Okay - now this is something asked innocently by many Battlers who have been battling for a bit, yet are unable to really convince themselves or others of their potential - So if this were posed to a Veteran Experienced Battler who REALLY knows his shit and has had extensive exposure on various local & International online Battling Forums, this is how it would probably go - THIS IS VERY BASIC AND ALSO VERY USEFUL INFO - SO PLEASE READ & TRY TO BUILD GOOD BATTLING HABITS THAT WILL HELP YOU WIN AND TURN OPPONETS U PREVIOUSLY WERE LOSING TO, INTO UR NEXT VICTIMS. (^_^)
Question asked by Battler :
"Why is that rhymes written by me are regarded as "nursery rhymes" ?
And Is having metas, similes, and multis the only way to call ur lines dope ?
Biggie didnt have any multis in his line and said his thing straight and smooth, isnt that a skill?"
Veteran Battler's response & exact explanation :
SECTION A :
Not seen this battler's battles as such - But if people are saying you are writing "nursery rhymes" then it must most probably be because you only make straight rhymes :
like : run-one-bun-fun-stun...
See - these kinda rhymes are obviously very amateurish (nursery)...these are SINGLE Syllable straight rhymes...because its just 1 syllable that rhymes.
Now look at these rhymes : robber-stopper-shopper
These are Double Syllable straight rhymes...these are a notch above the single syllable 1s but are still regarded amateurish...if you are a beginner you shud try making rhymes like these First - as you get better...you will be able to make Multi-Syllable rhymes.
When you start making multi syllable rhymes you will notice that making straight rhymes becomes really hard simply cos u dont find many multi-syllable straight rhymes...at this point you will automatically start making SLANT Rhymes.
Now the difference between Straight and Slant rhymes is that - in Straight rhymes the vowel and the consonant with which the syllable ends rhyme - Whereas in a Slant rhyme only the vowel in the syllable rhymes.
Lets take the word 'ONE' :
Its straight rhymes are like I mentioned before : one-fun-bun-sun-run.
Its slant rhymes would be : one-come-cup.
Now if you notice Slant rhymes dont really sound good if they are single syllables...as the number of syllables increase slant rhymes look better.
eg : for double syllable slant rhymes : sober-covert-motors.
Try reading these words aloud - and recognise the sounds that the vowels make. You'll find they are similar...these kinda rhymes obviously have more impact and these are wat ppl usually wanna see.
As the number of syllables increase, slant rhymes sound better - eg from one of the battles : "Benedict-terrorist"
- these are 3 syllable slant rhymes. Notice that ALL 3 syllables rhyme!! These kinda rhymes will fetch you more points.
Also - once you've perfected the art of rhyming, you can start making Multies -- Multies are multiple words which rhyme when read together.
Another example from a previous battle -
Dictionary-gets-exhausted
Fictionary-tales-you've-lost-it.
While making Multies, it is not necessary that ALL syllables rhyme but a majority of them shud rhyme -- Especially the 1st few and the last few.
[[ 1 thing to be taken care of is that Slant rhymes depend on the accent that you follow;
A good example is : "Multi-Sundry" - a Slant rhyme for those who pronounce 'multi' as 'mull-TIE' -- Those who pronounce it as 'mull-TEE' - will not find it rhyming.]]
Slant rhymes can have various degress of "slantness". It really depends on your accent...so make sure that u dont use Heavily Slanted rhymes!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION - B :
And Is having metas, similes, and multis the Only way to call ur lines dope ?
The answer is a big NO!!
The biggest reason why people will call ur lines dope is if you have a Killer PUNCH!! Punch is the most important aspect in your bar...it carries the maximum weightage!! So if you are punching well you will win most of your battles.
But now the question is how do you frame GOOD Punches?
You see framing Punches is undoubtedly the toughest part -- to convert your Punch into a KILLER one you need to incorporate Metaphors (it includes Similes), Wordplays and Personals.
It is REALLY hard to make an awesome Punch without using a Metaphor/Wordplay/Personal -- If you can -- well then good for you!! But you wont be able to do it on a consistent basis.
NOW - the thing is if you can string a Metaphor, a Wordplay, a Personal and then convert it into a Punch you will be able to beat (almost) Anybody around.
SO - finally it can be said that 80% of Killer Punches will always have Metaphors / Wordplay in them...and if you can make a good Metaphor then it will AUTOMATICALLY lead to a Good Punch -- so that's the reason why we scrutinise the Metaphors SO much; But obviously a Meta with NO Punch does not fetch you any points.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION - C :
(Coming to the last question)
I totally agree with you!! Multies have a very small weightage in battles...if im not mistaken its only about 10-15%.
Just make sure your bars rhyme and that shud be gud enough - Gone are the days when if someone wud string in 4-5 Multies in 1 bar he wud be called dope...that doesnt happen anymore, mostly.
But having said that its also important to note that 'Flow' is also a category that has weightage (can't remember how much exactly) and one of the ways to improve your Flow is to make Multies - This happens especially when you've got really long lines.
Reading long lines without Inner Rhymes dulls the Punch impact...therefore in such cases it is important to bring 1-2 Multies in -- BUT - if you are keeping your lines short then there is no reason to worry about Multies
Of course if you CAN make a Multi and incorporate it into the bar WITHOUT FORCING a concept then you are most welcome to do so since Multies also carry points/marks.