Music Debate: BIG & Jay Z RUIN Hip Hop because NOT WRITING?

[playahaitian]

When it got out that Jay and BIG never wrote down their rhymes for some reason it became the standard for EVERY rapper to this...

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Lil Wayne said he started doing that during the Carter recordings and Jermaine Dupri recently said after Jay Z wrote all of Money Aint A thing in his head in less then he did the same...

Problem is it seems that lyricism to a STEADY downward decline since this practice was imitated to the point where rappers like Waka Floka, Bobbby Shmurda etc expose not saying anything of importance in their raps?

what confuses me is Nas writes all his rhymes and recorded ILLMATIC arguably one of the best solo debuts in music (regardless of the genre)...

No one used THAT as inspiration instead???

What do ya'll think???

 

[keone]

nopes

 

[Coldchi]

you actually believe they did a whole album without writing anything??
niggaz believe anything nowadays. just because people didnt see them write it, doesn't mean that they didnt.
i've yet to see one rapper make a meaningful album without having to pick up a pen once.

 

[King Natty]

Nah, writing shit down ain't gonna help some of these cats. Wack is wack no matter the method

 

[playahaitian]

you actually believe they did a whole album without writing anything??
niggaz believe anything nowadays. just because people didnt see them write it, doesn't mean that they didnt.
i've yet to see one rapper make a meaningful album without having to pick up a pen once.

That is the legend that is why they call Jay Rain Man and this isn't something new they said that about BIG for YEARS...

 

[Mr. Del]

Put it this way. Would the lyrics be any better if these new school rappers did write down their lyrics?

Personally I don't believe that Jay Z or Big never wrote down lyrics. I think it's an over exaggeration.

 

[playahaitian]

nopes

straight to the point huh fam

I just heard Wayne's new joint with the lox...

he MUST have wrote (or got a ghost writer) on there.

You could HEAR the difference...

 

[fwillia]

Ruin? I'd say no. Not that I'm a rapper, but I think I understand a certain extra level of freedom, so to speak, that one gains by not having their rhymes contained my the sheet of paper, in a sense.

As with anything else, not everyone is good at it. I think that is to be expected, though.

 

[keone]

straight to the point huh fam

I just heard Wayne's new joint with the lox...

he MUST have wrote (or got a ghost writer) on there.

You could HEAR the difference...

Lol

Thing is till this day people are still debating if that shit is true. The not writing.

With these new rappers they don't even got to tell me they ain't writing cause that shit be ghabaggee. And if they are writing god bless emsmh

 

[therealjondoe]

Its possible.
When your are crafting the rhyme ,you repeat it so many times over and over that if you have a decent memory you dont need to write it down.

 

[playahaitian]

Its possible.
When your are crafting the rhyme ,you repeat it so many times over and over that if you have a decent memory you dont need to write it down.

I believe its possible but what I'm saying is are you getting the BEST result by doing that...

Nas, QTip Pos and Em talk about seeing the words on the paper and just the sensation of writing and then going back over it...

I love free styling and appreciate the spontaneity and talent and creativeness that goes with it but that doesn't mean you are going to get the best SONG from that.

And I think Jay and BIG are once ina lifetime types just like QTip Cube and Scarface are with a pen

 

[HotSauce161]

I believe its possible but what I'm saying is are you getting the BEST result by doing that...

Nas, QTip Pos and Em talk about seeing the words on the paper and just the sensation of writing and then going back over it...

I love free styling and appreciate the spontaneity and talent and creativeness that goes with it but that doesn't mean you are going to get the best SONG from that.

And I think Jay and BIG are once ina lifetime types just like QTip Cube and Scarface are with a pen

Some people have photographic memories and some don't. Jay & BIG have the type of minds that allow them to work without using paper. In addition to that, they both take their craft seriously and try to say something. A lot of acts today don't feel the need to elevate what they say as long as they are getting a check. They miss that they could get more $ if they said something more interesting and some just aren't self-motivated to say more.

I know Ja Rule claims he stopped writing lyrics down after working with Jay, cause he admired the discipline needed to pull it off and he wanted to emulate one of the best MCs hed ever met. These MCs need to worry less about the process and more about the result. Write a good song, I don't care how you do it, but do it.

 

[therealjondoe]

I believe its possible but what I'm saying is are you getting the BEST result by doing that...

Nas, QTip Pos and Em talk about seeing the words on the paper and just the sensation of writing and then going back over it...

I love free styling and appreciate the spontaneity and talent and creativeness that goes with it but that doesn't mean you are going to get the best SONG from that.

And I think Jay and BIG are once ina lifetime types just like QTip Cube and Scarface are with a pen

Well for the average garbage rapper no.
Writing it wont help them .
But if you have skills i think its ok.
Its not like big or jay freestyled their verses,they were well thought out and memorized.
Im still waiting for you to clear a spot in your inbox playa

 

[POSTERBOY]

The same can be said for Tupac and his "this album was done in 2 weeks" shit. After he said that EVERYBODY and their mother was on that bullshit "Yeah, you know the music just felt right and was pouring out from a good place... we actually recorded the album in 7 days"

 

[freshnclean]

Jayz and Biggie both mentioned they started off writing, but eventually stopped. Big taught Jay. There was an interview where Jay talks about how Big introduced him to memory exercises and how that eventually played a big part in his song making formula

Im just glad the trend is over. Shortly after the Blueprint 1 dropped, alot of rappers were trying to do the "write in your head" thing like Jayz and sounded horrible.

 

[J.E.T.S]

nowadays it's technically not writing if they typed it into their smartphone.

 

[woodchuck]

Shy D used to got into the booth without paper, because he remembered his shit. I was impressed, but I could NEVER do that. Fuck that memory shit, if you got some nice words written down, take that shit to the studio with you. What good is bragging about not reading your rhymes, when your shit sux? Muhfuckas throwing the balls into the stands trying to throw a no look pass.

 

[TENT]

I agree with the OP 100% imagine if Jay Z wrote his rhymes.

 

[Andeyhollawho]

They never said they didn't write. They said they didn't write it down.

They still edited the lines. Switched the lines. Changed the lines. Added and deleted words. If you watch any documentary of Jay in the studio you will see what I mean. He will go in the booth and spit what he "wrote" in his head and then he will go back and think about it. It never ends the way he started it.

What these niggas is talking about is freestyling. Wayne writes down words or phrases but he doesn't write the whole rap down. Em does the same. You couldn't read their notebooks of rhymes but those words remind them of all the things they "wrote" in their heads so they can edit it later.

 

[2 ONE 3]

nowadays it's technically not writing if they typed it into their smartphone.

Lol

 

[Dirtylakerie]

Nah, writing shit down ain't gonna help some of these cats. Wack is wack no matter the method

 

[sherminator]

First can we stop with the sensationalism of big and jays rhymes, did they have lyrics for that ass, yes, did they string together stories, yes, did they make you laugh,you damn right but I never heard a big or jay rap that had me say damn run that back nigga dropping knowledge. Like the op said they probably wrote key things and move forward from there,get rid of stuff add stuff. I think people need to do what works for them, if you gotta write, then write, no shame in that

 

[kmillz]

KRS-One didn't write either so no they didn't ruin hiphop. Greedy, racist record execs and radio programmers did. Well they ruined it for some folks. Not me. I know where to look.

 

[Amajorfucup]

Totally agree.

But keep in mind some of these cats cant write. Like literally, they are illeterates or barely literate. So that whole "i dont write" shit actually helped these dummies hide their idiocy under the guise of artistic preference.

 

[woodchuck]

KRS-One didn't write either so no they didn't ruin hiphop. Greedy, racist record execs and radio programmers did. Well they ruined it for some folks. Not me. I know where to look.

So, he did "Why Is That?" and "You Must Learn" from memory? Not buying that one, fam.

 

[8/11Streetz]

if half these niggaz in the game now write their i would be embarrassed for them

 

[BrownTurd]

Put it this way. Would the lyrics be any better if these new school rappers did write down their lyrics?

Personally I don't believe that Jay Z or Big never wrote down lyrics. I think it's an over exaggeration.

Was in the studio when J was recording. He never wrote anything down. J wrote everything in his head. He did not freestyle or anything like that.

Jay just would recite words over and over in his head and was able to recall what he was thinking.

 

[Amajorfucup]

Wait, Brownturd was in the studio with Jay?

Was you emptying trash cans?

 

[II Dxnum]

brownturd is one of those dudes from christión.

 

[therealjondoe]

brownturd is one of those dudes from christión.

 

[Complex]

They never said they didn't write. They said they didn't write it down.

They still edited the lines. Switched the lines. Changed the lines. Added and deleted words. If you watch any documentary of Jay in the studio you will see what I mean. He will go in the booth and spit what he "wrote" in his head and then he will go back and think about it. It never ends the way he started it.

What these niggas is talking about is freestyling. Wayne writes down words or phrases but he doesn't write the whole rap down. Em does the same. You couldn't read their notebooks of rhymes but those words remind them of all the things they "wrote" in their heads so they can edit it later.

Do you know the definition of writing

 

[Mr. Met]

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[Complex]

I wonder if people like Young Thug write their lyrics

But the OP has a point. It seems like after Jay made it popular, everyone wanted to start doing it. Jermaine Dupri said that Jay-Z inspired him to stop writing.

The thing I don't understand is that Jay-Z did it for flow as much as anything, but you can't tell listening to a lot of these dudes.

you actually believe they did a whole album without writing anything??
niggaz believe anything nowadays. just because people didnt see them write it, doesn't mean that they didnt.
i've yet to see one rapper make a meaningful album without having to pick up a pen once.

Dude, everyone has said he doesn't.

I just listened to Jermaine Dupri talk about it last week on Combat Jack's show.

What studio have you been in with a rapper

nowadays it's technically not writing if they typed it into their smartphone.

 

[Mentor B]

Do you know the definition of writing

I think what dude is trying to say is that Big and Jay didn't freestyle. Just because lyrics aren't written down doesn't mean they're off the cuff.

Nah...not at all. Let's just say their raps were mentally preserved...Rolodex kinda thing....

 

[Complex]

I think what dude is trying to say is that Big and Jay didn't freestyle. Just because lyrics aren't written down doesn't mean they're off the cuff.

Nah...not at all. Let's just say their raps were mentally preserved...Rolodex kinda thing....

Yeah, I don't think he realizes there is a difference in freestyling and saying you don't write.

Nobody ever says Jay-Z freestyles a record.