Help Me Understand Hip Hop

First of all, I love many hip hop artists. Such as Wu-Tang Clan, Clipse, Jay-Z, and Beastie Boys. But I love their songs more because of the beats, the hooks, and delivery. When it comes to artists whose beats are kinda subtle (to my ears at least) and the main appeal is lyrics, such as Mos Def and Eric B & Rakim, I just don't enjoy it as much. I think this is also because I'm not an active user of English language, so to appreciate the lyrics I have to read it while listening, which is a chore. So my questions are, if I only listen to hip hop for the beats, hooks, and delivery, how much do I miss? Is it possible to enjoy lyrics-based hip hop without paying attention to the lyrics?

how much do I miss?

half

Is it possible to enjoy lyrics-based hip hop without paying attention to the lyrics?

yes it is possible to do this with any music ft. lyrics

half

:(

half

:(

yes, this has been proven by Science.

please explain to me the appeal of old OLD old skool hip-hop

this is where you get me into hip-hop

for more reference, although you're coming from a different place than a 1st-language-English speaker.

My appreciation of hip-hop tunes usually starts with liking the beat, and then the lyrics kind of seep in to my consciousness over multiple listens. I generally don't care all that much about lyrics in music.

Also if the rapper's flow is good, I kind of treat the vocals as another percussive element, at least at first.

h8 rap

You should make rap songs in your own language and then post links for us to hear.