From the simple AABB rhyme pattern of Kurtis Blow’s “The Breaks” in 1980 to the complex rhyme schemes of rappers like Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, emcees have taken all kinds of approaches to rhyming over a beat through the years.
With the help of rapper Open Mike Eagle and researcher Martin Connor, VOX’s Estelle Caswell has put together a fascinating mini-documentary that deconstructs the rhyming patterns and rhythmic techniques of some of the greatest lyricists of our time (including MF Doom, Eric B. and Rakim, Notorious B.I.G., Black Star, Outkast, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar).
Watch above and check out a Spotify playlist of some of their favorite examples of inventive rhyming below.
