I picked present, but I agree with travz on the delivery. I've been rapping for a decade and completely see Mike's growth and can relate to it when I listen to his rhymes from the 90s til now. in Xero, half of that shit didn't even make sense, in HT and M it wasn't very hip-hop and very elementary. FM was better, but almost as repetitive as LP was. I picked present because of HHH and WTCFM have flows that are so damn on point. The only early song with such a creative multi-syllabic flow is "It's Goin Down". doooooooooooooope
Mike's rapping in the xero/pre HT era is exceptional, even better than the stuff that made it onto HT. See Reading My Eyes/Place For My Head Demo/Part Of Me, just to name a few.
Oldschool shit for me: Xero. His flow is alright, but lyrics-wise he's not that great in Fort Minor (exceptions: Right Now, Where'd You Go, Kenji). When They Come for Me is dope, though.
The complexity wasn't necessary. It was a jumble of big words and sounded like a mess rather than metaphoric art. Plus he was very monotone in Meteora.
Seriously! and even Mike admits that half the time lyrics really didn't even make sense. That's beginner shit. I used to do the same thing when I began writing rhymes. Big words and metaphors just to sound cool... I just liked some of his punchlines. "coke heads couldn't do my lines"- "you fell off and it's my lyric sheet ya slipped on"- "I twist mic chords to double-helixes to show you what I'm made of". I do wish Mike started using punchlines again. I love the "coke" line
Bingo. I haven't listened to that stuff for a while, but off the top off my head some of it was cool... but I think at least as much was pure narm. Not really worth the fixation some people seem to have on it imo.
Definitely Pre-HT for me. His lyrics specially for someone that young were really good and he was much more aggressive. Having said that, When They Come For Me is great.
96-05 I really like his rapping in the older days of LP, like in the demos. I love his rapping in HT and think his personal best was in reanimation(wish he was the only rapper in it). Meteora he was a little softer with catchier rhymes. Didnt really like his fort minor but in a few songs. I think back in the younger days he had his own unique style and kinda got into more mainstream as he grew
I'm sorry, but the end verse in And One trumps Waiting For The End's verse. Spit drips from the jaw of the witless witness Cryptic colloquialism shifts your midrift Dark all I do embark the shadows Involved with my thought catalog, analogue, rap catalog Keep my distance, and fear resistance, hurt by persistance The twisted web of tangled lies Strangles my hope to waste and numbs the taste And I'm forced to face these hate crimes Against the state of being Feeling the weight-less-ness pressed between the ceiling Reeling around room Riding a bubble of sound proof It's the frequency making you Sha-Shake with every boom Involuntary muscle contraction Ignoring and drinking musical gas fueled euphoria The sound pounds to make the dead flush To have you a head rush with red thoughts and said stuff
This! I wish LP would have performed this part during one of the times they performed And One. That would have been fucking cool!
Well if Mike flipped through the dictionary like he did in the 90s I guess his verses would be better than real emotional thoughts
Ah the And One verse is kinda wack. It just sounds dope, but it's half "woe is me" and half nonsense. I'm glad he doesn't write like that anymore.
Half of the "nonsense" you can get a meaning out of anyways. You don't need to make everything clear cut with lyrics. It's basically the same "nonsense" he spat during When They Come For Me. He just used simpler words.