 |
|
| Author |
Message |
Shaz
Murder Cutlery
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Posts: 142
Location: Essex
|
 Posted:
Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:46 pm |
  |
Rapping in ciphers (groups of people) is one of the most demanding tasks of the emcee (after all, everyone’s looking at you), but also the most fun. The best ciphers pop with creative energy like late-night bebop jam sessions. They're a great way to improve as an emcee and to get to know other emcees. So call up your friends, find yourself a park bench and start rapping. Spit in ciphers as much as you can, and be sure to follow these simple rules.
This Guide to Cipher Etiquette comes from The Rapper's Handbook.
*Don’t Give Excuses
I’ve heard some emcees say, “when you mess up, just cough a few times and people will think you’ve got a cold. They won’t know you couldn’t think of any rhymes.” That’s terrible advice. If you mess up, just ride it out. After a few times coughing, everyone is going to know that you’re fronting anyway. Also: if you’re freestyling over a beat or someone beat-boxing, don’t blame your mistakes on the beat-box. Nobody likes a guy who blames everyone else for his own mistakes.
*Help Out Your Friends When They Mess Up
Truly one of the classiest things you can do in a cipher is to help out a fellow emcee when they slip up. Not only does it help out the emcee who just messed it, it helps maintain the good vibe and flow of the cipher itself. When you sense that an emcee is running out of rhymes or can’t think of anything (or if he starts “coughing”), take the rhyme over and finish it for him. You can then pass it right back, or you can keep rhyming.
*Don’t Hog the Mic
The whole point of a cipher is to share rhymes, interact, and listen. If you want to rhyme 90% of the time then you can go rap in front of the mirror. Listen to other people, how many bars they’re spitting, and try to do about the same. In certain ciphers, it’s fine to interrupt someone to pick up on their lines, but don’t go barging in all time or they’re going to get pissed off.
*Pass it with Class
Depending on your cipher, emcees might be interrupting each other, they might be ‘handing off the mic,’ or both. Passing or handing off the mic means that you spit a bar or two about who’s coming next. In a (mostly prewritten) freestyle with Canibus and Jurassic 5, Canibus goes, “now let me hand it to my man on the right, so he can spark the mic”. That’s a good pass. The other kind involves actually calling out the person’s name, like the Sugarhill Gang does in “Rapper’s Delight”: “now next on the mic is my man Hank, now come on Hank sing that song”.
*Listen and Respond
Just because you’re trying to think of some ill rhymes while your friend is spitting doesn’t mean you should ignore him or her. Listen to their verse and respond vocally when they spit something impressive. A good “ohhh!” or “damn!” works fine. Just don’t leave your homey hanging.
*Invite Strangers into the Circle
Ciphering is a great way to meet new people and new emcees. If you’re on a street corner, let people step in and see what they’ve got. I always like to invite random people into a cipher (old, young, boys, girls). To my mind, the more diversity the better. |
_________________
Murder Cutlery
Welcome 2 D Gud Lyf! |
|
      |
|
Free Forum
|
| Posted:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
View next topic
View previous topic
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB
© 2001/3 phpBB Group :: Theme by Daz ::
All times are GMT
| |
