GZA interview

[MaddStone]

This isnt new, but a good read nonetheless:

Check link: http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=1079

[GwaZa]

Ja, good read. Ta.

GZA: "Lyrics used to come first, but today it seems like the beat comes before the lyrics."

Is waar. Surely, beats are meant to complement the lyrics, not the reverse.

[Original Syn]

Ja, good read. Ta.

GZA: "Lyrics used to come first, but today it seems like the beat comes before the lyrics."

Is waar. Surely, beats are meant to complement the lyrics, not the reverse.

IS Hip Hop not music?.................... words are not music, they are at best poetry....RAP is an acronym for Rythm ANd Poetry...SO the beat should technincally be more important..... Nobody started listening to music for the lyrics first... music can have no lyrics and move you.
the music is what should grab you first... the music is the vehicle for what you're saying, if you dont feel the need for music.. then don't call yourself a rapper and just be a poet........
\THE LYRICS ARE MEANT TO COMPLEMENT THE MUSIC.........the art is having music and being able to consruct your words so that they dazzle the listener with the way in which your cadence contrast the tempo at the same time as being clever and fitting of the music..it is the music which sets the stage for your wordsmithery..........REMEMBER it was DJ's... the music providers who originated Hip Hop, then came Breakers... ONLY then did emcees come to the fore.

i wish people would start to make hip hop MUSIC again... it is in very short supply.

[Misterme]

I second Syntatic basically. That's something so-called "hip-hop purists" need to get into their head-the DJ came BEFORE the emcee. Claiming that the beats don't matter is absurd to me. Of course, the definition of a good beat varies depending on who you're asking (it's completely subjective). That's not to say the role of the emcee is accessory-a great emcee can take a beat that's solid but not extraordinary and make an extraordinary song with if he's good enough. What he's saying matters as much as how he says it to me. That's why I'll listen to 2pac or Scarface over any emcee who just rambles on nonsensically about how dope he is song after song.

[oldergod]

IS Hip Hop not music?.................... words are not music, they are at best poetry....RAP is an acronym for Rythm ANd Poetry...SO the beat should technincally be more important.....

re-read that. RAP=Rythmn And Poetry. GZA is not talking about the beat not being important but rappers laying weak rhymes over dope beats, lyrical content not being of importance at all. if rap is rhythm and poetry then the poetry has to be there too, not just rhythm and garbage.


And in my opinion lyrics are more important than the beats. that talk about the DJ being the originator is crap because its not the DJ that you see on the billboard charts but the MC. The DJ was always there and its not until the MC came along that Hip Hop became what it is. So y'all better give the lyricist his repect.

[Tek]

This arguement isn't in place because Gwaza derailed GZA's statement. As the above guy said, GZA meant to say that hip hop is now a music where people are vibing to beats and that the focus is more on being moved by a beat and not the combination of dope emcee + dope beat, come on, you get what he is saying

[Dpleezy]

i like this (when GZA is talking about lyrics):

"Yeah, there is always more than 1 meaning. You have to look deep. They should be thought provoking. You shouldn’t make lyrics so complex that you need a thesaurus to understand them. They should be clear and intelligent. What one MC can say in 16 bars, I can say in four or six. I may only have 20 rhymes in my arsenal versus someone with 200, but he can’t handle them. Sometimes, less is more. Knowledge is key. Through that, we look, listen and observe. What we don’t say, can actually mean a lot more than if we were to speak. That is the key to good writing."

I was at the CD Wherehouse Promo thing on saturday. Ben Sharpa killed it (especially on the Sibot beat which is hotness) because I could hear every word he said. He connected with the audience with clear, simple (but not simplistic) lyrics - reminded me of KRS1.

[MaddStone]

if rap is rhythm and poetry then the poetry has to be there too, not just rhythm and garbage.

Yeah, imagine that.........we'd have rappers and raggers. :lol: But then again, the acronym RAG could mean rhythm and gangsta too.

Ppl, dont get it twisted.This is just my view..........u cant defend one without acknowledging the other is just as important.Its the tag team that wins in the end. :wink:Does that mean that technically ur all correct? :lol:

[TATEguru v.2K9]

Can I weigh in on this debate?..

I consider rhymes just another musical instrument.
When used properly they will compliment the rest of the instruments.

Guru can be thought of Premo's vocal instrument of choice ya dig?

If you follow that line of debate then consider accapellas are the same as solos of other musical instruments (guitar, keys etc solos)

With that said the rhymes are MY favorite instrument & I like the way some mcees play them better than others.

[biz-ark-human]

If you follow that line of debate then consider accapellas are the same as solos of other musical instruments (guitar, keys etc solos) some mcees play them better than others.

Nuff said