ESSAYS
SIX MUSICALLY ADVENTUROUS MOMENTS IN RAP MUSIC
First Published in Juice in 2015
Nas "Heaven"
One of a handful of rap songs in what musicians call 6/8 - or triple time. Most rap
songs are in 4/4 - but here the time signature is more like a fast waltz - it has a lilt to
it. I've always wondered why there aren't more adventures in uncommon time
signatures for rap. As Nas demonstrates here, it can push the MC to find new
syncopations and accents. I keep an iTunes playlist with a dozen or so songs in triple
time and it's always interesting to observe a non-musician react to something being
not-quite-right when they hear a rap in 6/8.
Nicki Minaj feat. Lil Herb "Chiraq"
Sometimes rappers will use a triple-time flow over a 4/4 beat. Lil Herb's hook on this
song is borrowed from his own track "Kill Shit", which features this musically distinct
flow. Many rappers have experimented with triplets since Das Efx, but they use
triplets in the obvious way, groups of three notes that skate over the music - think of
Migos’ recent hit "Versace, Versace”, which started a triplet trend last year. But Lil'
Herb does it differently. He divides his triplets into groups of two - a surprisingly
sophisticated way of carving out rhythm from straight-ahead beats. As far as I know,
he is the only rapper to have made this flow his main one, and it gives the music
professor in me goose bumps to hear his verse on this song.
Rick Ross - "Tears of Joy"
This emotional classic from Rick Ross shows his softer more introspective side.
Musically it is also quite a rule-breaker - the verse is structured in groups of 5 bars.
Almost all rap songs respect some variation on groups of 4 bars - that's why you hear
rappers talk about dropping a "hot 16", meaning 16 bars. Ross cleverly uses the
"extra" bar to repeat, or to slightly vary the previous line.
Joe Budden "Pump it Up"
Here is another example of an oddly-structured rap verse. Here Joe Budden spits 4
bars of rap before an extra bar containing the song’s hook "Pump, pump, pump it
up". In classical music we would call this a ritornello, a little tag on the phrase that resets the music. A ritornello creates a feeling of tension that resolves into the next rap
verse. By repeating it many times, we become strangely accustomed to the uneven
number of bars.
Gucci Mane "Lemonade"
Some of my favorite moments in rap songs come when the beat drops out. This
started happening more and more in the 2000s, and now thanks to artists like
Gucci or Drake, there are often entire verses or hooks with no beats. "Lemonade"
features a beat-less chorus, and all of the rhythm is provided by my favorite
instrument, the piano. The chords provide a Billy Joel-ish feeling that is very close to
my heart. But most of all, when the beat drops in again, and Gucci starts rapping, it's
a huge moment.
YG "2015 flow"
If a rapper can make you nod your head and press rewind without any kick, claps or
snares, then this rapper must be dope. YG 's new single from this year takes the
beat-less trend to a new extreme - the entire song has no drums whatsoever. I just
love how rap continues to re-invent and challenge itself, grappling with the most
existential musical questions such as "what exactly is a beat?"
© 2015 Jason Beck pka Chilly Gonzales