torsdag den 30. december 2010

A little thing I learned about rhyming from Jay-Z' book


Two pages from Jay-Z' new book (Decoded) changed my whole studying and thinking of rhymes in hip hop songs. I always thought of rhymes as something that was almost automatically great if the words had more than one syllable. What I hadn't thought of was how rhymes can be used as an argument, as a way of convincing the listeners of something you're trying to get across.

Take Eminem's lines from his song I'm Back:

"And by the way, N'Sync, why do they sing?
Am I the only one who realizes they stink?"


A lot of the words rhyme but the N'Sync/They stink part is a brilliant piece of writing. The rhymes can almost stand alone and still make sense. They tell a story and rhyme in such a perfect and witty way that it's hard to argue against what he says.