to be poor and usually doesn't say much at all.

I like it moreso when a rapper can use words that aren't in the average rappers vocab but they still manage to make it sound dope.

Talib is one of those dudes who can do that, from my listening to Talib he
doesn't seem like a rapper who just uses big words for the sake of using big words.

Canibus does suffer from that from time to time though, I'll even say he has too many moments of pseudo science fueled lyricism, which kind of brings him down as an artist on top of other issues I think he has as an Emcee/Writer.

I like lyricism that includes literary devices,complex rhyming etc. but only when it serves a purpose. If it adds absolutely nothing to the song then I don't want to hear it.

Pac could write sh1t that said a lot with only a couple bars, the basics and a point to be made, his music was simple while communicating complex ideas.
It's what makes dudes like Krs,Chuck D and Ice Cube fvcking dope.

 

[intilectual recipricol]

You know what i was going to put Lupe on that list, he is having the same troubles with trying to get people to enjoy his music and words. That 'Bad B*tch' track for example and trying to hard to come off as slick,dope,poetic ..... he loses his listener and thats not someone who is captivating like a true lyrical mc is.

but i agree with the bolded.

No. Quite frankly, if you appreciate lyricism then you appreciate Lupe. If you get lost on "B*tch Bad" then you dont appreciate nor can you appreciate lyricism because there was nothing to get lost on. Yes, there are songs where Lu goes extremely dense as his purpose to flex his muscle, but thats not even 10% of his songs.

But I would agree with you in including the GOAT in the lyricist list

Even if you were right about losing listeners that wouldnt take someone out of the lyricist list... "just cuz you dont understand him it dont mean that he nice..."