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Rhyme patterns are nothing without meanings to the words. A lot of rappers can do those flows, but the raps aren't really about anything - which is cool sometimes, but to have the flow and the message is one of my favorite things.

In rap, as in most popular lyrics, a very low standard is set for rhyme; but this was not always the case with popular music.

With rap, it's a funny thing. You can say things, and people can take 'em the way they wanna take 'em.

I write poetry, and I put it to a beat - I mean, that's what they call rap.

It's bad poetry executed by people that can't sing. That's my definition of Rap.

Asking why rappers always talk about their stuff is like asking why Milton is forever listing the attributes of heavenly armies. Because boasting is a formal condition of the epic form. And those taught that they deserve nothing rightly enjoy it when they succeed in terms the culture understands.

Rap is poetry to music, like beatniks without beards and bongos.

Gibberish rap is - I freestyle all the time, just hangin' out with friends. And sometimes when I'm freestyling, I'll lose my flow, you know, but I'll still wanna - I don't wanna just stop rapping because I lose my flow. So I'll just put in nonsense words till I can bring in regular words again.

Hip-hop is getting to the point now where they are going to start sounding like Al Jarreau or Bobby McFerrin or some of the other poets. Some of the better rappers can rap real fast without even melodies. It'll get to that same point.

Rap is just somebody getting something off his chest. That's all it is.