Flow

Or - why do people who love hip-hop find it so difficult to write about why good MCs are good?

On a Del the Funkee Homosapien CD he brags in one track about 'not using homonyms', but in another track he rhymes "down the side" with "suicide". Maybe 'flow' = being an eagle-eyed self-editor on the fly?

Something interesting to say, first of all, but that's maybe the least important thing. A way of expressing it that's _surprising_--not necessarily clever-clever, but capable of producing a "huh! I wouldn't have thought of that." Timing that plays with and around the beat, and is specific to it. And the great MCs, post-old-school, all have a way of rapping as if they're speaking--which is to say that they imply that the way they would ordinarily talk is just naturally golden, with rhymes and rhythmic play falling into place so perfectly that you can stick a beat behind it and it'll synch up.

Flow is not an all or nothing proposition -- the rock equiv. would be asking "what sort of guitar sound is the best"? There's no particular answer outside the general context of the work in question. Slick Rick, clearly, has strength in telling stories -- making complex narratives fit a basic meter. Big Boi can run together gaddisesque lists of detrius and then drop into three drawled words which capture the essence of the prior 30. Ludacris exhaults in every rhyme as though it were a punchline to the best joke ever. Timbaland's meter is as precise and complex as the tracks he produces, especially on the new track on the Bubba Sparxxx album, which I think is the best rapping he's ever done. Etc.

Not much to add. Good to see Slick Rick mentioned so early in this thread. Is Snoop Dogg's version of "Lodi Dodi" the best hip-hop cover of all time? Not sure what the competition would be. Both those guys flow like...lava? Water? Something.

being totally present in the words they're saying at the moment they're saying them. it's that same thing make a bulldog break his chain.

missing a sentence there - it's also the same thing that makes a book- on-tape good or not.

I thought this was about something entirely different. But hey it isn't ILE. I wonder what you guys think of the flow of non English MCs. I once read someone saying that rock and hip hop should only be in English.

i guess this means i didn't convince you about mos. i'll be back with a proper answer after a while, but i'll add that what makes a good mc is a combination of many different qualities, some of which don't relate directly to mic skills, and that usually the ones who become 'great mcs' are the ones who have the charisma to inspire a cult of personality and have mostly labored under solid but not overshadowing production, this is why rakim is a great and chuck d isn't. once you go outside of the hiphop-snob circle you'll find people who'll name amongst their favorite mcs someone like posdnuos, who really is a great lyricist and rhymer but shouln't really be up for consideration as a 'great mc' because part of his greatness was being subdued enough to allow paul's de la production to coexist along with his words. and one of the things i was explaining about mos is that he can work under both, he seems equally at home as part of a group dynamic or going entirely solo. other mcs who have or could have pulled off this balance: slick rick, nas, kool keith, melle mel, redman, jay-z, rass kass, kool moe dee, quite a few more. this isn't to say that this is the more desirable quality of an mc, but it's a level above those who can only hold it down in a group (parrish, phife, run, half of the wu) and those work best on a solo tip and either did or would cast a shadow over whatever crew they were with (cube, busta, meth). more later.

MC Buzz B - I rated him highly - Words Escape Me - album has an excellent flow that also has an interesting electronic backdrop.

Peel also supported MC Buzz B and some critics labelled MC Buzz B - as the Morrissey of rap.

A few years later MC Buzz B teamed up with Justin Robertson in the Lionrock proect - with a progressive tune - packet of peace.

All of my favorite mc's create rhythmically interesting/catchy phrases, which should go without saying.

In line with what someone said above about a conversational delivery, changing pitch within your lines (without being old-school sing-songy) is pretty important, though that's just a part of good phrasing I suppose. I've always found this impressive since, because you aren't dealing with actual notes, there are so many possible ways to deliver a phrase.

Tone of the voice is pretty important too, although of course completely subject to taste. Talib Kweli is probably my favorite mc, and I think of him like a jazz player in that he's identifiable within a couple of words.

Exampels of Tracks where Hip hiop artists directly Reference the Flow of another Well known track (but for the entire track not just a one liner)

Billy Joel "We Didn't Start The Fire"