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.
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.
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.
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.
Mar 23, 2018 He wasn’t the most technical as opposed say, Nas, Andre 3k or Big Pun was. But that doesn’t take away from the great artist he was.
Mar 23, 2018 Honestly when I listen to some of his songs they don’t mind blow me with lyricism. He wasn’t a very smart guy and didn’t have a strong vocabulary. I definitely wouldnt consider him a top lyricist of the game. He’s extremely basic in his raps with wording. However, he still knows how to get a strong message across. I will give the guy that. A lot of the messages from artists in the late 90s aren’t really relevant today but Tupac’s are. Listen to his changes song and everything he says is still relevant to this day. He was a top rapper when it comes to that imo. Really lyrical though? Absolutely not.
Mar 23, 2018 Man these crazy ridiculous threads on here also to me 2pac was definitely a mind blowing revolutionary lyricist just look at what’s happening now in this world and still is which kind of saddens a person like me
Mar 23, 2018 Wow I lost a lot of respect for crooked I after hearing this. Tupac wasn't a lyricist at all. He was just an industry puppet like Taylor Swift, but just in the 90's. All of his music was tailored to the mainstream and radio, and he didn't even write his own s---. You guys need to do your research.
Mar 23, 2018 People have different interpretations of “lyricist”. Regardless, he was an awesome artist. We don’t have many of those anymore
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.
Mar 23, 2018 Tupac died 22 years ago, and he's still relevant to this day. You can criticize his lyricism all you want, but he's still going to be respected as one of the greats.
Mar 23, 2018 I’m talking book smart and vocabulary smart. Post me some lyrics that’s super lyrical of him? It’s people like you who just try to ride his d-ck just to fit in with people. First of all, I would bet any money you and big dangerous were too young to even listen to Tupac in his prime. And I can tell by the way you are posting you’re clearly just riding his d-ck lol Secondly, you guys brought up no examples of what made him a top lyricist. I was watching interviews with famous rappers that were told to say who they thought the top lyricist were and not one said 2pac. I will say 2pac was one of the best at story telling. I’m very picky when it comes to rappers who people claim to be an amazing lyricist. Just because he died and it’s the mainstream popular thing to do calling him a goat doesn’t make him one of the best lyricist. He just simply wasn’t.
Mar 23, 2018 I was too young. So? Instead of attacking why I have the stance I do... How about attack/debate the stance itself? Because nothing you said here applies to me. The OP has examples and explains why he's a great lyricist. Read it lol.
Mar 23, 2018 @dna hits did Pac's peers even have that much larger of a vocabulary than him? People didn't start busting out dictionaries and spilling 8 syllable spiritual lyrical philosiphical miracles until the late 90s and 2000s if that's why you mean. Anyone who does any research on Tupac will quickly learn that he was one of the smartest and most aware hip hop artists of his time and ever. It's not like his vocabulary was explicitly lacking
