The effect becomes stronger as the song goes on, and he employs a melodic pattern that ebbs and flows like the ocean. He takes the flow to its peak on "FlatBed Freestyle," the album cut on which he adds Auto-Tune to his voice so high he sounds like a child in the booth. What stood the test of time was his "baby voice" flow, something he had been trying out for a while, and it was all over his previously leaked songs. His 2018 project, Die Lit, showcased his style beginning to evolve. Early on, the Atlanta rapper's style was punctuated by short, catchy bars, more aimed at matching the energy of his incredible production, as opposed to being a lyrical maestro. She goes from campy to bellicose, excited to eccentric, oftentimes all on one song.Ĭheck the list below for more unique flows.įor someone who had his breakthrough moment in 2017 with "Magnolia," Playboi Carti has spurred a lot of copycats. The Queens rapper has solidified her spot as a leader of the pack for her animated flows, inspiring many other women in hip-hop to play with their vocals. Nicki Minaj has a whole lot of kids out here when talking flows. He's dropped down to three-word bars and gone crazy, used flows where he stops rapping just a few words in and changes thoughts, and chained together rhyme schemes that no one else can pull off. Young Thug is more of an experimental rapper, willing to get in the booth and just give it a try with whatever flow he comes up with. She's acknowledged that Nicki Minaj has influenced her artistry and it's apparent in the character-like deliveries she executes. Since she's topped the charts as a pop star, it shouldn't be lost on anyone that her roots are ingrained in hip-hop and she flexes flows like a joy ride on a roller coaster. His flows are always intricate, well-thought out, and can get into the pocket of the beat with ease.įor Doja Cat, she's proved that seven years in the game fosters a wealth of flows. Flow-wise, he's done it all, from packing in the syllables on each bar to dragging out the last word of every line to stay on beat. When it comes to Ski Mask The Slump God, he's been combining zany bars with a versatile flow ever since he dropped his Drown in Designer mixtape in 2016. He speeds up his delivery by adopting a rapid-fire flow, changes the tone of his voice to sound a bit like a cartoon character and puts emphasis on the last line of each bar, punctuating his rhymes.ĭrake is a textbook lyricist despite being pigeon-holed as a pop star and singer. Modern hip-hop has a lot of distinctive flows within it, including Ski Mask The Slump God, Doja Cat, Playboi Carti, Drake, Young Thug, Nicki Minaj and more.
If they get lucky, they'll have other artists trying to emulate what they do, and spin it in a totally different way. Having a great flow is the skill that can elevate an average rapper to a highly talented one. The use of flow to deliver bars, from the rhythms to cadences, is the reason why certain rappers are able to stand out amongst the crowd. As an artist, they have to sharpen their ear for beats, figure out what they want to rap about, piece together hooks sometimes and, most importantly, find out how they want to flow.
Being a rapper has a lot of moving parts.