In 2023 Dada de Dada’s posted a three part Speaking the Music series. Part 2 of the series was titled Talking Dub & Hip Hop and in this I said:
… far from dismissing hip hop and rap as unworthy of serious poetic consideration it may instead be a very worthwhile investment of time and a valuable source of new creative ideas and potential synergies with other forms and genres.
Rather than just make assertions without having to get wet feet it felt only fair to at least paddle in the shallow end of the hip-hop pool. The result was the Dada de Dada track Double Rap which you can listen to as a Soundcloud embed below. For more information about the genesis of the track and access to an extended essay exploring hip-hop please visit the About section at the bottom of the page.
Choose play ‘Listen from Browser’ button below if you haven’t registered for a free SoundCloud account. This version of Double Rap is best enjoyed with good speakers or a decent set of headphones. Playing direct from a phone or tablet speaker just degrades the experience and intention.
Lyrics/Verse
There is so much we don’t know
So how do we make words flow
Where can we find the map
To navigate this world of rap.
We could start with perfect rhyme With every end word just in time But consonants creatively crafted Can to our cause be drafted Or assertively alliterate amazing Streams that you cogitate But our exercise lies with surprise So listen how we harmonise.
Class will now pass to assonance
To enhance the chance our words will dance
Here it is the vowels that flow
Poor consonants left feeling low
Or dabble in being dissonant
So your flow starts to babble
Changing pattern of the rhyme
But with order not a rabble.
There is so much we don’t know
So how do we make words flow
Where can we find the map
To navigate this world of rap.
Now your ravishing rap can spit
You feel it’s a massive hit
But some words still don’t fit
So stretch them just a bit
As to cultural appropriation
Sample the soul of every nation
Delight in delicious diversity
Harvest hip-hop’s family tree.
And don’t forget that 4/4 beat
To nod the head and move the feet
So strike the snare and kick from mat
Tap out that rhythm from the hat
But do you have what it takes
To recognise the Amen Break
Or a Funky Drummer to set the pace
And Impeach the President to fill the space.
Now here’s an interval to iterate
The sounds of what we did just state
So your ears get to hear those breaks
That so much great hip hop makes.
So do you have what it takes
To recognise the Amen Break
{example plays}
Or a Funky Drummer to set the pace
{example plays}
Or Impeach the President to fill the space
{example plays}
If you can’t stick that lick
Another way’s just as sick
You don’t need to craft your own
Just download one from your phone
So sculpt and smooth your story
Strive hard for hip-hop glory
But remember it’s the tale
That’s more important than the sale.
There is so much we don’t know
So how do we make words flow
Where can we find the map
To navigate this world of rap.
Now you should feel the flow
The rhythm pulse really grow
But try to keep the music down
Lest chords and notes your message drown
For if melody is dominant
Your wise words it will supplant
Don’t fall into that trap
It may be great but isn’t rap.
Hip hop is about authenticity
So best be what you claim to be
Don’t be Compton gangsta man
If you’re from Bermondsey & love your Gran
There is an example here
The way we speak it is clear
We have an accent strong
Shouting out where we belong.
It abuses rap to calumniate
To forge word bullets engraved with hate
Producing poison to propagate
Stoking storms that just can’t abate
Words are weapons as war-drums sound
So soldiers drill and survey their ground
A hamster wheel of retaliation
Eroding futures with each ablation.
So get off the wheel of false respect
Off the wheel of futures wrecked
A man of malicious masculinity
Erasing chances of what could be
Bin the baggage bravado show
Earn real respect from your word flow
Become the destination on the map
Maestro of the reign of rap.
Our rap on rap nears its end
One more message it can send
In rap, words don’t walk they run
Such exercise should be fun
So work out your vocabulary
Build the pace erase the tarry
Blend the words with your beat
And so, our lesson is now complete.
About
It is not unusual for raps to be about rap. But having watched (again) the 2003 film School of Rock which starred the comedy actor and musician Jack Black sparked the idea for Dada de Dada’s Double Rap. The conceit of this effort is of a teacher having the temerity to actually use rap as a vehicle of learning. That created two equally surreal but contrasting visions in the Dada de Dada imagination. Firstly, that of rap being taught as an academic subject in a very didactic and formal way passing from the mouth of the teacher and into the notebooks of the students.
The second was of the teacher ‘getting down with the kids’ and rapping their lesson.
At one level this Dada de Dada School of Rap track is just a piece of light-hearted fun. It that is good enough for you thanks for listening and reading this far. Otherwise if you are prepared for some grit in the oyster please move on to page 2.
To share this post other people can scan the QR code below directly from your phone screen. Alternatively send the image to them via whatever is your preferred messaging system.
