What do you feel is more important in a good rapper, some might feel like punchlines are insanely overrated..and would much rather hear about how Saigon puts emphasis on hittin his nemesis in high percentages..

Others might not care about the rhymes as long there are witty one-liners..you know like how Big L is so far ahead of his time that his parents haven't even met yet..

Speak on it..i personally dont think punchlines lead to quality music the same way good rhymes do..thats why so many punchline rappers have such little success..

It depends my nigga... I think it depends on the rapper... punchlines really comes down to delivery or personality... if you have no swagger what so ever no matter how good your punches are you won't come off... where as all funny niggas ain't lyrical... so it depends on the artist... if Nas came out with a str8 punchline track I'd prolly lol... and not in the good way...

Equal.

This is why Biggie was revered... he was the best of both in many ways...

Good rhymes..

There was no such thing as "punchlines" til Lord Finesse started using them on Funky Technician in 1990, so that would mean MCs before that time weren't as good..

Good rhymes no doubt.....good rhymes will keep a rapper around longer then good punchlines....

Scottish hit the nail on the head. Good Rhymes no doubt.

Good rhymes can make a track that you can bump over and over. Punchlines can get stale after a while.

Good rhymes with the occasional great punchline.

Most classic songs have those memorable punchlines that everyone knows.

like "i'm a dog you're all a bunch of flees on my dick"

Equally Important

gun is my bodyguard call it kevin kostner
it's punchlines all the way

equal....site one be lo...

but ya bitch suck dick like she toothless...

Why Can't A Nigga Do Both?

Good rhymes. Often, punchlines are too specific in their references to remain relevant years after the fact. They also lead to egocentric rapping, which is fun at times but can lead to disconnection.

good rhymes lead up to the good punchlines,rhymes are sooo much more important cuz without good rhymes ur just another.......wayne

wtf?
wayne can fall off a mountain into a sea of codeine

Good Rhymes

Both are important, I dont see how you can say only one or the other matters. To be a legitimate emcee you have to be able to ride a beat, so the rhymes are key. But punchlines or rather more importantly, lyricism, are what make the great emcees stand apart from the good ones. And I don't necessarily mean the played out mixtape "my gun is like <fill in the blank corny metaphor her>" punchlines, but the lines that make you think when you hear them, or that don't really hit you until 3rd or 4th listen. That's when I'm like, damn dude is cold, I never realized he meant that when I first heard this.

@ Scottish, I agree in spirit with your comment, but it's not exactly a logical argument. Saying that punchlines are more important doesn't mean you're shitting on all the rappers pre-90. They were good for the lyrically technology they had at the time. As the music evolves people learn how to do more with it, and when you look at rappers after the introduction of the punchline you can't deny that the better rappers are able to use that technology well.

^ yeah i agree 100%
rhymes matter more, but if a rapper can pull off both then it's that much better

good rhymes... a rapper with great rhyme scheme and content >> a rapper full of punchlines..

rhymes

rhymes

wheredafuck you been Cartman???

rhymes

wheredafuck you been Cartman???