Sign Up / Log In

reply to thread

Thread Tools

Best Posts: "Tupac Wasn't A Lyricist". The Biggest Myth In Hip-Hop.

  1. Sahara
    Posts: 2,031
    Likes: 4,767
    Joined: Nov 28, 2014
    Location: London

    Sahara

    Mar 23, 2018
    I see this a lot. Particularly on this forum. Especially from the younger generation. I used to think this myself because of how much it was parroted, honestly. It just isn't true though.



    I'm not a fan of Crooked I myself but he makes very, very good points here. Lyricism is about storytelling... painting pictures. Poetry. Something Tupac did very well. He was also able to tackle complex ideas and topics in a simplistic manner with his words. You felt his words. They carried real weight. That's a very important aspect of lyricism. A good poem isn't a good poem just because of big words (not that Tupac didn't have a relatively big vocabulary) or because it's complex. A good poem is a good poem because you FEEL it. Or maybe it just makes you think.

    Here's some examples of lyricism in his discography.... I could go on though.





     
    #1
    10
    Ordinary Joel, BIGFOOT, Mikey and 7 others like this.
    10
    Ordinary Joel, BIGFOOT, Mikey and 7 others like this.
    Nov 30, 2025
  2. Big Dangerous
    Posts: 23,832
    Likes: 46,187
    Joined: Jun 30, 2015

    Big Dangerous World Heavyweight Champion

    Mar 23, 2018
    Tupac was a fantastic lyricist.

    People just say he isn't now because they just want to act like he didn't have everything, when in reality he did. So it gets repeated over and over until people start actually believing it.
     
    #3
    7
    Ordinary Joel, Alpha, Chrollo and 4 others like this.
    7
    Ordinary Joel, Alpha, Chrollo and 4 others like this.
    Nov 30, 2025
  3. Chrollo
    Posts: 4,185
    Likes: 14,562
    Joined: Apr 16, 2016

    Chrollo ✟

    Mar 23, 2018
    Agreed. Painting pictures with his lyrics was one of tupacs greatest strenghts
     
    #2
    6
    Ordinary Joel, Trackz, dester23 and 3 others like this.
    6
    Ordinary Joel, Trackz, dester23 and 3 others like this.
    Nov 30, 2025
  4. Sahara
    Posts: 2,031
    Likes: 4,767
    Joined: Nov 28, 2014
    Location: London

    Sahara

    Mar 23, 2018
    This post is pretty insulting tbh... but I'm gonna put it down to ignorance. If we're talking intelligent rappers... Tupac was one of the more intelligent ones. He was well educated and very articulate.
     
    #13
    5
    Ordinary Joel, Trackz, Big Dangerous and 2 others like this.
    5
    Ordinary Joel, Trackz, Big Dangerous and 2 others like this.
    Nov 30, 2025
  5. Sav Stanfield
    Posts: 7,478
    Likes: 19,511
    Joined: Feb 15, 2011

    Sav Stanfield

    Mar 23, 2018
    the term lyricist doesn't mean anything. everyones a lyricist if they write lyrics.
     
    #6
    5
    Ordinary Joel, Alpha, Cyreides and 2 others like this.
    5
    Ordinary Joel, Alpha, Cyreides and 2 others like this.
    Nov 30, 2025
  6. GCasper
    Posts: 1,256
    Likes: 1,816
    Joined: Sep 30, 2016

    GCasper

    Mar 23, 2018
    Tupac was a poet. A lyricist can spit rhymes and witty punchlines, but a poet paints pictures. A poet and revolutionary. New age black panther who made bad choices hanging with gangs. He should have just stuck to being a leader and having people follow him instead of getting caught up in the bs, but he was young, very young. Young people make some dumb a--- decisions, but at the same time, he was so smart and ahead of his time, its crazy.
     
    #4
    4
    Ordinary Joel, n9ne, HappyTreeFriends and 1 other person like this.
    4
    Ordinary Joel, n9ne, HappyTreeFriends and 1 other person like this.
    Nov 30, 2025
  7. airmax
    Posts: 144
    Likes: 167
    Joined: Dec 8, 2017

    airmax

    Mar 23, 2018
    next thread : Nas has no flow.
     
    #17
    3
    Ordinary Joel, GCasper and Big Dangerous like this.
    3
    Ordinary Joel, GCasper and Big Dangerous like this.
    Nov 30, 2025
  8. airmax
    Posts: 144
    Likes: 167
    Joined: Dec 8, 2017

    airmax

    Mar 23, 2018
    Everybody listen to "me against the world", and close this thread.
     
    #16
    3
    Ordinary Joel, GCasper and Trackz like this.
    3
    Ordinary Joel, GCasper and Trackz like this.
    Nov 30, 2025
  9. Sahara
    Posts: 2,031
    Likes: 4,767
    Joined: Nov 28, 2014
    Location: London

    Sahara

    Mar 23, 2018
    Depends on your definition of a lyricist. The lines are blurred. I don't value punchlines in songwriting nearly as much as I value storytelling and being evocative.
     
    #5
    3
    Ordinary Joel, GCasper and Jay Zeus like this.
    3
    Ordinary Joel, GCasper and Jay Zeus like this.
    Nov 30, 2025