How to Get Good at Rapping
As mentioned in previous posts, one of my goals as a rapper is to see more people start rapping. I firmly believe that if more people had a creative outlet such as hip hop to come home to at the end of the day the world would be a more peaceful place.
Even though I have been rapping for quite a while, I am far from an expert, and the artform didn’t come naturally to me. Like most people, I had no idea where to begin or what I was doing at first, but slowly figured it out and got better and better over time.
In this article I would like to run through some of the steps any one can take to learn how to get good at rapping.
Start Acapella
Before you start adding instrumentals, pens, notepads, recording equipment, and engineers in the mix, sometimes the easiest place to start is acapella with nothing at all. You don’t have to have the greatest cadence/vocal delivery in the world. You don’t have to have the most technical or complex rhyme schemes. You don’t even have to rhyme at all in all honesty. Just pick a topic, say some lines, and get started.
This was how I personally got started. No instrumental, just a few improvised while with rapping with friends. It wasn’t great, but it was encouraging enough for me to feel like it was worth continuing to try and get better. From there I continued writing and freestyling, all of which was initially acapella.
Freestyle
There is a lot of debate about what a “freestyle” is in the hip hop community. Some people claim that a freestyle has to be completely off the top, while others say that it can be written. In many cases, freestyles can be a combination of both. The best freestylers are often the ones who know how to mostly improvise while sprinkling in a little bit of premeditated lines as well.
Practicing how to freestyle is one of the best ways to get good at rapping. Even before you start getting serious about writing, sometimes it’s best just to focus on freestyling. Freestyling over different kinds of instrumentals is a great way to develop a natural rhythm and get comfortable with being versatile. Nowadays with YouTube it’s so easy to find great instrumentals that you can practice over for free.
When you’re first learning how to freestyle, having good rhythm is the most important aspect. Rhyming effectively comes next. As long as you can stay on beat and make your words rhyme, you’re on the right track, regardless of whether your delivery or cadence is the best.
Start Writing
When you’re first learning how to write it may not always be necessary to follow the typical 16 bar format that you hear in most rap songs. It’s okay if it’s only 4, 8, or 12 bars to start.
For me personally, that’s how I started. I would write 4 or 8 bars, keep them in my back pocket, and then incorporate them into my freestyles. Eminem refers to that as “stacking ammo” and it’s something that all of the great rappers do.
As time goes on, you can jump up to writing full 16 bar verses, and also incorporating choruses and second verses in as well. Even if you don’t record them right away, at least you are improving your writing.
Writing hip hop music can take a lot of discipline, and when you’re first starting out sometimes the most important thing is just to follow through and not give up. Regardless of whether or not it’s the most lyrically impressive song or the most technically complex. As long as you’re putting the pen to the paper and finishing what you start, that’s what’s most important.
The reason why is because it is so easy to quit and not follow through. When you’re first starting out, this can happen quite a bit. You’ll come up with 6 bars, get stumped, and give up. You’ll come up with a first bar, think it’s not good enough, and quit. If you can consistently write songs and verses to completion, you are doing something right.
Start Recording
Before you start adding in sophisticated recording equipment, software, and engineers, sometimes the easiest place to start is just by recording into your phone. It doesn’t have to be a full song and it doesn’t have to be great.
Again, that’s how I personally got started. I would write a verse, or even just a few bars, and then record it into my phone to get a feel for how it sounds.
Over time you can start incorporating actual recording equipment when you feel ready. You can start with a USB mic and a free DAW such as Audacity or GarageBand, and then eventually move on to better equipment once you get comfortable.
The beautiful thing is that with today’s technology, you really don’t have to spend much money to start recording if you don’t want to. It’s actually a lot more cost effective and efficient to just build your own home studio, and the good thing is that you can use it at any time.
When recording the main things to focus on is your ability to dictate each line clearly, match the melody of the beat, and perform the lyrics with the right emotional energy.
Do Research
One of the most important ways to get good at rapping is to actually listen to rap music and study the artform. One of the beautiful things about rap music is that it can be listened to from many angles. For example, some people gravitate more strongly to the beats. Others more so to the lyrics and vocal delivery. But it doesn’t stop there. Album themes/concepts, musical individuality, versatility, song structure. These are all the components that make up good rap music and great artists.
Nowadays there are many different tools and resources that can help you dig in and get a deeper feel for the music, and learn more about the creative process involved. Sites like “Genius” that give listeners a closer look behind the lyrics and provide more detail regarding the project. Online reviewers such as “TheNeedleDrop” who provide constructive feedback and break down albums/singles on a critical level. Even sometimes just going on YouTube to check out album vlogs and documentaries that give a behind the scenes look at the creative process of an album.
Don’t just listen to one style of rap music. Hear out the different sounds within the genre, and go back to do your research on older artists who were before your time.
If you are still early on in learning the mechanics of how to rap, sometimes a good thing to do is find the instrumental for one of your favorite songs and practice performing the lyrics yourself. If J. Cole is your favorite artist, find a J. Cole instrumental, pull up the lyrics online, and say them yourself. Then, if you want to take it a step further, take that same instrumental and write your own lyrics matching the rhythm of the original song.
Congratulations
Congratulations. If you have followed through the steps of this article, you can now officially call yourself a rapper. Regardless of whether or not you ever attempt to make any money off of rapping, just knowing how to do it yourself is great. Hip hop can be a beautiful creative outlet. It’s not about trying to be famous, flashy, rich, or important. Just doing it for yourself and taking pride in your craft is enough in itself.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. As always, I hope that you have enjoyed. Please feel free to check out some of my other content. Thank you again, and have a great rest of your day!
