the difference between us is that i can freestyle and when i do
my flow is on point but as you mentioned, the lyrics aren't as captivating as my written pieces
freestyle lyrics become more entertaining and it all depends on what you want to achieve as a musician
do you want to move the crowd or do you want to stimulate the crowd?
to me it seems like you want to get them thinking
to look deeper within your composition and to actually realize that this cat is rhyming to the instruments
that there is more to this emcee than just a flow on beat with entertaining lyrics
however
how would that translate on stage?
unless you draw an avante garde crowd that is okay with smoking a joint and not really dancing or getting wild
than yeah, you'll do fine
but if you want to move the crowd you have to move with the drum

the trick is to find a balance of both
you want to get people thinking by using simpler tools in your tool box
for example
sometimes its best to put that long worded metaphor away for the same meaning in a shorter pun
there are sacrifices all emcees must make in my opinion
also, it takes days to perfect a song, if not weeks
mos def made a reference to this in one of his joints that slips my mind now
he said that he started on a rhyme and it took him something like two days to complete
write something
put on the beat
rhyme it out
listen to it
is it on beat? probably not all there
is there real energy in your voice?
is your delivery on point?
part of rhyming is knowing how to deliver
delivery and cadence plays a large role in flow imo and even though the words can be perfectly on beat if the delivery is not
it can still sound off
so you see after all the talk
it really comes down to practice and evolving with your material
hip hop is a box
you have to get inside it to really start rocking with it
the box is determined by the kick and snare
sadly that may be the truth
you can be crazy innovative with your lyrics
have the most important message in the world
but if you do it in the context of hip hop
you gotta get inside the structure, you can't over innovate
because if you do that it becoems spoken word, or something else all together

to help you, i will say this
keep doing your thing, keep writing what you are writing
and when it comes to record it, sometimes it helps to turn the beat down real low so you don't get lost in the instrumentation but stay focused on beat
pay real close attention to how you begin and end your sentences
and make small adjustments that will eventually evolve into a kick ass flow

---
the pursuit of fame and fortune
leads to shame and misfortune
-tao