I would say that I'm more moved by melody, even though I love to rap.
I'm not tryin' to come off as the best lyricist.
All I have is a voice.
When I'm writing, I'm thinking about how the songs are going to play live. Fifty bars of rap don't translate onstage. No matter how potent the music, you lose the crowd. They want a hook; they want to sing your stuff back to you.
When I write I consider it a rhyme. In the studio I consider it laying down vocals. Onstage, I'm entertaining; I don't even think about it.
I don't write; I just go in the booth.
The camera or the microphone in the booth is merciless. If you don't believe what you're saying, it hears it. If you don't believe it, it sees it in your eyes, it hears it in your voice that there isn't the conviction there.
I feel like with a lot of Madlib's beats, they are made for storytelling. I feel like when I'm working on stuff with him, I can really get into the storytelling aspect mode of my flow.
I would have to work on the song and figure out how they wanted the song done, because they're such high-intensity songs. We figure that out first, then I go back and listen to it and go over and rehearse stuff with it and try to get a feel for the words.
My own rapping skills are quite good, actually. You get this thing, I think it's called Songify or AutoRap, and you talk into them, and they auto-tune it and make it into a quite interesting musical number. And I got one where it builds it into a rap.
Lyrics are kind of the whole thing; it's the message. Something might have a beautiful melody but if it's not the truth coming out of your mouth, it's not appealing.
It's all about being comfortable, forgetting there's a microphone in front of you.
I grew up with the great Sir Laurence Olivier, and I think it's fair to say that a lot of actors of my age were influenced by his very individual vocal delivery. He was a showman who would always play to the gallery.
I think my style as far as vocal delivery and even down to the pronunciation of certain words is so deliberate.
Most open-mic experiences I had were okay.
I freestyled the hook to 'Target.' I got into cadence and then it sparked the idea.
The Who on record were dynamic. Roger Daltrey's delivery allowed vulnerability without weakness; doubt and confusion, but no plea for sympathy.
I don't sing melodically. Rhyme pattern is how I sing. I also write like a lyricist or an MC because that's what I was before I was a singer. I just took those elements and put them into music.
Usually, the song will tell me who it belongs to. It seems clear to me who would do a good job with it, who it suits.
I like it when people have good flow, but I also like it when people actually say stuff. Because sometimes that's a very good distraction, like, to have impeccable flow, but you're saying a lot without saying anything.
Catchy lyrics are being given more importance.
Working with Brando was fun. It was like a tennis match. We played unbelievably well together.
I'm really big into lyrics in my own songs, so I look up to Drake in that aspect.
I just try to sing every song with sincerity.
When it comes to the music, the traits you got to have in order to make lit music, club music, to have the swag with it, to have the lingo - I got those traits, you know what I mean?
