Ghostwriting: The 52 Fakeout Of The Rap Game

BY TAMAL OF @CARRYINGTHECULTURE

Hip Hop Historian and Journalist, Tamal of Carrying The Culture weighs in on Ghostwriting in the Rap Game.

In recent years, technology has made it easier than ever for us to access information. When it comes to music, we now have the ability to find out details about songs that were previously unknown to us. Unfortunately, one of the biggest discoveries we are finding in rap music is that a lot of all-time great songs were ghost written by an artist behind the scenes. Although, this practice isn’t brand new, in the past few years, we’ve continued to learn that the writer of many of our favorite hits sometimes isn’t who we thought it was.

Although there is no official law book for hip-hop culture, there are many unwritten rules that have guided us since its inception. My understanding is that ghost writing has always been frowned upon by those who are serious about the art of emceeing. I recall being extremely disappointed every time I discovered that an emcee had received help with their lyrics and was always taught to view ghostwriting as one of the ultimate “sins” in hip-hop, an unbreakable rule. So obviously I have been flabbergasted to find out that it’s always been happening on a wide scale.

When I found out that Treach wrote for Da Youngstas, I was disappointed but I didn’t get too upset because they were young kids at the time so I “gave them a pass”. Then I learned he wrote for Queen Latifah (so did Jadakiss) and that Big Daddy Kane wrote for Biz Markie. That was the beginning of my hip-hop heroes shattering my dreams. But I think I damn near had a heart attack when I found out a couple years back that Brett Bouldin wrote “Hand On The Pump” for Cypress Hill. After that discovery, I’ve been looking at EVERYTHING from back in the day with a scrutinizing eye because at this point, who knows what anyone wrote?

I’ve posted about these and more recent discoveries of ghost written tracks, and most people share the same outrage. However, I also received some comments that have been some real head-scratchers. I’ve been told to “get over it since it’s been going on forever.” I’ve also been told that even though a track may be penned written by someone else, it will only sound good if the rendition is by the artist it’s intended for, as in the case of Gza writing for Old Dirty Bastard. People have also said that the practice is commonplace in other music genres so it should be accepted as “normal.” Seriously?

I have some major issues with this line of thinking. I certainly understand that this practice is much more rampant than I could imagine. However the fact that it has “always been going on“ isn’t an excuse that holds up. Some of the worst atrocities in history were justified by this very same excuse. Just because something has been happening for a long time doesn’t mean it’s right.

Ghost writing and writing for other people do take place in other genres but hip-hop (and rap music in particular) has always stood on its own. Our rules have ALWAYS been different. Those genres rely strictly on one’s voice to hit certain notes effectively to convey a message through the voice. The actual person behind the lyrics has never been as important as the delivery in genres like Soul, Rock, R&B, etc. But Rap is different because the critical factor has always been the lyrics instead of the voice. The whole idea behind rap is to express oneself through poetry over music (Rhythm And Poetry). And the key is that the words are coming from us even if the quality needs improvement. The important thing is that the thoughts are ours. The actual voice itself has never been as critical in rap music as it is in other genres. So if a rapper performs the song that he or she didn’t write, what are they doing then? How does that make them any more talented than someone in a karaoke bar? Doesn’t it seem disingenuous if I’m listening to your song about your “struggle in the hood“ but someone else wrote about that struggle? In rap, the author of the story matters. For example, Snoop’s “This Weed Iz Mine” written by an artist who doesn’t even smoke. How can that not affect how we anlayzie the track or Snoop’s career as a whole?

Every aspect of hip-hop culture is unique. Rules that apply to other genres of music communities cannot simply be implemented universally in our culture. Hearing an artist share his or her own story has always been the most critical component of the rap music (no matter what that story is) and to know that it may have been penned by someone else is extremely disappointing. I have been naïve to think that everyone in the rap game is following all standards and hip-hop principles that many of us grew up with and I’ve grown to accept this dose of reality. However, I cannot waver from these standards although others may choose to do so. To me, in the end, if you’re not writing your own lyrics, then you’re not an emcee—you’re a fraud.