Edwards - How to Rap

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Edwards, Paul, 1982

How to rap : the art and science of the hip-hop MC / Paul Edwards.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-55652-816-3

1. Lyric writing (Popular music) 2. Rap (Music)Instruction and study. I. Title.

MT67.E38 2009

782.421649143dc22

2009026892

Cover design: Philip Pascuzzo
Cover photograph: Q-Tip, by Trevor Traynor
Interior design: Jonathan Hahn

2009 by Paul Edwards
All rights reserved
Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 978-1-55652-816-3
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1

I started to learn how to rap just watching the older dudes do it in the park. I had to be about 9, 10 years old when I first started hearing hip-hop music being played out in the parks, out in the neighborhoods. I saw the DJ on the two turntables scratching, and I saw dudes on the microphone just really keeping the party amped and charged upjust being masters of ceremony, where the word MC comes from, just keeping the party alive.

When I first heard some of them spitting back then, as a kid, I was just fascinated by it. I started repeating what I would hear the older guys saying, and that was my first brush with just beginning to learn how to rap.

Being from the era that Im from, you had to really stand your ground as far as this lyric shit, and thats why that era bred rappers like a Big Daddy Kane, a KRS-One, a Rakim, a Chuck D.... These dudes, they moved youthey moved you from the soul. Their rapping capability and abilitythese dudes were phenomenal.

Im a student of the Grandmaster Cazs, the Melle Mels, the Kool Moe Dees, Silver Fox from Fantasy 3, and a lot of others, so when people took to me, they were really taking to a part of each of those rappers, because thats where G Rap was branded from. These were the dudes that influenced G Rap to rap the way he raps or to even just have the motivation to want to stand out from everybody else and not only be different but be the best at what I doit was inspired by those rappers.

So I think you definitely have to study some of the people that are considered to be legends, and great lyricists, and great rappersstudy and do your homework and brush up on your history. You gotta know what it is to be a great MC in order to do ityou gotta hear it, you gotta feel it.

K OOL G R AP

Kool G Rap is a legendary MC whose complex rhyme style and vivid street imagery have influenced a whole generation of MCs. From Eminem showing his respect to G Rap in his Grammy acceptance speech to Jay-Z citing G Raps greatness in his song Encore (hearing me rap is like hearing G Rap in his prime) to being named as a major influence by the majority of the rappers interviewed for this book, Kool G Raps standing as one of the most influential and skilled MCs of all time is indisputable.

Always continue to learnreading is a great way to intake informationand never think youre the best. You always have something to learn from someone.

MURS

How to Rap teaches you the art and science of MCing through the words and lyrics of some of the most influential and respected MCs of all time, from all areas of hip-hop. Over a hundred MCs were interviewed exclusively for this book, including pioneers and contemporary MCs, mainstream and underground rappers (there is a complete list of all the interviewed artists on p. 315). As many different types of artists as possible were included, to draw on their individual strengthsexplaining everything from writing deep political lyrics to crafting chart-topping choruses.

All the techniques, methods, and suggestions come directly from the artists themselves, so that you can learn in the same way that all rappers have learnedfrom other rappers. As Tech N9ne says, Study MCs, see what they do, then make your ownthats how everybody started. All the artists interviewed for How to Rap told a similar story of how they learned their craft by listening to other MCs, analyzing those artists work, and constantly expanding their range of skills.

Rah Digga

I studied KRS-One, Rakim.... Kool G Rap from the Juice Crew kind of set the standards for me as far as what was considered a dope verse and dope rhyming, so I basically just mimicked him. I just kind of analyzed their styles, like, OK, Kool G Rap uses a lot of similes and metaphors, and I just made sure I did that a lot.

The words of the interviewed artists will guide you step by step through the art form, breaking down the different elements of the craft. The fundamental elements of MCing divide How to Rap into the following parts: Content, Flow, Writing, and Delivery. By exploring the key components individually, you can focus on and master each one.

Bishop Lamont

If you want to be someone great and someone who will be remembered, you have to master that field, and that means mastering every aspect and every style that there is. You take 2Pache mastered every element, every aspect[and] Biggie under the same circumstances, of mastering all the hemispheres of the music.

How to Rap also provides valuable insight into the history of MCing, exposing you to many of the pivotal figures in hip-hop, their music, and their influences, and to the notable styles within the genre. And knowing this history helps you become a great MC by building on the decades of work and innovation of other MCs. Myka 9 of Freestyle Fellowship notes that todays MCs are building on a foundation that has already been established, and Guerilla Black adds, Study, really pay attention to whats going onitll teach you a lot. Thats one thing about Eminem: Eminem listened to everything and thats what made him one of the greats.

will.i.am, Black Eyed Peas

Study, know all of the facts. Know where Nas got his style from, know Jay-Z, where he came fromgo get the Jaz [Jaz-O], go buy Hawaiian Sophie [a Jaz-O single featuring Jay-Z]. Go learn where Biggie got his style from, and once you realize he was influenced by people like Black Moon, and you like Black Moon and you like Heltah Skeltah [both of supergroup Boot Camp Clik], then you can find out where Black Moon got their style from, and then you go learn about Stetsasonic Talkin All That Jazzand De La Soul and Jungle Brothers. Debbie Harry, Blondie and Fab Five Freddythats the first Pharrell and Gwen Stefani, thats the first will.i.am and Fergie in Blondie and Fab Five Freddy. If you like Missy Elliot then you know she got her shit from Roxanne Shant and [others], if you like Lil Jon, they got their style from Luke and 2 Live Crew... you like 2 Live Crew, they got their style from blah blah blah... and then you got a history. So if you want to be an MC, youve got to know where shit comes from, you gotta know different styles, you gotta know different patterns, you gotta know different coasts. You gotta know Geto Boys, you gotta know why T.I. is T.I., where did T.I. get his style fromI could break T.I. down, T.I. is dope, but everybody get their style from somebody. Thats what makes a good MC, a person that knows and that can be a chameleonchameleon MCs are cats that can do all the styles.

How to Rap covers a wide range of the techniques used by many artists. Although different MCs have different opinions and different ways of doing things, every viewpoint and technique has been included to give a complete picture. In fact, the majority of MCs dont have a set formula they use all the time they use different combinations of the techniques found in