Yesterday I was having a discussion about whether or not Dr. Dre can be considered a rapper. The discussion quickly digressed into the topic of ghostwriting. For those that don’t know, here’s a definition of a ghostwriter — ‘One who writes for and gives credit of authorship to another’. The practice of ghostwriting in hip-hop has always carried a certain stigma. That is to say that no self-respecting MC would be caught dead reciting rhymes written by someone else. Yet we know the practice takes place. Jay-Z once told Vibe magazine that “I get paid a lot of money to not tell you who I write for.” It’s widely known that Dr. Dre’s lyrics have been written by The D.O.C., Ice Cube, Snoop, Jay-Z, Eminem, etc. I’m pretty sure Puffy doesn’t write all (any?) of his own lyrics. Da Brat has written for Jermaine Dupri. (no comment!) And didn’t Nas write some stuff for Will Smith one of Will’s latest albums? Who knows how many other examples are out there. This raises several questions for me.
- Why aren’t singers and musicians held to the same standard as rappers? Musicians aren’t chastised if they play music that they didn’t compose. Great singers aren’t ridiculed for singing the words of someone else.
- Would it be better if the liner notes explicitly said ‘written by XYZ’, instead of trying to be stealth about it? (For that matter, does the average person even read the liner notes?)
- Is writing your own lyrics an essential part of being a true MC? Is that part of what differentiates an MC from a rapper?
- Will the stigma ever go away?
Update: Here’s an article describing the differences between rappers and MCs/Emcees. Here’s a snippet:
Rappers make rap records and are in the game for the sole purpose of monetary gain and fame. They have no love for the microphone or hip-hop, which consists of 4 elements – D.J.ing, Emceeing, Graffiti and Break Dancing!!! … If both were to get on the mic at a jam out side and the d.j. is playing breakbeats , the m.c. will tear the rapper ass up because he is in his domain his arena and he will not only rock rhymes he will rock the party; showcase the d.j. with no gimmicks no hype man, no dancers just him and his gift of gab. The rapper will say some good rhymes that is probably in record form, meaning it will be 16 or 24 bars and will feel very uncomfortable up there by himself, no dancers, no security and no hype man and to top it off if the record skips he,the rapper will stop and look at the d.j. or search for the soundman. The m.c. will stutter back on track… Last but not least m.c.s roll with other m.c.s, rappers roll with body guards and entourages and stay stuck in v.i.p. rooms.
The standard is different because the lyrics are such an important element in rap. Singers and musicians are not held to the same standard because their form of music is usually slower. If a rapper bites (or copies) anothers lyrics, his credibility is lost because the lyrics are that important. Anyone can rap and say words over beats, but to be a rapper one’s words must be differential.
And as far as I know an MC is the same thing as a rapper. ‘MC’ stood for “Master of Ceremony” way back in the day when MC’s would host parties and battles. Once hip-hop evolved, ‘rapper’ was used to describe those who rap, which referred to speaking. The two words are interchangable really.
Jon, your reasoning makes a lot of sense. Yet I wonder how many people truly pay attention to the lyrics. I do, but I think I’m in the minority.
As for the MC/Rapper thing, many people do use them interchangeably, but many do not. And I’m in that camp. I’m of the opinion that all MCs are rappers, but not all rappers are MCs. Yet the definition of an ’emcee’ is tough for me to quantify. It’s almost one of those things that “I know it when I see it”. Kinda like defining pornography.
Here’s a pretty good explanation of the differences between emcees and rappers.
Is it virtually hard to enter into the industry solely as a ghostwriter?
We can talk all this sh!t about the difference between MCs and rappers all we want but when it all comes down to it its about the money, music, and b!tches. Cause you can be the best emcee but if you aint makin know $. You aint payin no bills and if you aint payin no bills you aint gettin know b!tches. If you want to be an MC that’s cool but sometimes it’s just about shakin your @ss and when you can make people pay money to shake their @ss then you can make the $.
who would want to come into the industry known as a ghostwriter? ryhmin to me is like a story about my life. why the hell would I want to tell a story about what I havent experianced? you dont know the feelings that came from that ryhme so you dont know how to express those lyrics. If you write lyrics like me about life,then you know how you felt at that moment in life and your translating it into the hip hop language.
That article snippet defining the difference between emcees and rappers is perhaps…thee…DUMBEST piece of horsesh!t I’ve ever read. Who are these morons defining hip-hop nowadays? Is hip-hop now defined by mindless, trend following ADHD children with no sense of reality whatsoever?
NEWS FLASH…
If an emcee takes the time to record his/her copywritten rhymes, get his/her publishing, get a distribution deal, turn it into a PRODUCT to be put on shelves, and sell for over $10 a pop, then that emcee, my friends, is rhyming FOR PROFIT!!!!!!
End of story! If you want to rhyme for the hell of it, there are plenty of street corners where you can waste your time. But every emcee who has hit the radio, from the dawn of hip-hop time, has done so for some sort of monetary gain! Many of them did it soley for the money! There is nothing wrong with that, why not get paid for doing what you love? It’s everyone’s dream! What, Bill Gates doesn’t love computers because he’s getting paid to work with them?! That’s stupid!
But I get it…the author was ineptly trying to distinguish between the ‘real’ hip-hop like KRS-1, from the ‘fake’ hip-hop like Nelly. But I think it’s time for another NEWS FLASH…
Nelly at his base, is a 2004 version of Busy Bee.
Nelly is a party emcee. His sole purpose is to rock the crowd and he does it better than most out there. Nelly, despite what these dumba$$, wannabe purists would have you believe, is just as much an emcee as Talib Kweli, just like Busy Bee was as much an emcee as Kool Moe Dee. They just represent another facet of the culture (ironically, he represents the ORIGINAL facet).
And what famous person does NOT have body guards? Do you actually think Mos Def doesn’t have a body guard or two? You think Lauren Hill never needed someone to keep the fans away? That article didn’t distinguish between rapper and emcee (even though to do so is essentially impossible anyway) it just distinguished between emcees who have made it big and those who are still struggling…
dumb article, besides it has nothing to do with the issue of Ghostwriting…
and just for your information…Ghostwriting is a quick way to make money in the industry.
It’s frowned upon in hip-hop because unlike a singer, an emcee’s talent isn’t in his/her voice, it’s in his/her writing ability. If you can’t write, you have no talent. It’s the equivalent of a singer who lip-syncs.
On the other hand, a singer’s talent is vocal, so he/she can have anyone write their music or songs, as long as they are the ones showcasing vocals…
You asked who is defining Hip Hop nowadays…that article was by JDL of the Cold Crush Brothers…..