I Was privileged to catch Ghostface Killah live in Auckland, New Zealand the other night and found out how unfit I am after a load of jumping; along with my girlfriend throwing up W's. It was a great show with a lot of love shown from both views of the stage. At one point it made me think as Ghost stated his confusion within rap at the ridiculous proliferation of substance less music from rappers swamping the market with garbage pop rap. Listening to the classic verses and tracks Ghost smashed through in a great show, and his explanation of how a story rhyme might be constructed intricately over a matter of weeks, made me wonder about the exact composition of artists who truly excel in the field of hip hop. Here is my plea for you, if you love hip hop, to help go someway towards answering this question.
What makes a great emcee?
Rappers, emcees and hip hop artists are constantly being judged, analyzed, scandalized, derided, despised and idolized respectively depending on who you speak to. So what makes 'good' hip hop music? For many the negative aspects of hip hop are a major talking point. Why are hip hop lyrics often overwhelmingly violent, misogynist and nihilistic; is this having such a negative impact on society as some claim, or is it, as is often stated in rebuttal, a reflection of a harsh street life and environment that is apparently created around a group or individual by forces out of their control. Either way, does your opinion over such matters then get taken into consideration of the artistic skill of narratives by artists such as Mobb Deep. How does the music and beats affect how a rapper is rated what about the arrangement of hooks, bars, singing, scratches? How do live instruments, a DJ, beat boxers etc influence how heavy an emcee is, live or recorded. And from other artistic perspectives, what sort of categories could be made for the skills involved in rapping and does the 'image' of the particular emcee affect how relevant or artistic the lyrics are? Does the ultra complexity and advanced subject matter of Canibus make him a more intelligent rapper than Rakim? How does KRS One match up to Cannibul Ox, or Roots Manuva to Lil Wayne, Bahamdia to Fiddy Cent, Immortal Technique to Jay Z, Aesop Rock to Scarface, Biggie to Killah Priest or Big L to Eminem. Is Location, Political, Gender, Race or Religion specific rap or sub genres such as 'geek core' rap more or less important when talk of 'keeping it real or true to yourself' in light of many stereotype fulfilling fabricated characters? The debate could go on infedinitely. Hopefully it will, please join the debate add your comments here or on the Vocalswords discussion boards. Cheers!
