How do you feel about rappers using rhyme dictionaries? (state your opinion)

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Nimleyx

New member
As the title says above how do you feel about rappers using rhyme dictionaries?

in my opinion (remember this is just my opinion) i feel like its kinda cheating in a way. you know and it shows that he/she doesnt have skill.and a little bit lazy.

speaking of skill i think using rhyme dictionaries could kill your creativity. if your in a studio and your stuck on a bar what you going to do be like "um ill be right back gotta look up some words to rhyme with the last bar" lol naw man that embarrassing.

i can understand you reading it and then the words come back to you later, (you know the same thing works when your reading a regular book and you retain the words you read) now that is fine but when you start writing cant think of nothin and pull up a rhyming dictionary man you just ruining the whole point of gettin better.


but thats my opinion
 
like i said theres nothin wrong with reading it. what im trying to say is using a rhyme dictionary to write a song is.

for example
I start writing to a song get stuck or cant come up with bars and then they just use a rhyme dictionary.

reading the dictionary or rhyming dictionary is good but i know thiers some rappers who cant come up with rhymes on thier own and just grab a book or go on the net and just grab words.

but is just my opinion.
 
Rhyme dictionaries are limited when it comes to accenting words and breaking apart words, use it if you want but you'll never be as good as a rapper using his head.
 
So I'm writing a book and I can't think of a word to use instead of "gorgeous". If I pull out a Thesaurus to find a word of similar meaning I'm cheating?

I get what you're saying but it all depends on how you use a dictionary. Dictionaries are there for a reason. Using one won't make you a great rapper, but it might help you on your way.
 
It's okay, if that helps you. Since the creative process is based a lot on feeling, it might slow you down. In addition to rhyming, the connotation and denotation of the word should suit your needs. Reading and practicing helps more than anything. You use your subconscious quite a bit, so you need to have a reservoir of information to draw from without having to consciously recall or search for it. 2 cents.
 
There is nothing wrong with using a rhyme dictionary as long as its not your using as your core to rhyming or writing.

I probably used an online website called "Rhyme Zone " a few times in the past.

It has nothing to do with getting better.
I do not use it to figure out a new rhyme I simply use it to see the basic rhymes if I am on a word that has over 50 damn basic rhymes like bat for example can have a shit load of rhymes.

I would only use it If I am stuck and cannot THINK I AM MISSING A BASIC RHYME that I am forgetting.

Here lets put it this way.

There is no difference if you get your rhymes from your brain or a book or a website.
It does not matter how you get your rhymes but it matters if you have the rhymes.

What I am saying is your brain will EVENTUALLY THINK OF EVERY SINGLE RHYME but sometimes on words that have 50 rhymes you want to hurry up and get shit out of the way so you do not have time to look in your mind and make sure you counted all 50 rhymes.

I basically just use it RARELY if I WANT TO SEE basic rhymes so I can then look at each rhyme and automatically see all the rhymes without having to think of the basic rhymes.

___________

Notice I keep saying "BASIC RHYMES" because like the other guy said, this does not help you make complex lines, because some rhymes are born out of creativity. Meaning you have to break down syllables.

For example if you want to rhyme "Metaphor" and you try to look up a rhyme for it you will NOT FIND ANY RHYMES.

Why? Because your brain is more creative then build in rhymes.

If you want to rhyme metaphor you break it down into MET A PHOR
You then rhyme something with MET, something with A and something with PHOR

You can then get rhymes like WET A WHORE with METAPHOR.

I am not saying to use a rhyming dictionary I am just saying there is nothing wrong if you just want to see all the BASIC RHYMES so you can get a possible word you forgot of.

IMO anything that gives me the edge or makes me work quicker I will use.

I do not use that much I use it very rarely but it can help on a rare occasion.

My closing note is that ITS NOT OKAY to use it if you are using it as your core rhyming.
If you are depended on it or you think those are the only rhymes just because IT SAID SO you are stupid and need to open your mind more.

How I see it is, you are just eliminating work from your brain, you are pulling out all the BASIC RHYMES so that you can see all the BASIC RHYMES and allow your brain to then find complex rhymes that COULD CONJOIN form the basic rhymes.

How I see it is, you are thinking of rhymes.
How ever they come to you is up to you.

I wrote a entire song 2 days ago didn't use anything but my mind.

Like I said its okay to use it but I don't recommend using it, only use it as a TOOL not a dependent source.

---------- Post added at 05:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:10 AM ----------
Olie said:
Rhyme dictionaries are limited when it comes to accenting words and breaking apart words, use it if you want but you'll never be as good as a rapper using his head.
Click to expand...
ONLY USE RHYME DICTIONARIES for BASIC RHYMES ONLY!!!

Period.

If you are trying to find rhymes for complex words you WILL NOT FIND THEM because you have to CREATE THEM WITH YOUR MIND.

Books/internet can only find basic rhymes like bat, cat, goose, moose.

They cannot find rhymes to words like, supercalafragilisticespialadoshes.

I can literally make a rhyme for that word because all you have to do is break down every syllable and find a word that rhymes with each syllable. You then connect all the words and it will rhyme no matter how big the word is. The only problem is finding rhymes that make sense when put together that is what takes time when breaking down a huge word.

But like I said books cannot also create flows.

For example if you look up the word "DICK"

You will not find rhymes like peek, seek.

Now you are thinking dick doesn't rhyme with peek or seek right?

Well your right but the thing is IT CAN RHYME WITH THOSE WORDS when you change how you flow the word.

For example you are still saying dick but you slang the flow and say suck my deek(dick)

You see books cannot think of flows or break shit down.

If you want to rhyme a complex word like "Lickitybuttcrack"

You have to break each part down into lick-ity-butt-crack
lick rhymes with slick, ity rhymes with ity, butt rhymes with nut, crack rhymes with sack.

So you put it all together and you now have "lickitybuttcrack" rhyming with your new word "slickitynutsack"

A BOOK CANNOT DO THIS, YOUR BRAIN IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN MAKE COMPLEX RHYMES.

like I said I can rhyme any word in the world but making it make sense is the hard part.
 
ok now if your writing a book thats no problem. but rapping the art of hip hop your not supposed to be using the dictionary to write lyrics. but instead your suppose to study it. then use what you learned in songs or in battles

---------- Post added at 06:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:05 AM ----------

@ICEN I Understand what your saying i think thats more exception just speakin to those out there that do and lettin them know thier killin skill if thier dependent on it.
 
May be if you are going through a writer's block....But otherwise it doesn't feel organic and you can almost always tell.


It's like a screenwriter using some sort of generate-plot twists software....it just feels unfair to the true talant (even to the talant of the person using the rhyme dictionary)


- Don't be lasy : D
 
Respect to Nimleyx this is an interesting subject.

It's a little bit like the argument against DJs using Serato or beat matching through visual cues when originally DJs used to just do it by ear. Just because something's more difficult doesn't make it better. Opening a tin can by smacking it with a rock certainly isn't better than using a tin opener. If people enjoy the mix it doesn't really matter how it gets done. The most important part of DJing is knowing where and when to play a record based on your audience at the time. That is something software can't cater for. The only way a DJ can get good at that is by developing an empathy for his/her audience and knowing and loving his/her records. The only way to develop that is by paying your dues and working on your craft.

I think it's the same case for MCs using rhyming dictionaries. I don't understand how it's 'cheating'? There aren't rules to this shit. If it's dope, it's dope whether it's off the dome or pre-written regardless of how these rhymes have been acquired. You can't craft rhymes from nothing. It's kind of like saying we shouldn't learn to read or write English because that's cheating lol.

All that being said I DO understand where this adverse feeling towards rhyming dictionaries is coming from so I do respect Nimleyx personal opinion.

He and others are worried that by 'relying' on rhyming dictionaries you forgo demonstrating your real artistry as an MC. For example, as a DJ, you don't demonstrate your artistry just because you're blending records together, or just because you can do a particular scratch technique. The artistry is in HOW and WHEN you use those techniques.

The same goes for MCs. You're not a dope MC because you use lots of words that rhyme, or even for using complex words that rhyme. You're a dope MC when you use these rhymes in a creative way both in terms of flow and delivery and also in what you're saying and describing. The descriptions, imagery, expression and emotion you evoke is FAR more important than the rhymes themselves and often it's better done using simple rhymes rather than overly complex rhymes that will go over the average person's head.

I can understand how people might feel that writing rhymes with a rhyming dictionary to hand might make someone's verse 'all rhymes and no concept or content'. But I honestly don't think there's any truth in it.

If anything it just helps people see what's possible, expand their vocabulary and hone their craft. There are those that love the art form and are capable of understanding what really matters. They'll get there a lot quicker using rhyming dictionaries. Those that don't, won't with or without them :)
 
ICEN said:
ONLY USE RHYME DICTIONARIES for BASIC RHYMES ONLY!!! [...]

For example if you look up the word "DICK"

You will not find rhymes like peek, seek.

Now you are thinking dick doesn't rhyme with peek or seek right?
Click to expand...

You could use a more advanced rhyming dictionary like Rhyme Genie and select the 'intelligent rhyme' or 'consonance' to find all the rhymes for 'dick' that you have mentioned plus hundreds more. They don't rhyme perfectly but they still have enough phonetic resemblance that advanced rhyming dictionaries will find them rather easily.
 
Personally I'm not against it, although I can see why people would be. You can find a hundred words that rhyme with the word you're working with, however you need to be creative with your choice otherwise you're just rhyming random words or rhyming lines that don't make any sense
 
reminds me of a quote from Mozart. I'm paraphrasing but "the notes are there I just have to put them in the right order" it reminds me of learning the rubik's cube, i could sit there and try to figure it out...or I could cut to the chase and use algorithms to improve exponentially over the summer...ish.

---------- Post added at 08:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 PM ----------

also...work smarter. NOT HARDER. we live in a world of shortcuts, if you aren't taking them you will be left behind.
 
One of the dead giveaways of a novice songwriter is that each rhyme seems so forced. Each of a novice's lines is built to rhyme, and the story is bent to accommodate those rhymes.

When you really have a heartfelt story to tell, the story should take precedence. You build the story first. Once you've got a compelling story down, then you add the rhymes. The rhymes change to accommodate the story. When you do it this way, a rhyming dictionary makes a lot of sense.

Of course, this advice is totally irrelevant if your goal is to become a "quick-on-your-feet" freestyle champion.

I hope you guys take my advice. I'm sick of hearing artists with great vocal timbres, great flow... and fisher-price lyrics. :(

-Ki
Salem Beats
 
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AblerExult said:
reminds me of a quote from Mozart. I'm paraphrasing but "the notes are there I just have to put them in the right order" it reminds me of learning the rubik's cube, i could sit there and try to figure it out...or I could cut to the chase and use algorithms to improve exponentially over the summer...ish.

---------- Post added at 08:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:21 PM ----------

also...work smarter. NOT HARDER. we live in a world of shortcuts, if you aren't taking them you will be left behind.
Click to expand...

I think when comparing it to a rubik's cube it's like you could sit and try to figure it out...or just take off the stickers and then put them all back on, on the correct sides!
 
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a rhyming dictionary is exellent in use with a thesaurus. ive used it a cpl times when i have an idea in my head, but have trouble wording it. The books dont give me idea's, they just help me refine the message. And a real MC knows the most important words are the ones in between the rhymes.
 
I can see it as being something you use starting out as an up and coming artist.. Every artist is not the same when it comes to writing and formatting words together. It has to be a growth process with anything in order for it to sustain a certain level of achievement
 
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