how to rap like eminem

[juelz21]

im going to being teach everybody that don't know how to rap how to rap like eminem brought to u by flocabulary and how to rap the art and science of the hip hop mc.

[juelz21]

The basis of rap is rhyme, and an emcee is just a painter
with rhyming words, a poet with flow. It might sound
obvious to some, but one of the best ways you can excel
as an emcee is by picking better rhyming words. It’s all
like Rakim says on “I Know You Got Soul”:
I start to think and then I sink
into the paper like I was ink,
when I’m writing I’m trapped in between the line,
I escape when I finish the rhyme
Reread that. That right there is the dopest, most
beautiful summary of what it is to be a rapper. You go
into your own mind, sink into the paper, you’re using
words but they trap you like bars in a jail cell unless
you conquer them with rhyme. It’s rhyming that sets
the emcee free and gives him control over his raps.
It’s rhyming that lets the emcee rock the microphone,
and get a crowd jumping. It’s rhyming that forms the
foundation of your flow.
As Rakim demonstrated, however, we’re not talking
about “Hickory Dickory Dock.” In rap, not every
rhyme has to be at the end of a line. Rhymes don’t
have to be in a certain order or a certain word length.
In fact, some of the most prevalent types of rhyme in
hip-hop don’t rhyme perfectly at all. They’re called
slant rhymes.
Slant Rhyme vs. Perfect Rhyme
Here are some definitions from the American Heritage
Dicitonary:
Perfect Rhyme (noun): Rhyme in which the final
accented vowel and all succeeding consonants
or syllables are identical, while the preceding
consonants are different.
This is what most people think of when they think
rhyme. Examples of perfect rhyme are: cat, hat, bat;
cake, bake, fake. Perfectly rhyming words don’t have
to be spelled the same way; it’s all about sound. For
example: great, late; height, fight; bought, knot. Those
are all perfect rhymes. And the words don’t have to be
the same length either. For example: rider, beside her;
dutiful, unbeautiful. Those are all examples of perfect
rhyme.
Perfect rhyme will work fine in a lot of situations. But
hip-hop innovators (and poets before them) found it too limiting. Rappers began using slant rhyme to
allow them more freedom to express themselves. Here
is the definition of slant rhyme from the AHD:
Slant Rhyme (noun): A partial or imperfect
rhyme, often using assonance or consonance
only. Also called half rhyme, near rhyme, oblique
rhyme, and off rhyme.
You could think of slant rhymes as “almost rhymes.”
Examples are: heat, heart; cow, no; dry, died; love, fluff.
Slant rhymes are words that sound somewhat similar,
but don’t really rhyme.
In the Rakim line quoted earlier, he rhymes the word
“rhyme” with “line.” Those words don’t actually rhyme
with each other. “Rhyme” rhymes with “time, dime,
mime, I’m, and crime.” “Line” rhymes with “mine, pine,
whine, and tine.” But the two words sound remarkably
close. So Rakim uses slant rhyme to “finish the line.”
When Slant Rhyme is a Must
When should you use slant rhyme? Anytime. But
there are moments when using slant rhyme isn’t an
option; it’s a must.
1. The word has no perfect rhyme
There are lots of words in English that don’t have perfect rhymes. Here are a few: silver, purple, month,
angst, sixth, breadth, ninth, pint, wolf, opus, monster,
dangerous, marathon, napkin, hostage, discombobulate
and many, many more.
As you’re writing raps, if you ever wanted to rhyme
with any of those words you couldn’t. Not unless you
used slant rhyme. That’s exactly what Nas does in “NY
State of Mind.” He uses the word “dangerous,” which
has no perfect rhyme, but he makes it flow anyway: I got so many rhymes I don’t think I’m too sane,
Life is parallel to Hell but I must maintain,
And be prosperous, though we live dangerous,
Cops could just arrest me, blaming us, we’re held
like hostages
He slants rhymes “prosperous, dangerous, blaming
us,” and “hostages,” to get his point across. And his
flow doesn’t suffer for it.
You can find a list of slant rhymes for words with no
perfect rhyme in Appendix III at the end of this book.
2. Avoid Tired Rhymes
The other time when slant rhyme is really crucial
is when you’re dealing with a rhyme that is really
stale and played out. For example, how many times
have you heard the word “knowledge” rhymed with
“college.” Damn! People overuse that rhyme like
skeezy businessmen use too much cologne. In order to
avoid that, all we need to do is use slant rhyme.
Knowledge – mall kids, honest, ballas, taller, Paul Wall
did, on it, admonish, cabbage.
The great thing about slant rhyme is that it helps you
avoid one of most dangerous pitfalls for beginning
emcees: obvious rhymes. If a listener can tell what
you’re going to say before you say it, that’s almost
always a bad thing. It basically means that you’re not
being creative, you’re just repeating tired rhymes. So
use slant rhymes to avoid falling into that trap.
For example, instead of rhyming “money” with “funny”
or “honey,” try using slant rhyme: gin rummy, Sunday,
dummy, crumbly, Tony, blunt be, hunt me, some tea,
plenty. Some artists use line after line of slant rhyme, but
because of their flow and the way they pronounce the
words, you don’t even hear the words as being slant
rhymes. Take a look at Tupac’s verse on “Changes.”
He slant rhymes “ask” with “blast,” “black” with
“snatch,” and “negro” with “hero.” It allows him more
freedom to determine the content of what he’s saying
(he has more words to choose from), and it makes his
lines innovative and creative. Practice This
Write a few bars using some very obvious rhyme words
(“cat, hat,”). Then go back and replace the rhyme words
with slant rhymes and rewrite the verse. See how it changes
your verse

[juelz21]

The rhyme scheme in a rap verse (or in a poem) is where
the rhymes fall in relation to other words or lines. In
a simple verse, the rhymes will fall only at the end of
each line. In English class, when analyzing poetry, the
rhyme scheme would be written out like this:
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back, A
junkies in the alley with the baseball bat, A
I tried to get away, but I couldn’t get far, B
cuz the man with the tow truck repossessed my car B
These lines are from the 1982’s “The Message” by
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The flow
is by the lead emcee, Melle Mel (who we’ll discuss in
more detail in the chapter on flow). These lines show off the most basic rhyme scheme possible. There are no
internal rhymes and there is no multi-syllabic rhyming.
All of the rhymes fall right on or near the second snare
kick, the 4th beat of the bar, which musicians call the
four.
Mapping the rhyme scheme out like that (AABB)
works fine when the lyrics are simple, but not when
the rapper’s start dropping internal rhymes.
Rhyme Scheme Notation
The method used in this book is to highlight matching
rhymes by formatting them the same way. So some
rhyming words are bold, some italicized, some
underlined, some bold-italicized, some underlinedbold,
etc… Here’s an example from Dead Prez’s “Hell
Yeah”:
Better plot for the paper,
we been living in the dark since April,
on the candle gotta get a handle,
my homie got a 25 automatic added to the camper
Ni**a get the phone book
look up in the yellow page,
let me tell you how we fin to get paid
With a verse that complex, there’s no way we can use
the old ABAB rhyme scheme notation. Using our
notation, you can easily see where the rhymes fall in the lines, and how often the rapper is using in-rhymes
and multies. This will be the system we use throughout
the book.
The very basic rhyme scheme from “The Message” is a
fine place to start as you beginning writing raps and
freestyling. By having only one rhyming word per line
and placing it at the end of the line, it will free your
mind up to craft some quality lines that make sense.
When you’re freestyling, it’s always better to spit lines
that make sense than to spit lines that sound good but
don’t mean anything.
As you progress as a writer and a freestyler, you’re going
to want to get away from simple rhymes and a simple
scheme. In-rhymes and multies (discussed later) are
great ways to introduce variation into your rhymes.
But you can also mix up your rhymes just by altering
the rhyme scheme. In the Dead Prez example above,
the rapper Sticman varies his rhymes throughout, so
that you never know when the next rhyme sound is
going to come at you.
Think outside the box. Not every single line has to
rhyme. Don’t be afraid to break out of the standard
“rhyme-word-on-4” mold

[Wreck]

Be lyrical, thee end.

[juelz21]

In-rhyme” is short for “internal rhyme.” An in-rhyme
is any rhyme that occurs internally within a line.
Using them is a sure-fire way to improve your rhymes.
Like a subtle ingredient in a recipe, in-rhymes can
add big punch without calling too much attention to
themselves.
Adding In-Rhyme
In-rhymes are rhymes that fall within the line itself.
These words don’t have to rhyme with the word at the
end of line. They can rhyme on their own, or with any
word in any other line. Here‘s a sample lyric that does
not contain in-rhyme:Moving quick like a pack of wolves hunting,
Telling all of these false haters to stop frontin’
Those are some pretty boring lines. There’s nothing
lyrically interesting about them at all. But I can easily
change that. I can look for words to change that will
create in-rhymes. Like this:
Moving fast like a pack of wolves hunting,
Telling all of these fake haters to stop frontin’
By changing “quick” to “fast,” I create an in-rhyme with
“pack”. Changing “false” to “fake,” creates the rhyme
with “hate”. See how much better that sounds? Small
changes make a big difference.
Start the Next Line with In-Rhyme
You can also use in-rhymes to rhyme with the words
at the end of lines. For example, one common use is
to start a line with a word that rhymes with the end
of line before it. Like this from the Roots’ “Next
Movement”:
yo the
whole state of things in the world ‘bout to change
black rain falling from the sky look strange
Black Thought uses the rhyme sound from the end
of line one to start line two, and then uses it again at the end of line two. Plus, the way that Black Thought
pronounces the words, “state” and “things” sound very
similar to “change, rain, and strange.”
Going Wilder
Pro Example
Planted their feet to build a land of deceit,
plotted, conquered and spread disease
across the seas,
it’s the Spanish fleet,
welcome to America, the era of early terror
where Columbus named the country out of
error
Akir, “I Want America”
But you can obviously go much wilder than that.
Take a few lines from the rapper Akir. Akir is gifted
underground emcee doing his thing in NYC. Already
named the Source’s “Next To Blow,” he brings a unique
flow that mixes smooth delivery, intelligent lyrics and
lots of in-rhymes. I had the privilege of working with
him on a Flocabulary track for the Hip-Hop U.S. History
album, which teaches American history through rap
music.
Akir came into our Times Square studio and I gave him
a list of facts to incorporate into the rhyme. We put on
a beat, and within minutes he had some sick rhymes
to lay down. The method he used was to listen very
closely to the beat and find a flow that worked with
it. As he spit, he’d put certain rhyme words right on
certain drum fills and other sounds, to add a natural
complexity to his verse. Plus he uses slant rhyme, inrhyme,
and mutlis together. Amazingly, he’s also able
to stay right on topic, discussing Columbus’ arrival in
America with ease.
Practice This
Rewrite a few bars you’ve already written, replacing words
to create in-rhymes. Try not to sacrifice the meaning of
what you wrote just to fit in rhymes

[juelz21]

Be lyrical, thee end.

no dikk head most people know nothing about rhyme tecniques it's not as simple as u making it out to be.

[Elision]

[Wreck]

Be lyrical, thee end.

no dikk head most people know nothing about rhyme tecniques it's not as simple as u making it out to be.

Lol I was just playing bro, I know.

Nah it isn't simple you're right.

[Wreck]

[juelz21]

What are multies?
Multi is short for “multi-syllable rhyme.” Multies
are phrases in which more than one syllable rhymes.
Multies can be double, triple, quadruple (etc…)
rhymes.
Normal rhyme: cat / hat
Multi rhyme: my cat / hi-hat
Or a longer multi: bit my cat / hit the hi-hat
Southern rapper Ludacris loves featuring multies in
his verses. Luda has a trademark delivery, in which
he slows down and emphasizes the end of each line.
This delivery works well when he slips in some clever
multies.
Pro Example
I’m never going nowhere, so don’t try me,
my music sticks in fans’ veins like an I.V.
Ludacris, “Number One Spot”
In the example from the track Number One Spot,
Luadacris creates a multi with “try me” and “I.V.” He
could have just rhymed “me” with “V.”, but by rhyming
with the additional syllables (try with I) it becomes a
multi. Why should I use multies?
Multies are hallmarks of all the dopest flows, and all
the best rappers use them. They are more complex and
more impressive than normal rhymes and so command
a lot more respect. Multies add variation to your verse
and will help you craft better rhymes.
How do I write multies?
Multies aren’t that much harder to write than typical
rhymes, they just take more time. Step one is to find
a line that you want to start with. Take this line for
example:
The elite force like army rangers and navy seals,
Now we’re going to create a multi with “navy seals.”
The first thing you want to do is list all the words that
rhyme with “navy”. The easiest way to do this is by using a rhyme dictionary (rhymezone.com) and listing
the results, but keep in mind that this will only give
you the ‘perfect’ rhymes, not the slant rhymes. Slant
rhymes are very important, because they allow you
to write more creative lines. This is especially true
when you’re writing multies, ‘cause otherwise your
lines might come out contrived and stupid. The other
problem with rhyming dictionaries is that they do the
work for you. If you take the time to actually think for
yourself of all the rhymes for the word, you’re more
likely to get those rhymes in your head for future
freestyles. I don’t recommend rhyme dictionaries
unless you’re really stuck.
Perfect rhymes for navy:
gravy
wavy
Slant rhymes for navy:
maybe
baby
lady
rabies
weighty
etc…
Then repeat this process for the second word, in this
case, “seals.” Perfect rhymes with seals:
deals
eels
feels
heels
meals
peels
reels
squeals
steals
wheels
Slant rhymes for seals:
stales
whales
beans
etc…
Now we go through the process of linking up
navy-rhymes with seals-rhymes. There are lots of
combinations, so try to pick some that make some
sense:
Baby meals
Wavy eels
Lady squeals
Gravy feels
Weighty whales
Then we pick one and write a line that makes sense I kick it operatic ‘til that fat lady squeals
or
your lyrics are stuffing,
so now I know how gravy feels
or
I’ll call you Gerber
cuz ya spittin’ up some baby meals
Write a bunch of them, and then pick the one that you
like best to use. Or use a bunch of them in a row like
this:
The elite force like army rangers and navy seals,
I kick it operatic ‘til that fat lady squeals
your lyrics are stuffing, now I know how gravy feels,
I’ll call you Gerber
cuz ya spittin’ up some baby meals
That’s the simplest way to write multies. If you master
that simple technique, you should already notice your
lyrical skills improving.
Practice This
Take a common phrase or celebrity name (i.e. “train station”
or “George Bush”) and write out some multi-syllable rhymes
using this method. Work the rhymes into some lines that
make sense together. Part II - The Advanced Lesson
Ok, so you’ve worked through the basic lesson and you
want to take it further. The next thing we need to cover
is the difference between prominent (or “stressed”)
syllables and silent (or “unstressed”) syllables. It’s
the same thing that your English teacher was teaching
you when you did that Shakespeare lesson on iambic
pentameter. In this case, we’re going to use it to figure
out how to create long strings of quality multies that
flow well. The general rule is this: you have to rhyme
with the prominent syllables; you can ignore the silent
ones.
Prominent vs. Silent
The basic idea is that when you speak or rap there
are certain syllables that you stress or put emphasis
on and certain syllables that you don’t. When
analyzing poetry, you’d place an accent mark (/) over
the prominent syllables and a dash (-) over the silent
syllables.
For example, say this out loud:
Today is the first day of the rest of my life
The meter (a map of which syllables are stressed and
which are not) would be something like this:
- / - - / / - - / - - /
Today is the first day of the rest of my life.
This is a typical example because often times “little”
words (to, is, the, of) are silent. Obviously, when we’re
talking about a silent syllable, we don’t mean literally
silent. Silent just means it’s not prominent.
The simplest way of figuring out which syllables are
prominent and which are silent is just to say the line
out loud and listen to what you pronounce strongly
and what you don’t.
Why Did I just Learn that?
Because with multies it’s important to make sure
you’re rhyming with all the prominent syllables. But
you don’t have to rhyme with the silent syllables.
For example, take this line:
Behind my house is the most twisted of trees
If I want to write a multi rhyme with “twisted of
trees,” the first thing I need to do is figure out what is
prominent and what isn’t. So I’ll map it out like this:
- / - / - - / / - - /
Behind my house is the most twisted of trees All I really have to pay attention to is the rhyming
phrase, “twisted of trees.” As you can see, the
prominent sounds are “twist” and “trees.” The silent
sounds are “ed” and “of”. That means that when I’m
writing my multi, I need to rhyme with “twist” and
“trees”, but I don’t need to rhyme with the “ed” or the
“of”.
So these work:
Mystical knee
Listen to me
Mess with the bees
Then I just pick one and write a line to it:
Behind my house is the most twisted of trees,
I always ignore the birds, but I mess with the bees
Even though “ed of” doesn’t rhyme with “with the”, it
doesn’t matter because they’re unstressed syllables. The
line still flows. Take another example from Eminem’s
verse on D12’s “My Band”. He uses the line:
/ - /
I just think you’re trying to steal the light from me
In that line “light” and “me” are accented, but “from”
isn’t. So he doesn’t worry about rhyming with “from,”
just the other words. Like this:
I just think you’re trying to steal the light from me,
Yesterday Kuniver tried to pull a knife on me,
‘Cuz I told him Jessica Alba’s my wife to be
What About Longer Multies?
I’m glad you asked. Some rappers (especially
underground rappers) like to string together long as
hell multies to impress their listeners. You don’t always
have to do this, but if you can drop a long-string multi
occasionally, it will hit like a sound bomb.
Take this line:
/ - / /
Always on point with words that cut sharp
If we rhymed with “sharp” it would not be a multi. If
we rhymed with “cut sharp” it would be a multi. Instead
of just that, let’s try rhyming with “words (that) cut
sharp” to make a long multi. Remember, because
“that” isn’t prominent, we can ignore it. We just need
to rhyme with words, cut, and sharp. I’m going to
use a lot of slant rhymes in order to make a line that
makes sense. Using the process of rhyme generating
described before we get:
nerds that aren’t smart
burns the white tarp
swords that touch heart worms make bad art
nervous you might fart
Then we put them together:
Always on point with words that cut sharp,
I’m a paradox like nerds that aren’t smart
Or we can rewrite a little, and include another multi
in there as well. Remember, it’s always a good idea to
revisit lines and rework them. Cut out the weak stuff,
and add more quality stuff.
I spit swords that touch hearts and words that
cut sharp,
You’re living proof that some nerds are not smart
Practice This
Write some 3 or 4 syllable multies, and then add them
into your lines. Try to put more than one multi per line (as
Papoose and Eminem do in the following section).
Who is the King of Multies?
Without a doubt, one rapper uses multies more than
any other, and that rapper is Eminem. In fact a lot
of his sick flow comes from his creative use of multi
rhymes. You’ll find multies in all of his songs. The
ones below are just particularly strong examples. Take
these bars from “The Real Slim Shady”:
Pro Example
But Slim what if you win wouldn’t it be weird?
Why so you guys could just lie to get me here,
So you could sit me here next to Britney Spears
I think Christina Aguilera better switch me chairs
Eminem, “The Real Slim Shady”
Here’s what’s so dope and amazing about those “Real
Slim Shady” lines. Eminem doesn’t just rhyme with
the prominent syllables, he rhymes with the silent one
too (“be, me, ney” are unstressed). He also uses a lot of
multies with the same rhyme pattern: 5 in 4 lines.
How did he do that? He probably wanted to write a
rhyme making fun of Britney Spears, so he started
with her name and started generating multies off of
it. He could have used others, but he found some that
matched what he was trying to say. The lesson: always
start with the word or phrase that is most important.
Pro Example
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are
heavy
There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s
spaghetti
He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm
and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
Eminem, “Lose Yourself Those “Lose Yourself” rhymes are some of Eminem’s
absolute best, and that’s saying a lot. What he does
here lyrically is all out amazing. He uses lots of multirhymes
and in-rhymes, not seperately but together to
weave a complex lyrical web.
He uses 5-6 multies in just four lines, but he also
repeats the “palms” sound in other words. It’s echoed
in “drop” and “bombs,” but also in “vomit” and “on his,”
which is itself a little multi. The killer for me is the use
of “keeps” in the last line, which rhymes with “knees
weak” in the first. Study those lines, because they’re as
complex rhyme-wise as some analytic calculus How Many Multies Should I Use?
That’s up to you. Some rappers use multies only
occasionally, while others (like Eminem) rhyme almost
exclusively with multies. Try not to let multies control
your rhymes. The great thing about Eminem’s verse on
“Lose Yourself” is that he never sacrifices the meaning
to squeeze in a multi.

[juelz21]

Be lyrical, thee end.

no dikk head most people know nothing about rhyme tecniques it's not as simple as u making it out to be.

Lol I was just playing bro, I know.

Nah it isn't simple you're right.

i was about to let u have it man i was thinking this retarded / flaming homosexual is trying to ruin a useful thread that could help people.

[juelz21]

Wordplay has been used by everybody from Shakespeare
to Atmosphere to make audiences ooh and ahh. The
best rappers combine wordplay and metaphors to
create amazing lines that people remember and tell
their grandkids about.
Pro Example
What you get on, it’s fam you can’t trust,
Words and Punch
make rappers March like the third month
Punchline, “Twice Inna Lifetime”
What is Wordplay?
An instance of wordplay in rap is when words signify
two or more different things that make sense in the
context of the line. Wordplay is literally just playing
with the meanings of words.
This is made possible by the fact that words in the
English language (and most languages) can have
multiple meanings. Words can have multiple dictionary
definitions, scientific definitions, colloquial definitions
and slang definitions. The skilled rapper can bounce
between these meanings to create a line that knocks
a crowd off their feet. This is another way in which
having a big vocabulary is a real benefit to your rhymewriting In the example that opened this chapter, Punchline
plays on the two definitions of the word “march”
(meaning ‘to walk’) and “March” (‘the month after
February’). In doing so, he creates a line that stops
you in your tracks, because it’s so damn clever. You’ll
notice that most instances of wordplay in rap involve
metaphors as well. Here’s another example from
the same song. This is Wordsworth playing with the
meaning of “stereotype”:
Revive or ruin, my theories of mics,
Sony or Aiwa, black or white, I fit in all stereotypes
Creating Wordplay
How are you supposed to write lines like that? Follow
these steps and don’t do too many drugs.
Step 1. Pay Attention to New Words
Pay attention to words and their meanings in your life.
When you read or hear words that you don’t know,
write them down and then look up their definition.
Step 2. Look for Multiple Definitions
When you do look up a word, don’t just read the first
definition in the dictionary, read all the definitions.
This is crucial because wordplay is based on messing
around with multiple definitions. Step 3. Think About Words You Already Know
Do this exercise: look around you wherever you are
and make a list of the things you see. You could write
it down, or do it in your head. Now go through each
object and try to think if there are alternate meanings
for that word. If there are, take note of them.
For example, say I’m on the bus. This is my list, with
possible wordplay listed after each one:
Bus – a bus is a big vehicle for moving people. It’s
also the nickname of Jerome Bettis, the former
running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A
busboy busses tables; he clears them. Bus’ (short
for bust) can mean a lot of things: bust off, shoot,
rhyme, break out.
Driver – a driver is a person who is steering a car
or bus. A driver is also the club you use in golf
to hit the ball off the tee. Driver also sound like
“drive her.”
Seat – a place where you sit. [Now I couldn’t think
of any for ‘seat,’ so I went to the dictionary, and
this is what I got:] A seat can be your “buttocks”
(that’s what the dictionary says). A seat can also
be a position on a board of trustees or committee.
A member of congress also runs for a seat.
I could keep going, but I’ll stop there. In general, the
more you train yourself to think this way, the more
easily these double-meanings will come to you.
Step 4. Create a Line Using Double-Meanings
Take a double meaning that you’ve observed and try to
craft some lines out of it. Here’s what I can do with the
three above. These lines don’t rhyme together, they
would be used apart:
I’m a driver like what Tiger Woods holding,
I used to be a busboy like Jerome Bettis’ son,
Missed the bus, like a senator I’m running for a seat.
None of those are the kind of wordplay that would
make you stop in your tracks. If I was writing a song I
probably wouldn’t use any of those. But I did that with
three random words. As with everything, you’re going
to create a lot of bad, unusable lines before you find the
rhymes you like.
Step 5. Study Slang
You can also start with a slang word and look at the
different meanings. A lot of slang terms have dictionary
definitions along with their street definitions Word – slang def / dictionary def
Ice – diamonds / frozen water
Cheddar – money / cheese
Sick– good / physically ill
Dope – good / somebody stupid / drugs
Then take these and write lines playing on the different
meanings:
I’ve got more cheddar than a Wisconsin farmer
Rhymes sicker than lyme disease and gangrene
- Pharoah Monch, “Right Here”
I’m diarrhea ni**a, you ain’t ready for this sh**
- Little Brother, “Flash and Flare”
Step 6. Use Idioms
You can also create wordplay by studying idioms.
Idioms are phrases in a language that have a meaning
other than what they say literally. For example,
“piece of cake” means both literally a piece of cake
and something that’s easy. Idioms are a great place to
start for wordplay because they inherently have double
meaning. The rapper Legacy from Little Brother uses
the idiom “hold my own” (meaning to be as strong as
anyone else on a team) and raps: “I hold my own like
masturbation.” Get the idea?
Flip to the back of the book to Appendix I – Idioms for a
long list of idioms that you can use to create wordplay.
Step 7. Put It All Together
Then just put it all together to write some lines:
This is off the top like the foamy head on your beer,
my metaphors are over your head like your wack
ass hair,
stand clear like Casper the ghost waiting in line,
like Geoffrey Rush or shoe polish, dawg, I’m ready to
Shine
In the above lines, I play with the meanings of words
in each line, creating four different metaphors with
wordplay. Here’s another example from the underground
rapper Session, on Tonedeff’s “Quotables.” He plays
with the double meanings of “bug” and “spotted.” You
can usually count on the best underground rappers to
drop some high quality wordplay and metaphors, and
Session is no exception.
Pro Example
Puff an L and bug, cause I won’t be swatted
I can’t be seen -
I’ll be a Dalmatian and still won’t be spotted
Session, “Quotables Practice This use the idiom list in Appendix I to create some wordplay.
Your line should play with the idiomatic definition of the
phrase and its literal definition. Then write some rhymes
that feature your wordplay.

[juelz21]

Metaphor (noun) - A figure of speech in which
a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one
thing is used to designate another, thus making
an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or
“All the world’s a stage” (Shakespeare).
That’s a good definition. In hip-hop, that definition
gets even broader. A metaphor is basically a creative
comparison between two things. For example: “I’m
going up faster than the price of gas” is considered a
metaphor. “The price of chicken is going up faster than
the price of beef” is not a metaphor (because it isn’t
creative; it’s obvious). Metaphor (noun) - A figure of speech in which
a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one
thing is used to designate another, thus making
an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or
“All the world’s a stage” (Shakespeare).
That’s a good definition. In hip-hop, that definition
gets even broader. A metaphor is basically a creative
comparison between two things. For example: “I’m
going up faster than the price of gas” is considered a
metaphor. “The price of chicken is going up faster than
the price of beef” is not a metaphor (because it isn’t
creative; it’s obvious). Simple Metaphors
First things first: you want to create a metaphor,
you’ve got to have something to say. You can’t make
a metaphor out of thin air. So first think of the basic
idea that you want to get across: what’s the simplest
thing you want to say? It could be almost anything:
I spit rhymes
He’s not smart
She looks fly
We’re hungry
All of these work, but we’ll take just one for an example.
Let’s say we start with “I spit rhymes.” Now think of
some other things in the world that spit rhymes. It
could be really simple:
A rapper at a show
A slam poet
A nursery rhyme
A limerick
Now we just put the first together with something
from the second. We get:
I spit rhymes like a rapper at a show
That’s a metaphor, but it’s a pretty bad metaphor. It’s
simple and boring. The next step is to make it more
specific and interesting. Think of a specific example of
the “rapper at a show.” For example:
Big Boi at Stankonia (the name of his studio)
Jay-Z at the Garden (Madison Square Garden)
T.I. at the Apollo
Let’s take the last one:
I spit rhymes like T.I. at the Apollo
That’s a much more solid line. It’s not “oh damn,
that was amazing,” but it’s solid. It’s a good, simple
metaphor.
Another Example:
We could complete the rhyme without using another
metaphor. But why not put in one more just to keep
the crowd on their feet? To complete the rhyme and
write the next line, we’ll work backwards. We’ll think
of all the words that rhyme with “Apollo”:
Follow
Hollow
Swallow
Wallow
Kahlo *
*Freda Kahlo was a painter I’m going to use Kahlo, because it’s very specific, so we
can make a dope line with an unlikely reference that
will catch people off guard. Now Freda Kahlo was a
famous Mexican painter who was a lesbian. So I can
play around with those facts:
I paint a picture of a Mexican like Freda Kahlo,
or
I like kissing women like… Freda Kahlo
Both of those are metaphors and they work, but I
want something even better. So I go online and look
up Freda Kahlo and I find this picture:
And I remember that Freda Kahlo had a huge unibrow
(her eyebrows were connected in the middle of her
face), so I can play off that fact.
You’ve got a bigger unibrow than Freda Kahlo
I’m going to choose that one because it’s smart, clever
and I’ve never heard a rapper reference a unibrow
before, so I know it’s going to make the crowd go wild.
Now we put them together:
I spit rhymes like T.I. at the Apollo,
you’ve got a bigger unibrow than… Freda Kahlo
There’s no wordplay there, but it’s some solid use of
metaphors. I can file that rhyme away in the back of
my mind in case I ever have to battle someone with a
unibrow. all three of the pro examples, the rappers combine
metaphors with other things: in-rhyme, multies and
some nasty flow. But the metaphors on their own are
strong.
Canibus goes way old school with a dope reference to
Aztecs and Mayans, but also explains what he means
by ‘ancient’: he is keeping it simple like the old school
rappers, ‘cause it’s all about timing.
Tonedeff, a sick underground emcee who spits as fast
as Twista, puts two metaphors in his bar, one after the
other. The word ‘comp’ is just short for ‘competition.’
Jay-Z’s metaphor is the simplest (he’s the “black Brad
Pitt”), but that keeps with his easy-going style where
nothing is over-written. In one sense, his metaphor
might be the strongest because the image of Brad Pitt
as a black man stops every listener in his tracks.
Metaphors with Wordplay
You know those lines that make your jaw drop? Those
lines that are so smart you’ve got to rewind the track
and listen to them again just to understand the
intricacies? Most of those lines feature metaphors that
involve wordplay. It’s kind of like the one-two punch of
a gifted lyricist, guaranteed to make the crowd scream.
This technique creates some of the most amazing and
memorable lines in hip-hop.
Here’s Kanye West on “Back Like That Remix”:
We hit the spot to chill where the food get grilled
She order the Kobe beef like Shaquille O’Neal
Kanye plays not only with the definition of beef (the
meat from a cow and a feud between people) but also
of the word Kobe (Kobe beef is especially tender beef
from Kobe, Japan, while Kobe Bryant is the famous
Lakers player who didn’t get along with Shaq when
Shaq was with the Lakers). In doing so, Kanye creates
a metaphor with wordplay and a unique line.
How to Write Metaphors with Wordplay
The trick to creating these lines is really just to combine
what you learned from the lesson on metaphors with
what you learned from the lesson on wordplay. Start
out with a simple statement. We can make it easy by
choosing a phrase from the list of idioms (see Appendix
I). For example:
I’ll flip you the bird
The expression “flip the bird” means sticking up your
middle finger at someone. Now in order to create
wordplay we just have to focus on the literal meaning
of ‘flipping birds’. So now we brainstorm a list of things
that also ‘flip birds’: Someone cooking chicken on a barbeque
Someone wrestling pigeons
A seagull who’s an acrobat
Now I just choose one and slip it after my original
statement, adding the word “like” in between. I’ll
rework it a little to fit the flow and make it tigher. I
can even use two of them in a row like this:
I’ll flip you the bird like I’m barbequing chicken,
Or like Hulk Hogan wrestling pigeons, so quit snitchin’
That’s all there is to it.
Pro Example
Lyrically deep like the teachings of Confucius
spit ridiculous sh**, like a nipple-less tit -
you’re useless
but hang around anyway hoping to get felt
lyrically acidic when I spit it, making mics melt
I should change my name to Phillip
‘cause I’m screwing you up
Substantial, “Quotables”
This example from Substantial on the track “Quotables”
is full of metaphors and metaphors with wordplay. In
these lines, he deftly plays with the meaning of the
words “hang,” “felt,” and “screw,” which all have more
than one meaning. He also puts in simple metaphors
to add to the overall complexity of the lines.
Practice This
Create some metaphors with and without wordplay. Which
are your favorites? Analyze why some of them are stronger
than others. Combine your favorites in a dope verse

[juelz21]

a lyricist is a painter, then vocabulary is his paint.
Without words, a rapper is no different than a mime:
all he’s got left are his hand gestures. Everyone has
two vocabularies: a bank of words that they feel
comfortable using, and a bank of words that they know
the meanings of, but can’t necessarily use.
As an emcee, it’s your job to get your vocabulary
of words you feel comfortable using to be as big as
possible. Scientists say that in America the average
adult vocabulary is between 10,000 – 20,000 words.
The way some rapper’s spit, I swear they’re only using
500. Having a big vocabulary will allow you to write
on topic more easily, and will make it easier to write
metaphors, wordplay, in-rhymes and multies. And
that’s not just for the so-called ‘conscious’ rappers out
there. That’s true for battle rappers (definitively), and
it’s true for all the big ballas. It’s like Bun B says on
“Big Pimpin’”:
Pick up a book, you illiterate son of a b*tch,
and step up your vocab!
How Do I Improve My Vocabulary?
There are lots of ways to improve your vocabulary.
Reading is crucial. The more you read, the more you
come in contact with new vocabulary words being used
in context. When you come across a vocabulary word,
either write it down or look it up straight away. If
you’re by a computer, using an online dictionary (like
Dictionary.com) is a very fast way to find the meaning.
I’ve also known emcees who carry pocket dictionaries
with them everywhere they go, so whenever they come
across a word, they’re ready to learn it.
As this is the vocab section of the book and we are
Flocabulary, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention
our own product. We got some emcees together
and created a hip-hop album that defines 500 SAT
vocabulary words on 12 tracks. The idea for that came
to me in high school: I realized that I could easily
memorize the lyrics to dozens and dozens of rap songs,
but I struggled to remember what the word “obstinate”
meant. So we created Flocabulary and came out with
our first CD+Book called Flocabulary: The Hip-Hop
Approach to SAT-Level Vocabulary Building. You can get it on Flocabulary.com or in your local bookstore.
We think it’s the best way to learn vocabulary
words, since all of the words are defined in the
tracks themselves. Memorize one song, and you’ve
memorized the meaning of 50 words. How Do I Use Vocabulary in My Rhymes?
More important than just spitting truly enormous
words is spitting the correct word to fit your flow.
Having a big vocabulary will allow you to find that
correct word more easily. Here are a few tips on what
to do and what to avoid.
Spit Big Words Sometimes
While you don’t want to sound like you’re randomly
quoting a dictionary, dropping an occasional big word
will add a lot to your verse. Take this example from
Andre (3000) on “Wheelz of Steel”:
We don’t sell dope that you distribute,
we don’t contribute to your clandestine activity,
my soliloquy may be hard for some to swallow
That’s good use of vocabulary. The words make sense
in the context of the lyrics (“clandestine” means sneaky
or shady, “soliloquy” is a speech given by one person,
usually in a play). The use of “soliloquy” adds in-rhyme
with “activity.” And the use of “clandestine” adds some
alliteration with “contribute,” and “soliloquy” adds
alliteration with “some” and “swallow.” Overall, he’s
used two big words in a way that makes a lot of sense
and definitively adds quality to his verse.
If You Don’t Know it, Don’t Drop it
Just because you think you know a big word, doesn’t
mean you should use it randomly. A big problem for
some beginner emcees is that they try to front like
their vocabulary is bigger than it really is by using huge
words that they don’t really understand. Don’t use a
big word that makes no sense just because it rhymes,
like this:
I’d like to live on the moon, fly in space ships,
always be by myself like it’s loquacious
The word loquacious means talkative or chatty, so that
rhyme makes no sense. It’s an interesting slant rhyme
with “space ships,” but all it does is detract from the meaning of the bars. Avoid using vocabulary that you
don’t really know.
When Mike Tyson appeared on the Canibus track
“2nd Round Knockout” (the LL Cool J diss), the highpitched
boxer talks about what Canibus should do. He
says, “that’s your name, Canibus, your whole objective
is to eat emcees for lunch, dinner…” I’m pretty sure
that Mike Tyson was confusing Canibus with cannibals.
So don’t be like Mike Tyson.
Use Medium-sized Words
Your vocabulary isn’t just the SAT words you’ve got
memorized, it’s all of the words that you know. When
you start out rapping, you’ll probably find yourself
writing lots of lines that feature 1-sylllable words. It’s
a fine place to start, and even veteran rappers often
carve whole verses out of single and double-syllable
words.
Just make sure you’re not doing it too much. One and
two-syllable words are great for flow and easy to spit,
but they can be used to express only so much. When
you want to really tell a story, or create something
political, or battle, you’re going to need to work in
some medium sized words.
Pro Examples
Its a new era in rap get use to it
Kay Slay told me just do how you do it
he said Pap If they spit fire then you fluid
- Papoose, “That’s A Good Look”
A top-notch scholar with honors I’m so gifted
live as the most vicious, honest and prolific
- Papoose, “The Beast”
The pro examples are two verses from the same
underground emcee, Papoose. Notice the differences
in word size between the two verses. In the first he’s
using lots of small words to flow. Every single word in
those bars is only 1-syllable except “era” and “fluid”,
which have two syllables. The bars aren’t bad, but I
prefer the second verse.
In the second verse, which he spit on a Talib Kweli
track, Papoose drops one word that you might not
know (“prolific” meaning producing a lot of art), but
generally he’s just using medium sized words, and using
them well. The words (“top-notch, scholar, honors,
gifted, vicious, honest, prolific”) aren’t confusing.
They add depth and clarity to his lines. Plus, he’s using
some amazing in-rhyming. Proving he’s an emcee who
spits fire, he out-raps Kweli on his own track, which, as
you’ll see in the next example, isn’t easy. In Battles
Battles are great places to drop some big words
sometimes, because originality is so prized. It’s hard
to create a truly innovative punch using only the words
“gun, bust, blast, shoot, dead,” etc… It’s much easier
to create something original if you’re using a word that
most rappers don’t use.
Again, be sure not to overdo it. Don’t just flip the
dictionary open to page 427 and start copying words
into your verse. But when this technique is done right,
the punches can hit hard, and it can have the crowd
going wild. Take this amazing example from Talib
Kweli.
Pro Example
You stoppin’ us is preposterous like an
androgynous misogynist,
You pickin’ the wrong time,
steppin’ to me when I’m in my Prime
like Optimus, Transforming…
Talib Kweli, “Hater Players”
The first time I heard those bars, it was just like
bananas in my ears. I had no idea what he was talking
about. It was only after I listened a few times, that I
realized how amazing those two bars are. In those two
bars, Kweli drops a metaphor with wordplay (Optimus
Prime was the leader of the Transformers on the old
TV cartoon), a classic “you [doing something] is like
[something unlikely]” punchline, and fills it with some
wild vocabulary.
His punchline doesn’t make any sense until you
know what the words mean (“preposterous” means
meaningless or absurd, “androgynous” means both
male and female, and a “misogynist” is a woman
hater). Kweli is basically saying, “you stopping us is
meaningless like a woman hater who is part woman.”
You definitely can’t spit lines like that all of the time,
but it’s always smart in a battle to come with some
unique, creative punchlines, and vocabulary can help
you.
Practice This
Go to Flocabulary.com/wordlist and pick some big vocabulary
words. Make sure you understand their definitions, then
write them into some lines. Try to make it feel organic.

[Sam.]