we spoke to local rapper MC Matic Mouth. As a rapper, he’s particularly sensitive to the rhythm contained in words and uses this to generate ideas for songs.Matic is a member of Clubs & Spades, a hip hop outfit comprising of fellow MC, Shinobi, and producers Manakin and Andy Nicholson (former Arctic Monkeys bassist). Proudly rapping about their Sheffield hometown and in their native accents, Clubs and Spades have cultivated their own strong local identity whilst simultaneously opening stages for international artists such as Public Enemy, Pharoahe Monch and Mash Out Posse. Their two albums are available on Spotify.
As you watch the video, listen out for the following key points:
- We’ve already seen this week how the most important words in a lyric will often coincide with the first, strongest (accented) beat in the bar. Notice how Matic uses this in his own music, looking for natural accent patterns in a four beat rhyme and putting the rhyme words in his lyrics on the first beat of each bar.
- As an artist who is mostly concerned with words, Matic will sound out other parts of the song using his voice and try to come up with words that match this rhythm.
- Matic emphasises the importance of just having a go
- freestyle, experiment and use your instincts.