TechnicalTechnical, for a lot of fans, is the structure of the rap and how it sounds. It includes stuff like rhyme scheme, multies, assonance, consonance, alliteration, voice, etc. It’s anything that helps the verse sounds or flows better. A good technical rapper is someone who can flow well and not be predictable doing it. An example of good technique would be
Blu in the song “Cold Hearted”:
I was cold hearted and young, a dumb kid with a gun
Cause fun days don’t last, the last nigga to laugh
So rap fell on my tongue, numb feelings remain
And pain comes and it goes
But my wounds shows the room where my pops beat my moms
Moms screamin' for help, myself hot as a sun
Cold hearted and young, a dumb kid with a gun
That I got from my pops top drawer
When he left my momma twice in a week
My momma lifeless and weak, spendin' her nights in the sheets
With seed killer number (one)
Seed killer number (two)
Seed killer number (three)
For example;
Tech N9ne and
Hopsin are technical rappers.
LyricalLyricism is how the rapper expresses his theme, message, or emotions. Creativity is important in lyricism. Similes, metaphors, entendres, word play, punchlines, etc, all help make a verse more creative or original, but they aren’t totally necessary. You can be lyrical by having original thoughts or ideas, or being deeply introspective. I think lyricism is the more subjective of the two, because people see things differently just based off of their personal experiences or personality. An artist that displays great lyricism, in my opinion, is
Common in the song “The Believer”,
Nas or
Kendrick Lamar. Can you be technical and not lyrical?It depends. Most of the time, there might be something in a song that someone considers lyrical. It’s hard to judge. This is where the subjectivity comes in again. For me, a lot of boastful raps aren’t very lyrical, but can be very technical so I’d say yes, but I’m sure someone disagrees
Can you be lyrical but not technical?Yes.
2Pac is probably the best example of this. A lot of the stuff he said about his life and society just really inspired or entertained people. And he was mostly original in the way he did it. But he lacked technical skill for the most part. He had repetitive rhyme schemes, simple rhymes, and a predictable flow
There’s differences in opinion on this site about what makes a song good. Some would say lyrical skill is more important, some say technical, and some say both.
I think it comes from rapgenious
