SP Radio  

Metamorphosis RAP to Hip Hop

“Once upon a time, not long ago, when people wore pajamas and lived life slow” there was RAP; acronym for rhythm and poetry.  These were simpler times when you could buy a record single and on said single there were three versions of the song.  Version one was the song itself, version two was the instrumental and alas the third and final version was acapella (voice track without the background music).  I would jam the song, study the lyrics and finally spout out my own words to the instrumental.  Regardless the reason for the separate tracks, you had the opportunity to appreciate the “rhythm” and “poetry” individually.  The poetry
(also known as the lyrics) was an important part of the song as well as the determining factor of an MC’s success.  Let’s talk about the term “MC”, which means Master of Ceremonies.  In history the role of the MC was to control the crowd during ceremonies, if the MC could not entertain the crowd he was removed from his position and replaced.  In the beginning people would come simply to dance to the music and enjoy the festivities, while the MC entertained the crowd between acts.  Then the MC began to speak in a manner
which flowed with the rhythm of the beat henceforth creating RAP music.  With all that being said, allow me to introduce myself, I’m Double R (RAP Rebel).  Let’s further examine the role of the MC and the importance of “good” lyrics.

       “Rappers stepping to me… they wanna get some, but I’m the Kane so Yo, you know the outcome.  Another victory, unsolved mystery, so pick a B.C. date cause you’re history”, opening lines to Big Daddy Kane’s “Ain’t no half stepping”.  “Now I’ve walked on ice and never fell, I spend my time in a plush hotel.  I’ve stood on many stages, held many mics, take airplane flights at huge heights”, DMC from “King of Rock”.  “There was a Hardy boy mystery you trying to solve, can’t understand why you got involved, but
here’s a clue… try the ghetto master blaster, now think who causes disasters”, opening lines to EPMD’s “Get off the Bandwagon”.  Lastly, a classic line, “I wanna rock right now, I’m Rob Base and I came to get down, I’m not internationally known but I’m known to rock a microphone” opening lines to Rob Base’s “It Takes Two”.  There are so many tracks I can quote that I can write a book on it.  Upon closer look you may notice a similarity of all the verses, found it yet? That’s right, every verse is a boast each MC makes about
their skills on the microphone.  Each artist is making the same claim without the repetitiveness of today’s rappers.  The pioneers didn’t do it for the money, they didn’t do it for the women or the fame, they did it for the love.  There was no money, women or fame, only street credibility.  With each new artist came a new and different style, sound, technique and message.  Every rapper didn’t claim to be a gangster or a big time drug dealer or boast of how many times they were shot or remind us of how much less money we have than they.  
They would speak to us about things we could “all” relate to and feel, while talking on equal ground.  You could listen to an entire album and each track served a different purpose and would have some type of message behind it.  There were songs to uplift, songs to inform, songs to inspire, songs to make you dance, songs to make you cry and songs to make you angry not because of the beat but because of the artistic storytelling of the MC.

In closing, I guess what I’m trying to say is… if I have to hear another song about money, dancing or doing something *censored* to a woman, I’ll have to scream!  Rappers and record labels alike, PLEASE hear this; we know you have money (we get it).  If one guy makes a hot dance track, you don’t have to piggy back off of it and make up a dumber dance than the other guy.  I know the song goes hard in the club, but everybody’s not in the club all the time.  Finally, please-please-please… start listening to your own lyrics, you’re a
professional so if it sounds like recycled garbage – write something new! Any questions???Log on to www.SPEntertainmentMusicGroup.com or email, realtalk@SPEntertainmentMusicGroup.com