Tenor just got signed to Universal Music Africa and has joined the very tight club of Cameroonian musicians who have been signed to a major record label. And to paraphrase the Notorious BIG; if you didn’t know, well now you know.
When I heard the news, I was elated but not the least bit surprised. I had the pleasure of meeting Tenor sometime early last year. I was visiting a friend who runs an entertainment show at a radio station and that day Tenor was his guest. I sat in the hall with Tenor’s manager; a young guy in his mid to late 20s and we traded some words. I remember asking him if he was even aware of the magnitude of Tenor’s talent.
He laughed and said he did. I asked him again if he was sure and added that I had listened hitherto to only about four of Tenor’s song and came to the conclusion that he was the most technically accomplished Cameroonian rapper I know and that Tenor could easily gain the prowess of Eminem. Now before you jump on my head because I mentioned Eminem, hold your horses for a little while.
In an earlier article on PoiseSocial on Stanley Enow, I mentioned that I like to think of myself as a bit of a rap encyclopedia. It can come up as a little pretentious, but I take full responsibility. I first tasted rap music when I sucked on the authentic flow from the tits of Jay Z and Nas. It was the real deal and none of that generic supermarket baby food we have today called trap. And so when I compare Tenor to Eminem I know exactly what I am talking about. I could have mentioned Kool Moe Doe or Chino XL but I wouldn’t want to confuse many of you. So let me explain.
Now, I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Shakespeare or what is known as an IAMBIC PENTAMETER. Every word we speak has a number of syllables. For every word that has two or more syllables, we usually place the stress on one or more syllables, though usually on one. Take the word ‘Because’ for example. It has two syllables Be and Cause. But when we pronounce the word, we usually “stress” the second syllable more. By stress I mean we pronounce harder. So in effect we actually say beCAUSE.
An iamb, to put it simply, is when a word starts with an unstressed syllable, followed by a stressed one. Like in the word ‘beCAUSE’.
An iambic pentameter is when a line in a verse has 5 iambs. Penta = 5. Get it?
So why am I boring you with this? Because not only was it popularised by William Shakespeare but it has been incorporated into rap music and it is NOT EASY to do. Let me give you guys a perfect example from the song “Lose Yourself” by Eminem.
His PALMS are SWEATy, KNEES weak, ARMS are HEAVy There's VOmit ON his SWEATer alREADy, mom's spaGHETTi He's NERVous, but ON the SURFace he LOOKS calm and READy To DROP B....S, but HE keeps ON forGETtin What HE wrote DOWN, the WHOLE crowd GOES so LOUD He OPens his MOUTH, BUT the WORDS won't come OUT He's CHOKin, how EVeryBODy's JOKin NOW The CLOCK'S run OUT, TIME'S up OVer, BLOah!
If you know this song, and if you think hard about it, you may realise that you knew these first eight lines without too much effort. WHY? Shakespeare usually wrote in iambic pentameter because it was easier that way for actors to remember their lines. It could be said in a rhythm.
So how does this concern Tenor?
Snoop Dogg said something about Eminem once in an interview; “Eminem has a way of making words that do not normally rhyme, rhyme.”
Guess who else has that in common? You guessed it, Tenor. These lines from the song do not necessarily follow an iambic pentameter. Probably a hexameter or a heptameter, but the interesting thing is the way Tenor places the syllables and drags some of the vowels to make some words phonetically different from what they are. The only person I know who does that is Eminem. Trust me people; that shit is difficult. Ask your rapper friends. They will tell you. Tenor even makes it more difficult by adding the ewondo accent. Laisse-MOI t'exPLOrer AUX milliMETRES Ton BOdy s'élEVE et LE mien JOUE le MAItre TE FAIRE des MAUvaises CHOses qui ONT lieu d'ETre CAR Même l'INdiSCIpline A ses REgles Me déposer sur toi Comme un Bic sur une feuille Me glisser dans tes segments Comme un billet dans un portefeuille Beaucoup de Bad Things qu'on essaiera Le genre de Bad Ways qu'on do Mais qu'on ne regrette pas
I’ll let you fit in the rest of the stresses.
People, that boy is a little genius!
But technique alone doesn’t make a rapper. It was Jay Z who said (on the song ‘Moment of Clarity): “If skills sold, truth be told, I’ll probably be, lyrically Talib Kweli.”
Because it takes more than skills to be an accomplished rapper. There are other elements to it. There is poetry, there is story-telling, there is cultural relevance in the songs, there is cadence, there is style and rhythm, there are metaphors and double-entendres and memorable punchlines.
Very few, I repeat, very few rappers have all of that. Sometimes one line in a rapper’s song can embody most of that.
“No lie, just know I chose my own fate. I drove by the fork in the road and went straight.” (Jay Z – Renegade)
Tenor still has a long way to go, that is if we still care for depth in the art of rap music. He has the style, rhythm, and cadence on lock. I am now hoping he can add more poetic devices to the mix.
However, at the teething age of 19, he has shown more promise than ANY other rapper of his generation and the people at Universal Music Africa have seen that too. I’d love to talk more and breakdown Tenor’s style a lot further but I can’t take all your time. Hopefully someday we will do a video and I’ll further deconstruct that.
Cheers and Congratulations to Tenor!
- Wandji Wilfred.