Trueschool Monday #58

"Straight to the track my lyrics is phat I rip it the hell down
More than a fluke I'm regularly wreckin this joint so what now
With so many niggas that's biting it's harder to detect who I be
Well check out the J, check out the A, check out the Y, Z
Original rap, I'm makin it slap, I'm hemmin it up like that
Stingin it, strikin it, swingin it fat, bring it back..."

Royce da 5'9" and Fredro Starr of Onyx both describe Jay-Z's emphasis on flow in the book How to Rap – Starr says that Jay-Z is "a master of the flow—he can flow fast, he can flow slow". The book describes how Jay-Z uses 'rests' to provide structure to a verse and how he uses 'partial linking' to add more rhymes to a verse. Jay-Z's early style is described by Vibe as "a distinctly Das EFX-type, stiggety style" on his 12" single "Can't Get With That", referring to the fast rhythms and vocal delivery of the group Das EFX. He is also known to write lyrics in his head, as described by Pusha T of Clipse in How to Rap, a style popular with many MCs such as The Notorious B.I.G., Everlast, Bobby Creekwater and Guerilla Black. Shock G of Digital Underground describes Jay-Z's performance style, saying he "rarely breaks a sweat, and instead uses smoothness and clever wordplay to keep the audience interested and entertained".