Male Emotions.

Men generally aren't in touch with their feelings. This is in part due to growing up in a society that soft vulnerable. Giving credit to or praising another man seldom happens.
genderizes everything...including emotions. Rap is dominated by men, where refrains like "we don't love them h***" and money over b******" are commonplace. Most avoid anything that is has any possibility of coming across as "soft". The Drake-hate, and subsequent "hardcore"Drake bars are further evidence of this.
Kendrick Lamarr and J. Cole both went there on two different songs.

Vomitspit - J.Cole

 J. Cole - Miss America Reprise








"Fuck the man, Uncle Sam I won't sell your crack
I wont fight your wars, I wont wear your hat
I'mma pass your classes, I'mma learn your craft
I'mma fuck your daughters, Imma burn your flag
Beware of the days when the first goes last
And the last go first, damn the past sure hurts"

Come Back like Jordan wearin the 4-5... - J. Cole

"Blood on my sneakers
No remorse for the grievers
He played the corner like Revis
He shoulda had better defense"  - J Cole, Miss America Reprise





Cole on the the most difficult position to play in all of sports (corner back),  and the challenges of making a living "on the corner".

...Also the shrinking of "Revis Island"....(go Patriots!)

Vomitspit - J. Cole

"Like we always do at this time...C-C-C-Cole blowin’ your mind

Hey dummy, this no accident, all of this was designed

T-t-t- took my time, c-c-c-crept from behind

And I opened up your blinds, rise and shine, Cole World

Same nikka used to drive around with yo girl

In my mama’s Civic, now I’m our here tryna get it

I ain’t like you lame ass nikkas, boy I spit it how I live it

So when you see me in the streets, man I ain’t gotta mimic

Cause I ain’t got an image to uphold, this real shit

I ain’t got a gimmick I just flow, that niggas went nuts for

The boy that set fire to the booth

In a game full of liars it turns out that I’m the truth

Some say that rap’s alive, it turns out that I’m the proof

Cause the ones y’all thought would save the day can’t even tie my boots

The ones y’all thought could hang with me can’t even tie my noose

Let these words be my bullets nigga, I don’t rhyme I shoot, bang!"

7 MCs - J.Cole

"I take 7 MCs put 'em in a line

Add 7 more brothers who think they can rhyme

Well, it'll take 7 more before I go for mine
And that's 21 MCs ate up at the same time" Rakim

I've written before about my love for lines about eating MCs. Figured I'd start a series of posts that are dedicated to heartwarming comfort of the "rapper-as-food" motif. 

It only makes sense to name it after a line from the guy who I used in the main pic for my blog.

J. Cole gets the first "7 MCs" post. 

"Fuck with a nikka get 4 times 2!"

Jermain getting his point across via a multiplication problem and clever usage of a homophone.

"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"