Technicalities vs Content/Substance

[Satire]

Technicalities are more important. By that, I don't mean crazy wordplay and multis, but good flow, beat selection, production quality, etc. I don't care if you spit the most heartfelt lyrics ever, if your voice sucks and you have no flow I won't listen to you.

I prefer my music to have some depth, but I don't listen to rap to learn about physics, naw'mean? I like Eminem, Kanye, Jay, etc because they know how to make personal songs that still sound great. So much underground rap focuses on the lyrics and forgets basic flow and just doesn't sound good.

This kid gets comments on his vids saying how he should be signed, is way better than Wayne, etc. but people overlook his choppy, repetitive flow and awful voice:

Anomaly doesn't have substance

Voice isn't a technicality, you can't technically "improve it". Well you can, but hardly. If you're born with a shitty rap voice but still rap you're not going to change that.

Beat selection is subjective. Example: Alot of people think Akala is a great songwriter but his beat selection is asscheeks, but to be honest the the electronica-alternative rock style to him is one of the main reasons I listen to him.

[MikeNUFC]

Interesting debate/thread.

This is how I see it. If your defining technicalities as multies/rhymes, flow, vocab and word choice which in turn effects imagery/storytelling then I'm sorry, but there's only one winner.

Content is important but it's the execution that makes it special - a great subject matter with boring rhyming, crap flow and terrible word choice is pointless because you've ruined a great idea

Simply put:
-Bad technicalities ruin great content
-Bad content doesn't really ruin great technicalities.

[dead prez]

In the long run you can't truly separate them, for technicalities leads to deeper concepts and helps you execute something well. But if you have no basic premise and are only good for dropping hot 16 or how dope you are on the mic than why even rap?

I hate to give examples that are obviously distorted and one can easily disagree with them but, to give you guys an idea let's say Pac and Kanye for substance/content side being able to write dope songs, but can't drop a hot 16 like Pun or Big L who in turn can't make a song like Dear Mama, Changes, etc.

Really though I hate closing them off like this and making one big false dilemma.

[momentisgolden]

I like Content and from what everyone else has said- any GOOD content. Dont have to relate to the shit. As long as i get a story and go like "thats deep" "dope" "interesting" "new" and best one "play it again" i'm good. E.g- Favourite artist is James Blunt.

Technicalities for me go in (loose) relative order
Flow
Multies
Beat selection

[Master Chief]

Well...Mockingbird would be the PERFECT example of Content/substance with real bad technicalities. But, on the other side we have a bunch of songs by artists that only drop Hot 16's filled with 5 syllable multis and punchlines about being great.

I honestly see myself getting fed up with the hot 16's but I don't like Mockingbird all that much so that's not a good example.

In the long run, if you're an emcee that drops only hot 16's and the occasional semi-meaningful song then I am def. gonna get fed up with you. But, then, we have Kanye on his 1st three albums.

I'm going with Content/Substance on this one.