Rap songs often begin with instrumental beats that provide rhythm and base structure for freestyling over. Rappers then typically freestyle over these beats before beginning their verse, using this approach to sound natural and avoid sounding repetitive.
Ice Cube’s gangsta rap song about his basic happiness stands in stark contrast to its often violent nature.
1. Rhythm
Rappers employ rhythm to underpin their lyrics. They do this in many ways, including using drum beats and harmonic rhythms from underlying music to provide rhythmic support. Furthermore, rhymed syllables may also be group together so as to reflect this musical accompaniment.
Most rap songs start off with instrumental bars of four or eight beats before the rapper begins rapping; this is known as an intro and allows them to build up energy before beginning their verse or hook.
Scenario” features an instrumental accompaniment featuring bass, snare drum, and synthesizer parts with a regular 3+3+2 rhythm that is illustrated by black bars on this chart. This rhythm can be found both in its composite rhythm created by bass and snare drums and its pattern of tones repeated across piano part.
Drummers also utilize these harmonic rhythms to create syncopated beats in each measure’s second bar (red bars on this chart), using this rhythm as the basis for an accent on a snare drum in its initial bar to emphasize and emphasize it further. This can further emphasize and make more prominent the beat created.
This beat makes an excellent choice for rap songs because its distinct, catchy rhythm stands out. Rappers often turn to it when looking to add strength and lasting impression to their rap sound.
Busta Rhymes’ choice to incorporate syncopated rhythm into his lyrics shows the influence this music had on him and subsequent rappers. Furthermore, other musicians, such as singers, have adopted it into their work as well.
2. Lyrics
Rappers use lyrics to tell a story and create emotion in their songs, often writing their own or borrowing lines from other rappers; this practice, known as riffing, can make songs more memorable; but care must be taken not to violate copyright issues.
Rapper rhymes often speak about people, places, or events in an artist’s life; they may also communicate a message or political viewpoint. Although popular since the 1980s, gangsta rap was notorious for using its music to glorify violence and drug dealing; Diddy, Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z used their lyrics as weapons against police brutality and drug dealing; however, recently many artists have changed their ways and written more positive lyrics than in years past.
To make your lyrics truly stand out, use details and images that paint an eye-catching picture, along with metaphors to emphasize certain points. Consider picking an intriguing subject matter before coming up with ways you could turn it into a rap song.
A rap song typically comprises of three components, namely: verse, hook and chorus section. A verse typically lasts 16 bars and generally uses fewer instruments than either hook or chorus sections; its low point in energy leads into more upbeat hook/chorus sections that often repeat multiple times and provide an energy boost after verse has concluded. A chorus usually lasts 30 seconds long and provides another energy boost post verse.
3. Verse Structure
Verse sections in songs serve to further the storyline of their tracks by weaving lyrics throughout longer sections that surround choruses. Verses should provide an uninterrupted transition into their chorus counterpart. There are various approaches to writing verses; what matters most is creating a smooth flow from verse to chorus.
One effective technique for doing so is through an Intro section, usually instrumental, that builds anticipation for both melodically and lyrically for the chorus. Sometimes the first verse starts off with an additional two to four bar section known as Pre-chorus that also creates anticipation for its counterpart in verse two or three.
Use rhyme schemes such as Couplets, Tercets, Quatrains, Cinquains or Sestets to add an individual and poetic feel to a verse. However, keep in mind that rhyme schemes don’t need to appear every verse and can be utilized sparingly.
Be mindful that your verse should not simply rehash what has already been covered in the chorus. A verse serves to tell a story and keep listeners engaged, so its crucial to create new content while avoiding anything repeated from earlier.
As it’s human nature to want to take their time perfecting each verse before moving onto another part of the song, this can often prove challenging. Unfortunately, however, overworking verses often leads to less creativity than necessary and when that occurs it may be better just moving onto something else in your song as soon as something works well enough for you.
4. Hooks
An effective hook can elevate an otherwise average song into something truly timeless. It should resonate in listeners’ memories long after hearing your track has finished and serve as an essential element to creating memorable rap tracks.
An effective hook can take many forms: melodic (singing), rhymic (rapping), or both. To find the appropriate tone, experiment with various melodies and cadences until you find one that perfectly captures the emotion you wish to portray. Keep your hook vague so it can easily translate to lyrics that support its overall message.
If you’re having difficulty writing hook verses, consider using an online songwriting tool like Genius to analyze tracks by your favorite rap artists and analyze how their hook verses fit into their overall song structures. Doing this will give a clearer idea of what makes an effective hook verse and where its best place lies within their song.
Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” is an example of such an irreverent yet catchy chorus that doesn’t quite make sense, yet is easily singable and memorable. When writing your hooks and lyrics for any track or album, consider what would interest both yourself and listeners alike to hear. Once a topic resonates with listeners you can write lyrics around that topic – something personal such as poverty or tolerance issues can work just as well – making your music more authentic to the listeners while giving listeners something they can identify with.
5. Theme
Rappers often draw from personal experience to inspire their music, giving it a powerful sense of purpose that is sure to capture listeners’ interest and keep it. The most successful rap songs tend to encourage listeners through hard times to emerge victorious.
Many rap songs that last more than six minutes contain themes that resonate with listeners and allow them to understand the artist’s experiences. When, for example, Jay-Z writes about poverty and death on “The Message”, not only is his song more interesting than usual hip-hop tracks but it serves as a powerful and relatable example of hip hop’s ability to address social issues in powerful yet accessible ways.
Roots’ soulful ode to love “You Got Me” spans more than six minutes with Erykah Badu’s confident yet smooth vocals over Scott Storch beat, and Black Thought’s sublime poetic lyricism on a love rap story by Black Thought.
“A Milli” by Lil Wayne stands out among long-form rap songs with six minutes or longer tracks as an outstanding example from mixtape era rap music; Wayne effortlessly unleashed bar after memorable bar from this tune without taking a breather; riding an energetic percussive beat by Bangladesh, “A Milli” became a veritable rap decathlon that received double platinum certification.
Other notable six-minute rap songs that have made an impressionful statement in music include Drake’s “Sad Breakup”, Kendrick Lamar’s “I Don’t Wanna Fight”, and Sly And The Family Stone’s “Blood on the Carpet”. Each track offers melodic refrains, rapid-fire rapping, and powerful choruses that help listeners understand the depth of these artists’ emotions.