I don't know where to start explaining the art of writting to so called writers and hiphop fans (after all this is a writer's artform).
Let's see:
There are many ways for a writer to tell his story, take a track like "Doomsday" which is autobiographical, the same as J-Live's "A charmed life" or Biggie's "Respect". J-Live, by no means a conventional emcee, tells his story in a linear "I moved from here to there" style, whilst Doomday is more thematic, he gives "you flashes of my life", and uses episodes to tell a story.
He weaves from being locked down to plotting against the industry and a girl with a missing tooth. But ultimately the story is about his life or a period of his life after KMD and then.
Think of "Curls" on the Madvilliany album. It's simple a story of youthful (mis)adventure, told as a coming-to-age story trying to get laid rapping, bunking school. But he jumps for one episode to the other in a jumbled up but comprehensible way. Like how the brain works.
Quickly, remember the movies you watched as a kid and couldn't get because, "there is no plot. no action" and when you watch them years later you get them because you get the themes. Why?
It's because you've expanded your mental vocabulary and references.
Gained life experience.
In the 60's European directors revolutionised film becuase they reinvented story telling, whilst Hollywood had the formula "big star, damsel is distress, hero wins at the end of the day"- fantasy (sounds like today's rap).
In Italy there was Neo-realism, shot in the streets with non-professional actors, in France questions of cla**, in the Eastern Europe communism versus the individual.
In order for any art-form to grow, it needs to reinvent or introduce new things into the form otherwise it's self-cannabilises itself.
I've always maintained that rap's failed to grow, because it could'nt let homosexuals, females, foreigners and even whites into its fold...
Oh yes! Doom's writing is more thematic, example stuff on "King Geedorah", think "Fazers" a six-headed monster a**imilates on earth becomes a rapper, fall in love with his son's teacher, than broad idea "Okay this is my love song" or "This is my struggle song" like most rappers.
His writting is also mostly stream of consciousness, where the writer follows a thought process, one thought can lead to non-related one with the slighest thread, see, "Never lied to ma when we said we found the moolah/ five hundred lying there on the ground/ Let's find something to eat", see how those three lines don't make quite follow on to each other but you get the thought process of moving from one point ot the other.
And therein lies his charm for me.
Overrated? no.
Highly praised? Yes.
And what's wrong with that?
What's wrong with a track being only a minute long?
If a memory of my youth reminds me of Saturday cartoons, should I not say it cause I might come across as a nerd?
Why should a storyteller start their story in the beginning?
Have three versus and three hooks?
Why should an artist follow a formula?
I can say even more but this is where I end my piece.
