Daddy Kane's machine gun flow could be called "Ye Olde Busta Rhymes."Įast Coast lyricists have prided themselves over polysyllabic rhymes since time inmemorium. Big Daddy Kaneĭaddy Kane had a lively on-stage persona that the less animated Jay-Z could never aspire to, however he did take a tip from Kane's rhythmic demonstration. Same goes for the tangle of gold necklaces, so back off, Cam'Ron! 3. "Popped a molly, I'm sweating, WOO!" owes a debt to "La Di Da Di, we like to party" just as much as any of Jay, Biggie, or Snoop's ringtone rhymes. In this day and age, rappers' entire families eat off a catchy line in an otherwise unmemorabe lyrical performance. Slick Rick had a pop sensibility that gave rap an extra layer of confectionary goodness: a hook if you will. Although Cam'ron fancies these "bites" as an object of derision, considering the prolific size of Jay's career, a footnote or two from one of the Old School's must illustrious is not exactly a bad thing, IMO.Įven Biggie's most famous chorus, "Hypnotize" is a crib sheet from Rick's "La Di Da Di," and why not? The finer points of the Hip-Hop chorus was more or less pioneered by him. In this video Cam'ron also points out the Slick Rick lines that Jay-Z uses. Look to this rather derogatory video from Cam'ron that points all of them out. In addition, Jay-Z has paid homage to Big in dozens of lyrical instances. Jay-Z learned this technique from Big, and, if the Galaxy/Magna Carta Holy Grail promo is any indication, he stays faithful to the pen-free approach to this day. Big Poppa never wrote down rhymes, and he never stockpiled lines out of the context of a song. Biggie would listen to the given beat first, sit on a couch in a studio, and intentionally construct phrases around the soundscape of the music. Biggie's artistic process is most famous for the lack of a pen and paper. Needless to say, Biggie Smalls, as Jay-Z's mentor/big brother, set an example for the lyrical structuring that is essential to Jay-Z's ouvre. With that being said, here's a look at Jay's biggest rapping influences. Indeed, like any other rapper, Jay-Z's style was not created in a vacuum. However, focusing on Hova's rap career is perhaps the easiest way of separating the man from the myth. Just as he left his former shell as a crack dealer in Brooklyn's Marcy projects, Jay-Z escaped the normative confines of a quote-unquote "rapper" to become a Sports Franchise Owner, Agent, Major Label Executive, and, perhaps most prominently, the husband of the somehow-more-famous Beyonce Knowles. It seems Jay-Z, even as he revvs up anticipation for his new album, is not even seen as a rapper anymore.
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