Do you have a story to tell through rap music?
Music has always been a way to express our thoughts, deliver social commentary or even just to let go of the feelings that could be bottled within us. Through a song you can find freedom and let the world know what an impact an experience or event had on you. Who knows, you speaking up might help someone else out there and this way you can make a difference to the world.
If you think are ready to step up your rapping and want to write your own lyrics, you’ve come to the right place. This article will give you some tips and guidelines on how you can start writing a great wrap.
Ready to put your heart and word into the beat?
How to Structure a Rap Song
To write rap lyrics, you’ll have to understand some of the basics of how music works. The music and the amount of beats will be the foundation of your writing. It will determine the amount words you require, while you consider the speed of your delivery and the tempo of the song.
Generally, songs consist of a few verses, a chorus and sometimes a bridge. If you have ever seen sheet music, you’ll know that muso’s all write their music on those lines to indicate the notes played?
Each song is set to a measure, a unit of time to music. For basic songs, hip-hop and probably the first couple of rap songs you’ll write, each rap measure consists of 4 beats made up of a minimum of one drum bass and one snare beat. The end of each measure is indicated by vertical or bar lines, and songs are normally around 32 bars.
If you write a 16 bar song, with four beats in each bar, it means you have a total of 64 beats to write to. If the tempo is faster, you’ll require more words to fill the beat. The basic structure of many songs are 16 measures, a chorus, 16 measures, chorus, etc.
Find Some Music to Rap to
What makes rapping different to normal poetry is the percussive delivery of meaningful messaging to a set beat and tempo. Finding some music to start with could be one of the first steps in your exploration around creating lyrics. Not only can it serve as inspiration, but it will also guide you into how many words and syllables you require for each phrase, verse and the chorus.
Being a rap artist is not only about words and music. Read this article for all you need to know about becoming a rapper.
What is Your Theme and Message?
Good rap lyrics is just like telling a story, your view and personal experience will paint it into a colourful expression of who you are while entertaining people. Your personality needs to shine through and usually social issues that are close to your heart and relevant to current affairs, are the ones that manage to break through the clutter in new songs.
What is the subject or topic you want to rap about?
Most writers write about things they feel passionate about as it brings depth, insight and clarity to their message. Just think of the thousands of songs that deal with heartbreak? Isn't it amazing how each singer have managed to have their own different version of it, how they managed to write their personal experience into it?
The world wants to know what your view and your experience is, so don’t be a copycat and let your heart sing.
Many song writers often choose a topic or theme before they even think of a title, but there’s no set formula and every writer has their own way of creating magic. The more you work, the more you will understand what process works best for you and the easier the ideas will come.
Story Structure Can Guide You
You already know about the structure of songs and the usage of measures as explained earlier in this article. The music will be the backdrop of your story, but when it comes to writing the words of your song, you can use the same approach writers. We'll give you the low-down.
Logical Story Structure
Like most stories, the structure of your rap needs to have a beginning, middle and end. What is the background (exposition), turning point or complication, climax and resolution in your story. Every strong story use those fundamental steps and moments to take the listener on a journey.
How to Write a Rap Verse
The first verse of your rap song needs to grab people’s attention. What is the hook of your song? The first verse is usually about the exposition, the problem or challenge. Verses tend to be more logical and consequential than a chorus and here are a couple of tips to write lyrical, catchy phrases:
- Make use of alliteration (repetitive consonants in words following each other)
- Wordplay and ambiguity
- The rhyme scheme
Writing The Chorus
A chorus in a rap song is not compulsory, but a good chorus will take your song to the next level.
The chorus is the summary, the moral of the story and the reason for speaking up.
If you want to make a rap song with a striking chorus, you have to consider how it breaks the tempo and feeling of the verse preceding it. You can do this by using words in a less structural way. You can also give your song a different feel by applying one of the following techniques to your chorus:
- Shorter measures
- An increase in tempo
- More focussed alliteration
- More melodic word delivery
Many songwriters start their process with the chorus and if you are new to writing, learning about slam poetry will help you craft beautiful, rhyming phrases.
Creating Catchy Lines, Phrases and Hooks
Do you want to know how to write a hook for a rap song?
A hook is the attention-grabber, something that gets the listener's attention and makes them want to listen to what happens next.
Even the most accomplished rappers and songwriters battle with creating great hooks, but here are a few ideas to help you create one for your song:
- Stick to your message
- Simplify the message and find one phrase that says it all
- Play with words, using similar sounding words, repetition, alliteration and synonyms
- Use humour and street slang
- Seek out tongue twisters or current phrases that people use in their everyday lives, especially your peers
Good rap and Hip-Hop has the ability to bring different perspectives to everyday life. Can you colour a normal experience so that people can see ordinary things in a different way?
Hooks are generally more suited to the beginning or end of the verse, but the moment you try and cram them all over the song they lose their importance and impact.
Consider how your hook fits into the flow of your story and don’t just say something cause it’s a good hook.
Make it Rhyme, But Every Time?
Rhyming can be highly effective, but it can also make the song bland if it is overused or become predictable. Rhymes tend to be at the end of measures, but some rappers have the most magnificent rhyme within one line, called internal rhyming.
Any writer will tell you the one secret of writing, is re-writing, and once you have your lyrics you can start to craft it and add rhyming.
There are different types of rhyming, and you can play with the following rhyme structures:
- Flat rhyme is where the last word of the first phrase rhymes with the last word of the second phrase, while the last words of 3rd and 4th phrases rhyme
- Cross rhyme splits up the rhyming words. So, the last word in the first phrase rhymes with the last word in the third phrase, and the 2nd and fourth phrase will rhyme together
- Enclosed rhyme has the last word of the first and fourth song phrase as rhymed. The 2nd and 3rd phrase will end in words that rhyme in this instance
- Violette rhyming is where the last word in the first three phrases rhyme and the last phrase is without rhyme
Rhyming can also occur in different ways if the stress of the rhyme falls on a different syllable. It can be a useful tool if you struggle to fit the rhyme scheme into the structure of your rap.
Single rhymes are the most common where the stress is on the last syllable, double rhymes have the rhyming on the penultimate syllable and dactylic rhymes places stress on the third last syllable.
Be careful not to force rhyming. It should feel natural and you shouldn't make your lyrics rhyme for the sake of rhyming.
Read this article about other common mistakes to avoid in rapping.
Finding An Expert Opinion and Guidance
How do you know that what you have written is any good?
Testing it with friends and family is one way, but getting the opinion of an expert writer, musician or rapper would be your best bet.
On Superprof we have a range of experienced music and writing tutors to help you. Not only can they help you while you are learning to write great rap, they will also provide different angles, techniques and tricks to make your rap and Hip-Hop, pop!
Are you ready to get your Snoop Dogg on, to drop it’s like its hot, or to rap your heart out? Get writing and be sure you flow to a beat that makes your heart sing.
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