How discovering the power of allusion enabled me to write better rap music

By Paul Stephen Adey, Rap Lyricist and Lecturer in Music Performance at Confetti Institute of Creative Technology, Nottingham Trent University

For the first half of my music career, I never fully considered the technical aspects of the art form I practised. Up until my mid-30s, I’d been driven to pen lyrics by a compelling sense of advancement and peer recognition – to achieve some form of artistic acclaim in the UK rap genre.

When thinking back to this earlier time, I imagine myself as being completely immersed in a darkness of my own ignorance, scrabbling around for passages and phrases without any real understanding of how and why these elements of the craft meant so much to me.

As a mature student – during…

Read complete article

~	Five years after the Estallido Social, the start of legal proceedings against police commanders could be a milestone in the fight for justice

~	Fears grow that Lebanon may become another Gaza

~	‘No antidote for bad polls’: Recalling the New York Times’ 1956 election experiment in shoe-leather reporting

~	Can Montana’s ‘last rural Democrat’ survive another election?

~	Is it COVID-19? Flu? At-home rapid tests could help you and your doctor decide on a treatment plan

~	How foreign operations are manipulating social media to influence your views

~	Trump and Harris are sharply divided on science, but share common ground on US technology policy

~	Six ways to holiday like an old-school travel journalist – without using the internet

~	Mounjaro will soon be available as a weight loss treatment on the NHS – here’s what that means for patients

~	UN extends Kenyan policing mission in Haiti in futile attempt to tackle gangs