

RapGenius: Discover the meaning of rap lyrics - pufuwozu
http://rapgenius.com/

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aston
I've been talking about this idea at startup parties for the last two years.
Great conversation piece. I'm pretty psyched someone actually did it, and at
the same time kind of disappointed you guys aren't looking at a site I made
instead.

On the plus side, yet another real-life example for the "ideas are everywhere;
it's all about execution" entrepreneurship file.

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RapGenius
Thanks. Email me if you're interested in contributing -- ilan@rapgenius.com

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RapGenius
There's a lot of content that's not simply translation - context, jokes, etc.
Thanks for the link

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zackattack
What did you think of The Carter (documentary)?

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RapGenius
Really enjoyed it. Lil Wayne's an interesting guy

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maxklein
This site is brilliant. Check out the translation for these lyrics:
<http://rapgenius.com/lyrics/The-notorious-b-i-g/What-s-beef>

It's quite funny, for example:

"It ain't hard to find me, number one with the "booyaka" Give me the Remy and
the chronic, ain't no telling what I do to ya"

The explanation of the lyrics:

"When Biggie gets drunk and high off Remy Martin cognac and bomb-ass weed,
there’s no telling what he’ll do to you! (esp. if you’re a sandwich, watch
out! Your days are numbered)"

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RapGenius
Thanks for the love

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Osmose
Kudos to a great use of the Grooveshark API.

I once wanted to use their API in a class project where we had to make a web
mashup. It took until 2 days before our deadline to finally get access; and we
had since moved on. Since then I've been idly wondering what else I could use
it for.

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jmtame
“Pop” means “shoot” and Wayne seems to be saying “we shoot so many people that
you might mistake the frequent outbursts of our guns for the rapid popping of
popcorn”

my only complaint about rap lyrics is the excessive use of over-exaggeration

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thomaspaine
That's one of my favorite things about rap lyrics. Lil-Wayne expressing that
he's only mediocre at killing people just doesn't have the same ring to it.

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lunchbox
Is there any reason to limit this technology to the rap genre? This site looks
technologically superior to <http://www.songmeanings.net/> ; maybe they could
make a sister site for other genres.

Side comment: I think the mocking/ironically pompous tone of the annotations
detracts more than it adds.

e.g.: <http://rapgenius.com/1163>

If you're going to market the site to rap fans, many will interpret the tone
as condescending and be turned off. As with any other genre, a lot of fans
personally identify with the rapper or the subculture. Even to people who find
it funny, the joke gets old quickly. Just explain what the lyrics mean in
plain English.

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RapGenius
It's a delicate balance. Sometimes the jokes work, sometimes they fall flat.
We spend a lot of time editing to ensure the content "works" as much as
possible. The one you quoted is definitely a sort of throwaway, but spend a
little longer on the site and you'll laugh once or twice

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mbrubeck
Only half joking: I wonder if you could train NLP models to explain rap lyrics
automatically. Actually, you could think of it as a sort of machine
translation problem, translating one type of English dialect+jargon into
another...

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psawaya
This isn't about trying to translate rap vernacular into something
grammatically correct, though. It's about annotating lyrics with all of the
references and "street smarts" that someone from an outside culture might not
know about. Similar to how in high school, we read annotated Shakespeare which
explained a lot of the obscure 17th century references that a modern teenager
just wouldn't get.

The fact that this is done collaboratively, Wikipedia style just makes it all
the more awesome, in my opinion. Great job on this!

edit: Some of these are too hilarious to not share.
<http://rapgenius.com/10554>

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jseifer
<http://rapgenius.com/7749>

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petercooper
<http://www.songmeanings.net/> is a popular community site for song meanings,
not just rap. I've used it on lots of songs - they tend to have a meaning for
most anything.

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scotty79
This is interesting but I'd prefer to see mathematical proofs explained
verbosely line by line in this fashion.

Transition between two lines of mathematical deduction can be denser and more
cryptic than any verse of any rap gibberish (not to mention more useful).

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scorciapino
I try to be open minded; I try to appreciate the style; I try to pretend it's
not just a glorification of criminality, immorality and shallowness, but with
every song I listen, I get closer to the conclusion that it's the same goddamn
piece of rap.

Would anybody care to prove me wrong?

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scorciapino
I hope my downvoters enjoy the beauty and art of "Bitches ain't shit but hoes
and tricks / Lick on these nuts and suck the dick / Get's the fuck out after
you're done"

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andrewljohnson
Are you going to throw the Rolling Stones and hundreds of other classic rock
bands under the bus too, because they use swear words and talk about all the
girls they boink?

If you ask me, those lyrics are awesome and memorable. You have to be pretty
tightly wound to take them seriously.

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scotty79
It's not about swear words. It's about lack of any meaningful content. Just
bragging, trying to shock by disgusting and being an asshole to everyone,
especially woman and police.

Instead of thousands rap songs you could have only two:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqXi8WmQ_WM>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC03hmS1Brk>

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andrewljohnson
Similarly, instead of thousands of books, many postulate you could have just
3-4, but they are just talking about the plot. You may find a lot of
similarities in the words of rap songs, but if you took the time to listen to
a lot of rap music, then you would know there are a whole range of beats,
harmonies, instrumental work, sampling, and other techniques that make rap as
interesting as any other music.

This is silly though. I have heard thousands of rap songs, and you clearly
have not. I can quote rap lyrics, and you cannot. I can drum out the beat to a
rap song, and understand its uniqueness, but you cannot.

So, why should I argue with you? Go educate yourself, and then we can talk. I
wouldn't talk to a non-programmer about the merits of protypical inheritance,
and I see no reason to talk to you further about rap music.

This comment is even a waste of time, but you and Scorp's mindless drivel gets
under my skin.

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cubix
I'm pretty open minded when it comes to music. I can take something from
almost every other genre of music, but I'm bored to death by rap. I could
overlook the violence and crassness if I could see (or hear) some redeeming
virtues, yet they have always eluded me. Is there a particular song or album
you would recommend to experience the genre at its best? What makes it
interesting to you?

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andrewljohnson
This very popular song by Wyclef Jean is musically awesome, has great lyrics,
and while it talks about "thug life" and prostitution, I don't think it's
particularly offensive to women, nor does it glorify violence. I even like the
use of auto-tune here.

[http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/wyclefjean/sweetestgirldollar...](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/wyclefjean/sweetestgirldollarbill.html)

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aj1sznTdLM>

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cubix
Isn't this more contemporary R&B? Although it makes use of a hiphop rhythm,
and there is some rap interjected here and there, it's not really what you
would call a rap song, is it? Also, I was hoping for something considered
really great in the genre, something your children will listen when it's no
longer fashionable. This song, while not terribly offensive, seems rather
vanilla and it's hard to imagine people listening to it in a couple of years,
let alone decades from now. I doubt Autotune will age well.

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andrewljohnson
And now we have gotten to the root of the problem with blanket commentary like
"Rap sucks." Rap is a very diverse field of music, and only an ignoramus could
write it all off as one package.

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cubix
What blanket commentary? Who are you quoting? I'm thoroughly bemused by your
response. I was looking for something definitive for the genre. I could be
wrong, but what you put forward seemed slightly outside of the genre, or at
least not representative. I was looking for the rap equivalent of Sgt. Pepper
or the Dark Side of the Moon, if such a thing exists.

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starkfist
Sgt Pepper would be "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" by Public
Enemy, and Dark Side of The Moon would either be "Enter The Wu-Tang (36
Chambers)" by the Wu-Tang Clan or "Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde" by Pharcyde.

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zackattack
1) curious what kind of CMS is powering this site

2) wanna meet the creator and light up a blunt

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RapGenius
ilan@rapgenius.com

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rman666
Word to your mother.

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dbz
I already knew all this.

