Every now and then, you’ll come across a rapper who raps offbeat. For some reason, this ‘type’ of rapping is becoming widespread, and many rap fans are wondering why and whether it is going to become a thing in the rap industry. Truth to be told, those raps fans are obviously not real fans, because, otherwise they would know that the difference between a good and bad rapper is whether they rap on or off beat. This actually implies that the rappers who rap offbeat have no talent and are no good in what they’re doing. Of course, there is some truth to that, but there are also other factors affecting their rapping style. So, in order to understand why so many rappers rap offbeat nowadays, we are going to look into a few possible reasons. But, before we continue with the topic analysis, make sure to buy dissertation UK in case you are looking for some essay, paper or even dissertation writing services.
No Sense for Rhythm
Sure, being on or off beat usually depends on the artist’s flow and their understanding and sense of rhythm. Many claim that the off-beat style of rapping is done on purpose, according to Complex, bringing to the forefront the burning question of talent and rhythm sense, or the lack of it. Offbeat as a stylistic choice is not entirely new, but the way it was perceived in the last few years, and nowadays, is completely different. Before offbeat rapping was considered as an insult to the rapping game, today, it is regarded as a type of intentional rhythm fluctuation that could be described as control.
When it comes to rapping offbeat, the rhythm of the artist’s flow and the rhythm of the instrumental do not complement each other, and in the case of onbeat rapping, the artist has a full intuitive connection between the flow and the instrumental. Just as a singer would be off-melody, a rapper’s offbeat rapping could be considered a mistake or only as a lack of talent and sense of rhythm. However, there is really no concrete way to technically explain this phenomenon, other than using one’s ears and sense of rhythm to recognize whether someone raps onbeat or offbeat.
Different Types of Rapping
Rappers usually choose a specific rapping style or type and try to make it their own. That being said, so many rappers and artists nowadays have to deal with the issue of uniqueness and standing-out when everyone basically sounds the same, using the same styles and types. For that reason, offbeat rapping has attracted such wide attention, as it allows the artist to manipulate the sound and flow, regardless of whether it is intentional or not.
Speaking or rapping types, the most common are the in-the-pocket or out-the pocket rap types. The main difference between these two types is the fact that in-the-pocket rapping relies on bars complimenting the snares or clasps. The reason for this lies in the actual rap beats, that are based on the 4/4 time signature, meaning you can count the beats as 1-2-3-4. So, in-the-pocket rapping is onbeat rapping, where the artist would follow 1 and 4 to stay on the beat. When the artist doesn’t hit the 1 and 4, they lose the flow, sense of rhythm and rap offbeat. However, offbeat shouldn’t be mistaken for out-of-pocket rapping, because the latter simply stands for the flow being slightly behind the beat or slightly ahead of the beat. To some, this may sound as offbeat, but the flow still matches the music, which isn’t the case in offbeat rapping.
No Sense for Drums and Instrumental Structure
Again, the lack of sense for drums and instrumental structure could be ascribed to the lack of artist’s talent. However, personally, I would attribute this to one of those mistakes rappers never learn to correct. To understand how this affects the onbeat/offbeat issue, one first needs to understand what it means to be on the beat. To be onbeat, the rapper’s bars, or words, should be accented on a common subdivision of the measure. The most common are eight or sixteenth notes, as well as triplets or septuplets. However, if the listener is unable to reduce a rapper’s flow to a snare drum, and if it doesn’t sound complimentary or coherent, the rapper is offbeat. Also, this means that the rapper is entirely unable to fall in line with the four beats in each bar, which is basic music knowledge.
Sometimes, the artist doesn’t actually need musical training in order to follow the beat. To be offbeat can mean that the artist hasn’t trained their ears, which is definitely a common mistake in the music industry. However, with the notion that offbeat is becoming increasingly popular, one couldn’t help but wonder whether we should accept it as a fleeting trend or as something that should be criticized in the long run. Personally, if a rapper is offbeat, it just means that they don’t take their job seriously, have no work ethic and are not working hard on improvement and development. To say that offbeat is intentional is just an excuse for laziness, and that’s all rap is nowadays; lazy.
