Rappers With Largest Vocabularies In Hip Hop Featured In Pop Chart Lab Poster

Matt Daniels, a New York City resident who has describes himself as a
data scientist and digital analyst, recently updated his "Largest
Vocabulary In Hip Hop" chart to include more emcees. Beyond making
this update, Daniels has also announced the release of a Hip Hop Flow
Chart poster with Pop Chart Lab. Today (July 30), Daniels spoke with
HipHopDX about the expansion of the project he unveiled to the
Internet in May .
"I was going to expand the project based on a lot of the feedback I got
on Reddit based on the artists that weren't included in the sample set,
so I was planning on expanding it anyway," Matt Daniels says in an
exclusive interview with HipHopDX. "So, I added the additional emcees,
but Pop Chart Lab did all of the design work. All the credit goes to
them."
Pop Chart Lab's designed poster, priced at $29, includes various
features. The Pop Chart Lab site says the following in its product
description:
"Featuring 100 meticulously hand-drawn MC effigies, this chart of
lyrical locution analyzes the lexical freshness of nearly every rapper of
repute—including Drake, the Wu-Tang Clan and cult favorite Aesop
Rock—tabulating the number of unique words used in each artist’s first
35,000 lyrics (roughly equal to 3-5 albums). What's more, each of these
virtuosos of verse is then color-coded by their area of origin—all adding
up to a fun, flava-ful flow chart that’s equally at home on the wall of a
hip-hop habitué, etymology enthusiast or die-hard data junkie."
Matt Daniels Discusses Feedback Regarding "Largest Vocabulary"
Chart
Daniels hasn't heard too much from rappers featured on the poster, but
many Rap aficionados have let him know what they appreciate about
this data project.
A teacher reached out, for example, saying that he believes the chart
can inspire students to see statistics, mathematics and literature in a
newfound manner. "That was one of the more redeeming things that
came out of the project," Daniels says.
Despite the academic value that might be gained from this, the chart
isn't just an academic project for Daniels, who says it was "a fun
thing" to do. Instead, Daniels is quick to point out that this data is not
scientifically accurate and that there are a lot of issues with the data
quality based on various factors, including transcription accuracy, guest
rappers impacting the study and repetitive choruses that may also
influence findings. With that said, scientific accuracy wasn't necessary
the goal here.
"I think if anything, this encourages interesting discussion about Hip
Hop," Daniels says. "I think that's the most important thing that I want
people to take away from this."
Another point Daniels makes regarding his study is that it shouldn't be
"proof" that one rapper is better than another because of word
choice. "That's just one component of how you approach an artist's
music," Daniels explains.