Hip Hop is one of the most competitive sports around and it requires nothing less than the best skill. It has evolved from simply putting rhyming words together, to intricate rhyme schemes that keep dedicated fans up at night trying to decipher what they mean.
Heck, Kendrick Lamar's ‘Damn’ album won a Pulitzer Prize for literature! I only have but one problem with the progression of this art form, and that is the idea or belief that every verse should comprise of punchlines.
Do not get me wrong, I am all for well-crafted punchlines, but underline the key word here – well-crafted. Personally, I don’t think punches (as we often refer to them in Hip Hop discussions) are a necessity. With many years having gone by since its inception, Hip Hop has unearthed multiple talented wordsmiths who have turned our heads upside down with double and triple entendre lines. However, with all that has been said and done, there is not much new stuff that can be done now. This is the first reason why I am not too much a fan for punchlines – a lot of rappers just aren’t as innovative with them.
Timing also makes a lot of difference in this discussion. There are punches that made sense and were fitting for a specific year or generation. Mankind has gotten smarter now and will not let anything fly just for the sake of being nice. Simply, nursery rhymes do not count as punchlines to a generation that survived the Matrix.
In his attempt at the #FreestyleFridays challenge, local rapper Kay-E rapped, “Why uphenduka i-mama’s baby masek’vela ubaby mama?” He goes on to say “Ng’that’ ibeef from these heads ngenz’inyama yenhloko.”
I am a fan of lyricism, and personally I think rappers (or MCs) should focus on that. There have been a ton of verses where people are just talking to the listener and not trying to be smart of funny. We go through a lot in life and for some of us, Hip Hop offers an escape and even ways of approaching situations. Hip Hop motivates and accommodates everyone who feels that they do not belong in the world. For a lot of us dedicated to this culture, it gives our lives meaning.
And that is where lyricism comes into play. A lot of the time young people find it hard to communicate their feelings effectively, and true lyricists know how to express those hard-to-articulate feelings. Although entertaining, punchlines can have a very short life span. Lyricism, on the other hand, knows no limitations. On Coolio’s classic C U When U Get There, P.S. Pookie starts his verse as such:
“You need to loosen up and live a little
And if you got kids let them know how you feelin’
For your own sake give a little.”
These are the first three bars of the verse and already he need not say any more. Yet he continues to speak to the heart of the listener as he wraps up the verse:
“I know times seem strife, and problems seem endless
But at the times of despair we gotta pull ourselves together
And if you feel you’re out the game then you need to get back in it
Cause noting’s worse than a quitter
You gotta face responsibility one day, my brother
So wrap up your pity and turn it to ambition.”
Of course this is only my two cents’ worth, and you do not have to see it the way I do; we all have different preferences.
Personally, I would rather a rapper or poet talk to my heart and soul than just deliver some cheesy line that I’ll forget in a minute or so. But, that’s just me.
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