Rapping

This article is on the art and practice of rapping. For information on "rap music", see Hip hop music. For the English folk dance, see Rapper sword.

Rapping is one of the elements of hip hop culture, as well as the distinguishing feature of most hip hop music. It is a form of rhyming lyrics delivered rhythmically over a musical backdrop of sampling, scratching and mixing by DJs. Originally, rapping was called MCing and accompanied DJing.

Origins

Rapping (as a self-conscious artistic school) began as a variation on the toasting found in reggae, funk and dub music, mixed with influences from jazz-related performance poetry (Langston Hughes's album Weary Blues being an important example; the Beats also notable), radio DJ patter, and the tradition of playing.

Descendents and influence

Rapping is one of the four elements of hip hop: MCing (rapping), DJing (mixing, cutting and scratching), graffiti (tagging), and breakdancing. However, in the course of rap's history, new musical styles developed that use rapping - especially rapcore, also known as rap/rock or rap/metal, first introduced by crossover pioneer Run-DMC's collaboration with Aerosmith in 1986. Some alternative rap has musically very little to do with mainstream hip hop music. Often consisting of bizarre soundscapes and vivid lyrics, abstract hip-hop has developed, largely in the underground.

Music outside of the United States has taken the rap style and blended it with completely different elements. Japanese dance music, for example, often uses rapping to complement or break up the singing parts, with lyrics containing upbeat themes set to energetic rhythms and clean, warm synths. Rap was instantly popular in the United Kingdom, perhaps building on the great popularity of dub and reggae toasting. MCs also became a fixture at Jungle and UK Garage events, whilst a recent offshoot of garage, dubbed Grime, has focused on rapping, making stars of rappers such as Dizzee Rascal and Wiley.

The importance of rhyme

Undoubtedly, the most important element of rap lyrics is rhyme. In other forms of poetry, rhymes that span many syllables are often considered whimsical but in hip hop, the ability to construct raps with large sets of rhyming syllables is considered a sign of intelligence and achievement. For the same reason, rap music is sometimes referred to as "street poetry" or "street rhyme". To accomplish rhymes of this sophistication, rappers can use single rhyming words (intellectual/ineffectual) or they can use multiple words whose constituent syllables rhyme (octoroon/Doctor Doom). Rap lyrics often contain long series of lines each of which rhyme with each other. Occasionally, entire songs are composed in this fashion where all lines rhyme with each other. Of course, the more intricate the rhymes are, the more abstract the song becomes. This is because the more focus given to impressive rhyming, the harder it becomes to write coherently. However, in rare cases a lyricist is able to display impressive rhyming alongside topic coherence, and this delivery can be quite amazing. Battle raps can be written with complex rhyming techniques easier than raps that tell a story or convey a message because a battle rap can employ a vast array of metaphors to conjure images of rapper to rapper combat.

Rhyme is also integral to Freestyle battles. These contests pit two rappers together, to lyrically insult and intimidate each other with impromptu lyrics. The ability to construct clever rhymes to insult the opponent "off the top of the dome" (dome being slang for head) is a critical skill to winning these contests.

Different types of rhymes

Not all rhymes used in rap are clear cut. Often, consonance, assonance, half rhymes, and internal rhyme schemes are employed. Pulling of assonance naturally is considered skillful in the Hip/Hop community. According to Kool Moe Dee's book There's a God on the Mic, the best overall rhymers are Rakim and Eminem.

Importance of various techniques

Although rhyme is the essential required element of all raps, there are other literary techniques that are often employed. To use many of these techniques while still maintaining a meaningful rhyme is considered by most rap listeneres to be signs of a good rhyme.

Cadence

Cadence is the overall balance of a rhyme in relation to the beat, as far as emphasis and speed (and in some example of a rapper with varying -- but always strong -- cadence in his raps. He is seen this way because of his ability to ride slow, fast, melodic, or hardcore beats equally well.

Prosody

Unlike many other forms of poetry, rappers typically don't think about metre and feet very heavily. Instead, the goal is to unconciously develop a flow. A good flow is a metre that doesn't drag along, but rather, draws the listener into the words. According to Kool Moe Dee's book, There's a God on the Mic, Rakim is the inventor of flow in rapping. Rappers sometimes use popular poetic forms such as iambic pentameter.

Enunciation

Speaking clearly is important because rap is said outloud unlike many other forms of poetry. Enunciation in rap is sometimes exaggerated to a cartoonish level, which is actually a sign of skill. Ludacris is considered an example of a good enunciator by many, such as the interviewer on daveyd.com

Style, voice, tone, attitude, and soul

These terms are essentially the emotions carried by the rapper in his music and lyrics.

Speed

This is the tempo/speed that a person raps at. An example of a fast rapper is Twista, who used to hold the Guiness World Record for fastest rapper, until his record was broken.

Wordplay

Wordplay include double entendres, alliteration, and all forms of playing around with your words. Wordplay is subjective -- whether it's done well or poorly is up to the listener.

Other techniques

There are several other techniques used in rapping, such as: enjambment and hyperbole.

The message

Wordplay shows skill, but the message of a rap is more important. A rapper who talks about nothing with excellent wordplay doesn't show as much skill as one who has a message, because his or her creativity has substance. The message can be about one's life, about politics, about philosophy, about bragging, and anything with meaning. It can tell a story or show imagery that occurs in the rapper's everyday life. Percieved nonsense or dadaist rappers such as Aesop Rock are often looked down on by the purist Hip Hop fans for not having a real soulful message, and for "watering down the sound of the ghetto" (Kool Keith). However, dedicated fans of Aesop Rock find pleasure in finding the meaning in his dense lyrics, which they contest is clear to them.

Political Rap

It wasn't until The Message (which borrows lyrics from a Jewish comedy routine, according to David Toop) by Melle Mel that rapping became no longer solely focused on braggadocio and good times.

One element that has always existed in raps, dating back to Hip-Hop's inception is the subject of struggle. This struggle was originally centered on making money, or getting girls. With The Message the idea of 'the struggle' was put in another context, that is, the hardships of the ghetto. As time has gone by and Hip-Hop has changed and grown, rappers have emerged that focus centrally on politics and social issues, such as Public Enemy. As all rappers have different viewpoints and personalities, the political message of one "socially concious" rapper (as they're often referred to in the Hip-Hop community) will differ greatly from the next.

For example, artists like Ice Cube have used the themes of gangster rap to provide an outlet for his anger at America, which he perceives as incredibly racist and oppressive, and makes political and social observations based on his life in the crime-ridden ghetto.

Political Rap artists like Dead Prez or The Coup often push forward ideologies such as militant Socialism in opposition to capitalism. Such artists often identify individual struggles with the popular ideology of their society.

Political Rap is not limited to liberal, anti-establishment views. For example, the prolific rapper, KRS-ONE wrote the following, in pushing for individual responsibility:

Album: I Got Next Track: 2nd Quarter-Free Throws
"The rich get richer, cause they work towards rich/
The poor get poorer, cause their minds can't switch/
From the ghetto/
Let go/ it's not a novelty/
You could love your neighborhood without loving poverty"

Political Rap has made it to the mainstream of Hip/Hop under Public Enemy. Rap has lent itself well to transmission of any message, because the words are usually easy to hear timed over a beat. Because political messages are so important to people, this largely explains why they have found a significant place in rap lyrics and the views of the Hip-Hop community at large.

Traditional forms

In many traditional cultures there are lyrical forms that could loosely be described as rapping. Examples of these include:

Mor lam in Laos
Chastushka in Russia
Tsiattista in Cyprus
Enka Slamta in Ethiopia
Tassou in Senegal
Rhapsody in Ancient Greece
Gstanzl in Bavaria and similar traditions in Austria and Switzerland.
Urdu Rap from Pakistan
Kuai ban in China

External links

HipHop-Battles.com Audio Battle Platform for Rapper