Audacity: Your swagger is one of the most important things when it
comes to character. No, you don’t have to be “super-cocky”, but
having a great set of confidence is the key to being taken more
seriously. Jay-Z is one of the best lyricist…. but his swagger
alone makes his music ten times stronger.

Bravery: Don’t be afraid to state your opinion… especially with
political issues. People are more willing to listen to an artist more
than Congress when there’s a good point being made.

Conviction: If you got something to say, you better say it like you
MEAN IT! If you’re expressing your pain on that paper, that pain
needs to show in your voice. 2pac is a PERFECT example of someone who
always spoke with conviction.

Diversity: Step into other worlds. If you’re more of a East Coast
cat… try rapping on a West Coast beat or something different every
once in a while. If you haven’t tried doing a club song… TRY IT!
If you alwayd do club songs… do a more sincere song for once. You
have to branch out!

Emphasis: No one’s gonna pay attention if they can’t understand what
you’re saying. Be clear! People like Ludacris and Eminem emphasize
almost EVERY little syllable in every word. Listen and notice that
you hardly ever miss a word no matter what speed they’re going.

Flow: You could have the tightest lines written down. But if it
doesn’t ride the beat well, it’s not going to be executed right. Just
like comedians… no matter how funny they may be, if they don’t have
TIMING… the joke is lost. If you don’t have timing… everything
you say will be lost.

Gift of Gab: Jay-Z is another great example when it comes to this.
It’s easy to put a bunch of sentences that rhyme together at the end.
But, TALKING to people and rhyming is another thing. Literally make
it as if you’re talking to your listeners. Jay-Z, for instance pretty
much always sounds like he’s having a conversation with you in his
songs. That’s what grabs people.

Honesty: Just be real. If you ain’t from the streets, don’t try to
play like you are. Give the people YOU!

Individuality: You have to have something about you that seperates
your style from everyone else’s. If you’re just a copy of someone
else already out, you will NEVER be able to do what they do better.
No one can be you better than YOU. Find what makes you special and
perfect it.

Jokes: Even the hardest of the hard gotta have a sense of humor every
once in a while. Make somebody laugh for once. You ain’t gotta be a
goof-ball, but I know you can get some kind of joke up your sleeve.

Knowledge: KNOW YOUR HIP-HOP HISTORY!!!! Don’t step into this
hip-hop culture without knowledge of the forefathers and mothers who
set the standards before you. Learn what makes this evolution tick!
Just because you say “2pac & Biggie are the greatest” doesn’t make you
a true hip-hop entity. Find out who influenced the people you look up
to now!

Lyrics: It’s one thing to be simple… and it’s another thing to just
be plain lazy. Work your vocabulary. There’s more things to rhyme
with besides “bat, hat, rap, trap, slap, strap and clap”. Step the
game up.

Maturity: Your experiences in life will make your music stronger, and
people will relate to you more when you relate to them. Even if you
haven’t been in a certain situation… you’ve atleast seen someone
else go through it (i.e. a friend, parent or even a character in a
movie). Don’t be preachy…. just relate!

Natural: You gotta make it look easy. If you’re trying too hard…
people will notice.

Open-Mindedness: Take a day away from listening to hip-hop for once.
Grab some jazz, some soul, some rock, some blues, some classical, some
funk or whatever. Music all has a soul that will build you in ways
you won’t even realize. If your music is one-demensional…. your
fanbase will be as well.

Phrasing: This also helps build your individuality. Phrasing is the
things you say that automatically personify you. When you hear “Yup!”
or “It’s ya boy!”… you know it’s Jay-Z. When you hear Jadakiss’
high-pitched laugh, you know it’s him. When you hear “Yeeeaaaaaah!”
you know it’s Jeezy. When you hear “Aye, Aye, Aye” you know it’s T.I.
When you hear “Ow!… Sha’mone!” you know it’s Michael Jackson.
Phrasing does wonders!

Quick-Witted: You gotta be clever. Especially if you’re in a battle.
You gotta know how to take anyone’s insults towards you and
completely flip it effortlessly.

Rhythm: This goes along with “flow”. But for this one…. let your
rhythm change on almost every song. When you rap in the exact same
rhythm allllll the time, it will get QUITE annoying. Biggie always
switched up his flow. Busta Rhymes always switches up his flow. The
only person who never needs to switch his flow is Twista…. because
the speed is impressive to people every time. lol

Stage Presence: You either have this or you don’t. If you don’t.
Sorry! You have to know how to move a crowd in order to be
successful. The test of your stage presence is with the reaction from
the ladies. Women don’t give a damn. If they don’t like you on
stage…. they won’t even bother “booing”, they’ll just act like you
don’t exist. Honestly…. this might sound crazy to some… but the
most honest people in the crowd are indeed the Black folks! Perfect
example…. The Apollo! Your ass will get booed before you even say
“Yo” if they sense you’re not any good.

Topics: Please talk about different things. Talk about pain, love,
happiness, spirituality, bad relationships, job experiences, friends,
family, enemies, jealousy, lonliness, infedelity, loyalty or whatever.
Just DON’T TALK ABOUT THE SAME THING ALL THE TIME!!!! Clipse was a
dope ass group! But all they talked about was “cocaine, cocaine and
cocaine”…. where are they now???

Upgrades: All MC’s who last in this world reinvent themselves
consistantly. Whether it’s through the music, your delivery, your
physique, hairstyle or fashion sense. Surprising your fans is always
a lot of fun… and when you do it right, you gain even more NEW fans.

Voice: Whether your voice is deep, high, nasaly, raspy, nonchalant or
loud. Regaurdess… your voice has to command attention. This also
is a natural thing…. but the more you use it, it gets better.

Wordplay: A lot of people question what this means. You want a
perfect example???… listen to the first verse of “Till I Collapse”
by Eminem, and you’ll hear exactly what great wordplay is.

X: We’re gonna X this one out, because there ain’t no words that
start with an X that is coming to mind at all. LoL.

Youthfulness: Ain’t nobody gonna pay attention to a 40 year old
rapper lol. Well… that’s if you look and sound 40. As long as you
keep that youth in you, you’ll have longevity. People like L.L., Dr.
Dre, Snoop and Jigga can go on and on, no matter how old they are…
because they stay youthful.

Z: Um…. Uhhhh…. zzzZZZZZzzzzzZZZZZzzzzZZzzz (fell asleep)