Mar 19, 2018 It is. What about is so, so good? All I see is people praising it for its "imagery" - do people reckon anyone with a functioning brain and proper communication skills can use "imagery"? And they are. Not only simple, but he even forced them here and there, because he just wasn't weak enough of a rapper. "OutfielDOOOORS" rhymes with "WAR", intelligent rhyming, folks! Yeah, because he did just SO many styles. Biggie had a couple of different styles, and all of them s----d.
Mar 19, 2018 Answer me. You act like everyone's wrong and/or trolling, but you barely present actual arguments.
Mar 19, 2018 I am. You being unable to defend a rapper you're so passionate about makes me feel bad for you.
Mar 19, 2018 It's not on @Big Dangerous to prove that Big is top ten, that's consensus, burden of proof is on you
Mar 19, 2018 I'm not gonna write you an essay on why a consensus top 10 rapper is a consensus top 10 rapper If you honestly think big sucks/s----d that's on you lol
Mar 19, 2018 Sure, fair point. Let's go: Flow - right off the bat, average-at-best. I don't think people realize flow is literally key plus tempo plus legato... and that Biggie's flow shared elements with 99% of other rappers. It's rhymed syllable-stressing, rhythm-adjusting cadence. Literally every amateur goes for that style because it's easy to pull off. Some people even say you should rap your lyrics to the rhythm of your head bobbing to the beat, which helps you stay on-beat and eventually leads you to enlongating rhymed syllables. It's not impressive. The "smoothness" of Biggie's rapping is owed to his timbre, not his flow. His fundamental harmonic was louder than usual for men's voices, which yields a more pure tone rather than a gravely, average male timbre. Anyone with a basic understanding of sound knows this. Lyricism - he was just not subtle at all, period. Is Biggie's on-your-face style of saying things with no subtext, no other reasons other than him just wanting to say things really what people call "good" lyricism? Then people go on to criticize Eminem's "shock value" lyrics, when Biggie was more of a shock value than Eminem is and was. Biggie had no reason to say he likes to spread the blood like mustard, or that he's glad a girl let him have anal sex with her other than him just wanting to say it. He's not an educated writer. Rhyming - having to write on this is shameful. Give me one verse where he actually had a good, obviously intentional multi-syllabic pattern and then we'll talk. For the meantime, I'll just tell you the man who pronounced "single" as "sinGEEEEL" to rhyme with "mil" is not a good rhymer, period.
Mar 19, 2018 That's not what I asked. I asked why the storytelling on n----s Bleed is good. Consensus doesn't mean anything, especially when the majority of music fans are not well-versed in music to begin with.
Mar 19, 2018 Alright bro. The reason why I think n----s Bleed is special, and this goes for a lot of his songs, is the intricacy in the fiction being told on the track. Here he is on NB , he's being told by his boss about a d--- deal that he's about to take part in. Even when his boss is laying out the plan, Biggie's inner monologue is devising a way to make out with all the money. He developed an entire backstory for his chosen partner Arizona Ron, how he got his nickname and his history. He gets to the building, the woman at the desk recognizes biggie from a past altercation. She tells him about the occupants of room 112, and mentions the Range Rover has been outside all day (the same cats in ranges his boss told him about earlier in the song. Biggie doesn't comment on the fact that he knew about this BECAUSE HE WASNT PAYING ATTENTION, he was busy thinking of a way to make out with all the cash.). They set the building on fire and get out passing by the Range Rover thugs and then Big adds that ironically they were stupid MFers because they got towed. He dupes everyone involved. That's an insane amount of detail and creativity in a simple storytelling track about a d--- deal.
Mar 19, 2018 Reducing art to a checklist like this is v corny. Big was a great writer because he was gritty and real, dismissing his narratives as "shock value" is reductive, they connect because they never left reality, even on Life After Death when he was a superstar. I'm not gonna argue with you over semantics like timbre versus flow because lol, Big has one of the most often imitated styles in rap scoffing at it because you took a music course in college says more about you than it does about Big.
Mar 19, 2018 Appreciate the response. I'm particularly not impressed by the way the track carries itself - it's as if he's seeking out the rhymes within the story. I particularly enjoy n----s Bleed, although I can't see myself saying it makes Biggie a top ten lyricist. It's a huge statement.
Mar 19, 2018 I believe n----s Bleed is good support for him being the best storyteller in rap. It doesn't necessarily reflect top tier lyricism All of his stories have insane detail and quirks, and irony
Mar 19, 2018 I disagree, I think he's average You disagree, I'll split your cabbage I'm being "real" about how I feel, as well as being "gritty". But it's not really great writing, is it? What makes for good writing is sophistication. Something has to be done in a clever way. Biggie was just having fun and none of his efforts match the praise he gets. Yet it's fine when Eminem is the one being called a "shock value" artist. I said he's more of a shock value writer than Eminem, not that he is, all-around, a shock value writer. Different things. What is this even supposed to mean? His style being widely imitated says literally nothing against my point. You essentially told me you wouldn't address the point and just said something else.
Mar 19, 2018 Imagine thinking that Biggie Smalls belongs in the "average" category lmao... The man was blessed with so much skill bruh. He could get in the booth and drop classics straight from the dome, no pen, no pad... and his flows What a legend
Mar 19, 2018 ya know ive actually shared the same opinion as box and volvo for a long time and i still might but big dangerous just made me wanna listen to biggie
Mar 19, 2018 'Does Biggie belong on the top 10 list?'-a bunch of people who probably put Eminem in their top 3.
Mar 19, 2018 The first part of my post wasn’t separate points, the difference between Eminem and Biggie is that Em historically has gone out of his way to be offensive, it’s obvious and part of his gimmick. Big rapped narratives about his reality that happened to be shocking by proxy because they’re things that could, and probably did, happen. His narratives stay believable throughout his career, even on his second album where he was the biggest rapper in the world, because they never stray from his real life (“Puff won’t even know what happened”). I refused to address the timbre vs. flow argument because that’s not what art/rapping is about, his style is instantly recognisable and has inspired rappers for decades after. Very few rappers have ever been as versatile, lyrically and vocally, as Big was.
