Rappers w/ Lisps, Freestyle vs Written Battles, Deliver and Content go hand in hand & Official “DOWN” video from DuBBoro
FREESTYLE VS WRITTEN BATTLES
Battling has always been a staple in the hip hop game. With the success of the up and coming written battle leagues it has pretty much become its on sub genre of hip hop. What makes it unique enough to become its on sub genre? its not over a beat, its pre written, all acapella and the majority of the time the know their opponents well in advance. Its different from the days of freestyle battles over beats when battles started in cyphers full of dope mc’s.
I can’t really say which one I like more bc I came from the days of freestyling but most of these cats now trying to freestyle are an embarrassment to hip hop in general. Just a bunch of ramblin about nothing, not rhyming at all and not making any sense at all. Stuttering, “Yo I said,I said” and hypemen backing up your bars that are supposedly “off the top” are not part of freestyling. So that being said, I’d rather not hear or watch anybody rap horrible but I would much rather hear a bad written battle than a bad freestyle battle. That just sounds like a couple of crackheads drunk and on a binge trying to rap. Its hard to find a great freestyle mc these days, but they do exist. In the past that was just part of being an mc but now its pretty much a lost art. On the rare occasion you do see a real battle like this its absolutely insane! I’ve seen cats come up w/ raps on the spur of the moment off the top of their heads doper than most cats can come up w/ in their whole careers. The days of Scribble Jam, WRC, Blaze Battles (which I was in), Rhyme Warz (I was champ for 2 yrs – shameless plug), etc… were the golden era of battling. Just look up some of those battles and you’ll see what I mean.
Now when it comes to the newer acapella, written battles, you either love them or hate them. I personally love any type of good battle & being that its prepared and written ahead of time, there’s a much better chance that you’ll see a classic battle. The thing is that its just as much snapping and poetry as it is hip hop. Which is why alot of freestyle fans hate it and I completely understand why. I personally love the intensity and how personal these battles can get. They are built up for months and alot of time the tension is real. Its the best way to settle differences lyrically. You can also hear the punchlines alot better and the rappers actual performances are on another level in these type of battles. The worst is when they choke, forget bars and can’t freestyle so there is just this awful awkward silence. That’s just as bad as the drunk fratboy freestyles u here online or the crackhead drunks I spoke of before! The best battle mc’s are the ones who mix their writtens and can freestyle to adapt to a situation.
Like I said I don’t know which I like best because any good battle is fun to witness. It just seems that the written battles get alot more attention now because of the lack of dope freestyle artists out there. But feel free to leave comments and debate on the page, that’s what its here for.
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Top 5 Rappers w/ Lisps
Notorious B.I.G.
I heard a rapper w/ a lisp so bad I thought he was speaking another language when he was rapping so I had to compile a list haha! The list of lisps was supposed to be a comical list but I started to realize that some of the best artists in the history of hip hop had lisps…don’t believe me, check it out. In no certain order…
1. Biz Markie
A hip hop legend that has put out some of the most memorable hip hop songs ever! “Nobody Beats The Biz”, “The Vapors”, “Just A Friend” & “Pickin’ Boogers” are just a few of his well known songs. You can also catch him on a ton of commercials, Nick Cannon’s Wildin’ Out & my daughters favorite show Yo Gabba Gabba. Also could compete with Shabba Ranks and Craig Mack for weirdest looking artist ever.
2. Kool G Rap
Kool G Rap is 1 of my all time favorite lyricists! Listening to him in my cousin Neil’s attic/bedroom over and over, analyzing the lyrics and the way he explained his point w/ so much detail is what made me wanna learn to tell my stories w/ music. 1 of the most raw, real and “gangster” cats in the biz. Also one of the most respected. Respected enough that noone is gonna call him out to his face on having a lisp haha
3. Gucci Mane
We all know he sounds like he’s rapping, if you call what he does rapping, while he’s gargling marbles. I used to think it was the gold fronts he had but he took them out and I still can’t understand 80% of what he says. The man w/ 1 of the dumbest tattoos in history also has a toungue 5x too big for his mouth…can u tell i’m not too fond of gucci?
4. Eric Sermon
1/2 of the Legendary EPMD, who are 1 of the best duo’s in the game and the man who introduced the world to cats like Redman & Keith Murray. You can really hear it in his interviews. It’s not nearly as noticeable when he raps because of his signature slow flow, but you can definitely hear it.
5. Biggie
90% of the people you ask for their top 5 MC’s dead or alive are gonna have B.I.G on that list. He could spit in any style over any typle of beat. Lyricist doesn’t even explain what Biggie was. He was a game changer & 1 of the most influential artists ever…and had a pretty horrible lisp.
So basically a list that was supposed to be comical turned into a motivational list for any kid that wants to rap, speech impediment or not…for real.
Delivery and Content go hand in hand
I’m not gonna get into a long drawn out speech about this because its pretty simple. In order to be the total package you need to be a complete artist. You could have the best concepts and most clever punchlines ever but if you sound horrible rapping them noone cares. The same goes for rappers who have great beats and style but absolutely no substance. You have to master the art of creating a song, not just rapping. Some of the most intellegent lyricists in the world have cds that have damn near bored me to sleep. If you have no energy or any real soul in your songs how do you expect people to really believe in your message? If you lose a listeners attention they’ll never hear what you have to say. Now there also the cats who have tons of energy and you hear a song, get all hype and go buy the cd to realize this dude ain’t sayin a damn thing. These my friends are the 1 hit wonders of the world and the club rappers that can’t make an album to save their lives. The trick is to be able to tell your story and get your message across while grasping the listeners attention to the point they can’t and don’t wanna turn the song. That comes from being able to DELIVER great CONTENT with all your energy. You gotta mean it, put your heart and soul into your songs. Most importantly…LEARN WHAT A CADENCE IS AND CHOOSE DOPE BEATS! Alot of the younger cats don’t know how many different ways you can say something so they sound the same in every song, just a different beat. Be you, be original and try to find ways to say things noone has ever heard before. That’s what makes you stand out in a fans mind. Don’t try to be like the dude on the radio, try to be the dude on the radio…or better! A good book sucks if someone who can barely read is trying read it…and the best story in the world can put you to sleep if the narrator sucks…CONTENT + DELIVERY = GREAT MUSIC
Official Video for DUB-BORO’s “DOWN”
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