NYTimes Vid: Why Rappers Stopped Writing: The Punch-In Method

[CarltonJunior]

nikka PLEASE
TWISTA HAS GOAT LEVEL
BREATH CONTROL.

DONT EVER MENTION THE GAWD
AND GUNNA IN THE SAME SENTENCE.





​

I've loosely seen him do punch ins in other videos but the nikka is a legend so this doesn't surprise me

 

[CHICAGO]

I've loosely seen him do punch ins in other videos but the nikka is a legend so this doesn't surprise me

nikkaS LIKE TWISTA, BONE OR
EVEN MYSELF PUNCH IN
AT TIMES BECAUSE ITS CONVENIENT
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DONT FEEL
LIKE LAYING THE WHOLE VERSE AGAIN.

BUT ITS DEFINITELY NOT A NECESSITY.




​

 

[TripleAgent]

 

[Art Barr]

What are your thoughts on doing verses in one take vs multiple edits and layering the track?

Layering is for novices who can not pocket a flow.

Ad-libs are layed correctly.
or a fail is someone trying to say I layered it.

You perform the verse in the highest quality take.
bar one through sixteen as standard.

Only edits is after recording and if a verse is pocketed and performed with Hugh quality. The most that should be edited us small breathes after each bar. that can be picked up and edit. at the end of each bar.
to make it have a bit more pop. Yet that is for an expert engineer. on vocals behind the boards to perform. For an as or above skilled producer per instructions.

Anything else and said rapper is trash.

Art Barr

 

[Art Barr]

Punching in can be a method of writing however the way its used by lazy rappers tends mean focusing on simply rhyming each bar with the next. No actual substance or connected thoughts. Cause when you write down you lyrics you can go over them and make sure it all makes sense and is a fully thought coherent song.

Punching in is not a method of writing.

Stop.



Art Barr

 

[tuckgod]

I was pretty mystified by the Flint, Michigan rapper style, I even felt these guys had a chance of surpassing my favorite rapper, then I saw a video of them in the booth 3 men coming up with literally 1 line at a time and I was like ohhhh


Compare





To this



^ when it’s like the first example, the audio engineer should be dropping the album with a “featuring guest appearances from”

Still sounds dope though and I will gather from it what it’s worth

Goof troop

 

[MajesticLion]

Different people are going to have their own process for putting it all together, that's one thing. The problem is the idea that you don't need a process, that since Jay/BIG/whoever can lay tracks down without the writing then you won't or don't...and it's made a lot of wannabes lazy and not respect the process.

You ain't them.

 

[Bondye Vodou]

Same way lyricism(like u just mentioned) disappeared.. the consumer dictates what’s important unfortunately and the main consumer of music are young people. Their criteria is a lot different than ours

Emceeing is disappearing.

Mushmouth rap is the new wave

 

[Bugzbunny129]

Yeah, it's like you learning the words to your own song and then when you memorize it you can record it better, I've done that too

I might even rap the same song 2/3 times with different vocal inflections and decide which one I like the most, one I might be chill, one I might be yelling/upbeat, one I might do a lil more of melodic singsongy style voice, etc.

There's no "wrong" way to record but I do think that the lack of thought and effort towards the bars does water down the quality moreso than how the bars were recorded

Yea i think people are missing the point on why people do this

Writing is cool. But writing sometimes doesnt reflect what the reality of ya flow

So people just start freestyling and throw in some writtens and such


The only thing i dont agree with are these rappers that just cycle beats. Make 40 songs a night hy cucling beats and freestyling. Dont even know what they saying so they can make demos.

No soul in that.

Imo if you dont leave the studio completely wiped out you didnt do it right. Ive done everything you listed bruh. I hate the vocal inflection ones. End up rerecording 10x.

 

[010101]

punching in is not the issue

that's just the style of recording versus one take recording

the issue is piss poor shytty songwriting

*

 

[Alexander Wiggin]

What baffles me is not even the way they decided to record. It's the fact that they look down on people who still write their rhymes like they are corny or some ish. Sayin you are a punch in rapper is one thing, being actually proud of it is another

 

[Shadow King]

And it shows in the quality.

 

[Shadow King]

Bu bu bu Drake… the coli

How does this absolve Drake?

 

[kingofnyc]

Cease said Biggie wrote his lyrics down

that was early - the 1st half of R2D
by late summer of ‘94 a few months before R2D dropped he completely stop using paper

 

[En Sabah Nur]

that was early - the 1st half of R2D
by late summer of ‘94 a few months before R2D dropped he completely stop using paper

I'm not sure when "The What" was done in the recording timeline, but Meth has said several times Biggie wrote his rhymes down for that