One thing Gotty™ and I have in common is our horrible memory. TC is the one that can recall lyrics and song titles at the drop of a hat. I’m the one that’s always like, “track four is a banger”. Soon, though – with your help – there will be a new tool on the market to help people like myself.
The Hip-Hop Word Counter is a new project headed up by Tahir Hemphil that promises to be the largest search database for Hip-Hop lyrics with over 40,000 songs from 1979 to be covered. It seems to be like what the Elias Sports Bureau is for sports in that it allows us to tabulate different “stats” for different songs.
According to this video, we’ll be able to tell how many times Jordans have been mentioned in rap songs. We’ll be able to finally determine who quotes Biggie’s lyrics more and how many sexually ambiguous reference Drake has made about Lil Wayne. Okay, maybe not the last one, but you get the point.
For someone like me that wants to write about these correlations but always forgets lyrics or sometimes doesn’t even know where to look, I’m very excited about the prospect of this site going up. But here’s the catch, according to Kickstarter, this upstart project needs $7,500 by February 13th to get rolling. It currently has a little over $6,000. So, I’m calling on the TSS fam to pitch in. I think this project is great for Hip-Hop, as it’ll be a one-stop shop for so many lyrics. Too much African-American history gets lost in oral traditions and whatnot, so it’s good to have all of these songs on one almanac.
But enough from me. Let Brother Hemphil tell it.
Head to Kickstarter and donate here.


dope
Seems pretty cool. Even though I have never wondered who used pig-latin in rap first.
this is dope as hell
Lmao the first commenter’s name is ‘Dirty Sanchez’ hahhahahahaahaha
My first search would likely be “Poppin’ Bottles”
I will fund the rest tonight… for a percentage.
Get at me.
Jay-Z doesn’t want this site to ever see the light of day.
Dirty Sanchez is a relative.
I suppose I will hit this gentleman up. I have not even watched the vid… but I am serious about funding the rest. This is a brilliant idea.
TSS Thanks for the post.
@ Big Fonz Pig Latin’s hermetic use in Rap should not be taken lightly. And we may now be able to finally see just how influential E-40 is.
i have never wondered any of those things. but im glad to see a brotha doing it instead of another one of these internet culture vultures swooping in from the hills of the ‘burbs telling people who live this shit, what their shit means.
great idea.
@ OED
I just did a CHAMPAGNE search and I’m presenting the findings at Ignite NYC next week.
@ The Real Anonymous
PLEDGE $1,000 OR MORE
Receive an invite to the February Friendraiser in New York City, get access to the behind-the-scenes updates, a temporary login/password for the Beta search site and two limited edition, hand signed HHWC Infographics posters.
The Real Anonymous – a better approach is available
email ted turnar [at] gmaaail dot commmm and i can fill u in
I used to work with Tahir… smart kid. he’s pretty serious about this, too. i chipped in. may do so again.
doooope
I’m IN!
No donations of over $100? Somebody get some of these rappers on the horn especially a so-called lyricist and let them know that this site could help cement their legacy forever. Also, it could be a nice little tax write off, right?
Doesn’t take paypal? That sucks.
when does it hit the market? I’m trying to own stock.
I will pledge… but I wanted to do much more.
Sometimes… I cannot give money away (honestly). Watch Season 7 Episode 9 of Entourage.
I wanted to be Mark Cuban in this. But kudos to Tahir – when you believe in something… own it.
Im guessing Hustler and customer have been rhymed at least once in about 4,200 songs. Beat only by the Bacardi and Party rhyme
I do wonder if DJ Quik was the 1st to bang on wax.. and how much care is being used to include mix-tapes/freebie albums in the search.