While the ideal of keeping it real is important in hip-hop, what is “real” is not defined the same globally, and is dependent on local contexts. An additional consideration in hip-hop authenticity is hip-hop rhymes. Representation refers to the content of an artist’s lyrics, but hip-hop music, like other genres, has rules and structures that distinguish it from other musics. Hip-hop music is defined by the presence of specific rhyme structures, and in order to differentiate hip-hop, and understand hip-hop lyricism, we need to look at hip-hop rhyme schemes.
Hip-Hop Flows and Rhyme Schemes
Emcees all around the world are diverse, and they utilize various rhyme styles and patterns in their lyrics. Rhyme patterns, or flows, can be performed over almost any type of music or beat, though there are distinct hip-hop beats. Hip-hop beats are often dominated by a heavy bass, music samples, and repetitive break beats. Many African artists rely on either hip-hop or African beats, which can share similar drum patterns.
Hip-hop’s emphasis on rhyming “distinguishes it from almost every other form of contemporary music and from most contemporary literary poetry” (Bradley 2009, 51). The rhyme techniques and creativity are the primary determiners of an emcee’s skill. But, unlike in other genres of music, hip-hop artists are expected to write their own rhymes. A hip-hop rhyme reflects both the thoughts and observations of the individual artist and a display of their lyrical prowess. Many genres of music have professional lyricists, but in hip-hop the focus is less on the ability to sing or play an instrument than on the ability to write rhymes. This is why the hip-hop cypher, or freestyle battle—in which artists are supposed to come up with their rhymes on the spot—is an important tradition in hip-hop culture.
Besides authenticity in content, in hip-hop authenticity in style is also important. There have been innovations in hip-hop lyricism, but an emcee’s rap rhythm and flows are often cited as key (Alim 2006; Bradley 2009). Adam Bradley says it is rap’s relationship to “lyric poetry” that distinguishes it from other genres. He points to “the dual rhythmic relationship between the beat of the drums and the flow of the voice” (2009, 31). H. Samy Alim defines the flow as “the relationship between the beats and the rhymes in time” (2006, 95). Alim (2006) says an artists flow must have a recognizable pattern, while the bars or lines must have recognizable rhyme patterns. For example, Alim (2003) looks at the multiple rhyme strategies used by American hiphop lyricist Pharoahe Monch, in order to distinguish hip-hop lyricists from lyricists of other genres. Bradley (2009) points out that pop singers match their lyrics to the rhythm of the music, as well as to certain melodies and harmonies. Pop singers harmonize their voices with the musical melody. For groups, or individual artists using background singers, everyone’s voice needs to harmonize together, as well as with the musical melody. This harmonization is not an element of hip-hop, primarily because hip-hop does not necessarily involve singing. Even in collaborations between hip-hop artists and singers, the singing on a song may harmonize with the music, while the rap portion focuses on being in step with the beat. We see a range of collaboration styles in songs such as “Call Waiting” with Ghanaian rapper Blitz the Ambassador and renowned Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo, “Gunshot” with Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie and Nigerian Afropop singer Davido, or “Juhudu za Masiojiweza” with Tanzanian rapper Fid Q and legendary Tanzanian taarab singer Bi Kidude. In each, the singing is in harmony with the music, while the rap is performed in time with the beat.
In addition to style and rhythm of flow, there are several rhyming patterns found in hip-hop lyrics, and it is useful to have a basic understanding of some of the rhyme patterns often used in hip-hop, as well as the basic stylistic structures of hip-hop music. Hip-hop songs often contain more words per minute than music of other genres (Mayer, Neumayer, and Rauber 2008). The structure of hip-hop verses often necessitates use of a greater number of words. A standard rap verse contains sixteen lines (or bars), though artists often experiment with this standard. Most hip-hop songs have three verses, so a standard song of four to four and a half minutes contains forty-eight lines of rap. Although it is an extreme example, the six-minute song “Rap God” (2013) by American rapper Eminem received a lot of attention because it contained over 1,500 words. Rudolf Mayer, Robert Neumayer, and Andreas Rauber (2008) compared hip-hop to genres such as country, pop, reggae, folk, metal, and R&B and found that hip-hop songs had significantly more words per minute. In a comparison of the top hip-hop and bongo flava artists in Tanzania, Fid Q and Diamond Platnumz, we see a definite difference in word count. Fid Q’s “I Am a Professional” contained 531 words and “Bongo Hip Hop” contained 558 words, respectively. “Kesho” by Diamond Platnumz, by contrast, has only 200 words, and “Nimpate wapi,” 230. As a whole, the songs in Fid Q’s catalog average more than twice as many words as the songs of Diamond Platnumz.
In addition to word count, hip-hop songs must have a particular rhyme structure. A song cannot be considered a hip-hop song if there is no identifiable rhyme structure. There are various types of what are called end, perfect, or full rhymes, including monosyllable (masculine), dual-syllable (feminine), and antepenultimate syllable (triple) (Alim 2006).
An example of a monosyllable rhyme: “We taking it back to the raw / The harder they ball / the harder they fall” (Blitz the Ambassador, Ghana, “Dikembe!,” 2013).
A dual-syllable rhyme: Mali, Koutonou, Malawi straight to Las Gidi / Cash no aba me spendi holidays with Figi / Adesa e be we don’t wanna f***k’n city (Sarkodie, Ghana, “Dear Rap,” 2014).
An antepenultimate-syllable rhyme: Siku hlasimlis’umzimba ibengath’ufak’iVibrator / S’qhushumbis’iz’speaker uve kukhal’iHand grenator (Driemanskap, South Africa, “S’phum’eGugs,” in Xhosa, 2009).
In these rhyme schemes, the rhyme falls on the last syllable(s) of the line. In addition to full rhymes, other rhyme styles include slant or half rhymes, which play with the pronunciation of words to create rhymes. Chain rhymes and monorhymes are similar in that they include repetitive rhyme patterns, sometimes using the same exact rhyme word for several lines. There are also internal rhymes, where the rhyme occurs in different parts of the line. There are numerous other rhyme styles and techniques. Artists may employ only one in a song, or they may use multiple rhyme techniques in a song. Here are some examples of the use of rhyme techniques by African hip-hop artists.
K’naan’s (Somalia) “Does it Matter” employs the use of internal rhymes. With internal rhymes the rhyme occurs not only at the end of the line, but in the middle of the line as well.
They don’t expect me on this beat, the thunder on the street
But I never turn the cheek, surrender or retreat
You can bet that I am strong, trying to right what is wrong
They say it won’t be long, keep on singing your song
But ayo you need a single, single to make a mingle
Something that’s kinda simple, I’d hate to call it jingle
A single is a missile, takes you right to the middle of 106 and park and maybe Jimmy Kimmel
You’ll need somebody famous co-signing for your anus
Who you got on the album I don’t see where the name is.
Ghanaian artist M.anifest mixes English, Pidgin English, and Twi in his lyrics. His song “Babylon Breakdown” uses more than one style; this excerpt highlights his use of both dual-syllable full rhymes and chain rhymes. In his full rhymes the last two syllables of the lines rhyme, and he uses the chain rhyme technique, repeating the same rhyme pattern in multiple lines:
Black military represent for the ghetto youth
Dem we slew them
Pharisees
