Rap music is a powerful tool used to express a variety of emotions on a wide range of topics. Popular rappers combine solid lyrics with solid delivery to produce crowd rocking anthems. It takes skill and confidence to navigate the rap world. Beginning your own rap career involves more than just grabbing a microphone and wearing a chain. Use your time wisely to perfect a unique style that brings satisfaction to your fans.
Instructions
1
Define your style. Although Kanye West or 50 Cent may be your favorite rapper, the world is only ready for one of them. Imitation isn't appreciated, so you need to make your style original in order to be taken seriously. While you should definitely listen to the work of other rappers to get a sense of what works, avoid being labeled the next clone artist by making your sound and image unique.
2
Choose your words. Write solid material on personally identifiable and important issues for the best results. Keep a pen and paper readily available to take down spur of the moment ideas and concepts. Refine and build upon previous ideas as your skills progress. A great rap line can affect generations of rap music listeners. Unique rap lyrics are readily repeated while lame lyrics are easily forgotten.
3
Build a crew. Connect with a group of like-minded rappers for strength and support. Since beginning a rap career can be intimidating, it's important to surround yourself with people who have your back. Although you may wish to keep your material independent, your crew can provide opinions on material as well as help you face challenges from other rappers. Choose your crew carefully to avoid stolen lyrics and future battles.
4
Perfect your skills. Practice your lines and techniques on a consistent basis. Rap lyrics in front of a mirror to see what your audience will see as you perform your material. Develop your “game face” as you rap with members of your crew. Use any spare time to work on timing and phrasing. The more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll feel when it’s time to successfully engage an audience.
5
Start a beef. Choose to take down a rap legend or even a weaker rapper to propel your status and credibility. Assert your dominance by proving your superior rap skills to your target audience. Challenge your rival to a freestyle contest to make the beef well known. Although you should rap aggressively, violence is not a part of defeating your opponent.
Here's an outtake from an old Eminem interview he did with XXL Magazine. He explains his views on why he physically writes down his raps as opposed to free-styling or writing down raps from memory like Lil Wayne and Jay Z.
XXL: That’s wild because I was just talking to Paul [Rosenberg] about how T.I. seems to have caught this amazing fire when he had to stay home on house arrest. He was saying for like the last two albums he was freestyling like on the Jay thing, going in the booth line by line or whatever. T.I. said that you guys had grown kinda cool.
Eminem: Yeah, yeah, we definitely built a relationship over you know, just recording and hanging out and shit, just…T.I. reminds me of me in the sense that he’s just a regular dude. He’s just real, he’s real humble, real just chill…just you know what I mean? The way we vibed in the studio and just talked and kicked it, it was like, “wow! This dude is cool.” We just kinda became friends after that. But I watched him do that shit in the studio, and that’s right around the time I kinda started wanting to do it or was kinda doing it but I couldn’t do it as good as him. And from what I heard, I don’t know if this is correct or not, but Lil Wayne does it.
XXL: Oh Yeah.
Eminem: Yeah I’m not as good as those guys when I do that. Like I can’t…I gotta actually sit down. For me, I want to actually write a whole song, because if I start, if I get to the second verse and I get stuck, I don’t want to record it just for nothing you know? So I kinda gotta write a whole song out and know if it’s gonna be a song and then record it. But I watched T.I. do that and was like, “How the fuck is he doing this?” Because it was intricate still you know what I mean like as he was going along like line by line. But when he actually got that time to write, you could definitely tell and I told him many times over the phone the way that he did this record was just, you know… you could tell, you could tell that he actually sat down and he crafted his rhymes. Like he’s got rhymes, he’s got lines that rhyme inside of rhymes and shit like that, which somebody like me can appreciate so much just because you know I do it. I try to do that. So like when you hear someone else do that, it’s like, you know how much time it takes to do it yourself so you can appreciate it, you know what I mean?
I hear teachers and parents say all the time, “Everybody can't be a rapper, you better do something more realistic.” President Obama even said in his speech, “Everybody can be the next Lil Wayne”. Well to a certain degree they are right. They are right about everybody can't be a major label rapper, selling millions of records like Lil Wayne. But one thing I can tell you is that if there’s a will there’s a way. And that way is to make a living rapping. I’m sure a lot of people that are so passionate about rapping that they don’t need to sell a million albums to be happy. They will be happy if they can just make a living doing it and don’t have to go to work every morning. Now, the more education you have the more of a reality this can be for you. If you don't get a college education in business, music business, marketing or management you should at least read every single book on the record business, business management and marketing you can get your hands on. In order to make a good living rapping you have to think like a entertainment company with a marketing department. You have to realize that the goal is to make money not sell a lot of records or become famous. You have to make smart business decisions based of of your market, location and resources. For instance, it might better for your rap career if you didn’t focus on making and selling albums right now. It might be a better business decision if you just concentrate on live shows. Or it might be a better business decision if you focused on merchandising. Like Tshirts, Ringtones, Jingles or even Greeting Cards. The bottom line is to establish your company first. Make sure your putting your company in a position to be able to support you first. Support you the easiest way possible using the least path of resistance. Once you do this then the sky's the limit. But if your rapping just to get rich and its not truly your passion then you will most definitely burn your self out sooner or later. And when I use the term “Passion” I'm describing what you feel every time you start rapping. If you find yourself spending hours and getting lost in the time without even realizing it. Or if you have dedicated everything to rapping and will do anything to rap for a living, even if you have to do it for free, then you most definitely have a passion for it. Because it's that type of dedication that's going to get you to the hump. But the knowledge of business and marketing is whats going to get you over that hump.
Performing can be a rewarding experience if done right. If it is done wrong, it can be one of the worst experiences in your life. The things you shouldn’t do on stage are more important than the things you should do.
What not to do:
1. Hold The Mike The Wrong Way.
2. Irresponsible Eye Contact
3. Breathe Wrong
4. Get Stage Fright
5. Stand In One Place
What to do: 1. Constantly redirect your audiences attention 2. Strategically use props. 3. Dancers or assistants are always good. 4. Hype men are good 5. Find time to talk and connect to your audience without music.
Recording vocals is an art all by itself. There are a lot of artist who aren’t that talented when it comes to their voice. But, they make up for what they lack vocally with technique. A bad vocal recorded is a bad vocal playing. If the vocals are bad and they were recorded bad then the end result will be bad no matter what you do. A lot of artist believe that everything can be fixed in the studio when it comes to vocals. This truth is the first step to good vocals is good recording techniques. There are three techniques that you must learn. The first one is Microphone Technique and the second one is Recording Technique and the third one is Vocal Technique.
Microphone Technique The microphone is very sensitive to not only sound but also to air. That is why in recording studios you will find a windscreen on the microphone. It is also the reason why no recording studio should be without a compressor plug in or effect rack. Now when it comes to Microphone Technique there are two things that you have to learn how to control. That is your distance and your volume.
Recording Technique An artist's Recording Technique is probably one of the most underrated aspects of recording. This can add a whole new dimension to your voice if done right. Here are a few valuable techniques that can take your verses to the next level. 1. Dubs 2. Ad Libs 3. Punches
Vocal Technique Rap Vocal Techniques really doesn’t have any rules. Knowing vocal techniques for singers really wont help much unless your flow is real melodic. Breathing Techniques for singers will help anybody in general. But, if you find your voice's true tone and sweet spot those techniques will help but it will not make a huge impact. Therefore, here are to techniques that you should know. 1. Finding Your Voice 2. Breathing
Writing a rap song is more structured than the average person may think. Sure, there are some rappers who Freestyle their rap songs but there is a huge amount of rappers who have a method that they constantly use when writing songs. These methods are used especially when the subject of the song trying to tell a story or communicate a complicated emotion. These methods of writing are based on the Subject of the song, the Writing Structure and Song Structure.
1. Subject: The Subject of a song could be anything your heart desires. Possible subjects could be a specific topic, a phrase or anything that inspired you to write the song. Inspiration could be from an instrumental you heard, another song or a movie. But, keep in mind that the subject of a song can have an impact on how you should structure the song. For instance, if you are telling a story about something that happened to you because the outcome inspired you to write a song about it then you should use a Story Structure when writing the song.
2. Writing Structure: There are a couple of Writing Structures that are available for you to use as an aide to writing a song. Solid structure habits will help you easily and clearly communicate whatever your thoughts are. It is one on the main reasons that some writers and artists have so called “writing blocks”. Because they have an idea but either don't know where to begin to start writing about the idea or don't know how to write about the idea. Examples of writing structures are The 4 P's, The 5 W's and Story Structure.
A. The 5 W's The 5 W's are similar to the 5 P's. The 5 W's are Who, What, When, Where, Why and sometimes How. Yes I know How doesn't start with a W, but it's sometimes necessary when you are telling a story that doesn’t makes sense unless you give your listener all of the details. B. The 4 P's The 4 P's writing structure is organized into 4 objectives. The 4 P's stands for Promise, Picture, Proof and Push. C. Story Structure There are more than one story structures but the most common one is the basic Three Act Story Structure. Act 1 (the beginning) is where you introduce everything and set the situation up. Act 2 (the middle) is where you build the tension, conflict and crises of the story. Act 3 (The End) is where the story climaxes and resolves.
6. Song Structure: Song Structure is the most important part of writing a song. There are many different song structures and all of them are covered in our “Writing A Rap Song Advanced” product. But, in the music industry the majority of popular music fits into just a few of these structures. The most common of these structures is the verse and hook/chorus structure. This structure has different sections that can be placed in any order but the typical order in which they are placed is in this order. 1. Intro 2. Verse 1 3. Hook 4. Verse 2 5. Hook 6. Verse 3 7. Bridge 8. Hook 9. Outro
These are just a few structures to introduce to you the concept. For more detailed information and examples, check out Vol 2. “Writing A Rap Song” and for a complete instruction on all of the writing structures check out “Writing A Rap Song Advanced”.
Early on during the beginning of Hip Hop, Freestyle Rapping (Freestyling) was rapping a written rhyme about no particular subject over an instrumental or acapella. Usually its just a bunch of random lines and phrases of the rapper jive talking about themselves. Freestyle Rapping later evolved into rapping improvised lyrics known as rapping “off the top of the head”. In order to learn how to Freestyle Rap, there are a couple of fundamentals that you have to learn and practice. These fundamentals include knowing Bars, Rhyme Patterns, Keywords, Delivery, Flow and Style. This is the key to rapping effortlessly in a Rap Battle or in a recording session. Here's a breakdown of the fundamentals.
1. Bars: Bars is a unit of measure for music. It's a term used in the measurement of music. The format of that measurement is called a Time Signature. The natural Time Signature of Rap music is 4/4 and the first number represents the number of Counts in one unit measurement. 1 Count equals 1 unit of time within that one unit of measurement, similar to how seconds are to a minute. The second number represents the number of unit measurements in 1 bar. Therefore, a time signature of 4/4 is considered a 4 count done 4 times which equals 1 Bar. In Rap music one verse in a song is usually 16 Bars and this is why having knowledge of what a Bar is can be critical to having perfect timing when rapping. 2. Rhyme Patterns: Rhyme Patterns (also technically called Rhyme Schemes) are the patterns of all the locations of the rhyming words that are created between two or more lines in a rap. Rhyme Patterns are very similar to Rhyme Schemes in poetry. The major difference between the two is that Rap Rhyme Patterns are always influenced by a consistent rhythm or beat. 3. Keywords: Keywords are a collection of words that rhyme together. During a Freestyle that is “off the top of the head” Keywords are used to keep the Rhyme going without hesitation. A rapper must always have a collection of keywords that he can refer to at any given moment during his Freestyle. 4. Flow: Flow is a word used to described the characteristics of how a person rhymes and how a person says their rhyme. The main two characteristics that contribute to a rappers flow is their rhythm and their cadence. A rappers rhythm can be categorized in many different ways. For instance, some rappers rap in a bouncing rhythm, a melodic rhythm, a rapid rhythm or a chant rhythm. The cadence plays a big part in flow as a whole because its a term used to describe how a rapper uses their flow to end or link phrases together. Which in turn gives a verse or multiple lines a complete rhythm as a whole. Cadence lets your listeners know when a rap and flow begins, when its going to keep continuing between lines and when it going to end. And when it ends the correct Cadence makes it sound like its ending with a sense of closure. 5. Delivery: Delivery is a combination of having Breath Control, Emotional Performance Vocal Presence. Breath Control is having the ability to breath while rapping without it interrupting the rhythm of your Flow. Emotional Performance is the ability to communicate the emotion that supports the words that you are saying in your rap. Vocal Presence is the texture and characteristics of your voice. It is important that all three of these characteristics work in harmony with each other in order for you to communicate the message you are trying to make and for it to be believable.
Rapping is is a vocal style of music where the performer speaks in rhythm using rhyming phrases and verses. This is sometimes done acappella or to instrumental music. Rapping is an element of a culture called Hip Hop. The four elements of this culture is Rap, DJing, Break Dancing and Graffiti. The Hip Hop culture originated in the South Bronx of New York City during the 1970's. The word Hip Hop was said to be first said by a member of the group Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five named Cowboy. He chanted the words to mimic the rhythm of marching soldiers while teasing a friend who had just joined the army. Cowboy later started using the chant in his shows and the term quickly caught on as other groups started using the term themselves. The group would normally perform with disco artists and as a sign of disrespect they would refer to them as “Hip-Hoppers”. But the term as it is being used today is said to be originated by artist Lovebug Starski which led to the Godfather of Hip Hop, Afrika Bambaataa of the Zulu Nation, officially naming the culture Hip Hop. The Hip Hop culture is defined as a movement. Bambaataa said “When we made Hip Hop, we made it hoping it would be about peace, love, unity and having fun so that people could get away from the negativity that was plaguing our streets ( gang violence, drug abuse, self hate, violence among those of African and Latino descent). And the elements of Hip Hop are the many artistic mediums that are used to express the movement. Hip Hop Music was the catalyst for the creation of the Hip Hop culture. A Jamaican born DJ who goes by the name DJ Kool Herc is considered the father of Hip Hop music. DJ Kool Herc created after school parties in the recreation room of his apartment building in the Bronx neighborhood in New York City. His goal was to throw parties like the ones he saw while growing up in Kingston, Jamaica that were called Dancehalls and the DJ's of those parties would talk and chant over the music which was called Toasting. A Jamaican DJ by the name of Count Machuki developed this style in Jamaica after listening to the Disc Jockeys on American radio stations jive talk over the R&B music that they were playing on the air. Count Machuki would toast over songs without the vocals that was created by a recording engineer named King Tubby who would create this music on One Off Vinyl records known as Dub Plates. DJ Kool Herc would later develop this format that created Hip Hop music at these parties. He would create short instrumentals from the songs he was playing by using two copies of the same record. He would play these two copies by using two different turntables. Whenever a part in the song would play where there were no vocals present (known as the Break in a song) DJ Kool Herc would play the Break in the song on one record while back spinning the other record and continuing this process back and forth long enough for the Break Dancers to perform and the MC's to Toast and chant phrases or instructions. Kool Herc called this process the Merry-Go- Round and he would use records like James Brown's “Give It Up or Turn It Loose”. As the DJ Kool Herc and his parties became more and more popular, other DJ's in the neighborhood begin DJing parties like Kool Herc in the streets and school yards. DJ's like Afrika Bambaataa would use his parties to attract new members to his Zulu Nation Movement. The popularity of these parties created a street subculture which became the Hip Hop Culture. In 1979, an American singer named Sylvia Robinson who started a record label named Sugar Hill Records created a group she called The Sugarhill Gang. The Sugarhill Gang is credited with commercially releasing the first Hip Hop single in the music industry called “Rapper's Delight” which happened to also go multi-platinum. However, it has been argued that the Fatback band's song King Tim III was the actual beginning. King Tim III was released about 2 months before Rapper's Delight but Fatback Band was categorized as being under the funk genre. Mainly because the song was released as the B-Side of the 7-inch single “You're My Candy Sweet” which is a Disco song.
Let's begin by saying that freestyle rap and battling is not unique to hip hop. Freestyling is nothing more than a form of improvisation using rhyming words, and battles are as old as man himself.
Now, freestyle rap battles as we know them today are also not as new as some may think. Though modern hip hop freestyle battling's origins are obscure, there is evidence that shows the custom being practiced in tribes from Africa to South America. The idea is the same as it is today; to outwit your opponent(s) through the use of clever and rhythmic wording. Rap battles of today, however, have gotten a lot more sophisticated...
The practice has been around in various forms in earlier types of "black music" but as it pertains to hip hop, freestyle rap battles began to gain popularity almost simultaneously with the rise of hip hop itself. Street corner battles are a corner stone of hip hop culture. The hunger, drive, and competitiveness of any emcee are exemplified by and maybe even rooted in this custom. Hip hop battles remain important to the culture because unlike in other professions, fans are not satisfied in determining who is the better emcee by Soundscan figures or Billboard rankings, this is especially true for amateur rappers. If you want to see who the better emcee is...battle it out. And though this may not be the most effective way of determining who is better, it usually is the most turned to. Never do more than a few months go by before another couple of rappers, either mainstream or underground, are throwing verbal punches at eachother.
And though in many inner-urban areas street corner ciphers and rap battles are still widely popular today, with the new millenium came the latest and greatest rise in popularity of freestyle rap battling. The major success of the movie "8 Mile" starring rapper, Eminem, propelled the popularity of this art into the mainstream. And art it definitely is. There are a multitude of factors that play a role in what makes or breaks a good freestyle battle rapper.
Note: You should make sure that you're comfortable with each phase before moving on to the next. Also, this section is just a brief overview of how one could go about improving their battle rap skills. A further breakdown will be made available later. Check back often for more details.
PHASE 1:
FREESTYLE RAP TIP #1: Write down your freestyle rap practice sessions.
I was driving around the city last week and threw on a mix tape of instrumentals. I started messing around freestyling when I suddenly came up with something like "...that didn't rhyme cuz I'm in the frame of mind, to simply fuckin say a line..."
Now I thought that was kinda funny so I kept a mental note of that line. So that the next time I don't rhyme a line in a freestyle rap, I can throw in that bar or a variation of it. And that's where writing down your best lines during your practice sessions come in handy.
At first just stick to listening to an assortment of instrumentals, slow, fast, everything, and keeping a notepad to jot down dope lines you may accidentally come up with...then just quickly forget them and keep freestyling. Then repeat the cycle. Over time you will have a nice thick notebook, move on to your next one.
FREESTYLE RAP TIP #2: Be patient, there's no need for perfection.
Don't feel obligated to use every single one of the lines your write down in your notebook. Those lines are just for reference. You should review your notebook every now and then to keep those lines fresh in your head if you ever need them and they fit in during a freestyle rap battle.
PHASE 2:
FREESTYLE RAP TIP #3: Become a master at observing your surroundings.
In a real freestyle battle, you can't just throw out an endless barrage of writtens (sometimes that may be acceptable in a radio station freestyle, but not a battle).
I remember a particular 106 & Park Freestyle Friday where one contestant who was battling spit a line against his opponent that went something like this:
"My sound scorches suckers when it comes out the speakers/ Everybody moment of silence: (pause) look at her sneakers."
That line got a roar out of the crowd because of many reasons, one being the tension that built up during the quick pause, another being the battler's keen observation that his opponent had on a pair of very worn out sneakers...
Eminem did the same at the Rap Olympics in '97 when he spit "I don't give a fuck, I slaughter boys/ Especially wack ass emcees that would wear fake ass corduroys." Needless to say, these are the things that put a battle rap emcee over the top. Your observations should pay attention to a persons most prominent features, clothing, movements, actions, etc. (try to stray from disses that are in bad taste such as those based on race, they will likely backfire).
FREESTYLE RAP TIP #4: Understand your public. In a Braggin' Rites battle Tonedeff came up with a line something along the lines of: "And I shouldn't battle pansies/ You're style's flimsier than the dress Jennifer Lopez wore to the Grammy's" Now that would probably be a mediocre rhyme at best nowadays, but at the time (just a few months after Jennifer Lopez wore her revealing green dress to the Grammy's) that line had the crowd going crazy. Not including delivery, here are a few things that made that line hot at the time: A)It had just happened, the J. Lo event was fresh in people's minds. =Recency. B)The event brought with it an accompanying visual. =Visual connection. C)Everyone knew what he was talking about (but no one would ever be thinking about J. Lo's Grammy dress during a freestyle battle) =An unexpectance/surprise. That's where the importance of knowing your public lies. You should keep in mind recent events without applying overused subject matter. The goal is to shoot for using material broad enough so that a large portion (if not all) of your audience understands it, but with specific details that make your audience feel unique about understanding it. (i.e. "What you sound like on the mic?/ There was only one 2pac, your whole style's just one Big Syke" -Eminem) Nevertheless, Eminem, again at the Rap Olympics of '97, did once say something like "Tell your boys you're about to suffer a team loss/ When you go into a coma longer than Vladamir Konstantinov." Predictably this got no response from the crowd. In a room full of hockey fans, however, it would likely have been a different story. Again, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! Take advantage of shared knowledge you and your public may have and use it in your rhymes. PHASE 3:
FREESTYLE RAP TIP #5: A good freestyle battle doesn't involve luck; OUTLINE! Much like in a written battle, (for example, "2nd Round K.O.") in a freestyle rap battle you need to have an outline. The only difference is you have less time to structure it. By this point, you should have enough freestyling under your belt, enough rhymes in your head and sharp enough observation skills...the last thing you need to work on is THINKING FAST. Look at your opponent. Think! Quickly! What can you say about him or her? What does he or she appear like?...how can you attack him in that angle without it being a cheapshot? What did he say in a previous battle that was stupid or contradictory?...how can you use that against them? What is his or her body language like? How can you attack this...or what can you conclude from their body language that you can attack? What will their response to your disses likely be? How can you defend yourselves from these before they go after you with them? Etc... Now...remember depending on the battle you may only have a minute or less to answer questions like these in your head (by no means should you try to answer specific questions, these are just guidelines, you will know what to ask yourself the more battles you watch or attend). Therefore, try and gather as much information as you can about your competitor(s)beforeyou start the battle. Once you have 2-4 ideas floating around in your head, organize them...again, QUICKLY. What is a smooth introduction? (maybe something that follows up their verse or something that involves the crowd?) Which rhyme should you end it with? (usually the strongest rhyme.) What must you establish in this battle? (That you CAN take this opponent, that you are NOT what he may have called you out to be, etc.) Finally think of the best order for these disses. Usually just think of what to start out with and how to end it and the rest can fill itself in. In between the 2-4 or so disses you have outlined, just kick a freestyle trying to find ways to match your coming words with words that can smoothly rhyme with the content of your planned attacks. That's it. In less than a minute or so you would have delivered an impressive and seemingly off the cuff, freestyle diss...
FREESTYLE RAP TIP #6: Subtle qualities seperate good battlers from the best.
In a face to face freestyle battle its not only your words that matter, its your gestures, your movements, your facial expressions, and what your "non-verbal" communication as a whole radiates. Do you seem confident? Energetic? Enthusiastic? Are you charismatic? Or do you come off too cocky or like an ass?
Remember, a cocky act if well executed can work wonderfully, but a cocky attitude can be a turn-off.
Paying attention to your actions, your energy, the speed of your delivery, your flow, pauses, etc... is the first thing you should master if you want to be able to manipulate the effects they have over your audience. For example, a small pause can build tension and a good line following a moment of tension will usually bring a greater response. Too many pauses, however, and this will no longer work. Keep the pause for too long and the tension will turn into akwardness, which does not sit well with fans or judges.
Learn how to use your actions in connection with your words. For example, you can radiate boldness without saying a word, simply by approaching your competitor, maybe even touching them.
Remember that in the end you're giving a performance and not just reciting a written.
General Freestyle Rap Tips
If you're trying to improve your freestyle rap in general our best advice would be to practice PHASES 1 and 2 thoroughly.
Also, at first just practice getting your lines to rhyme, don't worry if they don't seem to make sense at first, you can always start your next line with something that will make the previous take on a whole new meaning...for example, earlier today I freestyled the first half of the following bar which at first seemed fruitless when I thought about what word I can rhyme with "promise", but I quickly knew what direction I could take the rap in.
"The hot shit and nothing but the hot shit - I promise/ hand on the Good Book saggin' my pajamas/ Slippers in court/ Looking like Hugh Heff' fuck what you thought..."
I could've also said "Dressed like Michael Jackson, fuck what you thought" If I thought my audience was up on the MJ trial.
Finally, remember that you don't always have to rhyme EXACTLY...make assonance your friend. Many times emphasis on certain vowels and the speed at which you flow can make words or sets of words that in reality are only slightly similar sounding, appear to rhyme perfectly.
