Another Thought Process Edition

WHAT THE HOOK GONE BE?
Written by: Oa'Toya James

UH OH! You don’t have a Hook! For most rappers out there, that sounds like trouble!
For those of you who haven’t noticed, the radio is flooded with songs with crazy beats. What are they backed by? - nice hooks. Back in the day the two would come together to make a banging song.
Now, it’s a conspiracy to cover up a lack of talent!!! (Did I go too far!) Let’s face it, without the hook, most rap songs wouldn’t stand a chance! (You waiting on me to call names…I ain’t gonna do it!! You know who they are)

In this era, we have gotten accustom to a catchy hook. “ Let it rain, clear it out” You find yourself rapping the hook, but don’t know a word of the actual song. And to top if off, you don’t even know who it is rapping. That’s because, the artist ain’t saying much in the song! You find that far too often, and I’m telling you we have been had!--- Hoodwinked and bamboozled into buying albums with no substance!

I’m sorry, I’m getting a little crazy. But somebody has to stand up for the hooks! They are being misused! The hooks are forced to sell the songs, not the verse! And that’s backwards. In my opinion, the hook should reinforce the verse! The Hook catches you, get your attention, and the Verse, it WOW’s you!
(You know it makes you think, laugh, cry, reminisce, rob, etc depending on the artist) But, the verse will continue to disappoint, when the artist has the no flow!

I’m sure you remember the rest… “I don’t need a F@#king hook on this beat!”

That’s a bold statement! NO HOOK! You ain’t gonna use NO HOOK! You better have a mad flow or be hella captivating! A song with no hook means that you are confident that you can keep the listener entertained with just YOU and your flow.

In my opinion, some of the best rap songs, had no hooks! The artist just told a story, like Slick Rick..La- di Da-di, we likes to party, we don’t cause trouble, we don’t bother nobody, We’re..Oh! I’m sorry. (Don’t act like you wasn’t rapping it too) Or maybe they just kept the flow going. As it is done in, Da Rockwilder, by the incredible tag team Method Man and Red Man!! They take the words out of my mouth, “Oh my GOD!!” Both songs bring it, from the beginning to the end!

Then you have those who hit hard, and just let the music play. Go back with me… “Paper Thin, by the one and only Mc Lyte, “I’m Bad” LL. Cool J of course, and DMX’s “Crime story” off “Its Dark and Hell is Hot” album, just to name a few.

Now I’m not downing the use of hooks. I’m just saying, throw in some skills, please!

“You can’t touch the untouchable, break the unbreakable, shake the unshakable…Its Hovie Baby…” You knew it was Jay-Z right! From verse to hook there is no break in the message, the message being HE IS HOV. The Hook just drives it home! Then again he’s Hov!

Then there’s the subtle hooks, like in, “Breathe!”- Fabolous, (he went off!) and “One Mic”(just impressive)-Nas. They went so Hard in those verses that you almost need the hook to settle you down.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t care “What tha Hook Gone Be!” The only thing I ask is that it not be the only part of the song that is worth something!! Don’t use all your energy and creativity on the hook, and then get to the verse and…nothing! Oh, and please, Don’t recycle a hook! (You don’t know what I’m speaking of, I’ll tell you. Its when an artist takes a phrase from a previous hot song, and turns it into the hook for another song! “Oh, I think they like me!”-no disrespect, Much love J.D.) Let’s be considerate, and not make the hook do all the work! Once you get that track in the background, put something, with something, and make something happen that’s worth BUYING!!!(Thanks, LaQueta!) And just rip it!







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