Springfield Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Very cool site that someone has put together. I'd love to hear the hip hop purists and aficionados think about it. http://rappers.mdaniels.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com Matt Daniels is a designer, coder, and data scientist at Undercurrent in New York City. His past works include the Etymology of "Shorty" and Outkast, in graphs and charts. He decided to examine the vocabulary of hip hop artists, and this is what he found. – May 2014 Literary elites love to rep Shakespeare’s vocabulary: across his entire corpus, he uses 28,829 words, suggesting he knew over 100,000 words and arguably had the largest vocabulary, ever. I decided to compare this data point against the most famous artists in hip hop. I used each artist’s first 35,000 lyrics. That way, prolific artists, such as Jay-Z, could be compared to newer artists, such as Drake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chew Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Wow, that,is really, really neat. Thanks for posting. wutang is all through that higher tier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d0ublestr0ker0ll Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 "Tough like a ukelele" gets me every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Wow, that,is really, really neat. Thanks for posting. wutang is all through that higher tier. Tupac is in the low teir. That was the big surprise to me.... and Xzibit being so high up there. I liked his stuff but I always saw him as some trendy pop-rapper like Luda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaRonDontLikeUgly Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 this is awesome (LOL @ Insane Clown Posse having a bigger vocabulary than 2pac though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bliz Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I would have expected KRS One to be higher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Wu-Tang is no surprise. Just listen to Enter the Wu. In my Criminal Law class senior year of college, my teacher asked when we first heard of Bernhard Goetz and I said they referenced him in a Wu-Tang Clan song (Clan In Da Front). So many cultural references, no surprise they are all near the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Wow, that,is really, really neat. Thanks for posting. wutang is all through that higher tier. I got a kick out of your post then looking over at your avatar with Jefferson's goofy mug and sweater around the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Well, I guess East Coast kicks West Coast's ass academically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chew Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I wonder where the Wu-Tang spinoff group "Killa Army" is ranked. Those dudes had wordplay for days. Their song "Wu-Renegades" or "Fair, Love and War." Lawd have mercy, the verbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Wu Tang doesn't surprise me at all. 2Pac being that low does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Well, I guess East Coast kicks West Coast's ass academically. Doesn't surprise me whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrypticVillain Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I like this. This list just proves that a large vocabulary alone doesn't make you a good artist. There is more to rap than "just words". Flow patterns, feeling, meaning, purpose, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bliz Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 In my Criminal Law class senior year of college, my teacher asked when we first heard of Bernhard Goetz and I said they referenced him in a Wu-Tang Clan song (Clan In Da Front). Generation gaps. For me it was in Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" which came out when I was 12 or so. I recall a middle school assignment, when we were doing a "modern history" segment in social studies, where everyone was given one of the things he lists in that song and had to get up in front of the class and say something about it. Mine was "children of thalidomide." That phrase did not appear in our encyclopedia (you know, those book thingys people used before the internet) so I had to get some clarification from my parents. That probably made for a somewhat uncomfortable conversation on their end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurseReversed Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Pretty awesome website. Nice to see wu-tang so high. Gotta love Aesop Rock too. Would have thought Eminem would be higher. He puts together some sick verses. Although he does tend to keep the words short and sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdcskins Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Vocabulary is merely one aspect of emceeing. It does allow a person to express themselves in articulate ways, so it is very important. For the record I'm not even really a big Aesop Rock fan, I just like how that album cover looks haha. He's nice though. Also, just looking at the list for the first time, is it any surprise that some of the wacker rappers are on the bottom? Not at all. Because their lyrics and music are vapid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 I don't know if I've ever even heard an Aesop Rock song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdcskins Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I don't know if I've ever even heard an Aesop Rock song. His lyrics are kind of indecipherable. Not just because of how the lyrics are constructed, but his voice is very gravelly. I mainly don't care for his production. His lyrics are actually really good if you appreciate deep intricate lyrics full of metaphors. The song, "Daylight," is his most famous. Amazing song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dont Taze Me Bro Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Wow, that,is really, really neat. Thanks for posting. wutang is all through that higher tier. Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuttin Ta **** Wit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93 Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Don't really get what the point of the list of is. I mean I guess it's impressive that someone had the patience to do it but it seems like just another tool for rap hipsters to spout their rhetoric about. I mean you count "pimp", "pimpin", "pimping" as separate words? Why? Anyway you don't need to use 5 syllable words to be a dope Mc or even a dope lyricist. If you're gonna tell me that ****ing Tyga (who is literally the worst rapper I've heard mainstream, underground, 3rd grade lunch table, whatever) is more lyrical than Kanye, Jay, Lupe etc and is on par with KRS and Rakim (which is what this list says) then you can kindly **** off lol Also, to open a can of worms (sorry it's been bugging me), a lot of those dudes at the top are indie darlings (except the Wu guys, Outkast, and the like) but cant structure a decent song to save their lives. It's to the point where they start to sound as boring as mainstream acts like Ross, Jeezy, etc. I've tried to listen to MF, Aeosop, and a few others but it's like they're battle rappers (not literally). They're saying a lot of dope **** but it's not filling my musical palate or even sticking to me. It's like there is a ridiculous extreme from the mainstream to the underground. Hard to find many that do everything well (or even decently). I do wanna listen to the cunnilyguists tho. I've heard good things for years but I always forget. Also I can't wait to go to the Roots picnic in concert in Philly later on this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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