Adventure!

There are moments from my time living in Toronto that I absolutely adored, even fell in love with, but the ones I am most fond of are my times exploring the city with my hip hop on blast. When I first moved to the city I was almost overwhelmed, it felt like it had TOO much to offer, and because of that I stayed fairly reclusive. I would travel to downtown Toronto every so often, but It was incredibly brief and I would usually only be there to take the bus to my mothers home in London. Then one day I decided, fuck it, I’m here for awhile I should really learn about where I’m living. I recall grabbing my MP3 player, selecting Prince Paul’s A Prince Amongst Thieves and walking from the bus station in Toronto’s downtown core all the way to my home near Scarborough.

This sense of euphoria hit me… it was one of exploring something new and exciting and that sense was heightened through Hip Hop. I looked at the giant sky scrapers, the gorgeous run down apartments and the beautiful business of everything… history, excitement and opportunity were everywhere in this city and I could not get enough of it and definitely could not get enough of my play list either. Shifting from Prince Paul’s crime-filled soundscape to Cannibal Ox’s dreary futurism… I fell in love with the urban conception of hip hop all over again. I remember walking through a downtown neighborhood, with Ox Out The Cage blasting in my earbuds, this feeling of excitement hits me, I see these homes that look like they’ve been around for ages and I just melt. I’m in love.

I do not know when hip hop became my adventure music, but I think it was around the time I traveled to Vegas in my mid teens. I recall walking down the strip with my five-dollar headphones and beat up iPod Nano… Beautiful boom bap flooded my ear-ways.

Rewinding a little bit before the Vegas trip and back to some Can-Ox love, I remember I stumbled upon them when video sharing was still a fairly new concept and I was fascinated with discovering new hip hop artists through it. I would browse hip hop videos for hours until I stumbled upon Cannibal Ox’s Painkillers, and shit, I absolutely loved that song. The consensus on message boards at the time was that their debut album The Cold Vein was the stuff of legends and that was enough to push me to download the album and put it on my nano. I listened to it on the plane ride to Vegas but thought the album was too inaccessible and that it sounded incredibly weird and different from what I was accustomed to. So, I dismissed it. Then I walked down the strip and said: “fuck it, I’m going to check it out again, there’s something interesting here,” I turned on Iron Galaxy and got to Vast Aire’s verse, and I remember he said this beautiful line: “you were a stillborn baby, mother didn’t want you, but you were still born” and that was it. My heart melted and everything in this city made sense.

I remember despite all the flashiness of Vegas, I stumbled upon a lot of run down back areas, or areas that happened to be just off of the main strip. Through these little adventures I saw a homeless man sitting in his own piss. I wasn’t shocked, I wasn’t disgusted, but I was interested. I realized the brilliance of Cannibal Ox in this situation with the homeless man because the album had this grandiose sense of futurism but focused on topics that dealt with the decay of society. Being in a city that seemed like it was at the peak of human achievement in technology and advancement, that homeless man put something into perspective for me: there’s no such thing as utopia. I’m getting slightly off-key here but my point is that my intimacy with hip hop and adventure really helped me understand myself and the world around me, especially in my mid teens.

Hip hop is not just my adventure music, but it is that accompanying feeling when I am strolling around. It either shapes a mood or compliments it for me. It helps me reminisce on thoughts of places I have been, people I have spent time with or people I miss; now, I know this feeling does not only pertain to hip-hop but all music genres as a whole, but hip hop to me, accompanies the urban environment and experience better than any other cultural movement or music.

Thinking on my life now, I still have a sense of anxiety when I leave my house without my Hip Hop music, and it’s not like it’s crippling, but it’s a feeling of “It’s not even worth it, this is going to fucking suck.” On my way to school, on my way to a date or even just a casual stroll through a new unexplored city, you best believe I have my earbuds in blasting A Tribe, some De La, Nas, or even an old friend like Cannibal Ox; Hip Hop is my adventure music, and I could not trade it for anything.

What Exactly Is A Rhyme Scheme?

A rhyme scheme is the way you place your rhymes in sequence. The scheme CAN or HELP dictate the way your verse rhymes. However, if the groundworks of your rhyme scheme is not formed correctly it can make the flow of your lyrics sound awkward.

Now before we start, I want to clear one thing up, JUST BECAUSE it’s a rhyme scheme does not mean it has to follow a CONSISTENT or SPECIFIC pattern. Rhyme schemes as a whole are based upon chemistry and being able to maintain momentum in your rhyming. The chemistry being how you’re able to mesh different rhyme patterns together and the momentum being that you’re able to make your rhyming sound fluent despite you using different rhyming patterns. In essence the groundworks of a rhyme scheme ARE a rhyming pattern, but whether or not your rhyming pattern follows the same syllables is up to you.

The Foundations of a Rhyme Scheme and Building Upon It

The A/A format of rhyming, or in poetry circles, couplet rhyming, is the usual format for rappers, and in turn the format I’ll focus on in general. However, later into this I’ll delve into what I call rhyme juggling, but for the time being, we’ll keep it simple.

NOW lets get started!

Here is a SIMPLE example of A/A rhyming… The “A’s” representing the words that rhyme.

“I went to the store, got a bottle of (pop (A),
But I drank too much, so I had to (stop (A)”

Pop and stop are the simple rhymes in this scheme. I understand in the initial rhyming chapter we covered this sort of basic rhyming format, but in order to explain further I have to make sure everyone understands the groundwork’s FOR certain before we become ADVANCED RHYME MASTERS.

Now, this is simple. You can CONTINUOUSLY do this throughout a verse to build momentum. You know this though, but what if we changed something up here?

Lets add another line to this verse.

“I went to the store, got a bottle of (pop (A),
But I drank too much, so I had to (stop (A),
Feeling sick, so I need a (pill (B),
so that way I can (chill (B)”

I want you to ignore the simplicity and absurdity of this verse and focus on the simple rhymes that are at play. The (A) rhymes represent words that rhyme with syllables ending in an OP/OPPED sound (take note that dropped sounds like it rhymes with stop when rapped). The (B) rhymes represent words that rhyme with the syllables ending in an ILL sound. However, take note that the rhymes don’t transition in any way. They just stop using OP syllables and throw in ILL syllables. What if… WHAT IF! we could transition this so that change up isn’t so abrupt? So it sounds more smooth?

Transitional Rhyming – The Beginners Way

We have our beautiful verse, as so:

“I went to the store, got a bottle of (pop (A),
But I drank too much, so I had to (stop (A),
Feeling sick, I need a (pill (B),
so that way I can (chill (B)”

I’m not happy with the way it just cuts into a new syllable. I as the learning student of lyricism wants to make this flow better… How would I do that? Lets scan this verse for what I like to call, an opening.

What is an opening you ask?

A place that helps signify when you can throw in a transitional rhyme to help work a new rhyme into the mix. In this short two-couplet verse our opening would be right before “I need a pill.”

So, from this verse lets remove “feeling sick”:

“I went to the store, got a bottle of (pop (A),
But I drank too much, so I had to (stop (A),
—-, I need a (pill (B),
so that way I can (chill (B)”

Now. This is important, and a basic fundamental of a simple transition. MAKE SURE your transitional rhyme RHYMES with the words before it. That’s simple isn’t it? Now lets find a way to make our verse transition effectively.

“I went to the store, got a bottle of (pop (A),
But I drank too much, so I had to (stop (A),
then I (dropped (A), I need a (pill (B),
so that way I can (chill (B)”

I removed “feeling sick,” something that had no thread rhyme wise to the previous words and replaced it with something that did, the word dropped. It rhymes with stop and pop. By doing this simple little trick the whole verse sounds more well rounded because it is much smoother. Realistically most lines are based on halves, each HALF line – I went to the store would be half one and got a bottle of pop would be half two of ONE line – and when it comes time that you change your rhyme up, think about your opening, which is essentially the first half of another new line, and think about how you can rhyme it with your prior words that you used to rhyme. Then you have a NICE transition. Simple? Yup.

Transitional Rhyming – Changing It Up

You’ve written a whole verse doing the method above and you’re starting to realize it’s sounding redundant. Your rhyme scheme is sounding smooth, but it’s also sounding repetitive. HOW can you fix this? Well, we change it up!

We change it up by introducing new rhyme threads within a verse. Let me demonstrate what I’m talking about.

“I went to the store, got a bottle of (pop (A),
But I drank too (much (A2), so I had to (stop (A),
Feeling (crushed (A2), I need a (pill (B),
so that way I can (chill (B)”

Note: I only labelled it (A2) to prevent confusion and simply state that the rhyme that comes in was originally from a line that had A rhymes in it, not because the syllables are the same or related in anyway.

I followed my original principle, make sure your opener (where the transition comes in) rhymed with something that came before it, but instead of using an ALREADY in-play rhyme scheme, I built one out of a line that was not even supposed to have rhymed. That line being “But I drank too much.” I built a NEW rhyme scheme out of something that was simply serving purpose as a filler, or build up to the main rhyme at hand. That main rhyme being “so I had to stop.”

I call this a building transition, because it builds a NEW rhyme scheme within a rhyme scheme and still sounds smooth. This is a little more advanced, but I’m CERTAIN you can get it.

Transitions ARE a Stylistic Choice

Understand that you can probably get away with rhyming without using proper transitions and still be ok. That is the preffered method for some, and I don’t have an issue with that. The ISSUE is when people use transitions EXCLUSIVELY and don’t switch them up enough. If you’re using BASIC transitions like I first taught for one WHOLE verse it will sound repetitive. IF you’re using a building transition OVER AND OVER for one whole verse, it will sound repetitive. BUT. If you build a verse that uses both, and then maybe doesn’t use any at all, it will definitely sound WAY more well rounded. If it sounds out of place using a transition, chances are it is, or you haven’t found the right way to transition it yet.

Transitions like anything else in writing are a stylistic choice. Too much style can make the substance seem flat. Try to always build your verse with transitions in mind, but not as a main component of your rhyme scheme.

Rhyming Beyond Single-Sylables

You’re rhyming, it’s going alright, but you want to sound EVEN smoother. EVEN NICER. You want the rhymes you’ve written to sound fresh as ever, to sound more compounded, to sound ON POINT when you’re rapping. Well. Let’s bring in the age-old technique of multi’ing. You see, rap veterans such as Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane learned this in the eighties and dropped multi’s in their rhymes. What did this do for them? It made them sound on point when it came to the flow of their lyrics.

So what are these “multis” I speak of?

Look. When you’re rhyming basic words, you’re only incorporating ONE syllable that matches with ONE other syllable. When you’re MULTI’ING however, you’re incorporating more than ONE matching syllable with another matching syllable. Sure COMPOUND and SOUND rhyme even though there are MORE than one syllables in compound. BUT. In multi’ing, we make compound perfectly match another rhyme by using a multi. Instead of connecting it with ONE syllable we give it two or more to make it sound smoother. An excellent example is from Masta Ace’s Brooklyn Battles:

“The (click of a tool,(A)
with no bullets in the clip,
it’ s the (trick of a fool(A)”

Did you catch that? If you did not, the GENIUS here is the matching of ALL syllables. Yes. I know. CRAZY right? ALL syllables. Click rhymes with trick, and tool rhymes with fool. Ignore ‘of a,’ because that is irrelevant in multis only because they’re more or less fillers, not make or breaks of a rhyme.
A side note: Of a, in Masta Aces verse works because it is the same in both lines. The first word and last word mask the fact these are the same words. I am writing this simply to prevent confusion.

So lets break this down so you can understand on a deeper level! The examples Im giving are lyrics I have written:

“Im hungry so i’m eating a (steak meat (A),
But it’s making me sluggish, kind of slow to a (break beat (A)”

At the simplest level, steak and break rhyme and meat and beat rhyme. Pure multis. Get it? In order to master multi syllable rhymes you have to take into account how they flow and obviously making sure both words being used rhyme.

Slant Rhymes and Multi’s: The Beautiful Affair

What you saw above are what I call pure multis. They’re pure because they perfectly rhyme. Both words PERFECTLY hit that check box that would say: “these words rhyme!” Slant rhymes however… they are a different breed.

Think about wanting to say a statement, and then making it rhyme. Truly their is no hidden linguistical feat that exists in the english language that would allow someone to simply make ANYTHING rhyme and sound coherent, but there are slant rhymes.

Slant rhymes are simply a mask. You’re masking the fact that the syllables at the core of each word being multi DON’T rhyme, but by being smooth about it, they do. For example:

drink fire water in a heated debate,
and double fist when I beat in your face,

Matching the ending of these lines may seem simple, “heated” rhymes with “beat in,” but oh wait. It doesn’t truly. HEAT-ED and BEAT-IN DON’T rhyme. HEAT and BEAT rhyme, but ED and IN definitely don’t. When reading this out loud though, they do. This happens because in your allow for a slant. You’re slanting the syllables to match up. What I mean is, at it’s core, because the syllables match in their timing, and BOTH the first word (heat/beat) rhyme and the last word (bate/face) rhyme, the middle syllables are timed enough and matched up enough that it works.

So. Clapping your hands like you’re twelve, you’ll count FOUR syllables here. HEAT-ED-DUH-BATE. One two three four; BEAT-IN-YOUR-FACE, and same count. What does this mean? The middle syllables don’t matter in rhyming as much as long as the shell of it (heat/beat) and (bate/face) rhyme perfectly.

Lets try something else!

CINEMA FILM

CRIPPLED AND KILLED

No line example. We’re past that. Let’s just focus on how this rhymes.

Cinema and crippled do NOT rhyme. However, the similar syllable structure here makes it sound as if it rhymes. I believe that what happens here is that your brain processes the biggest syllables and ignores the rest. In many ways this is a mind fuck, what I’m getting at is, the SIH sound from CINEMA matches the CRIH sound from CRIPPLED. Still following? Great. Anyways, so FILL from FILM and KILL from KILLED match, what happens here is because there is an additional word, the M at the end of FILM and the ED at the end of KILLED, happens to make it flow even though they do NOT match perfectly. The only thing that matters in this case are the MAIN syllables and like I said, the middle becomes more of an afterthought to the person listening to this rhyme. To be fair, if read analytically this may not even rhyme to some, but if said out loud in a manner where you’re emphasizing the syllables, it WILL rhyme.

Can I Match My Newfound Multi’ing Ability With Transistions?

Come on students, haven’t you realized that ANYTHING’S possible with Dr. Moniker. Certainly you can!

I’m going to use our old example but beef it up with multis just to demonstrate!

“I went to the store, got a (can of pop (A),
But I drank too much, so I (planned to stop (A),
Bloated… and (man I dropped (A), I (need a pill (B),
so that way I can (speak and chill (B)”

A poor switch up in context of content (the sense it makes is mediocre at best), BUT I’m using what you know just to highlight an example. All you do is replace the single syllable transition with a multi’ed one. Personally I suggest you NEVER write single syllable first then try to make it multi later for the fuck of it. That just ruins the integrity of what you’re trying to say. Your best bet is to ALWAYS write multis first and transition multis first.

The Drawing Board:

You’ve read my lengthly guide and now you’re thinking: “I’m the man, I’m wanna try this to! But I need some practice lessons…” Well commander coolio, I’m here to deliver. Here are two practice excercises!

Exercise 1:

Write a four couplet verse – four pairs (two lines each) of lines that rhyme with eachother – that deal with movies, BUT PURELY WITH MULTIS. You can make punchlines out of these, doesn’t matter, as long as they multi. HOWEVER, your main challenge here is to try to make this verse sound coherent, what I mean is, don’t MULTI for the sake of multi’ing. I suggest your first time around don’t focus on anything too incredible or crazy, just focus on four lines that rhyme well together. Example:

1. I fucking hate you, you’re the SLOPPIEST-CLOWN,
Cause these rhymes obliterate you like APOCALYPES-NOW,
2. I’m STOMPING THE GROUND, fuck this GUYS-BARS,
Cause I’m Bruce Willis and right now you’re gonna DIE-HARD

If you’re feeling bold try a transition, but if not don’t worry about it. I suggest doing a couple of these just for fun to see how you feel. A basic principle to follow as well is if the rhyme sounds awkward in ANY way, chances are you’re doing it wrong. I suggest fooling around UNTIL it feels right.

Excercise 2:

This excercise is pulled straight from my other tutorial on free-styling, but instead of focusing on rhyming single syllables, you’re focusing on more than one syllable.

So, I’m in a coffee shop as I write this, the place is titled coffee culture. I think to myself, what rhymes with coffee culture and list them off in my head until I feel confident that I can rhyme that word numerous times. Example:

Coffee Culture, Sloppy Vulture, Dropping Markers, Talking Smarter, Monster Farter, Awkward Archer

Simply, look at signs, look at cups, look at posters, look at ANYTHING that has enough words for you to multi off of. Try your HARDEST to make it all rhyme, doesn’t matter in this case if the multi even sounds like you’re just rhyming for the sake of rhyming because trust me, once you do this enough you’ll start building the connections in your brain to analytically and instantly pull words from your mental rhyme bank on the fly.

I consider this exercise an ongoing one that you should actively pursue at any given moment you’re even thinking about it.

"I'm awesome, and I fuck dolphins"

“Rape a pregnant bitch and tell my friends I had a threesome!”

Goblin is the second album from OFWGKTA’s (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) group leader Tyler The Creator. For those who have not jumped on the Odd Future bandwagon or simply have not been following his music, this album – and many other Odd Future releases – is full of group trademarks such as cynical humor, ridiculous boasts and hard hitting production. Furthermore, the content of this album, like Tyler’s debut, is chalk-full of murderous thoughts and black humor. However, while these stylizations are nothing new to Tyler’s music, the refinement that Goblin presents proves that the output from Tyler is far from boring and demonstrates his ability as not only a creative rapper/producer, but an artist with staying power. With these refinements however, the album is not without missteps, there are moments that make Goblin feel lopsided do to the album feeling like it has lost direction, but there are enough quality tracks to overlook these shortcomings.

If you haven’t listened to Bastard yet, then some might find the start of the album abrupt, but if you have (and I assume most people who cop this album would have), then the opening of the album feels like it’s continued right where Bastard left off: with Tyler speaking to a therapist about his issues. Goblin starts incredibly strong with the self-titled opener showing that Tyler’s production has not only improved, but lyrically he has tightened up his skill-set since his debut. Following the dark tone set by Goblin, we’re thrusted into the single – which I was certain I had gotten tired of – Yonkers, and from the build up of the intro track, the song sounds fresher than ever. Yonkers incorporates a hard hitting drum beat and a background sample that definitely screams inner-city; the lyrics again only sound better on Goblin than Tyler’s debut, with him rapping harshly about everything from himself to BoB and other media outlets and stars. This is the Tyler you’ve always enjoyed lyrically, but better; Goblin is brilliant so far. Nice. We continue with other highlights such as Radicals, which sounds awkwardly like an intro to another OFWGKTA project, but somehow works perfectly for Goblin by complimenting the tracks prior with its tonality. Then we get to She (featuring Frank Ocean). The first verse threw me off, only because it felt out of place considering the content you’re introduced to in the first three songs. I understand the intent, but I felt like the song only picks up the pace when Tyler starts rapping on the second verse, but I wouldn’t say this song is entirely skipable, but it does have it’s issues.

Other notable tracks throughout the album are Nightmare, Tron Cat and Sandwitches. All three songs share the standard elements one will be used to from a Tyler The Creator release, but definitely refined. Ridiculous punchlines such as “Rape a pregnant bitch and tell my friends I had a threesome” (from Tron Cat), prove Tyler’s knack for shock value hasn’t diminished, but only comes off as polished and more comical than his debut.

Goblin is not without faults and in many ways these faults detract from what could have been an otherwise perfect album. In some cases, the album has this feeling of having one track too many and veering between atmospheric brilliance and over-played rehashes of his debut album Bastard. When the music is focused, and in many ways organized-chaos, the album feels like some of the freshest Hip Hop I’ve heard in ages, but then tracks like Transylvania make the album feel skewed and juxtaposed in a way that comes off as sloppy. Other downfalls like Bitch Suck Dick, don’t add anything to the album other than a reason to use the skip button. Now, I understand the song is intended as a parody, but I don’t feel like it has any place on a quality album like Goblin.

One final issue I have with Goblin is that it presents a story, and while it seem simple enough at the beginning, Tyler talking to his therapist, it tries to deepen itself later into the album, and while this normally wouldn’t be an issue, it feels as if it incorporates it as an afterthought, and with the exception of the albums final track, this story arc feels tacked on. Certainly it makes sense that a album like this WOULD go that direction, but it does not seem to signal that until much later into Goblin, and when it does, it feels tacked on and awkward.

Awkward story arc aside, as we’re nearing the end of the album we’re brought back to the brilliant closing tracks Window, AU79 and Golden. Firstly, Window is a long track, eight minutes to be exact, and while this deterred me at first, the emcee’s on the track all do a good job and help lead up the final moments quite brilliantly. The production is sparse and laid back, and in many ways, even though the awkwardness of the arc seems tacked on in the prior track, it DOES find some grounding here; I cannot say Window or any of the tracks that follow it make up for the sloppy inclusion of the story arc, but in many ways had the pacing of the album changed with tracks like this one, the story arc would have felt right at home.

AU79 is an instrumental beat and bridges Window into the final track Golden quite nicely, the production sounds like a mix between Mr. Oizo and standard Tyler sound. The atmosphere of AU79 adds greatly to the album overall and to the final track, Golden. Golden starts right when AU79 finishes, and sounds incredible. The production sounds like something out of a sci-fi film but maintains the griminess of Tyler’s prior tracks with hard hitting snares that accompany the wonky-yet epic sounding sample. Genius. Lyrically Tyler raps personal overtop his cinematic beat and unlike the random antics of Bastard, Tyler gives reason for why he acts the way he does on his music. In many ways, this track makes Tyler seem far more well rounded as a rapper than many of his other outings would imply, and prove he has an ability to be more versatile than he had shown in the past.

Is It Worth Your Well Earned Dollar Bills?

Goblin has some excellent moments that prove Tyler is one of the freshest artists to hit the Hip Hop scene in recent times, but at the same time it has a lot of skewed moments that make the album feel weak. Tyler fans will most certainly stand by this as a peak of brilliance in Tyler’s catalogue, but to everyone else it’s a standard Hip Hop album by someone who deserves to be listened to but has too many missteps to be called a classic; no matter where you fall though, Goblin does do enough right to warrant a purchase. So like the initial question posed as to whether or not it’s worth your well earned dollar bills, most definitely yes. Are there missteps and some flaws? Certainly, but does the album present enough GOOD music to keep you listening? Yes it does, and that is why I recommend Goblin whole-heartedly to any fan of good Hip Hop music.

RECOMMENDED FOR:

People looking for something new in Hip Hop, fans of the more horrorcore-style ridiculousness that Kool Keith pioneered, and most certainly (but you don’t need me to tell you this) for fans of OFWGKTA.

DJ Premier, one of Hip Hop's greatest DJ's and producers!

Down The Street are guest posts by other bloggers, writers or anyone who has an interesting view on Hip Hop music or the culture as a whole; that could even be you if you post something significant in the comments, or even email me! — In the first post kicking off this brand new category, I have a long time friend and reader of LostMoniker.Com, Michael Telemaque, discussing his take on the role of the DJ in modern Hip Hop culture. Definitely not one to be a missed, and sincerely an excellent post by Michael. Also, be sure to leave comments and feedback!

The DJ Is King… Again?

By: Michael Telemaque

I’ma throw this premise out there: they say history and societal trends are cyclical, and in the early days of hip hop, the DJ was the star and the MC played more of a host role, and we both know how that evolution went and now we have the dynamic today of the MC as star and DJ/Producer as an after thought. In some cases DJ/Producers are considered down right replaceable, but I ask this: are we now coming full circle ?

With the desire for lyrical uniqueness either in delivery, cadence or complexity , rappers are now more archetypes or characters we can identify with than the more traditional versions of the original MC. Has the hip hop community slowly started a march towards marginalizing the MC and giving due to the musical muscle behind many acts? Its no coincidence that more rappers are doing collaborations with House Producers and with a euro pop sound finding way on many club records, that the fans now are starting to idolize the DJ much like they do in House Music.David Guetta, Ardman Van Helden or John Digweed release a record with a booming vocal hook and we dont even attempt to recognize the singer. We are so overwhelmed with mixtapes, youtube channels and street DVD’s, both bad and good, maybe we feel like anyone can rap, and just like dime-a-dozen singers on house records, the production is what makes the track stand out.

In the early evolution of hip hop beats were much more basic, and for a large part the MC is what had to carry the song, but is that the case anymore? Production has evolved so much, and so fast that we are pushing the envelope looking for new sounds that maybe we don’t care who is on the track or what they are saying. The tragic death of J-Dilla, and the rise of Kanye West as a rapper/producer, along with his slowed down style, sold more on having swagger than lyrics…

All these factors point to the return of the DJ as king.

“It’s Hi-Tek (and Kweli) on the track like Flo Jo,
Bet you ain’t even know I had flow though ” – DJ Hi-Tek

Metaphors And The Simile Misconception

There is a common misconception that metaphors are metaphors when like or as is used. That is wrong, and it is continuously misused in Hip Hop most. Like or as statements ARE similes, NOT metaphors. Now, normally political correctness isn’t my thing, and I’m not trying to sound like some sort of elitist, but I find it easiest to teach these concepts by clearing up the confusion.

A metaphor is a way to reference something that bears a resemblance to what you’re trying to say, but is not literal. In other words, saying I’m an animal is a metaphor, because I’m not literally an animal, but I’m implying I bear resemblance to one. Another example:

“Eating crews, I guess I’m a cannibal”

Get it? I’m saying I eat crews, who are humans, and I’m implying I’m a cannibal because of this. Obviously I’m not literal in my rhetoric, but I resemble these traits through my aggressiveness.

Metaphors can be as complicated, or as simple as you want them to be. Metaphors are a large concept you should focus on, and while this chapter in particular is focusing on the basic elements of a metaphor, as we move through more stages you’ll see how vast and complex metaphors can be.

Components of a Metaphor

“I been in this game for years, it made me an animal”

In conjunction with the animal metaphor, I had to use a line from Biggie. Now, lets look at what makes this simple, yet effective, metaphor work.

“I been in this game for years…” describes a process; before describing the animalistic traits that the rap game had given Biggie, he set’s up his metaphor to discuss how he turned into the traits he described. Now, when he says, “It made me an animal,” Biggie shows the cause and effect relation through a metaphor. The cause was the game, and in turn it made him animalistic.

Now, I know to some this may seem childish to divulge into such detail about a fairly simple metaphor, but I believe that if you overlook points and traits of something, you will not fully grasp it. By making you look at the aforementioned line in such detail,  I believe you’ll be better off in later chapters when it comes to understanding the more advanced elements of wordplay.

Similes

A simile is anything that uses like or as. Saying that you’re feeling like a million bucks, is a simile, but saying you’re a million bucks is a metaphor. Get it? Good. I’m not going to spend a ridiculous amount of time dissecting similes because I feel they’re more straightforward then metaphors are, but for the sake of keeping everyone of any level properly up to date and in the know, I’ll provide an example:

“Funky like your grandpa’s drawers, don’t test me,
we’re in like that, you’re dead like Presley.”
- From Q-Tips verse on Steve Biko

These are nice basic, yet effective similes. By using similes Q-Tip managed to highlight his funkiness as a musician and add depth to that by saying he was like your grandfathers soiled drawers. He uses a comparison and follows up with “don’t test me,” which adds to the threat of what he’s comparing and implying he’s capable of. “We’re in like that, you’re dead like Presley,” this works because he’s now fleshing out the metaphor further by using another comparison yet bridging it from the prior line. “We’re in like that,” is the bridge, he jumps back to the prior line telling the listener by reaffirming A Tribe Called Quest’s status, and then using the simile again to push how you’re dead like the famous singer Elvis Presley. These are incredibly effective similes because they’re basic, but thought out. You must keep in mind that you DON’T need the bridges I talked about or need to look at this AS technical as I portrayed it to be, but for the sake of giving you a good understanding of what makes this work, I felt it to be necessary.

Topic: The Main Factor In Making Metaphors and Similes Work!

If you’ve been following thus far you’ll realize that topic is what makes a metaphor or simile stand out or shine. Your CHOICE of topic, your choice of comparison and your personification of grown animals all say something about your content. If you constantly compare yourself to fuzzy things and say you’re a stuffed animal, then certainly your content will be literally and metaphorically: “soft.” However, if you’re comparing yourself and personifying yourself as a giant monster truck and a meat grinder, then most definitely your content will feel a lot rougher. To be quite honest, off-beat similes and metaphors are a staple of early hip hop lyricism, and don’t take this as a negative either, BUT what I’m saying is understand that in some cases the context is more corny then, than it is now. I believe it to be appropriate to use similes and metaphors correctly in context of what you’re saying. I have always found it corny when a rapper talks serious about much of their content, and then bursts out with a simile that relates to something completely different. For example (I’m writing this myself fellas!):

I’ll put my fist to his throat,
strengthen my grip till he chokes
have him feeling awkward like pickles and coke – MC REAL TALK SUPREME

Obviously this is a massive exaggeration, but my message stands. TRY to make your content work within the context of what you’re saying. So, if you’re writing a battle verse, great comparisons to massive structures or boxers or even other great rappers is suitable, but if you’re writing a battle verse and then saying you’re hungry for some cheesecake (granted the context is fully about battling), then it sounds awkward and weird. Inconsistency is a flaw many rappers have when using metaphors and similes, don’t be one of them.

What Do I Use These For?

Good question. You’re a genius. Similes and metaphors should be looked at as STRONG poetic devices. While this chapter is focusing solely on the basics, in later chapters I’ll teach you how to weave similes and metaphors beautifully to make you feel like god with a pen. Nice simile I know. However, keep this in mind, USE THIS FOR WHATEVER CONTEXT YOU WANT. Whether it be comparing a woman to an elephant (“she was like an elephant,” or “that bitch was an elephant!”) or saying you diesel truck through people, make sure you understand the poetic context and the power you have when using metaphors and similes.

The Drawing Board

So, you’ve read my theorizations, you’ve read my break downs and you have a GOOD basic understanding. Right? Good. NOW, time for you to hit up the drawing board and do this yourself!

Exercise 1:

Write a four couplet verse – four pairs (two lines each) of lines that rhyme with eachother – that deal with you comparing yourself to food, metaphorically or by using similes. For example:

1. I’m sweet and sour sauce, tasty like your supper,
and I’m eating lots of broccoli, I was told it makes you tougher!
2. but when I’m mad, I turn red like tomatoes!
but at least I’m not dull like potatoes!

Only two couplets, but you get the idea! Now, you go ahead and write your brilliant verse!

END OF CHAPTER.

Any questions or comments? Feel free to ask them in the comments box below!

They didn't find the Weezy jokes that funny... Workaholics I tell'ya!

Oh. Sorry about that interruption, but back to our regular posts! LETS GO!

Oh… and:

I know last time I preached that I wouldn’t do anything like this, but school took a toll on me. I have more free time than before and am working my ass off to deliver some crazy new articles! Sorry about that hiatus and I hope you guys enjoyed the april fools genius provided by site manager Astroblakk and myself. Now, enjoy the NEW shit (which will be posted five minute, above, after you’ve read this!). Bye.

Every now and again I can say that an album changed my life. The first of which being Kid ‘n Play’s 2 Hype, and more recently Lil’ Waynes Tha Carter trilogy. I understand, that is not a single album that changed my life, but a collection. That is exactly right. Never has an artist created such a strong offering that I actually dug ALL three albums in their trilogy. It goes to show that crafting a trilogy of albums has a lot of pressure and that only a talented soul can pull off such a feat… To be fair, it would be an understatement to say that Lil’ Wayne isn’t the best lyricist of our time, and that Tha Carter series is only a drop in the bucket of brilliance that is Lil’ Wayne’s album catologue.

Everything about these albums is genius. You have top notch production meshed with Lil’ Wayne gorgeous vocals. While not completely perfect – I would say that out of all of these albums ninety-eight percent of it is flawless with two percent leaving some room for improvement on Wayne’s part – Lil’ Wayne goes hard on every song his voice angelically graces.

Weezy inspiring his fans

Production of these albums is handled by the likes of Swizz Beats, Kanye West and David Banner. You know, I used to believe that an artist was influenced by the production they rapped over, but I believe that the producers were influenced by Wayne in such a way that their production styles had to change drastically to accompany someone who is so brilliant by creating some of the most sparse yet intricate beats. There are no dissapointments here. From Tha Carter 1 to 3 you will be bobbing your head to the production handled by producers who understood that their careers would flourish by crafting beats for the brilliant Wayne… Wow.

Now, lyrically I don’t believe I have ever heard anything as on point as Tha Carter series. SOME would say The Blueprint series by the less-than-stellar Jay-Z is better crafted lyrically than Tha Carter 1 – 3. For those who believe that, you clearly have NOT listened to the lyrics and instead have held some sort of repressed obsession for free-masons (because you’re mind controlled) and thus rationalize that Jay-Z’s mediocre outings on The Blueprint are better than Weezy’s Tha Carter trilogy. Ridiculous. I hope by providing some quotables by Wayne the readers who are on Jay’s side understand that Wayne is better in every way. Here we go (I’m getting shivers as I write these):

“Weezy Weezy say guard ya face bitch,
Weezy say guard ya neck bitch,
Weezy Baby this is the Carter” – Lyrics from Who Wanna

“And my chain Toucan Sam,
That tropical colors you can’t match that”  – Lyrics from Fireman

“A millionaire, I’m a young money millionaire,
Tougher than Nigerian hair,
My criteria compared to your career this isn’t fair,
I’m a venereal disease like a menstrual bleed” – Lyrics from A Milli

Wow. I know you are completely convinced fans of Jay-Z. Lil’ Wayne is one of the BEST to ever do it.

Now, despite all my praise for Wayne’s incredible trilogy, as I said above there is two-percent in the scale of how flawless this album is that leaves room for improvement. First, I believe there should have been more choruses from Wayne. Sure you have a few here and there from Wayne, but a man like Weezy, a man with an incredibly harmonious voice, angelic even, should definitely have more choruses. Secondly, I believe there should have been a disk included with every album that had all of Waynes acapellas on them. Personally I feel sometimes Wayne is good enough without the beat, and by including acapella versions of all of his Carter ablums, we would be able to put on our high end headphones and enjoy the fine stylings of Wayne without being distracted by the catchy beats. I’m certain Wayne purists will agree with me.

Is It Worth Your Well Earned Dollar Bills?

ALL of these albums are worth your money. I would suggest downloading them, but then you would not get the incredible covers that feature Wayne in various positions; although the third one was sort of disappointing since it did not have Wayne on the cover at all, but instead some baby who supposedly was Wayne as an infant. I actually rebought this trilogy three or four times just so I could take out the inserts and add them to my Wall of Wayne as I like to call it, it is essentially a wall detaling every great thing Wayne has done in picture form, but I needed extra album covers from Tha Carter series to over-highlight this trilogy as one of his GREATEST achievements.

RECOMMENDED FOR:

EVERYONE. Just as Chopin was one of the greatest pianists of his time, or Shakespeare one of the greatest poets of his time, Wayne is one of the great philosophers, musicians and poet of our time.

"I'm a hot and bothered astronaut, crashing while jacking off"

I had heard of and found out about Earl Sweatshirt through my minor glances and downloads of his brother and group member/leader Tyler The Creator. After a short search I had found sites praising Earl Sweatshirt’s debut Earl; I am completely with the reviews regarding the brilliance of this short album. Earl’s debut is awesome. My only gripe is the short length, but regardless of that minor issue I’m certain any fans of lo-fi boom bap style music will love this album. If you’re expecting some introspective style of music, you’re not going to get it here. Instead, you’ll be treated to a Kool Keith meets Eminem style album over grungy synth and hard drum breaks. Also, Earls group OFWGKTA, released this gem for FREE.

Of anything I EVER post on Lost Moniker for free, this album is not one to pass up. I’ve enjoyed this free album more than 90 percent of anything that’s came out in the passed two years. If you’re not convinced, listen to the Grooveshark links provided below (listen to Earl, Couch and Pigions), and then naturally because you have now been sold you will download it from the Megaupload link (also provided below).

DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM HERE (Link uploaded by and taken from OFWGKTA’s site)

Politics as usual...

“If every nigga in your clique is rich your clique is rugged, Nobody would fall cause everyone would be each others crutches”

Yup. Jay-Z is apart of my collection of articles that take a look at unheard-of and underrated Hip Hop albums. Am I crazy? Probably, but really, Reasonable Doubt is a brilliant masterpiece that does not get the recognition it deserves. In many ways, Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt is an underground classic, whilst also being the album that propelled Jay-Z to success; unlike most artists, Jay-Z did not take the major label route until later in his career, even turning down a contract from Payday records, and instead started his own label. Reasonable Doubt is the result of this. I guess in some ways it’s ironic to talk about this album now in the context of an unheard of album, but it got slept on by many people who weren’t outside the New York scene when it was released, and by a lot of heads who only know of new-school Jay-Z. In other words, this album IS successful in many ways, but is not nearly as well known as Jay’s subsequent releases or even held in the same regards to a lot of people.

What Makes This Album So Unique?

Lyrically I consider this one of Jay-Z’s finest outings. Arguably you could say that Jay’s structure in terms of rhyme-schemes is lacking in some cases, but the smooth cadence and intricate lyricism make it hard to linger on any sort of structural issues that Jay-Z has from time to time on this album. The production on this album, handled by the likes of DJ Premier, Knobody, Clark Kent and Ski, is absolutely brilliant; the beats all mesh well together, complimenting each-other as you progress through Jay’s trials and tribulations. Nice. The tone of this album is what many consider, and even credit Reasonable Doubt as being a progenitor of, mafioso rap. The production has an almost introspective feel to it all while sounding like it could be used in a crime film; that’s not to say that some songs don’t have more up-beat production, because they do, but for the most part the production stays in the realm of being introspective and mob-movie sounding.

The album starts with the soulful You Can’t Knock The Hustle, a fairly mellow introduction but the laid-back feeling helps build up-to and contribute to the crime focused thematic that is prevalent throughout Reasonable Doubt. Following the intro-track we get to the ever-so brilliant Politics as Usual, a track which demonstrates Jay-Z’s knack for rhyming and his famous flow, definitely one of the many highlights on this album. The beat on Politics as Usual moves at a pace that perfectly compliments Jay’s flow by having drum patterns that sound like they almost move at a skittering pace, but regain their pace as Jay rhymes over them. Genius. As the album progresses we move into more gems such as Dead Presidents or D’Evils, both standout tracks that focus with the issues of committing crimes and how it affects the person and people around him. D’Evils however has a more upbeat feel to it than Dead Presidents does, but both deal with content similar to each-other but in their own unique way, a testament to Jay’s versatility and ability to mesh his flow with any style of beat and still get his point across.

In the center of the album we’re treated to the brilliant Can I Live, a cinematic beat, that like Politics as Usual, compliments Jay’s unique flow and rhyme schemes; If there is any track on this album that I can say confidently demonstrates Jay best, it would be Can I Live. The atmosphere of the track continuously gets me,as it sounds like the climax to a mob film, and Jay’s brilliance in juggling rhyme schemes with a smooth presentation continuously keeps me hooked.

Nearing the conclusion to Reasonable Doubt is the gorgeously produced Premier track Bring It On; The beat’s sample choice sounds like something that was pulled out of a Spike Lee film, and uses incredibly nice snares to keep it sounding rugged. Premier paints a brilliant feeling that you’re in a housing project watching these guys rap. I love Premier. Gracing this track are also Big Jaz and Sauce Money, and each rapper compliments each other incredibly well with Jay-Z’s verse working so well that it sounds like these three should have formed some sort of group at one point. Finishing the album is the cinematic yet stark Regrets. Just like the album started, Regrets is mellow, but unlike the introductory track, Regrets sounds a lot darker. While Can’t Knock The Hustle built up Jay-Z’s hustler persona, Regrets works so well because it almost seems opposite in that it is more of a look at how he regrets doing what he did.

Why Did This Album Get Slept On?

To be fair, this album had really decent sales when it came out, later selling a lot of copies. However, it doesn’t have the wide-scale recognition or awareness that Jay’s later works have. Without this album Jay wouldn’t be making the albums he’s made now, since this served as almost a resume for what he could do, but it also isn’t brought up enough in Jay-Z fan circles as his Illmatic, when In many ways this is Jay’s strongest work. Obviously I cannot say this album is as unrecognized or unheard of as my prior write-ups about Criminal and Psychoanalysis are, but I feel that by including Reasonable Doubt in my list of these albums I’m bringing more notice to the brilliance of it to people who overlooked it as “early Jay” and therefore less listenable. Obviously I know there is a vast majority of people who understand the brilliance of this album, and include it on their favorite album lists, but there are also a lot of people who overlook this album for being simply Jay-Z or because they dislike his later works. I was amongst these people, but once I heard someone put on a track by Jay from this album I was completely sold.

How Can I Find This Album?

Unlike Prince Paul or Scientifik, you can probably find this Jay-Z album, along with all his other albums in stores. If not, I’m certain Amazon or any other online music-shopping site would have Reasonable Doubt. To get an original pressing however? I believe that will be a harder task as this album has gone through many represses since it was initially released. In the meantime, check out the Grooveshark link posted below to listen to this album!