How I Write
Whenever I feel like I need to write, I turn on some beats and let my thoughts flow. What first comes to mind is what I want to write about, as the tone of my verse must match the tone of the beat. Once I pick up a rhythm in my head, I start to put words to those cadences.
"Fellows" by Nujabes makes me feel playful and rambunctious when I write.
Example: "Cause ya boy can never be contained, a lion out of a cage, speedin away in my own lane" |
"Black," a song produced by Teddy for G-Dragon, puts the writer in a pensive mood, leading to more emotional lyrics about topics such as love interests
Example: "A blush that I might compare to a late fall past noon at the shore as the sun sets but I saw that she had a locked door to her heart, yes" |
My first rule of writing is that I can never force anything. For example, even if a song about growing up in desperate conditions may sound profound and deep as a concept, I would not be able to write it because it is simply not my reality. Even if I were to try my best at it, the song would not flow correctly because it is not coming from my heart.
Once I have a topic, I'll try to freestyle about it until I stumble across a good opening line. Starting a verse is very much a game of trial and error. As the miner must first dig through dozens of pounds of rock to get to a few ounces of diamond, I must go through several mediocre lines until I find the perfect one. From there, I must make the verse flow rhythmically as well as have quality lines that are both meaningful and witty.
These two qualities, smooth flow and quality lines, can be very difficult to find a perfect balance between. If I focus too much on my flow, I end up spitting filler line after filler line. On the other hand, if I give too much attention to the punchlines, the verse ends up choppy with several different rhythms and several breaks in the flow. The perfect rapper, in my opinion, can make a verse flow without any hiccups while throwing in intelligent references. I put emphasis on "intelligent" because a reference such as "I flow like a water faucet," which I came up with after about two seconds of thought, will simply not suffice for any self-respecting lyricist.
As an emcee, I have a long way to go until I can call myself a true lyricist. This art requires hours of practice, several successes, and even more failures to master, and I look forward to advancing my skills, one line at a time.
Once I have a topic, I'll try to freestyle about it until I stumble across a good opening line. Starting a verse is very much a game of trial and error. As the miner must first dig through dozens of pounds of rock to get to a few ounces of diamond, I must go through several mediocre lines until I find the perfect one. From there, I must make the verse flow rhythmically as well as have quality lines that are both meaningful and witty.
These two qualities, smooth flow and quality lines, can be very difficult to find a perfect balance between. If I focus too much on my flow, I end up spitting filler line after filler line. On the other hand, if I give too much attention to the punchlines, the verse ends up choppy with several different rhythms and several breaks in the flow. The perfect rapper, in my opinion, can make a verse flow without any hiccups while throwing in intelligent references. I put emphasis on "intelligent" because a reference such as "I flow like a water faucet," which I came up with after about two seconds of thought, will simply not suffice for any self-respecting lyricist.
As an emcee, I have a long way to go until I can call myself a true lyricist. This art requires hours of practice, several successes, and even more failures to master, and I look forward to advancing my skills, one line at a time.
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As a closer, I leave "It Ain't Hard to Tell" by Nas. This song is a true display of lyrical skill, as Nas combines velvety smooth flow with complex multisyllabic rhymes. Another point that deserves mention is the fact that there are no curse words in this song, which sets it apart from other popular rap songs of its era.
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