Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary • Hacker News Board

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#201

Post by seizethecheese » Mon, May 05, 2014, 2:16 AM UTC

pandler wrote: post #174

seizethecheese wrote: post #124

Many here seem to be interpreting vocabulary size as a signal for quality. When it comes to rap I completely disagree. Firstly, the repetition is rap's main ingredient. I read an article a while ago where researchers found that listening to a spoken phrase that is looped activates the same part of the brain as music, which helps explain this phenomenon. Personally, if I want food for thought I read. Rap is not an int…

> Firstly, the repetition is rap's main ingredient. Is it though? I don't dispute that sheer vocabulary size isn't a sign of quality, but that seems like a very ignorant generalization of rap.

I think saying it's the "main" ingredient is debatable but it surely is very important.

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#202

Post by StevenNunez » Mon, May 05, 2014, 2:16 AM UTC

Oxxide wrote: post #162

shawnz wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Additionally, many HN users have probably already heard Canibus rapping even if they don't know it, since he wrote the Office Space theme song. :)

Always loved that song. My personal favorite Canibus track is Master Thesis, though.

Yey! I'm not the only Canibus fan! Seriously though Mic Club is awesome.

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#203

Post by anrope » Mon, May 05, 2014, 2:26 AM UTC

loso wrote: post #158

I enjoyed reading this chart but I hope it doesn't reinforce the bias that some fans have that word complexity is the only way to tell if a rapper is good or not. There are several ways to judge the strength and weaknesses of a rapper. Complexity is one of them, flow is another. Story telling ability is also another very strong in indicator. The best rappers are able to bring a mix while some are just so strong in on…

"Give a dog a bone, leave a dog alone..."

There's too much hate for DMX in these comments. Dude has some tracks that just ooze energy.

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#204

Post by e12e » Mon, May 05, 2014, 2:42 AM UTC

sizzle wrote: post #190

WickyNilliams wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aesop is an excellent lyricist. In fact all the MCs on the Rhymesayers label are very talented: Brother Ali, Slug (of Atmosphere) etc. One MC whose vocabulary always leaves me taken aback is RA Scion, who has been part of the group Common Market. Their song, "My Pathology" [0] is a shining example: "Below the terra ferma's the murmur of many men Resonatin' the predication of RA's eponym It requires a higher degree of…

I'd like to also recommend Stones Throw Records for those just getting into this realm of music. MF DOOM is my favorite lyricist

While I wasn't familiar with the label as such (I was surprised at Madlib/Otis Jackson being featured so prominently) the recent documentary "Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records" is highly recommended for those that want to get a glance at what the label is all about.

And for those that like both poetry and rap, I suggest these two artists (in every way opposite, yet similar): the legendary Gil Scott-Heron: "We Beg your Pardon":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDCfEkopryo

And young Kate Tempest (here with Canibal Kids):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUEsihgq8zU

I'm also partial to "the Streets", RZA and a lot more "mainstream hip-hop".

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#205

Post by e12e » Mon, May 05, 2014, 2:46 AM UTC

coherentpony wrote: post #67

Aardwolf wrote: post #24

> Shakespeare’s vocabulary: across his entire corpus, he uses 28,829 words, suggesting he knew over 100,000 words Why does that suggest he knew over 100k words? Maybe it means he knew 28,829 and used all of them? Would he really know over 70,000 words he never used in his works? What would those 70,000 words be? Probably very obscure ones. How can you know that many obscure ones?

Again, I'd like to point out that Shakespeare also made up words: http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/wordsinvented.ht...

Relevant video:

Kate Tempest - My Shakespeare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_auc2Z67OM

;-)

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#206

Post by crusty » Mon, May 05, 2014, 2:48 AM UTC

devindotcom wrote: post #111

Couldn't find Aceyalone - I thought he'd be in the top 10, I guess he wasn't included.

Top 10? I would put money on him being at least #2 and giving Aesop Rock a run for his money for #1 (depending on which albums his 35,000 words fall on - he's got a solid discography). I just put on A Book of Human Language(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwVNp42l3Xo - full album or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnsCO0Fxw3A - solid song selection). Along with that, Wu Tang as the only crew analyzed? how about Freestyle Fellowship (Aceyalone's crew), Quannum Collective, Jurassic 5.

I'd also like to see Mos Def on the list, along with everyone from Quannum, and the Soulsides and SoundBombing volumes.

Also, (unique words : total words) might be an interesting scoring method, and would allow comparison over entire works regardless of their individual volumes of output. Or choosing a random sample of # of words as opposed to first # of words, as someone who started publishing as a young buck may take a hit for early immaturity.

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#207

Post by gfody » Mon, May 05, 2014, 3:08 AM UTC

I'm pretty sure E-40 scored so high because of all the made up words. He's highly regarded for being innovative and influential but you know for every piece of slang that stuck there's like ten that didn't.

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#208

Post by TheCoelacanth » Mon, May 05, 2014, 3:17 AM UTC

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #191

nardi wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's obviously both "profit" and "prophet." Neither one is wrong.

I can see it either way, but this isn't quantum mechanics. It cannot in fact be both words at once.

Of course it can be both. If he deliberately chose it because it is a homophone and intended for either interpretation to work, then it's both.

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#209

Post by crazypyro » Mon, May 05, 2014, 3:18 AM UTC

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #191

nardi wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's obviously both "profit" and "prophet." Neither one is wrong.

I can see it either way, but this isn't quantum mechanics. It cannot in fact be both words at once.

Actually, that's a hugely common thing to do in rap: make a word ambiguous between 2 to add some more depth to the song.

Re: Rappers, Sorted by Size of Vocabulary

#210

Post by duney » Mon, May 05, 2014, 3:31 AM UTC

krick wrote: post #47

Really interesting, but not as representative as it should be. It's not clear why some have larger vocabulary than others. It could be using words like "zeitgeist" (in case of Aesop Rock) or some clever wordplay (I don't know much about hip-hop, so I can't find example for some artist from the list right off the bat, but I remember Marilyn Manson using word "gloominati" for instance) or pretty meaningless made up wor…

The example you used for clever wordplay, "gloominati," is actually considered a portmanteau word. It's the result of combining multiple words to create a new word. (I say this not to be a pedant, but because I learned the term recently and was amused that we actually have a word for it.)