Lyrics/Beats/Flow

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

How do these three things factor into how bangin u think a joint is?

Do you agree with these three elements being chosen?

[Jaundice]

If I had to approximate, I'd say that
Lyrics = 40%
Beat = 30%
Flow = 15%
Swagga = 15%

This is just a rough estimate though.

[pixiesfanyo]

Swagga?

Beats = 60%
Lyrics = 15%
Flow = 25%

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

Yeah I don't consciously listen to lyrics that much.

I would say the swagga is both part of lyrics and flow

[Jaundice]

I would say the swagga is both part of beats and flowVery true. I think the lyrics are easily the most important part of hip-hop, though. It's probably the only genre other than pop punk where I'll actually pay attention to lyricism.

I normally think of lyrics and flow as being synonymous, but I take it by flow you mean the tone and rhythm of the vocals?

[pixiesfanyo]

i love rappers that lyrically are great, but i could really care less if someone like T.I. or Madlib have bad lyrics because they are great at rapping.

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

damnit i meant to say lyrics instead of beats

yeah by the tone and mostly rhythm of the vocals

ive realized that lots of beat do consider lyrics very important.

personally i like the sounds of hip hop most, lyrics are testament to that as they bend the language and let the saturation of more explicit statements fall to the side for 'swagger'

the lyrics of hiphop are a very important part our culture today. that attitude

but yeah i want to try to listen to what they are trying to say more tho i mostly listen for a groove in hiphop, syncopation

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

i love rappers that lyrically are great, but i could really care less if someone like T.I. or Madlib have bad lyrics because they are great at rapping.forreal

champion sound has my favourite rapping ever. same with the fantastic albums from sv.
love the soul tip hooks


fallll in looove

[Jaundice]

A good vocal groove is definitely refreshing. It's not something I usually look for though.

Ill beats are a must. As far as lyrics go, I think it's about finding the perfect balance between style and technicality.

[pixiesfanyo]

i wish legendary **** like Champion Sound was still dropping.

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

wat u think bout black milk

people always compare him to dilla for some reason but his drums pale in comparison tho i guess anyone's would

[pixiesfanyo]

i love black milk.

but for me to be excited it would have to be like Black Milk and Flying Lotus doing an entire album together.

[Apocalyptic Raids]

Beats 50%
Flow 35%
Lyrics 15%

[kingsoby1]

i tend to hold beats in very high regard, but if the rapper blows, i have a hard time getting into it. it's pretty funny, cause i dont get into instrumental hiphop/ triphop much at all, especially considering how important beats are for me.

Champion Sound is a great example, same with Waajeed's "The War LP"... which admittedly has some great rapping on it, but it's pretty sparse.

[kingsoby1]

i tend to hold beats in very high regard, but if the rapper blows, i have a hard time getting into it. it's pretty funny, cause i dont get into instrumental hiphop/ triphop much at all, especially considering how important beats are for me.

Champion Sound is a great example, same with Waajeed's "The War LP"... which admittedly has some great rapping on it, but it's pretty sparse.

[illmitch]

it's pretty much equally divided with me. when i say lyrics i don't mean like cryptic multisyllabic Aesop ponderings, but also factor in punchlines, metaphors, etc.

flow 30%
swagga 25%
beats 25%
lyrics 20%

[kingsoby1]

also, i think a lot of these formulas dont factor in regional taste.

for example, with respect to flow, i really dig the east coast style (prevalent in detroit too) over west coast/ south.

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

i dont think the percentages are really needed

[kingsoby1]

yeah it's a bit too mathematical... when reviewing, you just have to have a feel for what you like.

but sometimes, you have to give props for outstanding performances outside of your comfort zone... ie, GZA's pro tools from last year. was about to give it a 2 or 2.5, but taking lyricism into account more, i upped it to a 3.5 (although it's probably closer to a 3 for me now imo).

[illmitch]

yeah i just did it cuz i saw other people doing it. sociology at work.

i guess i agree to some extent with you, kingsoby, but i still tend to value the same traits regardless of region.

[Rams]

If it has bad beats, I don't care about anything else. K-rino is a good MC, but his beats are so below average that I can't get through his Triple Darkness stuff. I usually only notice lyrics when the MC is awful. Like Nas on his recent albums. If I wanted to hear something poetic, I'd go find a poem.

[Jaundice]

i dont think the percentages are really neededMy fault. I had no way of knowing everyone would bite my style.

Like Nas on his recent albums. If I wanted to hear something poetic, I'd go find a poem.
Nas is one of those few artists whose lyricism is so tight that I can sometimes disregard the beats. Most of his latest is trite R&B, but I still listen to it on the regular tip.

[Already_Taken]

normally the beat catches my attention first. then the flow. then if both of those are good enough i'll listen to the song enough to hear the lyrics.

[Amit]

How do these three things factor into how bangin u think a joint is?

Do you agree with these three elements being chosen?

i think that beats and flow are realllllyyyy important; so much so that they need to both be there for a song to be truly bangin

beats: 100%
flow: 100%
lyrics: 0% i don't really care about lyrics if the beat and flow are amazing

but i can accept poor flow if the beats are seriously bangin

also it's important to distinguish lyrical content so to revise:

beats: 100%
flow: 100%
lyrics which are fun and funny as hell: not as important but they add a shitload to a song so i'd say 50%
lame unfun/unfunny white boy hip hop lyrics: -1000000000%

[Already_Taken]

who pays attention to the subject matter of a rap song anyways :rolleyes:

[Led_Zep_Bonham]

People that censor it.

[Amit]

who pays attention to the subject matter of a rap song anyways :rolleyes:

a metric ****ton of lame white boys who listen to lwb hip hop

[Already_Taken]

wow people really think the content of lyrics doesn't matter? i myself said they're least important in a rap joint, but if you listen to a song long enough you're bound to think about the lyrics a little bit... right?

[(*The Noonward Race*)]

a little yeah but it really doesn't do much for the music

[Already_Taken]

well not the music but for the listening experience. lyrics are what separates good rap from not good, and consider the music if there were no lyrics.... boring i'd say

[Amit]

well not the music but for the listening experience. lyrics are what separates good rap from not good, and consider the music if there were no lyrics.... boring i'd say

Outsiders say the darndest things.

[easylee]

beats: 100%
flow: 100%
lyrics: 0%

this