# Rapping and musical intrigue: Why is it addictive



## Doctor Sleep (Apr 16, 2013)

Some weird thinking but what is your way of thinking concerning poetic raps?


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## DualGnosis (Apr 6, 2013)

I don't think it's quality rap unless it IS poetic. I'm not a big fan of the play/repeat chorus with the typical money and bitches verses. It's just plain boring unless I'm at the club but that's about it.


Honestly I'm just glad some people acknowledge that rap CAN be poetic.


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## Children Of The Bad Revolution (Oct 8, 2013)

If it's actually poetry then it's great. If it's about bitchez and hoes, then it's bollocks. Total machismo shit.


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## LandOfTheSnakes (Sep 7, 2013)

People tend to discount rap that isn't lyrically focused but not all rap is intended to even be about the lyrics. People enjoy it for the same reason people enjoy EDM or even classical music just to give a couple examples of music types that very clearly aren't lyrically focused yet many people enjoy. The music sets a mood and makes the listener feel a certain way. I think hip-hop/rap is an extremely diverse genre and a lot of people don't give it enough of a chance. And there are plenty of rappers who are extraordinary poets/story-tellers.


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## Cephalonimbus (Dec 6, 2010)

I think that people tend to focus a lot on lyrical content in this discussion while mostly ignoring the aesthetic aspect of the vocal. The argument against rap is often that a lot of it is superficial in terms of content, and although there are obviously plenty of exceptions, i can't help but disagree with the notion that a lot of rap lyrics are rather ignorant, materialistic, violent, mysogynistic, etc... probably more than any other popular genre out there.

That being said... i don't necessarily see that as a bad thing, because in rap, form is often more important than content. Of course, rap has just as much potential as any other genre to have meaningful lyrics, striking metaphors, inspiring messages, captivating allegoric stories, etc. but i don't think the absence of these things necessarily makes something bad poetry.

Rapping is typically the most verbose form of lyricism by quite a large margin, as well as the genre most focused on rhythmic syncopation of the vocals. Instead of using the vocal as a primarily melodic instrument like in most other genres, it's applied primarily as a percussive instrument. Because of these attributes, rap is a particularly good platform for technical wordplay, rhyming patterns that are very complex in terms of meter, alliteration, etc.

TL;DR - the technical and aesthetic aspects of language are where rap really shines IMO.


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## Wartime Consigliere (Feb 8, 2011)

I find most people that criticize rap for largely being about the same superficial content do so mostly because they don't go out of their way to find new rap music (or because they don't know where to look). There's tons of quality lyricists out there, but most people wait for good music to find _them_.

As said above, in rap, vocals are largely a percussive instrument. Rhythmic syllable placement (including minimizing filler), breaks, and pacing of content is a *huge* focus of it.

Canibus talks about it in his track Genabis, heavily referencing the Book of Genesis.



Canibus - Genabis said:


> In the beginning, I discovered word play
> I experimented with some syllables from the first to the third day
> On the fourth, *I searched for the words to say:
> How to express complex verbiage in the least amount of space*


Noticing the different common rhyme schemes of different artists is a very intriguing thing to me when paying attention to people's individual styles. Vinnie Paz (Jedi Mind Tricks), Logic, Kendrick Lamar etc have very distinct trends in what type of rhyme schemes they use. A lot of major commercial rappers (Big Sean, Kanye West etc) have *very* developed delivery in the sense of _how_ they say their words (flow etc) - which is typically the main criticism of content specialists like Immortal Technique, Aesop Rock etc. I think across the entire genre, rap has probably one of the most diverse ranges for content simply because the lyrics are a prime focus. Concept tracks everywhere. 

It can happen over almost any sound too. Although sampling is probably under-acknowledged in terms of giving credit to the original artists, that's a legal issue in itself so it's to be expected. But influences from other genres is a central part of hip hop production, so I think the potential in diversity of rap adds to the recognition, respect and 'addictiveness' of the genre/technique.

I could cite countless examples of clever lyricism in rap - storytelling, metaphors, similes (one of the main sources of punchlines), clever use of repetition, and other aspects of the language that shows how articulate and 'clinical' the technical aspects of word play can be.


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## chimeric (Oct 15, 2011)

Cephalonimbus said:


> That being said... i don't necessarily see that as a bad thing, because in rap, form is often more important than content. Of course, rap has just as much potential as any other genre to have meaningful lyrics, striking metaphors, inspiring messages, captivating allegoric stories, etc. but i don't think the absence of these things necessarily makes something bad poetry.
> 
> Rapping is typically the most verbose form of lyricism by quite a large margin, as well as the genre most focused on rhythmic syncopation of the vocals. Instead of using the vocal as a primarily melodic instrument like in most other genres, it's applied primarily as a percussive instrument. Because of these attributes, rap is a particularly good platform for technical wordplay, rhyming patterns that are very complex in terms of meter, alliteration, etc.
> 
> TL;DR - the technical and aesthetic aspects of language are where rap really shines IMO.


Great post. There's some shallow/materialistic rap that's stylistically amazing. Suga Free is a particularly good example of what you're talking about, IMO. His misogyny can be a bit much to listen to sometimes, but his flow is wtf.






That's my own favorite aspect of rap -- the delivery. People do some damn cool things with their voices. And the way rhymes work, certain lines can have like 5 different meanings and flow into each other in really creative ways.


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## Shaolu (Jul 1, 2014)

Rap is just another musical genre that is trying to get away from melody. As far as melody goes, there really hasn't been any real innovation since "The Farmer in the Dell."


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## Clyme (Jul 17, 2014)

Although I don't have too much to contribute it terms of this discussion, I agree with what everybody else has said.
It seems that rap gets a terrible reputation and a large portion of people deem it to be trash or that it isn't "real music".

In any case, I think that's complete rubbish.

I will personally mention why I find it addictive though, being an avid fan of rap music myself.
I find it to be addictive because of the wide array of sounds that it can take. Rap has an amazing capacity for imbuing other genres into it, from electronic, rock, punk, classical, and many more. I find it wonderful the way that some artists can really bring together different sounds and make something unique. Beyond that, you have the technical capacity with the lyrics, the many nuances that can characterize the delivery, and so many other aspects which gives it such a diversity. Rap to me is a sort of rabbit-hole that keeps reinventing itself and bringing you different places.


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