MUMBAI: A study, by Musixmatch, has shown that rappers Eminem, Jay Z and Kanye West have a more extensive vocabulary than folk legend- Bob Dylan. The study, which has taken into consideration 99 of the best selling artists from about 25 different music genres, has found that Dylan’s lyrical breath has been outdone by some of today’s popular rappers.

The song analyst picked 100 of the most lyrically dense tracks for each artist, to find how many different words were used by the musicians. Coming out on top with a whopping 8,188 words was Eminem, who was closely followed by another rap mogul- Jay Z, who had an impressive 6,899 words.

Rap seems to be the reigning genre, in terms of lyrical vocabulary, with 2Pac following in third with 6,596 words to his repertoire, while the self professed “greatest living rock star” Kanye West, came in fourth with 5,069 words. Dylan, who has been considered one of America’s finest songwriters, made it to the fifth spot with 4,883 words. The ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ hitmaker has also been found to use new words most frequently, with an average of one every nine words.

Other artists that have been noticed for their lyrical vocabulary, include the Black Eyed Peas (4539) and Celine Dion (3,954). However, some of music’s biggest names, past and present, like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Pink Floyd, Mariah Carey, Prince and Robbie Williams, featured lower down the order, but within the top 40. Bruno Mars, the Beatles, and Spice Girls were found to be even further down.

In a statement, the company said, “It gives us a peek into the minds of different songwriters, some tear your heart with just a few words while others paint an intricate picture with a thousand words.” However, the company insists that the findings should be seen as an insight into the artists’ work, and not as one musician being better than the other.

Artists like Journey, Bruce Springsteen, The Doors, Def Leppard, The Beach Boys and Chicago, were excluded from the research, as they did not permit Musixmatch to use their lyrics.