swag rport.

words: swagrporters

Drake’s flow from his first verse off ‘Fear,’ on the Grammy nominated mixtape, So Far Gone, touches a popular yet taboo topic in hip hop: Ghostwriters.  Many artists have been accused of employing a writer to pen their famous lines and double entendres and many have been quick to deny the allegations.

The title of this post refers to a Big Boi line where he claims that “it seems like the game is haunted cause there’s so many ghostwriters.” In fact, XXL has posted about some of the game’s most prolific ghostwriters. Notice that some of the biggest names in the game have contributed to other rapper’s flows or have used guestwriters themselves.

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Learning that Dr. Dre or Diddy have often employed the help of others to make a hit song shouldn't surprise anyone. If anything it’s a testament to the fact that they should stick to what made them famous in the first place; making beats and being childhood friends with one of the best rappers to ever live, respectively.

Does the artist have to credit the writer on the track? Well legally speaking…no. Not if the contract stipulates payment for the verse and to keep it on the low. This of course leads some artist to make accusations that a now famous line was in fact a bite of their own words. Roscoe Dash, who can barely make his own music, made such a claim and no one really took him seriously.

However, in his ‘Ride or Die’ track off of Volume 2…Hard Knock Life, Jay-Z calls attention to his work as a ghostwriter. He claims “I prolly make more money off your album than you” and he is “S. Carter, ghostwriter, and for the right price I can even make YO $hit tighter.” There is no shortage of proof that Jay penned famous tracks ranging from ‘Still D.R.E’ to ‘Buggin’ off of the Space Jam soundtrack.

Mad Skillz, sampling Jay’s verse aptly titled ‘Ghostwriter’, makes unsubstantiated claims about some of his clients not paying their dues...literally. He goes on to claim that if the rappers don’t pay up, the song would be rereleased with their names in it. 

At the end of the day, rhymes are the only tools rappers have for being remembered after the inevitable conclusion of their career. Drake’s ‘Fear’ verse eludes to what all artists who have availed themselves of a ghostwriter’s services must have pondered: Will the words coming out of his mouth taste sour if he spends the rest of his career performing verses that aren’t his?

What makes a successful rapper? Clever lines, smooth flows, and an ability to tell a story? Or is it the harmony and on-time delivery? Perhaps an unanswerable question. Many true hip hop heads would have no problem defending Dre as one of the greatest of all time even though he is no stranger to ghostwriters.

Hip hop is a multi-dimensional art form allowing an artist to bring his or her words to life through the delivery of those words. Both components difficult to master. The bar for commercial success; however, seems to only demand that a rapper to be exceptional at one and merely good at the other. So what’s more important? Telling your story as an artist or selling a hit single?

swagrporter: If you don’t write your lines you’re telling someone else’s story. You’ve chosen to pursue the fame at the expense of artistic integrity. You’re a performer. You’re not a true hip hop artist.

Love my words or hate ‘em. They will forever be my own.