The group rose to fame in the early 1980s with their first successful single “Freedom” and later on with “The Message“, which is often cited as among the most influential hip hop songs. However, in 1983, relations between Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel became strained and the group disbanded. A reunion was organized in 1987, and it released a new album. Afterward, the sextet disbanded permanently (taken verbatim from Wikipedia).

Don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge.
I’m trying not to lose my head.
It’s like a jungle sometimes.
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under.

Grammar: Adverbs of Frequency

It’s like a jungle sometimes.

We use frequency adverbs to give more information about our routines or actions that happen on a regular basis. These are the most common adverbs of frequency:

• Always
• Almost always
• Normally
• Frequently
• Usually
• Often
• Occasionally
• Sometimes
• Hardly
• Rarely
• Seldom
• Never

Adverbs can take three positions in a sentence: front position, mid position and final position. 

Sometimes and usually can go in front position:

• Sometimes it’s like a jungle.
• Sometimes life is difficult.
• Usually I exercise in the morning.
• Usually Monday mornings are depressing.

Usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes and occasionally can go in end position:

• I listen to rap in the morning usually.
• He studies English frequently.
• My mother gets very sad sometimes.
• She visits her friends in Europe occasionally.

Always, ever, usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, occasionally, rarely, seldom and never can go in mid-position.

In mid-position, adverbs go:

• after BE verbs am/are/is/was/were
  • He is always late to class.
  • She was rarely a bad student.
• After Auxiliary verbs
  • I am frequenltly looking for new music.
  • The dog will sometimes bark at cars.
• Before all other verbs
  • My father always wakes up at 5 a.m.
  • He never eats after 10 p.m.

Discussion Question

Why is life so difficult sometimes? How are the state of affairs in your country? Are there many people living in poverty? How do these problems make you feel, and what can you do to fix them. Write your opinion in the comments below!

The post Adverbs of Frequency: It’s like a jungle SOMETIMES! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

“Still D.R.E.” was released in October 1999 as the lead single from Dr Dre’s second solo album, 2001. The song, co-written by Jay-Z, features vocals from Snoop Dogg on the intro, chorus and outro (taken verbatim from Wikipedia).

I’m representing for them gangstas all across the world.
Still hitting them cornerson the lo-lo’s, girl.
Still taking my time to perfect the beat.
And I still got love for the streets. It’s the D.R.E.

Grammar: Using Still

Still is an adverb, and it means an action started in the past, is continuing and has not stopped. It does not begin or end sentences, and it always takes mid-sentence position.

BE + STILL

• Can I have another sandwich? I am still hungry.
• I can’t believe it! The meeting started 30 minutes ago, and she is still late!

STILL + VERB (all other verbs)

• He still practices the guitar. I’m surprised he hasn’t given up!
  
• My mother still looks great, and she’s over 60!

BE + STILL + ~ING VERBS (present continuous or past continuous)

• He is still sleeping, so we should wake him up soon. 
• She is still working, so can you call her back later?

Writing Task

Do you have bad habits? Have you ever had bad habits? Do you still have these habits today? If your friend has a bad habit and wants to stop, how can you help? Please write your response in the comments below!

The post Still: I’m STILL taking my time to perfect the beat! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

I smoke on the mic like smoking Joe Frazier.
The hell-raiser, raising hell with the flavor.

Grammar: Using ‘Too’

Deep in the dark with the art to rip the charts apart.
The vandal, too hot to handle
You battle, you’re saying goodbye like Tevin Campbell

-Inspectah Deck

And also:

The Wu is too slamming for these cold, killing labels.
Some ain’t had hits since I seen Aunt Mabel.

-GZA

The adverb too is different than very, and they both have different meanings. Too means ‘more than enough’ or ‘more than necessary.’

•  Busta Rhymes is a very fast rapper.
  
• Twista is also a very fast rapper, but he is too fast. I can barely understand him!

Use ‘too’ before adjectives and never before nouns.

too + adjective

• The Wu-Tang Clan is too good for mainstream rap labels. 
• The music is too loud. Can you turn it down please?
• Your sister is too old for me. I can’t date her!

too + noun & too + adjective + noun

Use too much before uncountable nouns and too many before countable nouns.

• There is too much information on the Internet. How can I find reliable news?
• I’ve brought too much lugggage with me, and I have to pay a lot of carry-on fees.
• I have too many supervisors at my job. If I make a mistake, I hear about it from four different people.
• He drinks too many cans of soda every day. That’s not healthy.

Here is another possible use:

too + adjective + infinitive

too + adjective + for + noun + infinitive

too + adjective + for + object pronoun + infinitive

• It is too late to take the bus home. We have to walk or call a taxi.
  
• It is too expensive for my company to hire those lawyers. We will look into another firm.
• It is too cold for us to walk outside.

Writing Task

• Is it possible to have too much of something? For example, can a person have too much love? Too much freedom? Too many friends?
• Complete this sentence: You can never have too many _____.

The post Too: You’re TOO hot to handle! appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

I don’t want to live no more.
Sometimes I hear death knocking at my front door.
I’m living every day like a hustle.
Another drug to juggle. Another day. Another struggle.

Grammar: no more

No more is an adjective. Use no more with nouns to talk about quantity.

no more + noun

• There is no more bread in the pantry. We don’t have any bread. 
• There are no more tickets for the concert. They are sold out.
• I have no more energy. I cannot work now.

Tip: Use no more with positive verbs only. Use any more with negative verbs.

• There isn’t no more bread. There isn’t any more bread.
• There aren’t no more tickets. There aren’t any more tickets.
• I don’t have no more energy. I don’t have any more energy.

Grammar: any more & anymore

Any more is an adverb that means an action has stopped. Use any more at the end of negative sentences.

Subject + verb + not + any more. 

• She doesn’t smoke any more. She used to smoke. 
  
• He doesn’t live in New York any more. He moved to Chicago last month.
• She doesn’t love him any more. The romance has died.

It is becoming acceptable in American English to write anymore as one word.

In informal speech, especially hip-hop music, people say no more instead of any more. 

• I don’t want to live no more. = I don’t want to live any more. Same meaning.

Vocabulary

• hustle (verb) – selling something or making money illegally. He cannot get a legitimate job because he is always hustling on the street corner.
  • also a noun. What hustle do you have going on? 
• struggle (noun) – something that is difficult to do or achieve. It was a real struggle to stay awake during the movie. It was so boring!
  • also a verb. He struggled to stay awake during the movie.
• wake up (phrasal verb) – to finish sleeping and become awake. I can’t go to the party tonight because I have to wake up very early tomorrow. 
• broke (adjective) – to have no money. I am so broke right now, so I shouldn’t go out to the bar tonight. 
  • broke as hell = very broke
• mad (adverb) – very; really. It’s mad hot today. The sun is cooking me!
• kick out (phrasal verb) – to make somebody leave or go away. My roommate never paid rent, so I had to kick him out. 
• pack up (phrasal verb) – to stop doing something; to put your things in a bag before leaving a place. We were late to the concert. The DJs were packing up the sound equipment when we arrived. 
  
• take over (phrasal verb) – to begin to control or take responsibility for something, especially in place of someone else.
• snitch (verb) – to tell a parent, teacher, boss, etc. about something wrong another person has done. I can’t believe that she snitched on her colleague. 
  • also a noun. I don’t want to invite that nasally snitch to the BBQ! 

Discussion Questions

Have you ever had struggles? Have you ever been broke? Do you still have struggles today? If you or your friends are struggling, what do you do to get by? What gives you strength to live another day? Please write your comments below!

The post Learn Adverbs and Vocabulary with The Notorious B.I.G. appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

This a thousand dollar pair of shoes, and you don’t even know it.
This a thousand dollar cup of lean, and you don’t even know it.
This a half a million dollar car. You don’t even know it.
I came up from bottom. You don’t even know it.
My niggas all ride with me on. You don’t even know it.
Got killers with me right now. You don’t even know it.
This a million dollar watch, nigga. You don’t even know it.
Got a million-dollar crib nigga, you don’t even know it.

Grammar: Adverbs of Emphasis

Use even to emphasize something unexpected or surprising.

1. Use after BE verbs – am/is/are/was/were
   
2. Use after AUXILIARY verbs – am/is/are/was/were/do/does/did/has/have
3. Use before all other verbs

• He is always late to meetings and appointments. He was even late to his own wedding!
  
• Why did you buy me a sandwich? I am not even hungry.
• He really wants to lose weight. He is even running 5 kilometers every day. He never used to run!
• She has visited many countries. She has even been to Antarctica.
• They are very strict vegans. They don’t even eat honey. Isn’t that crazy!
• I used to be a lazy student, but now I am working very hard. I even go to the library on Saturday.
• My grandfather is very cool. He even listens to hip-hop!

Discussion Questions

Do you have an interesting life? Do you encounter many surprising situations at work or school? When something unexpected happens, what do you do? How do you react?  Do you like doing predictable work or do you like surprises? Please write in the comments below!

The post Level 1 Lesson 3: Even appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.

Mary had a little lamb
That’s a fib. She had two twins though
And one crib
Now she’s only fourteen. What a start
But this defect is ground common in these parts
Now life in this world can be such a bitch
And dreams are often torn and shattered and hard to stitch
Negative’s the attitude that runs the show
When the stage is the G.H.E.T.T.O.

Grammar: So and Such

Use so and such to show extremes in adjectives, adverbs and nouns. So and such also mean very or really.

so + adjective

so + adverb

such + noun

such + adjective + noun

so + noun… such + adjective… such + adverb

• De La Soul is so good! They are a very good hip-hop trio.
  
• Hip-hop music is not so stupid. Many hip-hop artists are very intelligent.
  
• He learned English so quickly with hip-hop music.
• Gift of Gab from Blackalicious sings so well. He is very talented and has a great voice.
• People who hate hip-hop music can be such idiots! They claim it is not poetry.
• 3 Feet High and Rising is such a great album. It is really good.
• Lil Wayne is such an interesting rapper.

Vocabulary

• defect (noun) – a fault in something which means it is not perfect. He went to the hospital and had surgery because he has a heart defect.
• bitch (slang, noun) – something that causes difficulties or problems. My job is such a bitch! I’m very unhappy, and I want to quit soon.
• ghetto (noun) – an area of a city where many people of the same background or race live. Ghettos are usually crowded and have bad living conditions. For your safety, don’t walk through the ghetto at night.
• pimp (verb) – to get customers for a prostitute.
  • also a noun
• broken-down (adjective) – in a very bad condition; very tired and sick. My car is a broken-down heap of metal. I need to get a new car.
• high (slang, adjective) – to be intoxicated from drugs or alcohol. Snopp Dogg is always so high because he smokes a lot of marijuana. 
  
• scapegoat (noun) – a person or thing who is blamed for something bad that somebody else has done. Many people blame violent movies and music for the increase in crime, but that is only a scapegoat. 
• crumble (verb) – if a building is crumbling, parts of it are breaking off. The old house is starting to crumble. We need to repair it now before the damage gets worse. 

Discussion Questions

Does your country have ghettos? Have you ever been to one? If you have, what was it like? Why do ghettos exist in the first place? Does discrimination or racism perpetuate ghettos? Please write your comments below!

The post Level 1 Lesson 10: So & Such appeared first on ESL Hip Hop.