ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys different ways of talking about an MC’s voice. Much as producers have their own sonic signature, each MC has a distinct voice. That voice is constituted not only by the MC’s biology—male or female, high-pitched or low-pitched, nasal or chest voice—but also by the kinds of language choices they make. The same parameters used to describe sonic signatures in Chapter 1 can be used to talk about the biological component of flow. Language choices are a powerful marker of race and class identity. The biological and social, taken together, result in a rapper’s flow (which is basically synonymous with voice). This chapter culminates in an analysis of Nicki Minaj’s verse on Kanye West’s song “Monster,” which is widely regarded as not only her best verse, but also one of the best verses of the 2010s.
