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RapGenius: Discover the meaning of rap lyrics
- mbrubeck 17y agoOnly 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...
- jolie 17y agoDoes Urban Dictionary have an API?
- spicyj 17y agoNot anymore… http://www.urbandictionary.com/api.php http://www.urbandictionary.com/api.php
- dangrover 17y agoI met a guy at a party who had a startup where people coukld pay to get bespoke hip-hop tracks created (he had several rappers who did them). I was disappointed when I heard he didn't have an API for TTJ (text to jive).
- psawaya 17y agoThis 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 http://rapgenius.com/10554
- RapGenius 17y agoThere's a lot of content that's not simply translation - context, jokes, etc. Thanks for the link
- zackattack 17y agoWhat did you think of The Carter (documentary)?
- RapGenius 17y agoReally enjoyed it. Lil Wayne's an interesting guy
- zackattack 17y ago1) curious what kind of CMS is powering this site 2) wanna meet the creator and light up a blunt
- RapGenius 17y agoilan@rapgenius.com
- Osmose 17y agoKudos 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.
- dbz 17y agoI already knew all this.
- scorciapino 17y agoI 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?
- scorciapino 17y agoI 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"
- psawaya 17y agoGive this a try: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiYDJ432b0U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiYDJ432b0U
- andrewljohnson 17y agoAre 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.
- scotty79 17y agoIt'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=qqXi8WmQ_WM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC03hmS1Brk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC03hmS1Brk
- andrewljohnson 17y agoSimilarly, 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.
- aston 17y agoI'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.
- RapGenius 17y agoThanks. Email me if you're interested in contributing -- ilan@rapgenius.com
- jmtame 17y ago“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
- thomaspaine 17y agoThat'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.
- scotty79 17y agoThis 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).
- lunchbox 17y agoIs there any reason to limit this technology to the rap genre? This site looks technologically superior to http://www.songmeanings.net/ 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 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.
- RapGenius 17y agoIt'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
- rman666 17y agoWord to your mother.
- petercooper 17y agohttp://www.songmeanings.net/ 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.
- _ck_ 17y agoWow, now there are things in there I wish I didn't know. I'm curious who this was really aimed at.
- maxklein 17y agoThis site is brilliant. Check out the translation for these lyrics: http://rapgenius.com/lyrics/The-notorious-b-i-g/What-s-beef 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)"
- RapGenius 17y agoThanks for the love