Mr Uncle Leroy
All Star
In an AOL News article from January 18, 2011 in which Rap Genius and another rap lyric explanation site - Understand Rap - are featured, the author of the article claimed that the creators of Rap Genius have a "beef" with the creator of Understand Rap, William Buckholz. Tom Lehman contends that "[his] entire project is dedicated to a single joke: rap lyrics sound funny when translated into intentionally white-sounding language. But translating rap into white-speak is only peripherally related to analyzing its meaning. Rap Genius, on the other hand, engages rap as poetry, rather than as the butt of a joke."
Rap music raises plenty of questions, from "What's my name?" to "When's the last time you heard a funky diabetic?"
Thankfully, a number of analytic hip-hop experts are willing to share the answers. Online and in print, lyric lovers have crafted rap Rosetta stones that can help new listeners parse through some of the genre's most difficult-to-understand rhymes.
"Most rap listeners, like most rock listeners, are more interested in a hot beat and a catchy hook than deep, meaningful lyrics," said Tom Lehman, one of the founders of the Internet rap interpretation site Rap Genius. "The difference between rock and rap though is that with rap there's actually meaning to uncover."
When Lil Wayne says "I got through that sentence like a subject and a predicate," he's not just talking about his grammar. According to William Buckholz, the man behind Understand Rap, the rapper is also referencing a recent prison sentence.
With their complicated flows and ever-changing slang, some rappers like Lil Wayne can confuse casual listeners and even their biggest fans.
For example, in Lil Wayne's "6 Foot 7 Foot" he raps, "I got through that sentence like a subject and a predicate."
Can't Understand Rap? Experts Offer Free Translations
Rap music raises plenty of questions, from "What's my name?" to "When's the last time you heard a funky diabetic?"
Thankfully, a number of analytic hip-hop experts are willing to share the answers. Online and in print, lyric lovers have crafted rap Rosetta stones that can help new listeners parse through some of the genre's most difficult-to-understand rhymes.
"Most rap listeners, like most rock listeners, are more interested in a hot beat and a catchy hook than deep, meaningful lyrics," said Tom Lehman, one of the founders of the Internet rap interpretation site Rap Genius. "The difference between rock and rap though is that with rap there's actually meaning to uncover."
When Lil Wayne says "I got through that sentence like a subject and a predicate," he's not just talking about his grammar. According to William Buckholz, the man behind Understand Rap, the rapper is also referencing a recent prison sentence.
With their complicated flows and ever-changing slang, some rappers like Lil Wayne can confuse casual listeners and even their biggest fans.
For example, in Lil Wayne's "6 Foot 7 Foot" he raps, "I got through that sentence like a subject and a predicate."
Can't Understand Rap? Experts Offer Free Translations
Every kind.
