Rap Singers feat Phonte
Who raps better: Mary J Blige or Brandy? Was New Edition actually a rap group?
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This show is about rap but I was raised on r&b and as separate from one another as billboard charts like to keep genres, it’s fairly safe to say that rapping and singing are siblings not cousins. Sometimes they’re even identical twins. To take it a step further doo-wop groups were basically the rap groups of their day. They were mostly just dudes tryna do something productive to stay out of trouble. Sound familiar?
Sidebar: George Clinton’s trajectory from Doo Wop singer to funk legend to hip hop sample source is truly something to behold.
Anyway while tryna stay out of trouble has given us a lot of great talent, all abilities are not created equal. With that said…being a great singer is way more impressive than being a great rapper.
Rap is cool cus it feels like anyone can do it so ppl who do it well are ultra impressive* but singing really well feels like a super power. This is why writing raps a la biggie, lil Wayne and jay z is such a reverend skill (all three are known for not writing raps on paper) It’s why ghostwriting is such a huge taboo because again if it seems like anyone can do it then having someone else do it for you just kinda feels wrong.
Memorizing lines before they have ever even materialized on paper is truly a gift. *when those lines are worth memorizing, it’s some non-written trash out there too and conversely being handed a script to memorize can come off as impersonal again don’t trip, vocal performances are the key to selling any song. (I’m not anti ghostwriting but it’s okay to just call it SONG writing now.) They don’t ask ppl to come rap the national anthem before the Super Bowl. The few times that I’ve seen a busker rapping on the train has always felt kinda cheap.
But what about rappers who can rap and sing well? Well they feel like anomalies. Miracles even. And being that rap & r&b are siblings most rappers are fluent in r&b and it’s always been that way. So the blurry genre lines that we have now shouldn’t be surprising at all. This fluency (and sometimes the need to fill up an 80 minute CD) is what gave us spoof songs. You know when a rapper does a poorly sung ballad to comedic affect? A few examples are Player Hater by The Notorious BIG or Never Knew by OT Genasis The list goes on and on because Rappers singing is truly nothing new. Kurtis Blow sang. Biz Markie sang hell even Big Daddy Kane
On the flip I absolutely Love when singers rap. Not the ambidextrous ‘children of missy Elliott’ types who constantly drift between genres, but more like singers who occasionally break out the bars every now and then. The ones who treat their raps like fine China. For instance Jewel on Bitches aint Shit or even This is how we do it by Montell Jordan.
Which brings us to two of my favorite singers Mary J Blige and Brandy. They’re both fluent in rap and have completely different styles. And yes there’s more than enough space for both of them to exist but we talking about rap. Where battling is a tradition and two heads can’t share the same crown anyway.
So to find out which one is the better rapper I had to holler at one of my favorite Rap Singers of all time. Phonte.
TRACKLIST:
Zealots - Fugees
Oldie - Odd Future
Chanel Pearls feat Jill Scott - Conway the Machine
My Kinda Lady - Eric Roberson & Phonte
I Wanna Be Down (BET Cypher Version) - Brandy
What’s the 411 feat Grand Puba - Mary J Blige
Lemon feat Rihanna - N.E.R.D.
J.I.D. feat Johnta Austin - Better Days
I Love Your Smile - Shanice
Lost Ones feat DJ Scratch - H.E.R
Sober - Childish Gambino
Black Tame - Topaz Jones
Conception feat Reek Ruffin - Black Thought
Q.U.E.E.N. feat Erykah Badu - Janelle Monae
Bring The Pain feat Method Man - Missy Elliott
It’s Alright - Queen Latifah
On Our Own - Bobby Brown
Word To The Mutha - BBD
Let Me Know Something - BBD
Which One Of You - Snoop Dogg
I Want You - Cee Lo Green
Boring - Big KRIT
Get It Shawty - Lloyd
Spread - Andre 3000