Rap School Rhyme Patterns

[Hero1]

this is an awesome blog from Casual

k imma make all this into a 10 page pamphlet call "How to Spit".

The terms used have not been defined or documented by any artist to date, so im explaining these methods clearly and correctly for YOUR mental profit and lyrical benefit, hollabach

If you've ever Myspaced Del The Funky Homosapien, he possibly told you that he was busy studying music theory. This is what he does. This is what we do. We study. We study art forms in many different ways. Some are typical students, like Tajai, a Stanford Grad, Opio, Cal State Grad, Some off us are none typical Students, like Del,... Del possesses an intricate imagination and the ability to paint detailed pictures drawn from his mastery of the concept of English language . Del is considered a genius by anyone who's allowed to know him personally. Pep Love is talent. We try, But know one in Hiero can flow like Pep Love, Just listen to a Hiero album. A plus, Festo, and I rank high in many attributes.

Like I said before, I submit that rhyme patterns are the placement of rhymes within a bar or measure. For my peeps in the back of the class,.. A Bar is short for a Bar line. the line marking the division between two measures of music. A Measure is the music between the bars. Get it?

ok look,.. get a peace of paper and write numbers 1-8 horizontally on the page. Draw a Bar line or a vertical line before the number 1, after number 4, and after the number 8. Number 1-4 are the first Measure,.. numbers 5-8 are the second Measure. what you have now is 2 bars, because of the bar line in front of the number 1, and the bar line after the number 4 and 8. The Numbers them selves represent the BEATS in a measure. The spaces between beats are the upbeats and the downbeats.

Have you ever heard a drummer start off a band? well the drummer sound off to the other band members with "1,2,3,4" or "5,6,7,8" and the whole band starts on the next "One".

As the song plays along,. the musicians still keep count naturally for timing, to read the music off the script, and to know where changes in the groove may occur. For a rapper,.. you would count Bars to anticipate where your verse will end on a beat, and to mesh your 16th bar with the hook of the song.

Your rhyme pattern is where you place you rhymes within that measure.

ill use numbers and a recognizable rhyme. Try to keep counting 1234 in your head as you recite this rhyme

Rakim-I aint No Joke

1,2,3 I aint know (1) Joke, I (2)use to let the mic smoke (4)

now I (1)slam it on the (2)ground to make sure its broke (4)

When I'm (1)gone no one's (2)on, cuz I won't let (4)

Nobody press up and mess up to scene I set(4)

In this Pattern in these first four bars, Rakim set his rhymes on the upbeat of the (3) or the downbeat of the (4) (same note)

let do another simple one,.. Ice-t Six in the Morning

1,2,3,4 (1)Six in the (2)morning police at my door(4)

fresh(1) addidas (2)squeak across the bathroom (4)floor-

out(1) the back (2)window I make my escape(4)

didn't (1)even have (2)time to grab my old school (4)tape

in this style Ice -t places his first bar rhymes on the upbeat of the (3) and the his second bar rhymes directly on the (4). In Hip Hop the sounds heard on the (2) and the (4) will either be a share or a hand clap. so placing your rhymes over the ending snare made his style "snap" or Pop" because you heard a loud pop when he says the words "door" floor" Tape" and "escape"

both used one syllable styles in different patterns.

Let go Complicated!!! Pharaoh Monch or Eminem?

Eminem!!

ok hear is one,... 2 syllable

(1)Hi kids! (2)Do you like violence?(4) (Yeah yeah yeah!)

Wanna see me stick (1)Nine Inch Nails through each one of my eyelids?(4) (Uh-huh!)

(1)Wanna (2)copy me and do exactly like (4)I did? (Yeah yeah!)

(1)Try 'cid and (2)get ****ed up worse that my (4)life is? (Huh?)

(1)My brain's (2)dead weight, I'm trying to get my (4)head straight

But I (1)can't figure out which (2)Spice Girl I want to impregnate(4)

this pattern is already more complex because its 2 syllables,.. but his rhyme placement shifts to suit his topic. so in this rhyme he lets his rhymes drop where the may,.. moving from the (3) to the (1) to the (4) then the (4)again to the(1) back to the (4).

If you use a 2 syllable style and place your rhymes in those locations,.. people will say " he sounds like emimem" and won't know why.

ok,.. since you don't know,.. to date,...listening to Eminem, Faboulous, Lloyd Banks,. and Hiero Members are the only places i've heard examples of 4 OR MORE syllables styles DONE INTENTIONALLY. other emcees have done these styles also,.. but these guys do it so much,.. they would have to be dumb to not notice it.

In my opinion Fabolous is one of the best rhymer out. Phonetically he mirrors emimen, but subject matter will draw the line between the two... and Lloyd just mimics fabo, so even if hes multi syllabic,..hes Garbage..(im willing to bet he would say "OHHHH" if he read any of this)

Fabo 3/4 syllable spitter

You niggaz can't share my air

Or walk a mile in the pair I wear

And I'm gettin better year by year

Like they say Wine do

Cops couldn't smell me if you brought the canines through

And I pace myself

I know these money hungry bitches wanna taste my wealth

But I keep em' on a diet

Embrace they health

Or either keep em' on a quiet

And space myself

And just take a deep breath

I got em' grabbin' they chest

Cuz it's hurtin' em' to see Fab in his best

And they in they worst

They rather see me lay in the hearse than lay in the back

And I ain't just layin a verse

I'm sayin the facts

I came back with some sicka stones

That got these broke niggaz lookin at me like they chokin' on a chicken bone

Every chick I bone

Can't leave the dick alone

So I know

It's one of them everytime I flip my phone

fabo 4 syllable spitter

If you wanna have smaller digits

The kid was never, a playa hata or baller bigit

Every week, pay em all a visit

I bring Pamela Lee to the P's so we all can dig it

I popped enough alcohol so we all could swig it

Guns, stand them up they be as tall as midgets

O.k, I'll rap a little faster

But do I really sound like I turned from a rapper to a pastor

I'm like you except I date supermodels

The cars that I drive, the state troopers follow

We get the same parties probably

My stones look like sunshine, yours partly cloudy

And I dont front for nothin'

I likes, I gets, I want for nothin'

I'm givin' ya straight answers

And I'd rather be dead than livin wit hate cancer

emimen 4 syllable (his delivery made this style)

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy

There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti

He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin

What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud

He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out

He's chokin, how everybody's jokin now

The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!

Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity

Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked

He's so mad, but he won't give up that

Easy, no

He won't have it , he knows his whole back's to these ropes

It don't matter, he's dope

He knows that, but he's broke

He's so stagnant that he knows

When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's

Back to the lab again yo

This whole rap ****

He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him

Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Lord Finnesse ,Chill Rob G, Craig G Masta Ace and Kool G Rap all played with 3 syllable styles back in the eighties!! Do yo homework,....thanks

Delivery is next,....

[Da Brakes]

This is awesome! EVERYBODY can learn from this! This needs to be pinned!

[FreshPrinceFan]

Wow...that's all i have to say really, that was very helpfull, i've been refering back to this post each time i sit down to write rhymes. Thank you very much for this.

[zappatje]

damn! nice, i'm learning allready ;)

[Stacy]

That's very interesting. I don't think I can learn all of it, but it's good to know how they really do it.

[Fresh Prince of Amsterdam]

Good topic :)

I'm learnin' this at the moment.

[Daniel]

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien is an amazing rapper, dude is so smart. After you could play as him on nba 2k5 I started getting into his music and his rhymes are real good. Nice write-up.