When I first listened to Tenor’s songs, I remember telling myself that he sounded like Eminem. If you’re twisting your face in denial, you actually are right. He doesn’t sound the way you think I’m talking about. Tenor, just like Eminem, has the ability in his pronunciation to make words that do not normally rhyme, rhyme. It is one of the strongest points of Slim Shady. I’m not sure I know any rapper who does it as well as he does.
These two rappers too, have something in common. This other thing doesn’t always happen like with the pronunciation part; but on the other hand has something to do with a writing technique that William Shakespeare himself was a master of. It was quite common during his time, and it was a tool that was aimed at helping actors of the day remember their lines.
I’m talking about what English professors will tell you is 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. Usually, it is 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 it harder. So in effect we actually say beCAUSE.
Think of this example: You are exasperated by your elder sibling always checking you. One day, they ask you “why were you late?” In your exasperation you could answer like this; “becaaaauuuse there was a lot of traffic.” That’s a perfect example of how you stress the second syllable.
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 BOMBS, 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. It can be said in a certain rhythm. In the Shakespeare days, the actors would memorise by tapping a stick or their feet to the floor and follow this rythm
So how does Tenor come in?
Let’s long at the song “Bad Things.” These lines from the song do not necessarily follow an iambic pentameter. Not as good as the Eminem verse above. His can be said to be 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. 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 DEPOser 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.
That is some great technique. 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 and technique 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.
Tenor is a very talented rapper and I think it was important to bring out this little piece of what makes him a good rapper and why we appreciate his music too.
- Wandji Wilfred.