Reasons why to look up rap lyrics to songs
Have you ever listened to rap songs on the radio and went WTF, what did he say? You know, it happens to the best of us and no matter how much of an aficionado you are of hip hop, there are still those times when you just can’t grasp whatever the heck the emcees’ saying. And asking a friend about it just seems embarrassing.
But it is all good. That’s why we have the internet where we can fill in the blanks to the different rap lyrics to songs we can barely understand. Looking through the lyrics might turn out to be even more surprising. You might even discover a whole ‘nother level to the rap you are feeling. One song in particular that made me look it up online was Tupac Shakur’s Changes. Listening to it one day, I realized I got one of the words messed up. Trivial right, but that didn’t stop me. I looked up the rap lyrics to this song and found out how deep it was, especially in this day and age. Tupac even claims that “Although it seems heaven sent, we ain’t ready for a black president…” Man, if he was only alive now.
Another reason to go and look up the words to your favourite rap song is to see its longevity. You know if one song has made its mark when it frequently is given shout outs to/ mentioned in other peoples’ rap songs. The message by Grandmaster Flash has been time and again used in other rap lyrics like Mos Def’s “Close Edge”, Coolio’s “County Line” and Eminem’s “What the Beat?”. Another song too whose lyrics can be found in other rap songs is White Lines (Don’t Do It) by Grandmaster Melle Mel. Basically a warning against doing cocaine, LL Cool J, Mobb Deep and Fatman Scoop have all used the famous lines in their rap.
If these reasons aren’t good enough, then think of it like you owe the rapper just this one. You want to know what he’s talking about right, where he comes from, his beliefs and view points. To know an artist is to understand his work and how would you understand his work if it’s all jumbled in your ear. So set it straight, just read through the rap lyrics to songs and believe me, you’ll end up liking or hating more hip hop artists than you think.
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