At the forefront of the commercial movement, Jeezy responds to his critics via an appropriately titled song from his album The Recession. Still, there were the skeptics of this sound that complained about a lack of crafty lyricism resembling the Golden Age. “ You niggas want word play, I’m ’bout birdplay / First of the month, yeah, we call that bird day (Look at ’em fly)” - Jeezy, “Word Play” (2008)įlash forward to 38 years after “The Breaks,” and the genre of trap-specifically from the Southern hemisphere of America spanning from Atlanta to New Orleans-had taken over hip-hop. In fact, these so-called “breaks” do happen to appear in a monthly schedule, at least the amount of times they appear in this hook. Sometimes life is interrupted by unfortunate breaks. Breaks, the device on a vehicle, are meant to stop motion. Kurtis Blow had delivered rap’s version of the facts of life. What made “The Breaks” one of hip-hop’s first commercial success stories is its relatability factor in the storytelling. “ Brakes on a bus, brakes on a car / Breaks to make you a superstar / Breaks to win and breaks to lose / But these here breaks will rock your shoes / And these are the breaks / Break it up, break it up, break it up!” - Kurtis Blow, “The Breaks” (1980) Now that we’ve warmed up to wordplay, it’s time to take a Kurtis Blow moment with some noteworthy chorus examples, because these are the… God forbid her partner messes up, and crashes to ex territory, as she phonetically spells out with “Be My Ex.” (An honorable mention has to go to Remy Ma’s “ Nigga you can Be my eX, that’s where I’m from” on “Money Showers” (2017), which rather nods to the Bronx.) She equates her kamasutra to the X Games sport. While the Queen Bee of Rap directed her spelling at critics, the Empress warned rejected suitors with her wordplay, while in full costume. “ Ride the dick like a BMX, no nigga wanna Be My eX” - Cardi B, “Motorsport” (2017) The “not” deads all criticisms that “Biggie wrote her shit,” but she makes sure to show love and respect to her mentor, who has taught her a thing or two about spelling. She spells out her name in the introduction and notes how opposites attract in size. One of the best to ever do it, Lil’ Kim immediately gets to the point on the first line off The Naked Truth. “ I’m the L-I-L to the K-I-M / And not B-I-G, R.I.P. Now to the ones that S-P-E-L-L out T-H-E M-E-A-N-I -N-G: Here, Tyler is addressing rumors about his sexuality but simultaneously acknowledging a legend, Marvin Gay(e), whose style of music has a “boogie” groove to it. ![]() Let’s stir the pot with a pop culture reference. “ I’m not gay, I just wanna boogie to some Marvin” - Tyler, The Creator, “Yonkers” (2011) Hustlas (aka “G’s”), like Lil Wayne, know how to remain in silence about their moves. Simple play here: The letter “g” is in the word “lasagna.” The “G” will always remain silent no matter how many times you try to pronounce it. “ Real Gs move in silence like lasagna” - Lil Wayne, “6 Foot, 7 Foot” (2011) And “you know,” what do scissors do? It’s almost a shame he didn’t describe her haircut. In the middle of their conversation, he almost interrupts her (“cut short”). “ She almost got cut short-you know, scissors” - Slick Rick, “Mona Lisa” (1988)Īn easy one with the answer right in the lyric! The slickest to ever do it, Slick Rick recalls meeting this tempting beauty, named after the painting, at a pizza parlor. To be clear, this article is not attempting to throw its two cents in the debate of who the best wordplay-ist is, but rather go lyric by lyric on some of the top-notch, heavy-hitter examples hip-hop has ever delivered to the culture. Some of these debates already exist on the archives of the internet-I’m sure we can trace back to some examples existing in REVOLT’s content alone. ![]() With Eminem releasing his latest album Kamikaze, there’s been some internet buzz about who the best to ever do it is. A few methods include: internal rhyme schemes varying pronunciations synonyms synonyms juxtaposed by antonyms syllable breakdowns double, triple, and even quadruple entendres and spelling. Wordplay can come about in a multitude of directions, but the overall goal is to execute a pun or pop culture reference through word alterations and the flipping of meanings. Some have done it more smoothly than others, who-in their own right-have made the obvious a bit more clear. In hip-hop, the greatest rappers to have ever touched a mic and spit their truth have dabbled in this art. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company.
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