Where does Eminem and other rappers get there Vocabulary?

[M-Pyre]

recovery was pretty dumbed down

I know, there weren't as many complex words, but I'm just talking about as a whole, through all his albums, songs, and freestyles, his vocabulary is so widely expanded and accurate, that I couldn't figure out where he developed it considering the type of early life he had.

ahh yes

he does have a relatively big vocabulairy, tho, when in an interview, he always seems to fall back on the basics.

he definitely says definitely allot.

[EminemBase]

recovery was pretty dumbed down

It wasn't dumbed down in execution or content. Em just doesn't use words that he wouldn't naturally, as not to sound pretentious.

Which should eventually be the aim of any great writer I think. To embody all intelligent aspects of literature; metaphor, simile, irony etc. and execute it in a way that is totally natural to your everyday self. Forcefully packing in bigger vocabulary at the expense of personality is a lesser art (COUGH CANIBUS).

This is what he failed to do on Infinite. And succeeds to do on Recovery. Using more complex words for the sake of it doesn't mean it's a more complex piece of work, it's all about the content and execution.

[Solace]

I feel a little smarter after reading any of EminemBase's posts.

[DƎRDYPK]

I feel a little smarter after reading any of EminemBase's posts.

word Me2

[DƎRDYPK]

Im obsessed with Eminem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we know this mayne

[Slill_Slim_Shady]

I feel a little smarter after reading any of EminemBase's posts.

word Me2

Me too

[titan23]

I triple that

[M-Pyre]

recovery was pretty dumbed down

It wasn't dumbed down in execution or content. Em just doesn't use words that he wouldn't naturally, as not to sound pretentious.

Which should eventually be the aim of any great writer I think. To embody all intelligent aspects of literature; metaphor, simile, irony etc. and execute it in a way that is totally natural to your everyday self. Forcefully packing in bigger vocabulary at the expense of personality is a lesser art (COUGH CANIBUS).

This is what he failed to do on Infinite. And succeeds to do on Recovery. Using more complex words for the sake of it doesn't mean it's a more complex piece of work, it's all about the content and execution.

true

but recovery really felt dumbed down to me. it was like he was trying to make sure that everybody could understand it. I can understand that certain songs will have forced feel to it when utilizing allot of complex words and such. but that doesn't mean he must do this for the whole album!

take the eminem show for example. the balance of complexity in this masterpiece is utterly excellent! perfect imo.

if he did it once, he can do it again!

[Hadez]

personally, i prefer a thesaurus. and it's easier to find words to use with it than a dictionary. with a dictionary it's like "well where do i start?" with a thesaurus you can be like "i don't want to use this word specifically, what else means the same thing as this word?"

[Heffernan]

wayne does not have any ghostwriters

the hate wayne gets here is redonk


wayne doesent even fucking write his shit down...he thinks of it on the spot in the booth...u see him come up with the shit...

[SeoNv]

Vocabulary = Read

[Hadez]

wayne does not have any ghostwriters

the hate wayne gets here is redonk


wayne doesent even fucking write his shit down...he thinks of it on the spot in the booth...u see him come up with the shit...

i don't think it's as "on the spot" as he leads every one on to believe. it's definitely pre-meditated. not only that, it's not really all that "impressive" to come up with random punchlines that fits virtually all his songs.

[mangomunky]

Im obsessed with Eminem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ummm why do you feel the need to state that on every post. everybody knows this already

[Emadyville]

Your vocabulary will naturally increase if you habitually spend time obsessing on it.

Which is basically what a good rap lyricist does. That's why I hate gangsta rap, it's so fucking lame and takes the art out of rap. People like 50 Cent, relying more on image and story than skills like it's something to be proud of. I don't give a shit if you're lying or not, if you've sold drugs or not, all I care about is your rapping ability.

I want to be wowed, I want to be impressed with verbal dexterity and delivery. Eminem is a true wordsmith in that sense, that's all he cares about. That's why people often complain about his subject matter because to be honest, it's a secondary concern to him, he's a true lyricist.

So if you spend time constantly trying to fit words here and there, make X sound more phonetically appealing to the ear etc. then you're bound to find more words to achieve that. Which is the same with any form of writing. Em is essentially doing what any great writer also does just in a more... Focused way as he's not writing at great length but rather in short bursts and rhyming consistently.

But I used to run an Internet marketing blog and force myself to write posts every day. And my vocabulary just naturally increased because I'm obsessing so much on it. So it's not like they start off with it, it's just practice, like anything.

WORD!!!

Word...haha clever, seriously tho embase you said it

[HairJordan23]

Most serious rappers that are any good studied the Dictionary and Thesaurus. Canibus is the perfect example of that. Nas reads a lot of books and studies history.


Em did get a GED, so he's not a complete idiot.