Getting someone to pen words for you to sing is de rigueur in pop, but in hip-hop, where authenticity is king, it's a different matter



Puffing himself up ... Diddy. Photograph: Gary He/AP

Nas might have recently topped the US Billboard charts with his "untitled" album, but his most successful project remains (and will probably always remain) penning Will Smith's Getting Jiggy With It. Maybe you knew that, maybe you didn't, but what's for sure is that Nas isn't alone in the ghostwriting business.

Undoubtedly inspired by Roland Barthes' seminal paper The Death of the Author, Sean Diddy Combs' reflects succinctly on the relationship of the rapper to his craft, on his 2001 hit Bad Boy 4 Life:

We still here, you rockin with the best / Don't worry if I write rhymes, I write cheques

For Diddy, creating music is a straightforward process - pay the best writers and producers to collaborate, rap someone else's words with mild competence, and before you know it you'll have a hit record. But is it right for rappers to have their lyrics written for them?

In pop music, we're used to this casual detachment of musical acts from the music itself - the idea of an artist as a brand rather than a creative force. But when we turn to hip-hop, the importance of authenticity is more difficult to dismiss. "Keeping it real" is the credo valued above all others (far above "being nice to women" and "being modest"). How is it that popular rappers like Diddy can be just as detached from the music as a bubblegum-pop cipher like Britney Spears and her prerogative to cover or purchase her entire repertoire?

A report by BBC radio station 1xtra has claimed that as much as 40% of all rap lyrics are ghostwritten. As the art is shrouded in secrecy, we may never really know what goes on. The inclusion of other MCs in liner notes can be a clue, but more often than not the process is kept completely under wraps. Jay-Z told Vibe magazine in an interview that he is "paid a lot of money to not tell you who [he] writes for". Unfortunately for his employers, in this internet age his contributions to the likes of Amil, Foxy Brown and, most notably, Dr Dre's Still DRE. have become an open secret.

Hip-hop is borne of copying, sampling, remixing - particularly where instrumentation and beats are concerned. In terms of vocals too, many rappers have copied each others' flows, reworked quotable verses; it's all part and parcel of a genre that's inherently self reflexive.

Nevertheless, there's something strangely hollow about listening to a ghostwritten rap. Pop-rap like Gettin' Jiggy With It can perhaps be excused - it's a fun track, who's only sentiments are "I'm Will Smith, I'm successful". But when it comes to supposedly personal tracks, like Diddy's ode to Notorious BIG or Dr Dre's The Message, dedicated to his late brother (written by Sauce Money and Royce Da 5'9" respectively), you can't help but feel somewhat cheated.

Kanye West's Jesus Walks - co-written with Rhymefest - is just as difficult to stomach given the size of Kanye's ego. Consistently mentioning himself as a "Top 5 MC", you have to ask whether Common or Talib Kweli would ever spit someone else's rhymes.

Admittedly, there's more to being a rapper than just lyrics. Charisma, timing, the timbre of your voice, stage presence, how "hard" you seem; all are important ingredients. Snoop Dogg may not write a great deal of his own lyrics, but he has his own inimitable style. Also, perhaps it's unfair that talented lyricists/songwriters without marketable voices (such as The DOC, who penned much of Dr Dre's earlier work) should never have their talents put on wax.

Most current rap artists are under pressure to generate reams of meticulously honed lyrics for mixtapes, guest spots, remixes and so on. Even lyrical greats such as Lil' Wayne and Notorious BIG have succumbed to using a ghostwriter to help with the odd verse or two. In these instances, the practice is easier to accept - laziness rather than lack of talent - but still, the lack of credit where it's due is difficult to understand. Considering so much of the lyrical content of rap consists of boasting about your skills on the mic, using an uncredited ghostwriter seems deeply dishonest.

The problem lies with what we expect from the artist. If Diddy continues "writing cheques" to get the best producers and rappers to help him create enjoyable music then fair enough - especially as he's open about the small part he plays in the creative process. Indeed, his last album, 2007's Press Play was one of the most enjoyable records of the year. Dr Dre's 2001, a similarly collaborative effort, is an all time classic, and his role overseeing the writing and production undoubtedly stamped his personality on the work.

But when we find out that rappers who constantly assert their authenticity have a writing team, or that personal, emotive lyrics in fact owe little to the person conveying them to you, you wonder what you're really listening to. Surely if you can't come up with decent lyrics, you should be doing something else?