Raekwon shifting from 1st to 3rd person narratives (from allhiphop.com)
Chef is one of the most underrated rappers in history. He gets credit mainly for being a master of slang and specializing in certain subject matter – street episodes and drug raps. But for years I’ve recognized something about Raekwon that it seems no one else is willing to give him credit for. He has as unique and sophisticated a flow as anyone in the history of the game. How can you tell? While there are countless artists who have virtually imitated the flow of every style imaginable - from Jay-Z to Ludacris to Rick Ross to Eminem to Lil’ Wayne to 50 Cent etc, there is no one who even comes remotely close to replicating Raekwon’s delivery and flow. It’s one of the reasons why Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 was so well received, 14 years after the original masterpiece.
Raekwon is probably the very best rapper I’ve heard at moving in and out of 1) 3rd person narrative (where he’s describing something he’s watching as a witness or observer, including actual dialogue) 2) 1st person description (where he’s telling you the details of what he’s doing) and 3) inner thinking (where he’s letting you know what his private thoughts are).
It is absolutely amazing when you carefully listen to what he’s doing and I’ve never spoken to anyone – even high-level industry producers who could explain it before I mention it (yet it seems everyone can ‘feel’ he’s doing something very special with his lyrics). He gives you dialogue, subconscious mind, and observations in real time without breaks, and in three dimensions (your viewpoint, his viewpoint, and the circumstance without comment).
Sometimes I just laugh when people complain about not understanding Raekwon’s lyrics blaming it on the slang he innovates. They don’t understand what he’s saying because they don’t understand how he’s saying it. He’s speaking on three levels at once. Focusing on just his word play is an insult to his genius.
