"...I mean the average fan never heard of a Goodie Mob or a Cee-lo...

but they heard of Gnarls Barkley..." Joe Budden - Who Killed Hip-Hop

It's not everyday you hear Andre 3000 out shined on a track yet that is exactly what happened on Outkast's debut album back in 94'.

Wow, it seems just like yesterday, after picking up my man Dion we would drive around dropping off resumes and applications all over the place. Shortly there after we'd cop a bottle of bumpy face and stop by the Garcia Vega spot and, well...yeah.

After being blessed by the herbs essence, the real magic happened when we'd skip to track number 12, Git up, Get Out, featuring the Goodie Mob.

The first to bless the mic was this charismatic, high pitched, drawl filled, lyrical flame thrower by the name of Cee-Lo Green. While the entire crew did the hook, he stood out above the fray on the matter of fact lyrics.

"Nigga, you need to git up, git out and git somethin
Don't let the days of your life pass by
You need to git up, git out and git somethin
Don't spend all your time tryin to get high

You need git up, git out and git somethin
How will you make it if you never even try?

You need to git up, git out and git somethin
Cuz you and I got to do for you and I"

His vocal pitch, flow and delivery alone were enough to stop us in our tracks.

From a content standpoint, the rhyme spun a realistic tale of a struggling artist dealing with the various obstacles that come along with attempting to get his career jumped off. It also can be interpreted as the familiar tale of a young man cauaught up in the post high school malaise trying to find support and direction.

Make no mistake this is no, woah -is-me-I-can't catch-a-break type of track. Cee-lo is truly reflective and candid about the short coming of the character in the rhyme. Later in the verse he gets into a personal back-and-forth with the aunt he is living with and makes for some lively debate.

This verse, and Cee-Lo, will forever hold a special place in my heart. It was deep, honest and inspiring music. That motivated Dion and I too hand out more applications and make fewer trips to the Garica Vega spot.

"I think I like her like a metaphor" - Lupe Fiasco

Metaphors are tools, and similes are like tools. Rappers often misidentify similes as metaphors, but what is clear is that when done well, skillful MCs can use both forms of figurative language to create vivid pictures in the minds of listeners. This little segment will illuminate such examples of skill.

I am going to get this segment jumped off with a set of bars from two different MCs.

The Gza is known for bringing words to life and his verse on The Jump Off from Wu Tang Clan's The W was no exception. A master at economy of words, he used just a few lines to convey his point through an extended metaphor. Read and listen to the verse in its entirety.

Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)- Wu Tang Clan (skip to 3:45)

Run on the track like Jesse Owens
Broke the record flowin, without any knowin
That my wordplay run the 400 meter relay
It's on once I grab the baton from the DJ
A athlete wit his iron cleat in the ground
Wireless nikka who sprint off the gun sound
The best time yet still 7.0
Swift flow made the cameramen clothes blow

In the opening line, The Gza sets the foundation for the verse by letting the listener know he is going to draw direct parallels between his voice on the track (beat) and Olympic legend Jesse Owens' prowess on the race track. One of the most interesting things about this particular comparison is that Gza's flow is everything but fast, however he makes it work by trying to connect the idea of high skills in both respective art forms.

The next MC that demonstrated effective use of an extended metaphor was Joe Budden. In an attempt to share his perspective on his situation with his then label, Def Jam, he turns to a sports analogy to help illuminate his point.

Joe Budden - Broken Wing ("Free"style)

Feel like A-Rod, some say his time's up
Boo a nikka at home, yup I'm in my prime But
he by far the best player on the team
And then turn around, drop 'em to the bottom of the lineup
Should get traded, but he don't wanna move
'Cause this the only city he got somethin' to prove
And that's why I'm seen with heaters
'Cause you can't be the man when you on the same team as Jeter Ya dig

Joe Budden, signed to Def Jam at the time , was frustrated with what he believed to be lackluster support and promotion of his projects on the label. Def Jam President Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, according to Joe, could and should have done more to support him because of Joe's talent and skill. Joe sees this the similarities in his situation with that of, at the time, newly acquired New York Yankee 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez. While Alex struggled mightily in the early stages of his time as a Yankee, team captain and favorite son Derek Jeter was showered with accolades while Rodriguez was pelted with boos. This, despite Rodriguez being a far superior player to Jeter. Clearly Joe feels as though Jay-Z is the Derek Jeter of the "team", more loved, but less skilled. Joe also seems to imply that Def Jam put him lower in the priority list as the Yankees lost faith in Rodriguez and "dropped him in the line-up" in their batting order. In the last line Budden delivers the most poignant comment of the verse where he acknowledges the uphill battle he faces in trying to become a big name on the same label as the biggest name.

"The more nikkas said they aint write down lyrics...the more it started to sound like they didn't" - Joe Budden

Everybody's "next to blow" Drake was caught up in a little bit of drama recently. Seems the Internets were a bit in a tizzy about a radio appearance where waynes ghost writer Drake "free" styled instead of freestyling.

“It shouldn’t be your tag line: ‘I don’t even write.’ Well, if it’s not quality product, who cares? We can tell,” Drake said. “Maybe if you took the time to write, your sh– would be a little better…"

MTV Shows

Dude caught a lot of flak in comments sections and I must admit I understand where the anger is coming from. We have failed to differentiate between "free" styling and freestyling, so now every young cat with a note pad and ad libs claims they can do it.

But this is no fault of Drake's. Besides, young homey makes a great point here. Mutherfuckas need to start taking more pride they craft! I mean, I get the whole "im-so-good-i-don't-need-to-work-at-it" attitude....but really.....I mean really?! If I am not mistaken the genesis of this whole non-writing was Biggie's legendary studio sessions. But that was Big, and when he did it, it sounded much better than the semi-organized-stream-of conscious stuff that rap cats are passing off for songs these days. (no shots)

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

Ain't nothing like an interesting, gripping storyteller in hip-hop. Now when I say story, I don't mean simply someone describing some shit that happened-- I mean someone who has a mastery of plot, climax, characters, suspense and/or humor (the type of shit my fifth graders struggle with). Anyone can merely describe an event but it takes a true wordsmith to construct a compelling narrative.

I remember at this Ghostface show homey came out and sat down in an old wooden chair, talked out the lyrics to a song with no music behind it and had cats going beserk! A good story is a good story.

Although it is just a verse, and not a full song, Ghost's verse on Impossible is one of, if not the most compelling narratives on wax.

Call an ambulance, Jamie been shot, word to Kimmy
Don't go Son, nigga you my motherfuckin heart
Stay still Son, don't move, just think about Keeba
She'll be three in January, your young God needs you
The ambulance is taking too long
Everybody get the fuck back, excuse me bitch, gimme your jack
One, seven one eight, nine one one, low battery, damn
Blood comin out his mouth, he bleedin badly
Nahhh Jamie, don't start that shit
Keep your head up, if you escape hell we gettin fucked up
When we was eight, we went to Bat Day to see the Yanks
In Sixty-Nine, his father and mines, they robbed banks
He pointed to the charm on his neck
With his last bit of energy left, told me rock it with respect
I opened it, seen the God holdin his kids
Photogenic, tears just burst out my wig
Plus he dropped one, oh shit, here come his Old Earth
With no shoes on, screamin holdin her breasts with a gown on
She fell and then lightly touched his jaw, kissed him
Rubbed his hair, turned around the ambulance was there
Plus the blue coats, Officer Lough, took it as a joke
Weeks ago he strip-searched the God and gave him back his coke
Bitches yellin, Beenie Man swung on Helen
In the back of a cop car, dirty Tasha tellin
But suddenly a chill came through it was weird
Felt like my man, was cast out my heaven now we share
Laid on the stretcher, blood on his Wally's like ketchup
Deep like the full assassination with a sketch of it
It can't be, from Yoo-hoo's to Lee's
Second grade humped the teachers, about to leave
Finally this closed chapter, comes to an end
He was announced, pronounced dead, y'all, at twelve ten

Here are a few other songs with with strong and interesting narratives.

I got a story to tell - The Notorious B.I.G.
Blaze a 50 - Nas
3 Sides to a Story - Joe Budden
Nikkas Bleed - The Notorious B.I.G.
Childrens Story - Slick Rick
Da Art of Story Tellin pt. 2- Outkast ft. Slick Rick
Real Nikkas Do Real Things - The Notorious B.IG.
Shakey Dog - Ghostface Killah
Fetus (Belly-Button Window Unreleased) - Nas
Beauty Jackson - Ghostface Killah