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letra de the fine art of the name drop: from pac to r.a. - stayfun

rappers usually feel the need to prove their realness. while some fulfill that need by boasting about money making and others start summing up their former bedfellows, some solely spit intricate lyrics concerning authenticity. in short: there are six million ways to show you’re as genuine as h-ll. if you really have to choose one, why not try name-dropping for a change?
admittedly, you’ll neither be the first nor the last rapper trying to stand out by mentioning others. that’s probably because it is such an efficient form of self-authentication. not only do you demonstrate thorough knowledge about hip-hop and life, but also firmly take your position within the culture. this post deals with three essential objectives for proper name-dropping: to praise, to diss and to brag

in this context, the definition of name-dropping deviates from the regular use of the word, which is merely negative. within this post, the term has neutral connotations. name-dropping will be only understood as the act of using names in a rap lyric to get whatever point across

addressing the addresseeduring the mid-90s, 2pac shakur manifested himself as a renowned name-dropper, using the technique to both build and destroy. for example, on his 1995 tribute “old school,” he pays homage to the rap legends that came before and paved the way. roughly one year later, pac’s respectful tone of voice has faded away: on diss tracks like 1996’s “hit ‘em up” and “when we ride on our enemies” he furiously lashes out at his rivals, mentioning every single one of ‘em by name (including lil kim, chino xl and others)

-n-lytically speaking, 2pac drops names in a rather straight-forward manner. he simply tells a story and names the characters involved. given the context of east and west coast cats ceaselessly beefing, he probably chose the most effective method, for these instantly written and released disses could not be misunderstood by anyone. in less turbulent times though, mcs have the chance to rethink their lines and really turn the name-dropping into an art form

three years after pac was murdered, in 1999, one of his former label mates on death row records followed his example of straight-up dissing a whole bunch of east coast rappers. although the competing coasts more or less squashed their beef after the k!llings of pac and biggie, kurupt still felt the urge to attack a particular group of eastsiders on “calling out names”:

“motherf-ck d! motherf-ck m!
only x i know is xzibit or rbx, extraordinary”

the x-factorkurupt is annoyed because dmx tried to make a move on his former fiancé, foxy brown. in that context, the const-tuent “only x i know” is a subtle double entendre. of course, kurupt disses dmx and simultaneously gives xzibit and rbx a shout out, but he’s also stating he has forgotten his ex already. more than that, he doesn’t even care about her anymore:

“trying to sn-tch my b-tch
you can have the b-tch
two b-tches getting rich”

another mc calling out x is rugged intellect from montreal, canada. his 2007 debut renaissance music: the introduction contains an impressive banger called “biters block,” which largely consists of names. just like 2pac and kurupt, this cat combines praising with dissing, but differently, the names he drops do not primarily relate to his message. instead, he uses them as figures of speech to get his point across — exactly why his use of x is interesting

as the t-tle suggests, rugged intellect disparages biters on this track: the biters block is a place where “amateur rappers…mimic their favorites to get a slice of props.” at the same time the rapper realises he could be judged a biter himself, since his way of rapping greatly resembles big punisher. he tries to refute that -ssertion in advance by suggesting other mcs take their styles from their predecessors as well

“what if pac never died, where would x be?”

emceeing about hip hopmost insiders would interpret this line as a reference to dmx. especially at the start of his career, around the time that pac died, dmx was often compared to him. even in a 2012 interview with mtv rapfix live, he still had to deal with this comparison. but rugged intellect could’ve also meant to use x as a variable — if one of the most ill-strious representatives of hip hop never died, where would any mc be? hip hop might not have become just as big as it actually has

however, pac did die and the culture grew around him. one of the acts creatively using that growth is a crew from brooklyn, new york called arsonists. on their critically acclaimed album as the world burns, they display a different approach to name-dropping. bearing in mind what’s already been said, “underground vandal” is a combination of the ways in which 2pac and rugged intellect drop names. the mc ripping this track, freestyle, tells a story using names as figures of speech

freestyle differs from the rest, in that he doesn’t restrict himself to naming rappers. he honors hip-hop as a whole and thus raps about all four elements of this street culture: deejaying, breakdancing, emceeing and graffiti art. the result is a heroic narrative about cutting corners like a dj, rocking steady like b-boys, making companies flow like an mc and about ducking task forces like graffiti artists who just “bombed” the city

dropping, praising, braggingthis brooklyn mc doesn’t only use simile (“i don’t give a f-ck like slim shady”) but also hyperbole (“there’s a 187 reasons why to be a necrophiliac”) and metaphor (“are my words worth the punchline?”). in the last two cases, the literary technique and the hip hop context closely interact with each other: against the background of the culture, these apparently self-evident lines turn out to have a hidden meaning that neutralises the hyperbole and reveals the metaphor respectively

obviously, one needs thorough knowledge and understanding of hip hop to grasp the deeper significance of freestyle’s lines. the rapper proves himself an initiate by cleverly interweaving the names he drops with his storyline. in other words: through praising the culture, he subliminally brags about his authenticity. his main concern is clearly to represent hip hop while the bragging is nothing but a side effect. yet, for the representing to be convincing, that reality check is indispensable

in the wonderous world of name-dropping, the opposite of freestyle’s approach takes place as well. probably the most striking example of bragging through dropping names comes from renaissance child, the 2007 solo debut of sunz of man member h-ll razah. the track “renaissance,” also known as “the renaissance 2.0,” features r.a. the rugged man, who personally elevates name-dropping to a whole new level on the third verse

embodying hip hopby means of dropping names, rugged man personifies the culture. claiming you are kool moe dee, treach, sl!ck rick, doug e. fresh and mos def means the same as claiming you are real hip hop. notably, rugged man doesn’t refer to these reputable rappers with similes (he is not like them) but with metaphors (he is them). as such, r.a. demonstrates not to be a biter. he doesn’t imitate, except for impersonating one living legend and one fallen soldier as to sing their praises

furthermore, the rapper claims to be canibus before meeting wyclef, ice cube before turning soft and richard pryor before becoming ms patient, standing out from his fellow name-droppers. by stressing the diminishing of the ones the world used to idolise before, he brags about his own realness. incidentally, r.a. the rugged man adopts a humble att-tude when acknowledging biggie as the righteous king of rap music, but not without taking the opportunity to brag

rugged man’s verse on renaissance is name-dropping to its fullest extent. simply by placing names in their proper context, the rapper ingeniously combines the three main objectives for name-dropping — he praises, disses and brags all at the same time. moreover, this verse does its job well within the scope of the track: embodying the culture through the names he drops, r.a. stylishly winds up a honest homage to hip hop and its history

what makes a good name-drop?dropping names can be done plainly and intricately. depending on at least three aspects, the technique can indeed evolve from an ordinary figure of speech to an autonomous stylistic device. the first and most basic aspect is the interaction between the name and the context. the second of those aspects is the relation between the names being dropped. the third important aspect is the extent to and the way in which the rapper relates himself to the names he drops

sometimes, the objectives mentioned before (to praise, to diss and to brag) amalgamate with each other. if so, the name-dropping truly intensifies the impact of the lyric — especially upon the in-crowd. the latter is also where the main weakness of this art form manifests itself: lyrics filled with names and contextual references carry the risk of sounding like algebraic formulas to a layman’s ears

however, as long as the names are connected in such a way that they make up a captivating storyline on the surface, the esoteric character of name-dropping shouldn’t be too much of a problem. quite the contrary: practicing the fine art of dropping names can be a godsend for rappers trying to distinguish themselves from others

any afterthoughts?now, dear reader, what are your thoughts on this -n-lysis? do you know other remarkable examples of name-dropping? can you think of any objectives for dropping names different from the ones dealt with here? if so, what are they? do they amalgamate with each other or with the ones mentioned in this piece? can you give an example of those objectives brought into practice? many thanks for reading and reacting. stay tuned for the next post
stayfun is a hip hop critic from amsterdam who wrote his master thesis about avant-garde strategies in hip hop culture, an exploratory study of the struggle for power between rappers and rap groups

- stayfun

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