What Makes a good rap song?

[coyn3burglar]

In my humanities course (junior in High School), we have to type a 3-4 page essay saying what makes a good...Has to be something art-related; movies, literature, sculptures, music etc.One of my friends was doing this same exact topic and I said that I bet I can make a better essay then you can. I know my rap knowledge is better then his although it probably is not as good as some people here. I have to give examples, defitions of terms that are in this art form, and I have to keep it similar to Aristotle's writing of "Poetics".Anyway, I would probably have to say that lyrics make a good rap song and explain it. Give examples (Nas - NY State of Mind). Any other suggestions?

 

[yankshater213]

there is not necessarily one component that makes a rap song good. its how multiple things all flow together to make the song. you need good lyrics, a hot beat, and a lyrics that are spittable over said beat. NY State of Mind is lyrically one of the illest songs out there, and Premier put one of the illest beats out there, and Nas just kills it and makes it flow like crazy.

 

[Drake24]

I don't know a whole lot about rap, but I do like it.Anyways, you could play off the human emotion idea, that could add good substance to your paper. For instance, words and things that have to do with them, like: cussing, sex, killing, and other words/actions have been known to arouse people that hear them. Do some research on it, and you might get some good stuff on it. You could go into how it is not only the beat, tempo, artist, and flow of lyrics that make a good rap song. If you want to make a "good" rap song and get people to buy the CD, using the right words that play off human emotion can get you there more easily. By stimulating emotion or adrenaline in a person, you can get them to like the song.Just an idea. You can look into it, it is just something that will set your paper apart from others.

 

[coyn3burglar]

Flow, Beat, Lyrics, Subject Matter. Are those the 4 elements of rap?

 

[yankshater213]

Essentially, yes. Some people prefer certain ones, but IMO a good rap song needs to have equal parts of all those components to be a GOOD rap song.

 

[Justice]

Please use the terms "Hot beat" and "Illest" in your paper.

 

[yankshater213]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Justice @ Nov 20 2006, 09:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Please use the terms "Hot beat" and "Illest" in your paper.</div>I actually did that once. I didn't use hot beat, I used dope beat and illest.We were supposed to write a paper about our favorite song, and relate it to poetry. In describing the song I wrote "Nas spits some crazy fire over one of the dopest beats out there." and other sh*t liek that. I really didnt care how I did because the grade wasnt that big and I had an A anyways so my grade woulda went down to an A- at worst. I ended up getting a 80 because I ended up breaking it down on an intellectual level later on in the paper, but in describing the song, I used Ebonics.. hahahaha I'm going to see if I can find that paper somewhere.Didn't feel like making a new post, but to POTG's post after mine: Poet Laureate 2 is probably one of the best songs of all time and one of my favorite as well.

 

[playaofthegame]

Ask CanibusEvery warrior has an axe to burybut he has to learn to discern between enemy and adversaryI said to myself, "Germaine this is insaneits suicide its controlled flight into terrain"I fought to regain, control of the plain, but went up in a ball of flamesand got banned from the hip hop hall of fameFor 2 bars I kept hearin in my headover and over again, it cost me everythingIm convinced now that more then truth is at stakeWhere people create language that pretends to communicateEuphemisms are misundertood as mistakesbut its a bi-product of the ghetto music we makeFrom an extroverted point of view I think its too lateHip Hop has never been the same since '88Since it became a lucrative profession there's a misconceptionthat a movement in any direction is progressionEven though of the potency of it lessensbig money industries writing checks to suppress the questionAnd nobody gives a F*ck no more, no one goes to the book storeever since the confluence of Moore's LawBut I stay in the lab, like Niels Bohrand his son Aage, Edward Lorenz and Leo SzilardLyrically I took rap music and turned the knobto the right full throttle and added panacheWhy would I argue with my own conscience over the truth?thats like me telling myself dont tell me what to doDialyses and analyses of battle emceessometimes I say things I myself can't believeMy lyrical is so skillfully ellipticalI can understand how it makes you miserableYou wonder why I never let you play your beats for meor why I keep my studio enshrouded in secrecyYou wonder what's my infatuation with Alicia Keys"Canibus why dont you speak to me?"Yo, I meant it when I said no one can shine on a song that features methats why I said it so vehementlyYou need to place the hate with respectI'm probably the best yet, Poet Laureate

 

[7Goat]

Snoop Dogg.

 

[coyn3burglar]

Anyone know any crap lyrics from a crap artist? I need to have a bad example, I am having a hard time finding one that clearly shows how terrible the rhyme scheme is.

 

[7Goat]

I would just make your own... not many rap artists get into the rap game because they suck.Oh wait, any of 50 Cent's stuff. Or Ice-T. Or K-Fed.

 

[Memphology]

sh*t that actually ryhmes, something that will make you say "WOW" in a good way, a song that even old white people can emphasize with. Pretty much making a poetic rap song=perfect rap song.

 

[jhowardfan]

^ for that youd need to go into maybe some Lupe Fiasco type stuff.and as for the bad example..YUNG JOC

 

[ac77]

lyrics && the beat, if I dont like the beat I wont listen to it..