I remember trying to convince my man Reg that Waka Flocka Flame had major league flow. Before you flip out, I was looking at it through the lens of the voice being an instrument, that accompanys the beat. Under those circumstances the words that he is saying are not really that important. When you hear a saxophone, stand-up bass, and a guitar along with the band, you are more concerned with how it fits with the other instruments. In other words, if you simply ignore what dude is saying, and pay close attention to how he is saying it, his flow is fairly tight.Well Reg wasn't buying and frankly not sure if I was buying it either, but I revisited this idea recently after seeing the video of the rapping two-year old on You Tube.
The way the baby rides the beat, the cadence, the voice inflection all math the music in a magnificent way. His on beat off beat style make this Masta Ace of toddlers a beast! The fact that he is speaking baby-talk is inconsequential. Baby talk is an actual language and legit form of communication. Homeboy (or kid) is riding the hell out of the beat. This video is so, so hip-hop!
So the next time you vocab and wordplay snobs get all wrapped up in the latest Immortal Technique verse or tripping off of some underground cat's wordplay, just remember. Sometimes, flow counts, regardless of what your saying, or how your saying it, especially when that is all you got.
yo, that video just made my day. now, that's flow.
ReplyDeleteCorrection though, I never said that Waka Flocka Flame had no flow. I just said that his lack of lyrical skills makes him hard to get into. Don't get me wrong, I like several rappers, like Peedi Crakk for example http://youtu.be/AS-vqhHJIGs, but your boy Waka Floka can't barely put two lines together.