The art of telling a good story is somehow forgotten these days. Most rappers choose to rap from their perspective only, because that way, they’re able to establish their individualism and give the world their way of looking at things.
However, being able to tell stories, describe places and situations is a valuable skill to have. Rappers such as Eminem and Immortal Technique know the power of telling a great story.
Storytelling in a song format is something which shows the overall skill level of an MC. It shows everything and by the quality of the story, you can see how intelligent and skillful a rapper really is. Let’s get to it.
How to Describe-The Principles
Well, it depends on what are you trying to describe and who is describing. When describing, you have to have a vast imagination, being able to picture the whole place in your head.
1. Camera Angles
Think of it as a movie, with separate camera angles.
You have to change the point of view all the time. For example, if a guy wants to go and beat up another guy, you have to be able to constantly switch camera angles in your head. First, go inside the first person, then write as an observer, then go inside the head of the other guy and so on. So first rule is to think of it as a movie and always change the camera angles.
2. The 5 Senses
The second thing you can use as a guide is the five senses-smell, touch, eyesight, sound, taste.
The best way to use those five senses is in adjectives. Using them adds detail to your story. It helps the listener go deeper and fires up his imagination. It helps him picture it.
Also, what I do is combine two or more senses in one sentence. So, not only I say “The walls are white”, but I try to squeeze in as many senses as possible. Something like “I stared at the rugged cracks of the white wall, while strangers around me were chatting some nonsense.”
Last but not least, when you’re going inside people’s heads, you have to include “the inside” to the five senses.
So, not only you’re talking about the touch, smell, taste etc, but you’re talking about the feeling too. How does the pen in your hand feels? What happens on the inside, is what you want to include. His beliefs, imagination, emotions. “The Inside”.
Further Reading: Imagery and Storytelling Techniques for Rapping
Let me give you an example of the whole thing working together. I’ll write a short text describing a situation, guided by those three principles.
“It was a run down restaurant and I was sitting on one of the tables. The table was so old, I was waiting for it to break. It reminded me of the table in my old apartment. I used to do so much cocaine on it, it’s smooth surface was perfect for that.
Suddenly I heard my name and snapped back to reality in an instant. It was the waiter, giving me the menu. He leaned towards me and gently slid the menu on the table. He had greasy hair and a really strong cologne. That disgusted me as it reminded me of my history teacher. Damn that dude was fat and ugly. Hope he’s dead.
The restaurant was empty and quite, there was nobody there except a blonde girl, dressed in a short white skirt, sitting on the table in the corner, looking at me with her big brown eyes. I noticed her, but didn’t have the time to go and talk to her. I wasn’t ready and it’s not what I was there for. Then I saw him, he came in with his crew. It was about to go down.
You see how I tried to combine all the senses in one, plus the inside feelings of the actor? I did it in first person, but you could do it from a neutral observer’s point of view, going in and out of people’s heads. Really cool. So remember the 3 principles of describing something-5 senses, feelings and the movie angles.
Tell me, how do you describe your own stories? Do you use any other methods? Share it with me.