Wu-Tang rapper GZA recently penned an article via Medium’s music site, Cuepoint.
Within the piece, which is titled “The Lost Art of Lyricism”, GZA states that although there are great lyricists in Hip Hop today, lyricism within mainstream Hip Hop “is gone.”
“There are some artists out there that think they’re great storytellers, but they’re not,” he writes. “Nowadays, there are certain things I don’t hear anymore from rappers: I haven’t heard the word ‘MC’ in so long; I haven’t heard the word ‘lyrical.'”
GZA categorized Nas, Big Daddy Kane, Melle Mel and Biggie as artists who rhymed about a message through their music.
“Nowadays, it’s changed,” he says. “It’s not about the art form anymore.”
The Shaolin-native goes on to say that he thinks “most rappers’ imaginations are sterile.”
Throughout the piece, GZA sprinkles in a few lyrics of his own, including some from his 2002 album, Legend of the Liquid Sword.
“If you hear people talking about the Golden Era of rap, they’re usually talking about the early-Wu Tang Clan era,” he writes. “When I was in Wu-Tang, and even before that, it’s always been about being lyrical — who can craft the wittiest, the most intellectual, the smartest and the cleverest rhymes. It’s always been that for us as emcees from Day One. It’s the same for me now. It’s all about the story.”
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Despite the argument that people will make (“He was talking about MAINSTREAM!”) it’s still a lazy analysis, and represents a very antiquated way of looking at things. When he (and other vets) say things like this, that get picked up by alllllll the “media” and then alllllllll the people just regurgitate the main takeaway, it helps reinforces the often-repeated, but very untrue idea that lyricism in ALL of hip hop is gone. He does hip hop no favors by penning such an unthoughtful think piece.
Obviously you don’t understand how mainstream music affects society, and I’m not surprised once you penned how asking for lyrics is an “antiquated way of looking at things”. i don’t know where you got your “education” but having intelligence isn’t a fad or trend that mankind is supposed to outgrow for the sake of some present day protocol. Now if many like you knew that, you would be able to see the obvious quieting of mainstream message songs by smart rappers who are allowed to have highly visible profiles for the sake of sex/violence/materialism songs because “they sell” by someone “who’s marketable”. And the crowning point is dudes just like you accept the lyricist’s segregation to the “underground/internet” and allow mainstream to sell more and more ignorance to a much more younger and younger audience (8 yr olds are listening to mainstream rap) and swear it’s “evolution”. Stop chewing on those red pills like candy.
He’s just giving his take on the state of hiphop these days and he’s right. He said there are M.C’s out here who are lyrical but as a whole it’s no lyricism. That’s what he’s saying dude.
What are you talking bout?? Idiots dont have comprehension… Dont be an idiot for worrying about it
Locksmith says The Genius is 100% incorrect! Dude is a crazy lyrical storyteller.
if dude is so concerned about lyricism, drop a fuckin album……stop worrying about other artist’s and do you…garbage music has been around for YEARS….and it ain’t goin anywhere soon….just my 2 cents…..
True but the difference is today garbage rap has become the norm, while in the 80’s and 90’s that BS wouldn’t fly at all.
seriously? lyrical hip hop is pretty good now compared to where it was a few years back. why wasn’t he bitchin about this in the mid 00’s? the general state of lyrical hip hop is good right now and there’s a bunch of yung cats killin it
That’s b.s.
Hiphop is dead, just as Nas stated. No one knows which way is up. Ny surrendered their clever lyrics over a “boom bap” beat for a down south sound. NY gave up!
When 50 Cent switched his original rhyme style to a southern pattern, making big money, the game changed greatly.
He is right. All the subtle technical sh*t went away and as this new generation got something of their own it became the norm. They can argue this and that but they don’t know sh*t about sh*t, for the most part these kids are retarded. They don’t even hear the music, they SEE it. Music is supposed to be auditory but now its 95% visual. Now we’re stuck in an age where you cannot tell one producer from the next, style amounts to nothing more than an absurd amount of tattoos and who you’re f*cking. Bottom line: its easier to mass produce disposable mc’s rather than hoping to find that certain artist with actual talent, lower the bar and let any idiot take a crack at it. And they do… None of it matters anyway because this sh*t isn’t even rap music, it is pop but nobody ever talks about that.
I couldn’t have said it better my self…And the sad thing about this is that when an emcee comes out and says something like this..those wack mainstream rappers gon “nah he just sayin’ that cauz we eating and he aint”._bulls***
Go release another liquid sword hmmm bet you cant. damn hypocrites watered down their shit now they point fingers at bubblegum rappers
Lol I like this guy…. he’s always preaching the truth and doesn’t sugar coat it at all#fullsupport
Well he released beneath the surface an rarely spitting out more than two syllables on every rhyme,ask me he can say whatever the fuck he wants about any kiddy rappers around just now,!
In terms of vocabulary, GZA is ranked as one of the greatest ever. Dropping a Liquid Swords II will require more than the GZA alone. You would need RZA on the boards and the entire Clan guest appearing. They proved on their last album that due to lifestyles and schedules it’s almost impossible for them to make songs while they are in the same room. That collective vibe is critical in terms of chemistry. So, saying GZA can’t drop another Liquid Swords isn’t really fair when you consider the totality of the circumstances. That being said, he hasn’t disappointed lyrically on any of his post-Liquid Swords releases.
They don’t have enough discipline to become great lyricists, and their attention spans are like they all have ADD. When their approach to rap/hip hop music is that its just some dumb hustle, they even respect it enough to want to be good at it. They cant even come up with a good rebuttle to the criticism. Its always the same ol’ “ah he just some old nikka hating, mad cause he aint selling no more.” Which is funny bc most of them don’t sell worth spit.
No point of penning a letter, they wont make it past the first paragraph.
But props to the young MCs who set themselves apart from those idiots.
It’s true; the thing is that the improvement of technology is what is shaping society into what it is. Everyone has a short attention span because of the rate of which information is being processed. I personally love lyricism but I also understand why things have changed and will continue to change.
How’s your attention span? It’s been called ADHD for a minute now.
The audience has changed. The artist caters to the audience. The audience is broader. There are many super-lyrical guys out there; it’s now the fans responsibility to go find them.
The “sound” of hip-hop has changed, which is partly attributed to the audience. The fact is, the southeast and southwest are much larger in terms of size compared with NYC. What you have is more people demanding a different product. When hip-hop first broke, anyone not from New York imitated a New York accent when they rapped because that was the sound of hip-hip. Now, you have New York rappers who rap with southern accents because the sound of the music has changed, the same way jazz changed when Louis Armstrong et al entered the jazz game. Granted, there are still many traditional New York rappers, but 50-Cent would have never sold millions with his original rhyme pattern. Look at ASAP Rocky – his entire album (a dope one at that) is geared toward southern taste. Dude is from Harlem and the only New York guest on his album is Mos Def, and it’s hard to knock ASAP’s music because he will probably appear on Saturday Night Live later in the year.
Also, music in the south has always been about a “release,” in the sense that folks just want to have a good time. Lyricism is largely irrelevant in the south because they just want to enjoy the moment and “brainy” music is just not part of their culture, which is not to say that they are not bright people. The early southern artists were adept in following the New York blueprint and put forth more effort in their lyrics. Now that the south is dominating hip-hop, lyricism isn’t a focal point in the music. But you’re right, the lyricists are still out there – you just have to find them. Cormega teamed up with Large Professor on the boards to drop a pure gem of an album last year (Mega Philosophy), and the average rap fan seeking that conventional New York sound including lyrical content is clueless.
Its not mainstream no more… Doesn’t mean their isn’t any lyricist… Just means you got a dig for it like a break beat or a soul sample… Do some work FAM everyone should to find what exactly they like…. I was too young for wu-tang so I had to dig for it and when I did I found the gems I was looking for… If you dig gza you will find the same… I like how in hip hop you gotta dig to find the gems
You can dig all the way to the 80’s, I think that’s wat pple don’t realize and not having the patience to look up wat was said of the lyrics to research and understand
IMO the golden era of Hip Hop was the mid 80’s – 90’s with groups like RUN DMC, PE, BDP, EPMD, Rakim Ultramagnetic MC’s etc, etc. Each had their own sound and the beats were making people move.
That’s where NY fell off. The music wasn’t bumping’ no more. Sure everyone wants to hear some great rhymes. But it’s the music that’s makes you listen. It become less and less energetic and all started to sound the same. Even today if I check for a NY song by someone like Ghostface, there’s a good chance it’s a played ass sample that I done heard a million times over. Skip!!
When I first heard the Southern style I couldn’t get on with it. But for me Timbaland had Alliyah singing over better beats than the hard MC’s. Then I hear more southern sounds and they’re using 808’s, bass heavy with lots of snares. That’s how Hip Hop sounded when I first started listening. I was hooked.
Sure, some lyricists ain’t got no Big L skills, but they sure making tracks that bump. Long live the South.
The South has ruined hip hop no question. Back in the day scarface, outkast etc or even timberland like you mentioned were great but they were influenced by the east coast and west coast. That’s why there sound was so great. The first golden era was from 1988-92 and the second from 1993-97.
Rae Sremmurd is what’s popular these days. Says a lot about the state of hip hop.
Hiphop is dead when mediocre rappers like J Cole and Kendrick are considered the best the genre has to offer. I finally got around to listening to Kendrick’s album and I was stunned at how simplistic the lyrics were. It’s like all you have to do now to be considered great is rap about conscious things, pick good beats, and rap fast/do funny voices and people will think you’re dope. Lyricism (and standards) are at an all time low, I don’t even get excited about hiphop anymore. I’m not impressed
J Cole suprised me the most. When he first came out he was tough! Super Dope lyrics but now? He wants to be mainstream so bad.
On his last album he has a song about his mama and how she sold her house and he wasn’t there because he was in NYC “getting head” and “taking panties off of girls”
Like… are you kidding me? And your mama is supposed to hear this song at the end. J Cole is not cool at all for saying that. and then he put his GirlFriend on the same level as his mama. GFOH
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge GZA fan, the guy will always be one of the greats, but this old fallacy of Hip-Hop being dead is getting tiresome. Lyricism may be gone from mainstream hip-hop in general, but to condemn it as a whole is to ignore the underground and independent artists who are making incredible music. You can shame it all you want, but it’s not helping the issue.
if the lyrycism is gone, so is Hip Hop.
Go ahead and listen to “Fancy” all day or “Thrift Shop” or Yung Thug.
You might as well listen to a Rap Barbie song, if lyricism doesn’t matter to you.
Lyrics = Hip Hop, Lyrics = The Message
Hip Hop is Dead
GZA IS FROM BROOKLYN… NOT A STATEN ISLAND NATIVE. just sayin, come on hiphodpx.
Pro Era
In the 90s there were different types of hip hop… you had your Alternative rappers who had the more conscious, backpack sound, east coast rap, west coast rap, a small handful of southern and everything in between. You knew who was who, who was on what label, who was down with who and best of all you could tell who was who when you listened to their shit… rappers aren’t original anymore. That’s the problem, it’s like oh Kanye West is huge… everyone sound like him… oh now Lil Wayne is huge, everyone sound like him… oh now Drake is huge, everyone singsong rap like him and every song is about the same damn thing. The only guys staying true to the genre are those guys from the 90s who are still rapping 20 years later (with the exception of Snoop Dogg who is just garbage now). These kids in rap now will play out when their 15 min is up and no one wants to sound like them anymore. I don’t believe hip-hop will ever be dead… if Kendrick Lamaar’s style is the new in then maybe rappers will start realizing that writing thought provoking lyrics are better than the tripe they keep rehashing on every single song they’re currently writing.
It’s not having the patience to look up wat was said of the lyrics to research and understand, now a helpful tool to use (rap genius) pple being shocked etc. need to Also getting more pple involved into the history of Hip Hop and it’s surrounding which leads to being inspired, inspiration, making a difference etc of thoses in the past
Mainstream hiphop was never implanted to generate smart lyrics with a message
Its about making pop stars and idols .. Generating millions .. With music if you want to call it that wich dumbs down the ones that listen to it .. To me the 90 s are not comparable to the mainstream pop hiphop they selling these days ..
Oh yes, the irrelevant rapper remembering the old days GTFO here!!!
Kendrick murks your old ass 2day boy!
fuk outta here wit that wack shit
The problem in my opinion, is that today the world is moving so fast that the younger generating just don’t have time to sit down and take their time time to write lyrical songs, they gotta get their product putt tho the public fast or else be left in the dust. Also I think that a lot of artist just don’t have enough life experience. And probably not using all the resources available to the such as a Dictionaries, Encyclopedias and thesaurus. They probably don’t even read. But Lyricism in Hip Hop it’s not gone. So to quote from the Bible “Seek and you will find”
The problem in my opinion, is that today the world is moving so fast that the younger generating just don’t have time to sit down and take their time time to write lyrical songs, they gotta get their product put out to the public fast or else be left in the dust. Also I think that a lot of artist just don’t have enough life experience. And probably not using all the resources available to the such as a Dictionaries, Encyclopedias and thesaurus. They probably don’t even read. But Lyricism in Hip Hop it’s not gone. So to quote from the Bible “Seek and you will find”
the problem is also teens nowadays are downright stupid with the attention spans of goldfish. If rappers are using too many words or big words or thought provoking lyrics… kids won’t pay attention. Shiny stupid rappers saying ridiculous stupid things (Bae, YOLO, “Pa[ss] me [th]e hoo[k]a” are entertaining to them. Hip Hop is going through the same stages as rock did. The 60s in rock were much like the 80s in Hip Hop. Rock peaked in the 70s as Hip Hop did in the 90s… sadly, hip hop today is the equivalent to rock in the 80s. The only guys worth listening to are the ones who have lasted since the 90s (GZA being one of them) and will last on. How many crappy 80s bands are around today? These shiny stupid rappers will be gone in 5years
nawh
Join the discussion fuck u….hes tranna maintain all intellect….he dropped albums before if u ddnt thrw yea ear on then u shit…dnt front son…..true talk bond GZA