Flow is the technique used by the MC to rap over the beat.
With flow one has to consider:
1 The Harmony: In Hip Hop, you hear the term "Cadence" for this aspect of music. There's an underlying tone, a melody to everyone's flow. How much is the artist in tandem with the underlying music in the track? Is the tone off? If the track changes, say, with the introduction, or dropout of a musical instrument, is it accompanied by a change in the approach of the artist?
2 The Rhythm: The way in which the artist chooses to consistently ride (or not ride) the beat and find pockets in the beat. The term stacatto flow comes up often with fast-paced lyricists such as Twista or Eminem. There's also examples of Jazz triplet flows, most famously used by Notorious B.I.G, who could weave his way in and out the beat, throwing heavy punches as he stepped. One can think of their voice as a percussive instrument. Does one hit every rhythmic interval like the thud of a large steel beam, or like the quick slap followed by a smack of a good boxing combination, or does it acheive it in a rubbery, light, bouncy way?
3 The Delivery: Delivery in many ways can be more important than rhythm in Hip Hop. Is the delivery showing how confident and passionate the artist is about what they're presenting? Many famous songs have portions that are off rhythm a bit, but the MC who is on it is so powerful in their delivery, it's overlooked. One can choose to rap with a soft, whispery tone with aggression like Snoop, with a hard-edge, gruff, shout like DMX, or with a sharp forwardness like Drake. Does one slur their words in dialect for authenticity, or go out their way over-pronounce words for comedic effect, or vice-versa? Does one use emotion or not?
Stuff to consider before rapping. Peace!
Nice!
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