(Video) Top 15 Rakim Verses.

[res]

Here's my favorite, one of Rakim's hardest hitting tracks from the 80's.

lol Rakim who?

[BloodyWanker]

These cats got nottin on a prime Paul Wall...

[4Corners]

It doesn't for anyone interested in thinking for themselves.

And I couldn't disagree with you more when it comes to wordplay specifically .

Whenever I ask this question I either get simplistic one dimensional lyrics....


"The one man on the planet that'll drive off of the Grand Canyon
Hop out of a Grand Am and land in it handstanding
Any man planning to battle will get snatched outta his clothes
So fast it'll look like an invisible man standing." -Eminem

....that can't come close to competing with the layers of meaning/wordplay that you can, for instance, find in a Rakim song, or no lyrics at all.

That's one line. Rakim is the man, but he couldn't tell a story like Em could. 97 Bonnie and Clyde, As the World Turns, Murder Murder, Brain Damage, Mockingbird, Bad Guy, Criminal 3rd verse, etc.

There's nothing simplistic about the way Em raps, I honestly don't know what you're listening to. Damn near the entire first verse of Lose Yourself rhymes.

[4Corners]

Anyways, this wasn't about Em. I was just listing my Top 10.

Rakim is certainly there.

[res]

That's one line.

I'm talking about wordplay, which I think is the number one qualification for a great lyricist. You don't need a whole verse to give examples of good wordplay. I say he's overrated in that area. He can rhyme words well (although he often does it excessively without taking into consideration whether it actually sounds good in the song).


By the way, that's a good top ten list in general.

[4Corners]

I'm talking about wordplay, which I think is the number one qualification for a great lyricist. You don't need a whole verse to give examples of good wordplay. I say he's overrated in that area. He can rhyme words well (although he often does it excessively without taking into consideration whether it actually sounds good in the song).


By the way, that's a good top ten list in general.

I like Rakim as much as the next guy. Like I said, I was just a little kid, and I heard Microphone Fiend. My first hip hop song, and the rest was history. I think the fact that Rakim thinks as highly of Em as he does says a lot, same with G Rap. You don't hear them giving out praise very often.

The complexity of all the rhymes he uses, multisyllabic rhymes, and complex rhythyms on many songs, I think that's what makes him one of the greats. He's also not just a spitter, he has songs where he tells insanely good and vivid stories, and connects with his audience as well as anyone in rap. I think that's why he gets the praise he does. And aside from that, if just spittin' bars were a competition, I don't think there's anyone that he couldn't keep it up with, and I don't think there's any style he couldn't do. It's not as if he's just rhyming words that rhyme for the sake of rhyming them, they always mean something either in the grand scheme of the song, or within each bar. Of course there are exceptions.

Check some of the 100 best Eminem verses I posted a few posts ago. Ems wordplay shouldn't be question, his ability to bend words, internal rhyme schemes. It's easily some of the best in hip hop, especially today. One of the best tracks on MMLP2.

[ElMeroChingon]

lol Rakim who?

Some people didn't noticed they got Rick ROll'ed in my last post. It was legendary.

Those were the lyrics, and here is the video

[res]

I like Rakim as much as the next guy. Like I said, I was just a little kid, and I heard Microphone Fiend. My first hip hop song, and the rest was history. I think the fact that Rakim thinks as highly of Em as he does says a lot, same with G Rap. You don't hear them giving out praise very often.

The complexity of all the rhymes he uses, multisyllabic rhymes, and complex rhythyms on many songs, I think that's what makes him one of the greats. He's also not just a spitter, he has songs where he tells insanely good and vivid stories, and connects with his audience as well as anyone in rap. I think that's why he gets the praise he does. And aside from that, if just spittin' bars were a competition, I don't think there's anyone that he couldn't keep it up with, and I don't think there's any style he couldn't do. It's not as if he's just rhyming words that rhyme for the sake of rhyming them, they always mean something either in the grand scheme of the song, or within each bar. Of course there are exceptions.

Check some of the 100 best Eminem verses I posted a few posts ago. Ems wordplay shouldn't be question, his ability to bend words, internal rhyme schemes. It's easily some of the best in hip hop, especially today. One of the best tracks on MMLP2.

By "wordplay" I was referring to metaphors, puns, figures of speech, and association of ideas.

Putting rhymes together is a different matter. The first verse of the song you posted had pretty good wordplay. In general I don't think that he has wordplay that sets him apart from other great rappers, and in the case of a guy like Rakim even equal them. His writing also doesn't have a real poetic sensibility. Sometimes the way he puts words together is just downright ugly from a poetic standpoint "rude ludicrous lyrics". Now he is a flow and punchline rapper rather than a poetic rapper, admittedly, but the lack of a poetic sense is weakness when it comes to comparing him to a guy like Nas for example. Nas is also a better story teller than he is. At the end of the day I think he is above average in many things, and at the top level when it comes to rhyme scheme. Does that make the greatest rapper of all time as too many people try to make him out as? Well I don't think so. I think he's overrated.

Then there is the issue of his voice (my goodness) but I'll leave that alone.

[4Corners]

By "wordplay" I was referring to metaphors, puns, figures of speech, and association of ideas.

Putting rhymes together is a different matter. The first verse of the song you posted had pretty good wordplay. In general I don't think that he has wordplay that sets him apart from other great rappers, and in the case of a guy like Rakim even equal them. His writing also doesn't have a real poetic sensibility. Sometimes the way he puts words together is just downright ugly from a poetic standpoint "rude ludicrous lyrics". Now he is a flow and punchline rapper rather than a poetic rapper, admittedly, but the lack of a poetic sense is weakness when it comes to comparing him to a guy like Nas for example. Nas is also a better story teller than he is. At the end of the day I think he is above average in many things, and at the top level when it comes to rhyme scheme. Does that make the greatest rapper of all time as too many people try to make him out as? Well I don't think so. I think he's overrated.

Then there is the issue of his voice (my goodness) but I'll leave that alone.

I think his voice is a strength....it separates him from a lot.

Oh and rude ludicrous lucrative lyrics....

Also, if you don't find anything poetic in say a song like Stan, Sing For the Moment, Lose Yourself, etc....well I can't convince you man. No other rapper brought you closer to his life then Em and Pac. These two, more then anyone, could relate and connect with an audience not quite like anyone else ever could.

Nas and Em are two different story tellers. Nas will put you on the streets of Queens with his words, where as Em tells more general stories and everything. I don't think Nas could make a song like Stan or 97 Bonnie and Clyde. Not in a million years. Though I rank Nas along with Em.

A strength of Em is there literally isn't one style he hasn't or couldn't do when he spits.

His rhyme schemes and complexity of his rhymes are some of the best ever, hands down. He has pretty good wordplay. He's an underrated story teller.