As a rapper, I was heavily influenced by American rap albums. But for songs that are more melody-driven, I get my inspiration from Korean albums.
We were always scientifical in our raps.
I want to keep the same kinda vibe where we've got the dance element and hip-hop. I'm going to be singing a lot more, and I want to write more heartfelt songs.
I knew that it's typical for a black kid to say, 'I'm just going to rap.' I was like, 'I'm going to rap, but I'm going to study, I'm going to figure out what this is and how to put it together.'
Music is very similar to comedy: It's all about texture, timing, context, vocabulary, performance. When someone's onstage doing a solo, essentially it's the same thing as what a comedian does. They're in the moment. They're listening.
I love folk. I love rap.
English is like music. The English language is really fit for singing. The notes match the feelings, and it makes sense.
When I did rap and rhyme, it wasn't just a word that rhymed with another one.
Every pulse of your heartbeat is one liquid moment that flows through the veins of your being. Like a river of life flowing on since creation, approaching the sea with each new generation.
In song the same rule applies as in dramatic verse: the meaning must yield itself, or yield itself sufficiently to arouse the attention and interest, in real time.
If you want to get lost in the jungle rhythm, get down on the ground and pretend you're swimming.
Energy moves in cycles, circles, spirals, vortexes, whirls, pulsations, waves, and rhythms—rarely if ever in simple straight lines.
I've been writing music since 4th grade, and I love putting words together and expressing things in a way that you can move your head to and you can really relate to, because I have a lot to say.
I love a beautiful, soaring, singable melody. But what really draws me to a song, at the end of the day, is the words.
I think the way I write is kind of naturally rhythmic. If there's anything of my own in my writing, I think that's my own thing. Like when I start a song, I almost hear the rhythm more than the melody.
For some music, lyrically, the best move is to keep it simple in what it is that you are saying, and just kind of come across in your rhythm and the way that you lock in on the music.
All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music.
I try to make the voice in my head come out onto the page. I try to make it much more conversational than other writing. I speak everything, so if something sounds right I write it. It's more about sound and the rhythm of speech than written language.
When I write, I write everything from a rhythm point.
You see somebody rapping and you're like, "Nah, my cousin can do that." You're spoiled by the experience. Overseas, it's still something that people can appreciate.
A lot of the time, when I'm choreographing, I'm not thinking about what movement look best next to the next movement - I'm actually thinking about what song and what sound sounds right next to the next thing. So kind of choreographing as if I'm always making a mix tape, so to speak.
The fact that rap has a strict meter and stays to a click means that you have to make your thoughts concise.
When I write a song, I hear the music and words at the same time - one suggests the form of the other.
I have not worked out my poems with a careful will, falling rather on haphazard and blind formulation of wordage, a more flowing concept, in a hope for a more new and lively path. I do personalize at times, but this only for the grace and elan of the dance.
The stuff that I make and the things that I talk about, you have to listen, so if the beat is doing too much, it's going to take you away. If the hook is too distracting, it's going to take you away. The hook just needs to be enough to get you from one verse to the next.
