"...I got a story to tell" - the Notorious B.I.G.

This most recent entry of 'got a story' is unique in the sense that the entire narrative is set with the main character is not quite yet a full living and breathing being.

Back in 99' heads was anxiously waiting for the release of Nas’ third album, I Am. Rumor was that It was supposed to be a double album until most of songs leaked onto the web, consequently sending Nas back to the studio to record new songs so the now, single CD would have fresh material.

One of the stand out joints from those series of leaks was Fetus (Belly Button Window). This was later released on The Lost Tapes however it had a slightly different beat arrangement and a few of the bars from the first verse were different. The original was more raw and way better.

"...a Patriotic tomboy, like Mary-Ellen from The Waltons" - The Gza/Genius

Me and my man B Lee used to call the time between after the NBA playoffs end, and the NFL season begins, the "dead zone", cuz there wasn't shit to do or watch. Baseball is cool but it doesn't heat up till October, and lets face it, football is the greatest game ever invented. Of course by football I mean real, American football (no disambiguation).

With the triumphant return of the

Jesus i

n the flesh Tom Brady, I have been slowly getting into my gridiron mode.

This reminded me of a joint that the GZA did from the DJ Muggs vs GZA album. The album itself was crazy underrated and featured heat from both the producer as well as the lyricist. However the track I am speaking of is written in the mold of GZA's other "concept" tracks where he selects a topic and spits elements that fit under that topics umbrella (see Labels, Animal Planet, Publicity, etc). This song in particular however tapped into my primal love of the game of football.

"You don't even know your english, your verbs your nouns..." - Run DMC

As teacher I am a real stickler with my students about the structure of the stories they write. I try to impose upon them that you must first master the fundamentals and structures of writing before venturing off into free form. Master the rules, and then break them.

Hip-Hop lyrics are far from being locked-in by rules however there are times when rappers use some basic, elementary story structures when putting rhymes together.

While listening to newcomer J Cole's recent mixtape The Warm Up, I noticed some intentional use of such structures. The song Lights Please is an introspective look at the sexual dynamics in male/female relationships. The vehicle he uses for his imagery is two verse (scenes) where he is trying to put the girl up on some knowledge and all she wants to do is smash, then...

"All of that deep shit I was previously down for/ replaced by freak shit I am currently down for"