Musixmatch conducted a study, inspired by Undercurrent's The Largest Vocabulary in Hip Hop, using 93 top selling artists from 25 genres to figure out who is the king (or queen) of words in music. The study looks at artists' 100 "densest" songs in three ways:
1. Vocabulary Size- "The number of unique words (across any language) used by a musician in 100 (or less) densest songs across their career. "
2. Lyrical Density- "The total number of words (across any language) used by a musician in 100 (or less) densest songs across their career."
3. New Word Interval (N.W.I.)- "On average, the number of words after which a new word is used by the musician. This is the ratio of (Lyrical density / Vocabulary Size)."
Eminem reigns #1 with 8,818 words, nearly 2,000 words ahead of #2. Despite only four rappers in the study, the other three, Jay Z, Tupac, and Kanye, came in at numbers 2, 3, and 4 respectively. King of folk, Bob Dylan, rounded out the top 5.
Chart-topping Pop stars Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are only 5 words apart, but came in at #41 and #40. Classic rock legends the Rolling Stones came in at #30, with 2,794 words, while The Beatles were #76 with only 1,872.
Perhaps Eminem's victory stems from the fact his songs contain a lot of words, but no one can deny some his lyrics are pure genius. The music world would definitely be less colorful and wordy (and fun) without The Real Slim Shady.