Beats or Lyrics?

[Lex Diamonds]

What is more important to you when listening to hip-hop? Obviously ideally a song's gotta have skills in both but which do you tend to go for?

[Tzar]

i always listen to lyrics more... if i happen to be with some guys who have some... 50 cent cranked or whatever - i'll be too busy listening to the lyrics and saying how shit it is.

[Planetary]

i always listen to lyrics more... if i happen to be with some guys who have some... 50 cent cranked or whatever - i'll be too busy listening to the lyrics and saying how shit it is.

exactly. listen to the lyrics too much and theres a chance you'll focus too much on them and it'll distract you from the real quality of the song.

e.g. gangsta rap. people either love or hate gangsta rap, and the reason people hate it, for the most part, is due to the lyrics. i love it, but i dont pay any attention to what theyre saying. more to the their flow, and primarily the song.

[Teh]

Has to be both. I've heard a bunch of songs where the lyrics are fucking brilliant, really well written and clever and all that, but the sampling is shit.

Totally kills it. Even if the beats consist of one bar replayed, as long as everything works together and it isnt just some cheap manufactured pish : (y) (y) (y)

[DeeJayZap]

being a producer, i thought i'd vote beats, but when i thought about it, it'd be both equally. though if the beat does suck it'd put me off completely.

[ggirlballa]

before it would be just beats but now i pay attention to both, like the other day my friend told me to check out a song on his myspace & i told him that the rapper had really weak lyrics, he then called me a hater:rolleyes:

[jabumbo]

i tend to focus more on the beats since if it sucks, i won't even be able to listen to it at all.


but i find myself recently paying more attention to the lyrics for all songs

[Lyman Zerga]

I don't really care what they are saying as long as it sounds good.

das right!

[Tzar]

exactly. listen to the lyrics too much and theres a chance you'll focus too much on them and it'll distract you from the real quality of the song.
to me, the real quality of the song is the lyrics - any fool can create a big beat/bass line and it'll sound fly... but when the opening stops and someone like lil john starts talking/rhyming, the beat matters for nothing.

50 cent is perfect example - he has a lot of dope beats, and i'll admit it, but the guy has pathetic rhymes and once he starts it up, it's just.... kills the mood of the song.

i dunno... i just think the real quality of a rap song is the lyrics. a rapper/mc writes rap songs. judge a rapper on their lyrics - not their production skill.

[Planetary]

its not what they're saying as much as how they're saying. although there is a point where i just can't help but notice how crap the lyrics are. im not a huge fan of 50 cent, but candy shop, in da club etc. are good, well produced songs, and i think he flows nice in them.

[hitmonlee]

honestly i don't even listen to the lyrics. after a while i do, or i rap along, but often i'm still not really taking in the meaning. i'll like any song with a good beat.

[Junker]

Both equally. Thats why I love Beastie Boys.

[SugarInTheRaw]

It used to be all about the lyrics for me. These days, I can't get a crumb. If the lyrics are cool, it usually tends to lack on music and production.

[SugarInTheRaw]

honestly i don't even listen to the lyrics. after a while i do, or i rap along, but often i'm still not really taking in the meaning. i'll like any song with a good beat.

What are your ideal rap beats? What song's beats do you really enjoy?

[Lex Diamonds]

Both equally. Thats why I love Beastie Boys.
To be honest the Beastie Boys don't have standout beats OR lyrics. That's not why I lvoe them, anyway. It's their attitude and chemistry and originality and history and all the other shit. Plus the fact they can make so many different types of music passably well. But their hip-hop lyrics and beats (since PB) haven't been anything special.

[Lyman Zerga]

mainly beats in english languaged songs and lyrics/beats in german songs

mösenfinger

[Planetary]

To be honest the Beastie Boys don't have standout beats OR lyrics. That's not why I lvoe them, anyway. It's their attitude and chemistry and originality and history and all the other shit. Plus the fact they can make so many different types of music passably well. But their hip-hop lyrics and beats (since PB) haven't been anything special.

there are a few exceptions. ones that come to mind now are pass the mic, finger lickin good and intergalactic.

[Junker]

^^ ...and The Scoop, Jimmy James, Just a Test, Do It, Right Right Now Now

[abcdefz]

I check out different artists from time to time, and although I can tell when there's real talent involved, I just can't stand what they're rapping about. So, probably lyrics are more important to me, I guess, because that can kill the deal.

[Big Gus]

All about the beats for me.

[hitmonlee]

What are your ideal rap beats? What song's beats do you really enjoy?

timbaland/missy elliot
grandmaster flash
jungle brothers
tone loc
lady sov
scribe
hilltop hoods
um... nelly :o

groups i enjoy more for the lyrics than the beats:
beastie boys
salt n pepa
cypress hill

[Lo_Lyfe]

It's a good question, in that I never had to think about it before. It definitely varies song to song, or even artist to artist. But I'll never go into an experience expecting one to win me over at the expense of another.

[icy manipulator]

to me, the real quality of the song is the lyrics - any fool can create a big beat/bass line and it'll sound fly... but when the opening stops and someone like lil john starts talking/rhyming, the beat matters for nothing.

50 cent is perfect example - he has a lot of dope beats, and i'll admit it, but the guy has pathetic rhymes and once he starts it up, it's just.... kills the mood of the song.

i dunno... i just think the real quality of a rap song is the lyrics. a rapper/mc writes rap songs. judge a rapper on their lyrics - not their production skill.
i agree. imo too many good beats are being wasted on shithouse rappers these days

[Junker]

there are a few exceptions. ones that come to mind now are pass the mic, finger lickin good and intergalactic.

.....also, all those MCA tracks like Stand Together, Flowin' Prose, The Update, Bodhisattva Vow, A Year and a Day.

[icy manipulator]

paulo, shut up and eat a vegemite sandwich :D

[Junker]

to me, the real quality of the song is the lyrics - any fool can create a big beat/bass line and it'll sound fly... but when the opening stops and someone like lil john starts talking/rhyming, the beat matters for nothing.

50 cent is perfect example - he has a lot of dope beats, and i'll admit it, but the guy has pathetic rhymes and once he starts it up, it's just.... kills the mood of the song.

i dunno... i just think the real quality of a rap song is the lyrics. a rapper/mc writes rap songs. judge a rapper on their lyrics - not their production skill.

This pretty much clarify everything. Produce a beat is quite an easy job these days with all the technologie involved. Any geek can create a dope beat. But write a real decent lyric is never an easy thing. But I still think both are equally essential.

[Helvete]

Hey, I listen to hip-hop in a million languages I don't understand, and the reason why I like it, is because of the beats and also the flow of the MC.

[Junker]

Hey, I listen to hip-hop in a million languages I don't understand, and the reason why I like it, is because of the beats and also the flow of the MC.

Damn...now you have a really good point.

[abcdefz]

When I listen to foreign language stuff I always check the translations so I'm not nodding along with something I don't agree with. I'd feel like some tool who got a Kanji tattoo that actually means "I love dog poop" or something.

[Helvete]

When I listen to foreign language stuff I always check the translations so I'm not nodding along with something I don't agree with. I'd feel like some tool who got a Kanji tattoo that actually means "I love dog poop" or something.
Well, this one time, I was listening to a Dutch language hip-hop, and I was like "This is cool". Then when I listened carefully, I understood some of the words, and it turned out to be by some supposed Jew hating terrorist muslims types, rapping about 9/11, death to US and Israel and Jews going to die. So I see what you mean.

Strangely, I could probably rap most of the words in Dutch and I know what it all means. I'm bad like that.

[Lyman Zerga]

i actually like a song because of the beats/melody at first and then ill listen to it about million times and my brain automatically saves the lyrics and ill check the meaning when i care enough

so good lyrics can make a song better but shit lyrics wont fuck up a good song


haha yeah whatever! im so out!