1. Charisma/personality/swagger
Call it what you like, but without it you're just a human reading off a paper. Believe it or not, 50 being shot in his mouth area gave him more style and personality from the straight forward, aggressive style he had during his Columbia days. It instantly stood out when his attorney played me his demo in the summer of '02
2. Substance
The ability to move people through words is a gift like nothing else. Add the right backdrop to that gift and you've got a winner. 50's "mang men" is a prime example of a street rapper taking audiences into the inner psyche of the stress that comes from living the life of a street cat.
3. Lyrics
I believe MC's make great artists (biggie, eminem, jay-z, big pun) it's just a matter of knowing the advantages and disadvantages of being a wordsmith in a climate where dumping down is widely embraced. When I got em's demo in '97, he not only exhibited the qualities of a top notch, battle ridden wordsmith, he knew how to use them without boring the listener, he now uses that ability to make some of the greatest records ("lose yourself," "why I am," "Stan") ever recorded by an MC
4. Uniqueness
Whether its perspective or style, I look for something thats going to stand out from the rest of the pack, and eventually appeal on a coast to coast level.
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