TEN BASIC RULES of hip-hop: the wackmans guide to a polished flow PART 1

Nowadays it seems that everyone and there mother call themselves a emcee, and 95% of these so-called emcees claim "there the nicest" when in reality maybe 10% of them actually have lyrics that don't make my ears bleed in disgust. Yea maybe its a new era for the hip-hop scene its not about lyricism, it about auto-tune dance crazes, sex and hustling, still there all artist with platinum plaques that still can flow with the best of them. Even the logic that lyricism don;t sell is obscure because the best underground rappers like tech n9ne living legends, atmosphere, insane clown posse just to name a few have more money from this rap shit then one hit wonders like soulja boy, yc, hurricane chris, and ace hood. The reason for this cus since the new millennium the hip-hop game has changed with the pace of the mainstream pop scene, and because of this the true routes of hip-hop have been forgotten. So im gonna break it down for these wack cats and show them the essence of hip-hop, the rules of being a emcee.

1.Take all criticism good or bad and don't be a bitch about it

If you ever seen the movie "almost famous" you know my kind the critic is known as "the enemy" to musicians because most musicians can't handle the truth. I know that true talent doesn't sell no more in most minds but that does not mean people aren't gonna call you out on your wackness. Since i started my blog over 2 years ago I've had artist threaten to sue me, fuck me up on the streets, and even hack my blog to delete there reviews cus my opinion was destroying there reputation. No throwing a 3 year old style temper tantrum will ruin your reputation, defintly in modern times. With youtube, facebook, and twitter your bitch moves will be known on a global scale and will effect your career heavy. Do you really think you can threaten spin rolling stones, the source, xxl and other monthly magazines for giving you a bad review. Shit like that will probably get you blacklisted in the industry but artist are all about the paper and don;'t care about things in the long run witch brings me to my 2nd rule.

2.create something timeless

If you wanna make a career as a rapper even if your making something poppy for a quick paycheck you need to make something that will stand the test of time. Most rappers nowadays are one hit wonders and that one hit isn't enough to support you on. Yea i know there are some exceptions to this mc hammer, vanilla ice sir mix-alot are probably still living comfortably off one hit but this don't happen to often. I bet in 5 year some of you rappers probably wont even be able to stand your own music thats if you already can. There are rappers and group out there still selling there back catalog. Take de la soul for a instant there debut album 3 feet high and rising took close to 15 years to get platinum, witch means people are still buying this album on a daily basis. 5 years from now nobody will be buying soulja boy tell em, or wacka flacka flame, and they will never see a platinum plaque. So you need to make music that will survive the test of times, rakims "microphone fiend" can still be heard in movies and video games of today and still could prob hit the radio stations in this era and become a hit.

3.be original

Even if you are one of these poppy mainstream cats originality is a key to success. there was someone who started the auto-tune craze, there was someone to first "duggie" "jerk" someone started the hyphy movement and kanye west created drake whole style so having a original concept can still sell instead of dickriding on whats hot. It made me sick when i head pitbulls "castle on the sand" that mimic love the way you lie by eminem you know people are money hungry when domestic violence is used as a gimmick to sell. This even goes to the underground cats be original even if its not in the subject matter come with metaphors that no one else has heard or used instead of being cliche.

4.no pre-written freestyles

"you wanna battle i got a hot verse that will murk you" i actually heard this on a youtube video. If your that "dope" of a emcee why do you need to take a verse out of your notebook to "murk" someone in a battle. Freestyles are off the dome. I was discussing this with lowkey7 of lehigh villains and we came to a conclusion PEOPLE DONT KNOW THE MEANING OF FREESTYLE. iN THE NEW ERA OF HIP-HOP FREESTYLES JUST MEaN NOT READING OFF PAPER WHEN IN TERMS ITS SPITTING FRESH RHYMES WITHOUT A SECOND TO THINK. Take 5-10 minutes out of your day put on a hot beat and practice. sit there and spit even if your wack at first the more you keep at it the more polished your flow will get

5. read a dictionary and thesaurus

Some underground cats even need do this simplicity when it comes to rhymes is a problem overall in hip-hop. emcees spitting one syllable words that anyone can use witch ends up with people thinking that your a biter. Theres only so many ways you can rhyme dance, hustler, in im fuck you, so eventually someone gunna spit the same bar you have by mistake. Spend a half hour or so looking at a dictionary finding new words, or if you plan on rapping about sex, n drugs get a thesaurus and find another way to say what you wanna do. Being intelligent will help you stay original.

6.be real in your music


nowadays every rapper claims to be a hustler, every rapper claims to have millions, every rapper claims to have bedded thousand of chicks when in truth 95% of you are just putting on your best poker-faces to hide the truth. There music videos are paid models, there chains are rented and money is fake, and the closest some of these rappers have ever got to "the trap" is re-runs of the wire on hb0. When the truth is revealed on how fake you actually are a huge blow will come to your rep and respect. Yea in some cases this is not true, take rick-ross for example he was found out to be the one arresting the trappers instead of being one and still has a fanbase, but he has switched his style up a little bit, and has lost all respect when it comes to truthfulness. The more you stay true to your self in your lyrics the better you will be. And if you do wanna rap about sex, drugs, and gangerism and haven't lived it become a story teller. Create movies with your pen, legends like Tupac, slick rick , and scarface have made a career off this tactic. Write about what you see write a story from a 2nd person point of view of the gritty street live. Make sure you use vivid details describing what your spitting, make it cinematic so people can visualize what they here instead o just hearing the same shit over and over again.

7.find a producer to complement your style

Nowadays everyone wants to work with the major beat-makers and spit on the top beats even if there flow and style of rhymes will feel awkward on the beat. Go back to the days of eric b and rakim kool g rap and dj polo rza and the wu-tang, and locally godilla and reign supreme. Find a producer that complements your style of rhyme and your vision. Lyrics are important but if you dont have the correct beat your vision will be lost in the mix.

8.Have a legit hustle with your music

Nowadays everyone is posting there music on datpiff, myspace, facebook twitter, and so on and the only way there promoting it is though social networking. Yea you may have 500 friends but how many of those 500 friends are actually gunna check out your music. With digital downloads the era of a pressed demo is forgotten but go to staples get about a 100 blank cd's press out a 5 track ep and hand it out outside local venues, local music shops, press up some flyers and put them in windows of local business's. Get a street team together to help spread your name on the streets. My cousin has this hustle down to a t. He goes state to state in his car on a weekly drives 5-6 hours out the way and sells his demos across the us even in London. Social networking isn't gunna get you the word of mouth you want all the time since everyone is a musician nowadays go travel get your name out there.

9.study the classics

rap is a career choice for some so you need to study, educate yourself. Go to your local music store, ick up eric b and rakims paid in full,put inspektah decks verse on triuphm and holocaust verse on silkworm on repeat, study there multi set up, study the way they weave there lyrics together. Listen to commons i used to love h.e.er take notes on the way he uses a women as a metaphor for dying hip-hop. Your not just gunna become a polished emcee if you don't take the time to study the roots.

10.PUT YOUR HEART INTO YOUR RHYMES

This is important there alot of rappers out there who just rap for a paycheck and dont enjoy what they do. You need to put your heart into what you do. You need to treat your next mixtape like you would treat your child with tender love and care. You woulnt wanna set up your kid for failure why would you wanna do that with your music. You wouldn't beat your kid, so why would you put trashy un-polished lyrics into your music, its bruising your ego. If you put your heart into your rhyme put down the mic