>and let me start out that Q-Tip is my favorite hip hop artist
>ever, but he really isn't that lyrical like a Black Thought,
>Monch, Mos or even Ye. ----Agreed
>
>If anything he was a swag rapper and afrocentrism was his
>swag. people dig his voice, flow, personality and overall vibe
>but not lyrics per se. His rhymes are intellectual and come
>from a unique perspective, he says things that you can say and
>puff up your chest without tough talk, he says things you wish
>you said to that girl you saw on the train yesterday. ----Agreed
>
>In my opinion the fact that he ISN'T lyrical makes him a
>better artist than rappers who are. He says a lot of cool,
>slick shit and does so using regular language & technique that
>the average dude on the corner can grasp without feeling like
>he's listening to a fucking word puzzle. He doesn't use a lot
>of metaphors and double/triple entendres or other tricks & he
>doesn't need to.

----But I think the metaphors and double/triple entendre are what separate the good lyricists from the great ones, and the quicker you are on your feet with this stuff, the greater you are. Maybe it's because I also have an appreciation for poetry, but these are the things that make me love Mos Def and Common circa Resurrection.