3 HN users recommended this explainer3 months2019–2023score 3.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN recommends it as an accessible explanation of rhyme craft that works even for people who aren't hip hop fans.
Vox breaks down how great rappers build rhymes, from Kurtis Blow's simple bars to Biggie's smooth flow and Kendrick Lamar's dense, fast delivery. It uses on-screen visualizations of rhyme structure.
“Please consider this required watching, even if you have no interest in hip-hop music” (HN, 2019)
One of the most educational and interesting explainer videos I've ever seen is Vox's "Rapping, Deconstructed". Please consider this required watching, even if you have no interest in hip-hop music: [this video] After you watch that, I suspect you'll hear this Kendrick Lamar track with new ears: [link] I know that while I am still very much a jazz/rock person, those videos expanded my perception of what was musically possible. No hyperbole on my end.
Educational explainer on rhyme craft in rap, even for non-fans.
For those unfamiliar with MF DOOM, this video is a pretty good introduction to why he was considered to be technically brilliant. [this video] (Skip to 9:31 if the link doesn't take you there automatically)
Good introduction to why MF DOOM was technically brilliant.
I remember back before the internet when "music discovery" rarely involved listening to music (except the radio). I would be so interested in music, but READING about music was a horrible hit-or-mostly-miss experience. I could read something like rolling stone and then be disappointed when the music didn't capture the emotion the description portrayed. Even word of mouth was hit-or-miss unless someone had a tape in the car. anyway... now we have infinite discoverability, and with youtube, you can get really interesting journeys like this deconstruction: [this video]
Interesting deconstruction showing YouTube music discovery journeys.
There will be a middle ground where the technology augments professional tools. If you can pull open an audio editor, start with 20 tracks and have the ai pull things I like from other songs AND modify each track to match as elements get added, you’ll start to see pros make some amazing things. Similar to how people with a photography background have a huge head start with midjourney. What you are describing will be more powerful when I can make a playlist of my 10 favorite songs AND write a sentence about why I chose each song, and what features of the song are worth preserving. Then it can be used to match me with existing or generated songs. Current gen streaming radio doesn’t have the context for why I like each song I like. Use the ai to take songs apart and understand their elements. This video is something I would like generative ai writing to understand. [this video] . This tools current rhyming isn’t any better than Kurtis Blow.
Example of rhyme analysis that generative AI should understand.
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