Innovative Flows in Hip Hop

As hip-hop grows as a genre we've seen numerous trends and styles come and go. This goes for beats, various phrases, and flows. There are numerous examples of artists creating flows/styles to later be reimagined by present-day artists.

Rartistslody Flow

This is when a rapper almost sounds as though they are singing their verse. The first time I heard this style of rapping was when I heard Ride with Me by Nelly. As a young kid, this was easy for me to understand and blurred the line between singing and rapping.

There are numerous examples of present-day rappers incorporating melody into the way they rap. The most obvious case is Drake, who will go from rapping to singing within the same verse. Other examples of this are Quavo, Travis Scott, and Chris Brown. One interesting story about this type of rapping is when Chris Brown was put on the David Banner song Stuntin' is a Habit, Chris asked for a verse instead of doing the chorus which is typical for a singer. This was a landmark moment for singers and rappers using the melody. 

Originator: Nelly
Best Example: Country Grammer



Present Day:

Drake
Best Example: Madiba Riddim



Quavo
Best Example: Out Yo Way




Tag Team Flow

A true signature flow of the old school era. This is when a group or duo take turns every line or so, sometimes finishing each other's sentences. The true pioneers of this were Run DMC.

Originator: Run DMC
Best Example: Peter Piper





Present Day:

Jay Z/Kanye West

Best Example: Gotta Have It



 Fabolous/Jadakiss

Best Example: Theme Music 



Super Duper Flow

This is when a rapper rhymes words over and over without any prepositions or other words in between. Normally the word at the end of the line rhymes with the words at the end of the next line. Or you also see words at the start of the line rhyme with a word in the same sentence. 

In what Big Sean is cited in creating the "Super Duper flow rappers take their rhyming to the extreme. Check out the video below of when Big Sean went on Westwood he starts do going into a super duper flow around 1:40.

Originator: Big Sean
Best Example: Westwood Freestyle







Thank you for reading, agree or disagree with me? Send me feedback and let me know any ideas for future blog topics. I work to post once a week.

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