Rap listening--what do you check for first?

frankly if the beat sucks I have a hard time cutting through that to care about the lyrics

of these i'd definitely say flow but other things are just as important - the timbre of the rapper's voice in particular

For sure. I'm noticing that I gravitate towards baritone voices with good anunciation (or with thick southern drawls)

beat > atmosphere > flow > lyrics

Although all are important. Very rarely will I really love a song that is missing any of those.

spottie otm

well except the lyrics part, I like a lot of songs w/ questionable lyrics.

But *good* lyrics or flow can mean any number of things. Sometimes I'm in the mood for a nimble emcee like G Rap while other times I just want to hear some disjointed stuff like Silkk The Shocker or something.

Yeah XP, we all have our limits within each one of these subjects.

i'm voting lyrics just because i get kinda bored with the whole "lyrics don't matter" stance in a genre that really emphasizes lyrics

but it's all important spottie is correct

I'm not in the "lyrics dont matter" camp fwiw.

lyrics only matter to me phonetically really, at least on the first listen or so. the only lyrics i ever remember/care about are from songs i like enough already to pay attention to them

not hating on this poll or anything, but i always find it curious how much more willing rap heads are to analyze these elements separately than critics in other genres (like how often you see subscores for each of these things on rap sites that do number reviews). obv part of it is that the beat and the rap come from different people, but like... really, it's a package deal

lyrics don't matter is a pretty longstanding ILM "correct" stance

Oh.

I don't subscribe that stance at all fwiw

like I am totally a lyrics guy, but if the song SOUNDS bad well... I'm just not gonna be inclined to listen to it

Whatever's best. I love tracks with great MCing but dull beats and vice versa. Or great timbre and flow with lame lyrics. I don't always need the whole package.

i mean it's not that i don't like lyrics i just am pretty ok with the fact that 90% of the artists i'm going to listen to in any genre are going to have pretty boring lyrics at best

but yeah the lyrics not mattering thing is a pretty classic popist stance

eg was just listening to Super Bass and the song basically sucks but Nicki's performance alone keeps drawing me back. Conversely EPMD are (imo) pretty stolid MCs and lyricists but the whole sound wins me over.

"Whatever's best. I love tracks with great MCing but dull beats and vice versa. Or great timbre and flow with lame lyrics. I don't always need the whole package."

Yeah, there's always exceptions.

i first check whether i am listening to the rap artist Atmosphere & if i am i stop listening to it

lol

Check the technique first, imho.

voted Other (Brother Ali)

not sure exactly what "atmosphere" means but you forgot "chorus" on here

usually when i first listen to an album i'm likely being distracted by something else (ilx) so i'll hear beats and hooks first, and flows if that catches me. then if i'll usually make a concerted effort to go back and pay attention to the lyrics. if someone has a bunch of lame choruses on the album i'll notice it before i notice dope/shitty rhymes. this is prob pretty obvious in the few live blogs i've done on ilx.

this btw is for rap for an artist that i'm not really checking at all. i know how i consume rap music initially so if someone that i really like (gucci or max back in the day or w/e. ASAP rocky right now, of course) then i'll put everything aside (i.e. minimize a window) so i can focus on the lyrics & w/e.

wait did you just compare your like for ASAP to your gucci fandom?

I check her intellect then inspect her thighs.

haha good answer!

Since rap is music, i check for all the musical components. It's a mixture of flow, beat, chorus, voice, whatever else... and even lyrics 'cause if you want to make your rap sound good you have to find the right word.

depends in a few ways. what i check for first isn't necessarily what ends up being the most important in the end, but i naturally hear beats and vocal timbre and hooks first in most cases, and i'd say beats determine whether i like it but voice determines whether i LOVE it - my favourite rappers all have instantly recognisable and charismatic voices. rappers with no character in their voice bore me even when i can hear their lyricism.

i don't want to minimise the importance of lyrics because often a quotable couplet will be what snags me first, but that depends on the rapper - some are immediately understandable, others aren't (whether accent or enunciation or production). but in the right situation, lyrics can be more immediately arresting than anything else. (depends on the kind of lyrics too - a nicki-esque funny couplet will obviously leap out more than a narrative that depends on context.)

if it's a mixtape rather than album i might make a special effort to pay attention to lyrics, esp if they're using a lot of existing beats.

1) drums
2) attitude

I'll listen to any bad lyrics / flow if the beat / atmosphere is awesome but not the other way around. I'm more fond of producers than ego-tripping rappers.

(gucci or max back in the day or w/e. ASAP rocky right now, of course) then i'll put everything aside (i.e. minimize a window) so i can focus on the lyrics & w/e.

― J0rdan S., Friday, November 4, 2011 12:24 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

are you kidding me

enjoy your backlash

the idea that dude is even remotely close to the level of max or gucci is mind boggling

he didn't really say that............................

man y'all need to lighten the fuck up

omg did jordan really put asap rocky on the level of max b and gucci mane after spending two days picking apart his flaws in the gun sounds thread?? could it be true????

lol. j0rdan u KNOW its not just you

yeah ok i figured you were joking haha

depends in a few ways. what i check for first isn't necessarily what ends up being the most important in the end, but i naturally hear beats and vocal timbre and hooks first in most cases, and i'd say beats determine whether i like it but voice determines whether i LOVE it - my favourite rappers all have instantly recognisable and charismatic voices. rappers with no character in their voice bore me even when i can hear their lyricism.
― all i see is angels in my eyes (lex pretend), Friday, November 4, 2011 6:53 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

This p much.

beat > atmosphere > flow > lyrics is pretty much OTM for in my case, especially when listening to non native language rap

for

beatnuts > atmosphere > company flow > lyrics born is pretty much OTM for in my case, especially when listening to non native language rap

― V79, Friday, November 4, 2011 3:30 PM (23 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

deez nuts > beatnuts lol