This connection of lines makes Biggie’s style so iconically smooth and mellow. Thus, he chains sentence one and two to sentence three and four, he continues this throughout the song, linking one bar to the next with rhyme (picture above right). In the same line that he ends this rhyme scheme, he starts his next one of the “ih” sound in s**t, d**ks, six, and tints (Caswell). In “Hypnotize” Big starts out with the “oo” sound in cutie, booty, coogi, dookie. The most important piece of Biggie Smalls’ raps is how he “chains” rhymes together. Thus, the listener stays on the edge of their seat, waiting intently for what’s next. Though this aspect of his music may seem small, it’s actually vital to keeping the mellow song interesting and unpredictable, creating a flow that could go anywhere. If done by an amateur, this could make for a really boring song, but Biggie counters this by keeping his sentence length ever changing (Caswell).īy delivering a variety of long and short sentences (pictured at right), Caswellīiggie keeps his audience enticed. Throughout these track he keeps his rhymes simple, using almost exclusively single syllable rhymes. The songs “Hypnotize” and “Notorious Thugs”, off his Life After Death album, embody this flowing tone.

He spits a sound that makes his music easy on the ears, pouring into your head as easily as it flowed out of Biggie’s lips. By pushing rap in a new direction, Biggie essentially cemented himself in music history and paved the way for future artists to continue his tradition of breaking the mold.īiggie Smalls has remained a standard in music, even after his death in 1997, due to his smooth rap flow (Connor). Although he is still talking about the same things that other rappers were, (drugs, guns, and girls), Big transitioned rap away from its angry sound into a new era of fluidity. In the early 90’s, Biggie burst on the scene and changed rap with his slow and often melancholy verses. In the late 80’s gangster rap was the main form of rap this influence bled into the 90’s, bringing with it a raw and angry sound. Because of his different approach, his sound became historic. Hearing his verses, fluid and poetic, inspired me to analyze how The Notorious B.I.G made his game changing verses so smooth and classic.Īlthough Biggie doesn’t have crazy-fast delivery speed or the ability to string together a verse of prolific rhymes, he has become a rap legend due to his easygoing flow. This, one of the most famous lines to ever come out of Biggie Smalls’ mouth, illuminates the legendary rapper’s proficient rhyming ability and his easy going flow. “Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one / Representing BK to the fullest / Gats I pull it / Bas**rds duckin’ when Big be buckin”.

Hypnotize biggie no lyrics