The art of rapping started off in the form of spoken word and poetry, but you don't hear a lot of "poetry" in modern-day popular rap.
This could be for a multitude of reasons. For starters, the club doesn't want to put you to sleep. And Neither does the radio. For whatever reason, songs that make you think don't seem to have wheels in 2015. But that's okay though, 'cause we got you.
There are a few dudes, old and new alike, that represent that laid back flow perfectly. From the legendary Rakim to Yung Lean, chill rap obviously has no boundaries, and is made by all sorts of characters. Check out our list of lazy-flow-havin', laid back rappers to satisfy all your chilling needs, from Sunday afternoons to pre-sleep listening sessions.
Slick Rick
You're damn right the Ruler has one of the laziest flows in the game. Peep the epic collaboration track between Slick Rick and Mos Def below for a meaningful track that doesn't need to be yelled to be felt.
Guru (of Gang Starr)
"The king of monotone, with my own throne
Righteously violent prone my words bring winds like cyclones
Stormin your hideout, blockin out your sunlight
Your image and your business, were truly not done right
Throw up your he-Allah-I now, divine saviors
You got no hand skills there's no security to save ya
No pager, no celly, no drop top Benz-y
I came to bring your phone hip-hop, to an ending
My art of war will leave you sore from the abuse
Cause you must meet your moment of truth"
Rakim
Your favorite rapper's favorite rapper, like most members of the old-school, kept it chill. Opting to create a skillful flow over gettin' hype, Rakim has had one hell of a run that continues in to modern day.
MF Doom
The masked villain doesn't turn up on his indie beats. He isn't making songs for the club, he doesn't care about radio play or billboard charts. What does he care about?
MAKING YOU THINK.
Lucki Eck$
Lucki's subject matter isn't necessarily the chillest thing under the sun, but his flow is stone-cold. He literally couldn't sound like he cared less as he delivers bars about the street life.
MED
Medaphoar, better known as MED, is a west coast rapper signed to Stones Throw Records. In addition to working with MF Doom and Madlib, he's got a super chill flow. (Go figure, right?)
The Hot Spitta clearly spends enough time getting high to not care about ANYTHING other than cool cars, women and money. He's a super-chill cat who's quite prolific as well, with many, many albums and mixtapes under his belt.
ILoveMakonnen
Is he rapping? Is he singing? We're not sure, but homies style is chill.
Yung Lean
Everybody seems to have an opinion on this young Swedish rapper. That opinion usually reflects how chill you are.
The Dude is another rapper who spends more time smoking trees than getting wild on a track. Add that pothead mentality with a Texan swagger and you have a slow, chilled flow.