In a perfect world the marriage of dope lyrics and dope beats to accompany them go perfectly but in a genre that is nearly 50 years old its easy for there to be a lot of hit and misses. Sometimes the song or album has incredible production but is let down by the MC's lack of lyrical ability or vice versa, sometimes the lyrics are top tier but the song or album is let down by less than average production.
Having been around and involved in many hip hop discussions over the last 3 decades, its fair to say that some people feel lyrics are more important than the production while some believe that the production is more important than the lyrics. In my opinion, both have the ability to hugely effect your listening pleasure and the overall replay value of that drop but I honestly feel none is necessarily more important than the other, and artists should actively be working towards both the lyrics and the production being on par with each other. With this edition lets look at Beats Vs Bars.
In this beautiful thing of ours, lyrics are displayed through an array of styles and forms. We have conscious rappers, deep rappers, exhibition rappers, Political rappers, reality rappers and so on. Its important to mention at this stage that no one rapper has to stick to this format throughout his or her career, in fact a skilled MC can easily handle a number of topics and styles effectively.
The Importance of Good Beats.
Hip Hop is a culture and a whole artform, one that is made up of four main elements (MCing/Beatboxing, Graffiti, DJ'ing and Breakdance) and even though it is so much more than music, it is still music and this why its very important to have good beats.
As mentioned in the opening sentence, music has the ability to literally move you. I know the word and term "Vibe" can be used or applied wrong at times but we must never underestimate the importance of the positive vibe that music brings. It even transcends hearing.
I was recently reading about The Musical Vibrations Project taking place in the University of Liverpool that aims to bring music to deaf people in schools.
The Vibrotactile technology that they use, converts musical sounds that can be heard, into musical vibrations which can be felt through the skin as Vibrotactile feedback. It's an assistive technology which has been described as a form of "hearing through the skin".
Imagine how amazing that is!! All of the above is being done so deaf people can enjoy what we, who have full access to our hearing, are privileged to enjoy freely. The power of music resonates with us, it moves us, it makes us want to dance, it provides timing, rhythm, the combination of drums, high hats and other instruments while placed perfectly on top of a fitting bass line is pure magic.
The joy recieved when you hear a car drive past your house or pull into your estate and you recognise the song by the base line alone lol!! That thing that makes chores or studying more enjoyable etc Music is magic and the importance of a good beat and good production is not to be overlooked.
Whether it was putting a cassette tape into the deck and pressing play, or slowly dropping the needle of a record player onto that newly purchased piece of vinyl, or when I would check for scratches on a CD and put in into the player and press play or nowadays simply pressing play on my music device, whatever it is, the first thing that smacks you is the Beat of that very first song. Does it captivate you? Does it create the screw face head nod that is so rightly required in our genre? Does it give you goosebumps? Does it send shivers down your spine? Good Production has the ability to do all of the above.
Hip hop more than spoken word or poetry (though there is welcomed room and accommodation for this), Hip Hop is a culture that gives us music and the need for good production and dope beats is crucial.
Have you ever watched a movie without the score? or watched outtakes where there is no background music? I have and I can honestly say that it does not feel the same. Good lyrics are like a good movie, as dope as it is, it still needs a good soundtrack and a good score as without it, something is missing.
The Importance of Good Bars:
As much as I have tried to outline the importance of a good beat, in no way am I trying to take anything away from the need for good lyrics. Good lyrics over a good beat is the perfect combination. It's the icing on the cake.
One of the amazing things about rap and Hip Hop in general is that it gave people of the culture a voice, an opportunity to express ourselves and to actually be taken notice of. There were light hearted messages, Political messages, positive and uplifting messages and also messages that were birthed out of frustration due to events that were shaping the history of mistreatment of minorities etc and messages and lyrics deemed as simply inappropriate. This obviously was not to everyone's liking, C. Delores Tucker for example. Tucker was a political figure who actively campaigned against gangster rap in the 90s.
The RIAA introduced the 'Parental Advisory Explicit Content' sticker in 1985, though this was not due to rap lyrics soley, it's very obvious that majority of rap albums had this sticker slapped on it after its inception. 2 Live Crew's Banned In The USA was one of the very first Hip Hop albums to contain this sticker.
My point is this, lyrics have the ability to get peoples attention, lyrics are powerful and can be used in a myriad of different ways to achieve different things, so are lyrics important?? Of course they are.
The Beat Goes On:
As I said before, in my opinion, none is more important than the other but if I was forced to choose beats or bars then I would go with beats. A good beat extends the shelf life of a project, it adds to the replay value and gives the lyrics the intended feel and required emotion that song or album needs. It's the much needed ingredient to take a good meal and make it great.
When we talk of a project having a summer feel or a winter feel etc this is derived from the production and the sound of that project. The beats give the work character.
Lyrics are crucial in Hip Hop, as we looked at above, but most would probably agree that good lyrics with weak production doesn't hit the mark. An example of this that immediately comes to mind is Canibus' 1998 "Can-I-Bus" album. Incredible lyrical display but the album was let down by weak production.
Let's look at the opposite to highlight my point further, 1995's "Livin Proof" album by Group Home. Most would agree that the lyrics or the Rapping is not overly impressive but alot of people consider this album a classic or at least, extremely dope based on the production alone.
Majority of Hip Hop fans will take time to curate and structure a list of their favourite MCs of all time. This will usually be based on things pertaining to their personal preference and also the impact and influence that the MC has had on the game. These lists have been the cause of many interesting and heated discussions. I've even done a blog on my 10 favourite MCs. Just as alot of people would take the time and energy to have a favourite MCs list, the same time and energy would be put into forming a favourite producers list.
Something that is becoming more popular and more appreciated in Hip Hop today is the one MC/one producer project. Producers like The Alchemist, Madlib, Apollo Brown, DJ Muggs, 9th Wonder and Havoc, just to name a few, are examples of producers who are well sought after for these kind of projects.
I strongly believe that these type of albums/EPs are such favourites with the fans because they are usually cohesive and defined with a clear structure. The producer has the freedom to add meat to the bones of the lyrics and add a soundtrack to the story the MC is trying to convey, which once again adds to the importance of good production.
For me personally, I place just as much value on the producer as I do the rapper, maybe even more in some cases as a good producer has the ability to make an average rapper sound good but a good rapper would still struggle to make a bad beat sound better.
For reference, Here are my five favourite Hip Hop producers of all time...
Clockwise from top left: RZA, DJ Premier, Havoc, Dr Dre, Just Blaze.
Yes, in a perfect Hip Hop world, both the production and the lyrics will be just as dope as each other but in many occasions they're not, which is why I wanted to briefly talk on it with this piece.
As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read this and would love to hear your feedback.
Peace.
In The Spotlight
