How would you define a 'great' lyricist?

Question

another term i see thrown around way too often on here is calling someone a "great lyricist".......I want to know what is your definition of a great lyricist? what kind of things do you notice? are you someone who just judges based on the number of "SAT" words they use..do you take into account metaphors, similes, consistent wordplay? (i was just throwin all that stuff in the air as some possibilities, not necessarily facts) also if you want, you can use a rapper as an example and/or give a line or two to support your claim

im talking strictly about RAP/HIP HOP artists.....and i think Carter was the only one who read my question, i was asking for you're definition of the term great lyricist, and in addition to you could give in artist as an example....im not just askin for an artist name

Answer 1

to me lyricisim is NOT how hard a emcee tries or how much heart they put into it or how meaningful it is all that is a bonus. Its how good they are at twisting the english laungauge to be more then just words, because whats the difference between just talking while rhyming words at the same time and rapping, if putting your heart into it or talking about something real is considered great lyrcisim then i guess charlie checkm is a great lyrcisit because hes talking about americans being fat and a good amount of americans are actually overweight, but i dont think anyone would consider him a great lyricist

for example heres tupac shakur talking about something that matters and talking about the world
"Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots
I give a holler to my sisters on welfare
Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care
And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot
When you come around the block brothas clown a lot"

now heres ins rapping about something that doesnt really matter and isnt really about the world
"i bomb atomically, socrates philosopys and hypothesis cant define how i be droppin these mockaries, lyrically perform armed robbery, flee with the lottery, possibly they spotted me"

What makes a great lyrcist is basically their word play and how they build and structure the verse
which basically breaks down to
SYLLABLES
INTERNAL STRUCTURE
RHETORICAL TROPES(metaphors, similies etc)
COMPLEXITY (basically the overall status of the top 3 and the amount of lines that really make you analyze it and think deeper)
SCANSION(rhyme schemes and meters)
VOCABULARY (just using big words doesnt make you a lyrcist but neither does dropping a cat chased the rat into a hat ontop of a mat near the bat)

"IM THE ***** YOU EXPECT TO CATCH WRECK ON ANY CASSETTE DECK IM SO AHEAD OF MY TIME MY PARENTS HAVENT EVEN MET YET"-L

"POISONOUS PARAGRAPHS SMASH YA PHONOGRAPH IN HALF, IT BE THE INSPECTAH DECK ON THE WAR PATH FIRST CLASS LEAVIN MICS WITH A CAST CAUSIN RUCKUS LIKE THE AFTERMATH WHEN GUNS BLAST"-INS

"i blow em through battlezones with chrome for chaperone blast beats with saxaphones one of the baddest rappers known"-rakim

Answer 2

to me lyricisim is NOT how hard a emcee tries or how much heart they put into it or how meaningful it is all that is a bonus. Its how good they are at twisting the english laungauge to be more then just words, because whats the difference between just talking while rhyming words at the same time and rapping, if putting your heart into it or talking about something real is considered great lyrcisim then i guess charlie checkm is a great lyrcisit because hes talking about americans being fat and a good amount of americans are actually overweight, but i dont think anyone would consider him a great lyricist for example heres tupac shakur talking about something that matters and talking about the world "Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots I give a holler to my sisters on welfare Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot When you come around the block brothas clown a lot" now heres ins rapping about something that doesnt really matter and isnt really about the world "i bomb atomically, socrates philosopys and hypothesis cant define how i be droppin these mockaries, lyrically perform armed robbery, flee with the lottery, possibly they spotted me" What makes a great lyrcist is basically their word play and how they build and structure the verse which basically breaks down to SYLLABLES INTERNAL STRUCTURE RHETORICAL TROPES(metaphors, similies etc) COMPLEXITY (basically the overall status of the top 3 and the amount of lines that really make you analyze it and think deeper) SCANSION(rhyme schemes and meters) VOCABULARY (just using big words doesnt make you a lyrcist but neither does dropping a cat chased the rat into a hat ontop of a mat near the bat) "IM THE ***** YOU EXPECT TO CATCH WRECK ON ANY CASSETTE DECK IM SO AHEAD OF MY TIME MY PARENTS HAVENT EVEN MET YET"-L "POISONOUS PARAGRAPHS SMASH YA PHONOGRAPH IN HALF, IT BE THE INSPECTAH DECK ON THE WAR PATH FIRST CLASS LEAVIN MICS WITH A CAST CAUSIN RUCKUS LIKE THE AFTERMATH WHEN GUNS BLAST"-INS "i blow em through battlezones with chrome for chaperone blast beats with saxaphones one of the baddest rappers known"-rakim

Answer 3

A great lyricist uses creative rhymes for there songs, they set the whole track on fire by their punchlines, they're punchlines that aren't repeated, they can also rhyme words that no one else could rhyme together.

Big L in my opinion was the best lyricist of all time.
Here are some examples of great punchlines:
'98 Freestyle - "I'll turn your tux red, far from broke got enough bread, and mad hoes ask beavis i get nothing but head"
Da Graveyard - "Cuz I'm a street genius wit a unique penis, got fly chicks on my di ck, that don't even speak English"
Da Graveyard - "Filling' ****** with so much lead they can use their di ck for a pencil"
Da Graveyard - "I get more pus sy on accident then most ****** get on purpose, i got drug spots from NY to Canada, cuz big l be fu ckin with more keys than a janitor"
And that is just two songs of his, listen to any of his other songs, and you will be amazed at his lyrical ability.

Answer 4

great lyricist is a lyricist who have emotions,judgement about every tiny things and got high education.

The thing I myself appreciate of great lyricist that words should be his toys with which he should play instantly.
For an example when a composer says 'Sir, I got a tune can you write a lyric on it?' The moment he stops asking he saw that the great lyricist has finished the task that I will tell is a great lyricist.

I can write such because my idol is Javed Akhtar from India.
He is neither from rap nor from hip hop.He is bound by chatagory of song.I have seen he wrote many songs of many types.And still writing..

Answer 5

I would define great lyricst is when an MC say's someting that can make you think.Using metphors is a plus.Talking about the world, What is wrong with the world and etc is part of being a great lyricst. Mainly just thinking out of the box and being different. Worked for nas very well which would make him a great lyricist.

Answer 6

Someone who can use brilliant metaphors, similies, express emotions, jokes, someone who brings knowledge to their lyrics. I love when artist use intellectual words in their lyrics, because if I don't understand a word I have to go and look up it's meaning to understand what the artist is speaking about. i love when they do that. Very few can actually make you learn something, or a new word for that matter in their lyrics. Krs-One, and Lauryn Hill, Common, and Immortal Technique are perfect examples of artist who bring knowledge and social awareness to us through their lyrics.

One example of a good and creative lyricist is Prodigy of Mobb Deep. He may say things that sometimes are just horrible or don't make sense but I love what he did in the track "Self Conscience" on the QB's Finest album.
Prodigy:
[Prodigy's "Conscience"]
"Yo that sh!t is cash trust me Dunn; I'll never lead you astray
Take my word ***@az wanna hear how you think
It be that sh!t that you wouldn't expect to win
that stay playin in they decks over and again
Speak your thoughts, put your all in it
Whatever's in your mind, spit it
Place your anger on the page, release tension on the tape
A stress verse, seem to be what they most thirst
Makes fake ni@gaz disperse, they never challenge what works"

[Prodigy]
"Balancin the weakness, is what I specialize in
Dunn you my ni@ga cause you keep me hype when I'm writin
Kept me on point in the night when it might go down
Keep me eyes wide in the daytime as well
Kept me focused on what's real and nuttin else
I find it healthy, to conversate with myself
I kick it with my self (I kept you alive, all these years)
It's that inner voice you shoulda took head to and sh!t
Coulda been home instead of bleedin
Maybe next time you'll listen when it speaks"

Another would be "Stuck on you" of his return of the mac mixtape. The first two verses if you are not listening closely you would think he is talking about a girl, but he's not. You really have to listen to the lyrics to get an understanding of what he is speaking about.

I enjoy closely listening to lyrics. Sometimes the metaphors can be tricky in lyrics and unless you are really listening and paying attention you will not get what the artist is talking about. Ithink when a artist has lyrics that you really have to think and concentrate on to understand are the best creative, lyricist.

*My fav line from Lauryn Hill is "me without a mic, is like a beat without a snare"

Answer 7

Originality - the overall feel and sound can't mimmick another.

Presence - having a defined feeling on the mic. When you listen, you can feel the person as if you know them.

Actual lyrics - not only writing the right rhymes but righting all types of rhymes for different occasions. Having serious songs that don't make them sound ignorant and having club songs that don't make them sound ignorant. The similes and metaphors have to be good but they have to match up for what type of song it is. I like when rappers throughout similes in the club songs that you can relate to something non club related and the MCs wrote it like that on purpose.

Freestyle - you can be a poet if you can't freestyle, but you shouldn't be rapping if you can't freestyle. freestyling shows you how smart a person really is and how much they want it/practice. Also freestyling brings out a natural flow. You can tell when someone sat around with a pen and just wrote lyrics and you can also tell when someone flowed something then later wrote it down.

multiple styles - to be able to drop multiple cadences and different types of subject matter without getting corny. I like method man but some of his styles are just corny.

I am sure there are more but these are a few to get started.

Answer 8

I hate to go mainstream on you by saying this lightning bolt of a person is a great lyricist, but I think he is: marshall mathers(eminem), despite being from trash, he obviously has an extensive vocabulary, can use dynamic wordplay, conjure stories that stimulate imagination, and so on...

Though I do think he's slipped quite a bit since his 3rd successful album. Look into his first successful album, and his second. Listen to "I still don't give a f-ck," and see what you think (get an idea of what i think a "great lyricist" can do), or really almost any of the other songs on that cd (slim shady lp)

- or listen to some rock; led zeppelin especially, my answer is based on rap

Answer 9

You have to rewind the tape/CD/MP3 player etc. and listen to what he said again. The lyricist puts so much thought into their line you couldn't conceive what they just said.

Jesus died at age 33, thats 33 shots from twin glocks thats 16 apiece thats 32 which means one of my guns was holding 17, 27 hit your crew 6 went into you.

Nas-One Mic

That line right there is so crazy I had to rewind it when I heard it. For all of the slow people just add up those numbers and you'll get what he's talking about.

Answer 10

I think that it when you have all the elements of word play...methphors...and a great flow to go along with it...For example J- Live he can say lines that make you stop and think about what he says...And everything makes a connection my favorite is when he say J-live on the mic is like a chef with a blade/cuz suckas get slice and sauteed/Yea you thought you joint was fly but the flight was delayed

he compares his mic to knife...which he is proficient with like a chef is...he cuts up mcees...thats how good he is on the mic
Fly is a term ppl use to describe something nice...he turns it on somebody by saying that their flight is delayed...Flight associated to Flying...which was delayed saying that you aint FLY.
They dont necessary have to use big words But I think a lyricist will make you say o sh it and make you listen to their rhymes closely...Like Biggie or Big L...Jay-Z used to play words like that but kinda lost the hunger...Cee lo is pretty descent too

But thats my look on whether you qualify as a lyricist in my book...Other then that youre just a rapper or rapping