One of the eternal questions in rap is which is most important: the track or the rapping? The beat or the rhyme? Don't expect the matter to be settled here. But I'm going to try.

In the Gang Starr song Mostly The Voice, from 1993's nearly perfect "Hard To Earn", Guru stated the following:


It's mostly tha voice, that gets you up
It's mostly tha voice, that makes you buck
A lot of rappers got flavor, and some got skills
But if your voice ain't dope then you need to [chill...

Some rappers use hooks to this shit
But if you took that shit out
and you took all the music out
What would remain? The voice no doubt

Ever since I heard that song, I've debated the point with myself. At first, it seemed irrelevent because all of the best rappers had the best producers. Snoop Doggy Dogg had Dr. Dre. Nas had Large Professor, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier. And seemingly, all of the best producers only worked with great rappers. Pete Rock had C.L. Smooth. Beatminerz had Black Moon. Lord Finesse had Showbiz and A.G. And of course, The RZA had the entire Wu-Tang Clan, and vice-versa.

Thus, during the rap's renaissance years of 1992-96, it was nearly impossible to determine what was most important. Raekwon's "Criminology" was a great track, and the rapping was impeccable and inventive. Jeru The Damaja's albums were fantastic (you know I'm white, right?), and so was the production courtesy of DJ Premier. And on and on....

But what about the Notorious B.I.G.? He's is hailed as one of the best rappers ever, but his tracks are good only when someone like DJ Premier, The RZA, or Easy Mo Bee produces. I don't care what anybody says. Despite his skills, his albums are virtually unlistenable due to mostly terrible mid-90s crossover-style production (thank Puff Daddy). In this case, I have to disagree with Guru. The voice was not the most important.

Statement 1: A great rapper cannot make up for a sub standard track.

However, in defense of the important role of the voice, I present one of Guru's proteges, Group Home. Their entire first album was produced by DJ Premier, and as usual, the tracks and production are first class. Rapper Lil Dap holds his own, but Melachi Tha Nutcracker cannot rap. Its terrible. I swear, its impossible to listen when he starts rapping because its such a train wreck. For example, Up Against The Wall:

Yo the world is falling
Death is calling
I don't know MC's be brawling
On the mike, when I get hyped
Whenever you want yo whatever you like
bite on my style, I like that
Yo, here is your feedback with one smack
Yeah, you know what I'm saying?
No time to be playing 'cause these niggas be delaying
Word, yo when I get busy
Here and over there to New York City
One for one, one for all
I'm on the wall my back is on the wall


Which is a real shame because DJ Premier put together a bunch of really nice tracks. But the album is marred by Melachi The Nutcracker. A possible analogy might be taking spray paint to a Van Gogh. In this case, it WAS mostly the voice, that ruined the whole song.

Statement 2: A great track cannot make up for a sub-standard rapper.

So far, I've covered the extremes. Great Rapper/Bad Music and Bad Rapper/Great Music.
In my opinion, no track can redeem a terrible rapper. And no rapper can redeem a terrible track.

But what about the middle ground. What happens when the rapper is excellent, but the music is merely average? The perfect example of this is Eminem. Aside from his singles, most of his music is not nearly as good as his lyrics. Redman is another good example. When he has a great track, he's unbelievable (as is Eminem). But usually his tracks aren't as good as his raps (even though they're usually quite good). The worst example of this problem occurs with Nas. When he works with great producers like DJ Premier or Large Professor, its pure genius. However, after his first album, Nas has opted to reach for commercial success by using people like Trackmasters, or other trendy producers to make his music. Despite the greatness of Nas, the albums are generally weak.

In these cases, its usually worth listening for the lyrics alone. However, its difficult to sustain interest. Consequently, the work of such artists is unlikely to stand up with repeated listens. So, in this case, it IS mostly the voice. But not for long. For an example of mediocrity on both sides, try Eminem's protege group, D12. The music is average and the rapping is nothing special.

Statement 3: A great rapper with an average or good (but not great) track is worth listening to, but doesn't hold up.

Finally, there is the territory of excellent track with an average (but not terrible) rapper. This is a case where the rapper can rap better than anyone you know, but not as good as any great rapper (and certainly not a legendary rapper such as Rakim or Nas). Good examples of this are on Dr. Dre 2001. Most of the tracks are exemplary, but usually the rappers are not so hot. When Dre has Snoop or Eminem on his tracks, its perfect. But the host of unknowns lessen the impact of other tracks. Here, again, its worth listening to this album for the music. Repeated listens are problematic. Or better yet, get the Instrumentals version. This scenario seems to occur less often.

Statement 4 A great track with an average or good (but not great) rapper is worth listening to, but doesn't hold up.


Perfect example of excellent lyrics and excellent track. Of course, I can't illustrate the music side of things because this is a blog, and I don't feel like posting an mp3 sample. So take my word for it. Just read the lyrics and assume I'm right about the excellence of The RZA's music.

Ghostface Killah's first verse from Daytona 500:

We eat fish, tossed salads and make rap ballads
The biochemical slang lord'll throw the arrows in the dope fiend
Vocal chords switch laser beams my triple sevens
Broke the slot machines out in Queens, Grey Poupon is rebel on rap
Smack on, swing like batons, most want niggas smoked like Hilshire Farms
Check the gun we sew, underneath my shoe lies the tap
That attract bow-legged bitches with wide horse gaps
In steel mills iron he'll smoke the blow on Duns
You run heroins, Primatine mist is afraid of my lungs
Turn my channel, it'll blow your whole bench off the panel
Like 80 roman candles that backfired then slammed you
Every day is like a video shoot, check this shit
I take you back to Playboy, stash guns and whips
Picture afro, big shish-ka-bobs and daishikis
1000 civil marched blazed their fists in early sixties


Uh, so what did I prove with all of this? That its both the voice and the track? Perhaps thats all there is to it. Both. Ugh...