CREATIVE WRITING

(Rap Edition)

By Jonathan Rowland
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Quick-Start Step-by-Step

Hip-Hop Music is King

Staying Current vs. Staying True

How Hip Hop Songs Were Written Back in the Day

How Rap Songs are Written Today

How to Rap in 2019 and Beyond

Traditional Rap Lyrics + Lyricism

Modern Rap Lyrics + Melody

How to Write a Rap Song – STEP-BY-STEP

Beats

Flow

Lyrics

Structure

Rap Verses
Rap Choruses

Extra Things to Keep in Mind

Keeping Things Fresh

Using Too Many Words

Rewriting

Rap Writing Techniques

Final Thoughts
CREATIVE
WRITING
RAP EDITION

So it’s great that you want to learn how to rap?

When you’re starting out, hip-hop songwriting (i.e. learning how

to make a rap song) can seem like something so far out there you
and you generally know where to start.

In this workshop we’ll tell you what you need to know about how
to write rap lyrics and perform them for the modern era.

We’re going to talk about lyrics, melody, structure and more to

help you write a rap song you can be proud of.

Quick Note: We assume you know what it means when we use the
terms “lyrics,” “melody,” “bars,” and “beats.”
Quick Start – How To Spit Bars

Before we explain everything about how to write rap in depth, here’s a

quick-start guide if you only have 5 seconds to read this post:

Find a Beat/Instrumental That You Love

Choose an Overall Topic to Write About

Find the Rap Flow and Cadence You’ll Use by Freestyling Giberish

Brainstorm Lyrical Ideas / Rhymes / Phrases

Fit Your Lyric Ideas Into Your Flow/Cadence

Refine & Rewrite the Lyrics, Flow and – if applicable – Melody so they’re not
sloppy/off-beat

Structure the Lyrics into a Full Rap Song

Hip-Hop Music is King

Hip-Hop made headlines as it became the primary dominant music genre in

America. Now, for anyone like me who has been a Hip-Hop die-hard since
the early 90s, it’s always seemed like the dominant genre.

And it’s always been more than the music – it’s a culture. Study the
elements and know the history. It’s a movement – an intelligent movement
(s/o to the teach a KRS-One)

But the music side of the culture (i.e. rap) officially outpaced “pop” as the
primary genre of music consumption in the United States.

So now everybody rappin’… And I ain’t mad at it. Hip Hop is life.

But rap has changed over the last 4 decades and will always continue to
evolve. And if you’re not keeping up with current sound trends, it’s going to
be tough to break through.

That’s not to say you should be trying to chase fads – you should always
bring your own style, voice and personality to anything you do musically.

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Staying Current vs. Staying True in Your Hip Hop Verses

If there’s one thing you need to know about how to rap better, it’s this:

Make sure you don’t sound dated with your cadence, flow and lyrics when
writing a rap if you’re trying to gain mainstream popularity today.

New up-and-coming rappers don’t have any issues staying current because
they grow up and live in the modern styles. But a lot of O.G. rappers have
problems with this.

They either sound super dated (old school) or they sound like they’re trying
too hard to be like “the kids.”

There’s a middle ground that some really dope emcees have been able to
find, though. They stay current and relevant, without trying to be something
they’re not.

Having said that, if that’s your vibes (ex/ golden era 90s lyricism, or 80s
party toasting) that’s cool. Do you. there’s nothing wrong with that. And
there’s an audience for that stuff.

But if you’re trying to gain any level of “popular” or “mainstream” success,

it’s not the current look, fam.

Hip Hop Songwriting Back In The Day

Hip-Hop has always been all about BARS.

Lyricism was king.

You had to be witty and clever to be a rapper back in the day. You couldn’t
get by on rhyming random stuff together.

You needed skilful wordplay, metaphors, double entendres and storytelling.

There was a huge focus on lyrical skill and putting together words and
concepts in unique and interesting ways.

It was more about the message than the vibe.

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Of course, cadence and flow (the rhythm and speed of how you say your
words, how you ride the beat, your timing, etc.) was crucial. But you didn’t
get respect for great flow/cadence but back lyrics.

There was some use of melody, especially for the hook and to accent
certain parts of a verse.

Bone Thugs N Harmony were notorious for their rapping ability and their
ability to harmonise and use melody effectively.

But again, people (both fans and artists) really cared about the lyrics back in
the day.

Rap Songwriting Today

Arguably, lyrics are less important today.

Sure, subject matter is still important, but there’s less of an emphasis placed
on clever word play.

It’s more about the vibe, the flow and… the all important melody.

At the beginning of this post I mentioned Hip-Hop was the dominant genre.

I think that’s been helped by the fact that melody has become more and
more prevalent and important in Rap and Hip-Hop music over the last
several years.

Now I’m a hip-hop head through and through. And I’m a lyricist. But be real
– melody has always been a big factor in popular music.

It’s what draws people ears. It’s what makes music catchy.

So it makes sense that a more melodic Hip-Hop/Rap style would easily

overtake traditional Pop. Because even before melody was so prevalent in
rap music, hip-hop culture was making WAVES. Add the melody in and it
went nuclear.

Nowadays, a catchy melody in the VERSE (not only the chorus) is almost
essential to a hit Hip-Hop song.

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Cadence and flow is also still important. Acts like the Migos made the triplet-
style flow popular and a lot of modern music uses this (or a variation) of this
type of flow.

So nowadays, to sound current your rap verse should focus on both the flow
and the melody.

Even if you’re a lyricist that cares about wordplay and storytelling –

incorporate modern flows and melodies into your songwriting.

Think of people like Tech N9ne and Royce Da 5’9 – they’re both O.G.
rappers that still sound current (and not corny) plus still get insane praise for
their lyricism.

And MCs like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole are both “newer” rappers that
successfully use lyrics and melody together to achieve huge success.

It’s possible to do it all if you want. And if you just want to make fire ass
vibes in the studio, you can do that too.

How to Rap for Beginners

To some degree, how you write your own rap song will depend on what lane
you’re in – lyrics vs. vibes vs. both.

What is a Rap Bar

A “bar” in hip hop music means a couple of things.

First, it refers to a single line of rap lyrics that fits into one “bar” of musical
time. A bar of musical time is basically how you count out music to the beat
(i.e. “1 – 2 – 3 – 4”). If you don’t understand what I’m talking about read this
quick guide on musical time and rhythm. It will teach you how to count bars
in rap.

Second, it can be used to refer to a REALLY DOPE line that someone spit.
Something that’s extremely clever and makes you go “wow.” Picture you
listening to a song and hearing a lyric line that was amazing and screaming
out “Damn! THAT was a BAR!”

If you’re good to go on these concepts, here’s some tips on how to write a

rap verse.

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Traditional Rap Lyrics – How to Write Bars

There’s still a huge market for solid Hip-Hop lyricism. Fans of traditional Hip-
Hop still exist and they love music. They’re looking for great stories, clever
wordplay and real-ass street poetry.

But even Kendrick and Cole toy around with melodic ideas in their music.
And they’re some of the best storytellers and lyricists out right now.

So if you’re trying to make music like the above mentioned lyricists, then
keep paying extra attention to your wordplay, metaphors, punchlines and
flows.

You flow needs to be ON BEAT

I know Blueface and City Girls are huge right now. But if you want to be a
lyricist, you can’t be off beat.

And you need to be saying something clever/impactful/interesting.

So practice your timing and make sure you are editing and re-writing your
lyrics so that your flow is “in the pocket” (i.e. perfectly timed, solid
rhythm/groove and on beat).

Think about how you can take an idea or concept and say it in a new,
interesting or clever way. Don’t be cliched and say the same old stuff that
everyone else has already said.

Play around with melody where you can, but don’t sacrifice the lyrics for the
sake of the melody. Focus on the message and how you spit it.

Modern Rap Lyrics – How to Set a Vibe

If you’re trying to make music like some of the newer cats like
XXXTentacion, Drake, Tory Lanez, Travis Scott and others then you better
learn how to write solid melodies.

Remember, lyrics are still important. The newer artists just mentioned still
have solid lyric writing ability. But they incorporate melody a lot more into
their verses..

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Another big part of modern rap verses are the adlibs – the random sounds
and shouts that happen in between lyrics. These play a huge role in setting
the vibe of the track.

Keep your lyrics sparse and spaced out and pay attention to how you can fill
up the empty space between these lyrics with some dope sounding adlibs.

How to Write Rap Lyrics

For the absolute beginners out there looking for hip hop verse writing tips,
here’s a quick rundown on how to make a rap.

1. Find a Beat

Most rappers nowadays find a beat online that they vibe with and start
writing their lyrics to the track. Some definitely still write without a beat, but if
you’re starting out it’ll be easier to catch the pocket with your flow if you
write to a track.

A good place to get beats to make raps on is BeatStars or you can buy
beats from us.

2. Choose a Topic to Write About

Want to know how to start a rap song? Get inspired by things.

One thing I’ll tell you is this – you have to live life to be inspired.

And you should take inspiration from the world around you. and just write
about the things you learn, see, experience and observe.

Don’t be fake – if you’re not a gangster, don’t talk that gang language.

But on the other hand, if you’re telling a story it can work.

Before you start putting your pen to paper, try to have an idea of what you
want to write about. Usually you can get ideas from the emotion of the beat
you’re listening to – is it dark/shady, happy, inspirational, etc.

3. How to Start a Rap – Brainstorming Lyrics + Flows + Rhymes

Now it’s time to start writing rap lyrics. Sometimes, you’ll write straight
through – Bar 1 to Bar 16. (If you don’t know what a “bar” is in rap music,

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it’s basically a line of lyrics that lasts as long as 4 counts – “1, 2, 3, 4” – of
the beat you’re using. Learn more about the concept of bars here.)

Other times you might just start brainstorming dope lines that you’ll try to
use somewhere.

Sometimes it’s really useful to just start freestyling “giberish/nonsense” to

get an idea of the flow/cadence you want to have on the beat you chose.

Then you can just match your song idea to potential words/phrases you
could use and fit it into the flow you freestyled. And just keep building up the
lyrics, bar after bar for 8, 12, 16 or more bars of music.

If you’re trying to get mainstream success, you probably won’t ever write a
verse that’s longer than 16 bars. But if you want to really show off your stuff
then you can write tons of bars – The Game wrote a song called 300 bars
and running, so do your thang if that’s what you want.

Whatever method works for you just start crafting the message/story you’re
trying to tell.

Rhyming Your Words

As far as rhyme schemes go here’s a couple basic templates you can

follow:

A / A / B / B (First two lines rhyme together, second two lines rhyme

together)

A / A / B / A (Bars 1, 2 and 4 rhyme, but Bar 3 doesn’t)

Not everything HAS to rhyme together, but it does sound a lot better if it
does.

Try not to use too many basic rhymes if you can help it (ex/ bar and star OR
fix and mix). Sometimes the story/message is so dope that simple rhymes
are fine. But try to use complex rhymes when you can – rhyme multi-syllable
words together or rhyme single syllable words with multi syllable words, etc.

And always try to find interesting/cool ways of pronouncing words so you

can rhyme them with words that aren’t really supposed to be rhymed
together. (Eminem, Kanye, Lil Wayne and T.I. are good with this type of
rhyming)

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4. Structure Your Song

Now it’s time to get your song into a proper rap song structure. That means
putting the lines you came up with together into verses and chorus sections.

If you want to make a rap song you need much more than a single rap
verse.

It has to have different sections. So here’s the basics on how to write rap
songs for the modern era.

Different Song Sections

A common question is “How many bars in a verse?” Normally rap songs had
2 or 3 16-bar verses and 2 or 3 8/16-bar choruses.

But that’s not always the case anymore. Sometimes you’ll see 8-bar verses
or 12-bar verses. Sometimes you’ll find some songs that have 2 different 12
bar verses followed by a 4 bar pre-chorus that repeats after verse 1 and 2,
before hitting the chorus.

The main thing you want to keep in mind is the STRUCTURE.

Sometimes, if you’re a lyricist, you might want to just drop 32 or 64 bars

straight, no hook – and that’s totally fine too.

But most songs are structured like this:

Intro

Verse 1

(Pre-Chorus if you want) - Chorus 1

Verse 2

(Pre Chorus if you want) - Chorus 2

Verse 3 or Bridge

Chorus 3

Outro

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Rap Verses – How to Write Rap Bars

So if you don’t know by now, the verse section is the part where you ill rap
lyrics will go. It’s where the story/message in the song gets fleshed out with
details. You bring the listener in deep.

It modern popular music most verses are either 8 bars or 16 bars in length.
They’re usually more lyrically dense the chorus (which we’ll talk about next).

This is where you get your rap off.

Hip-Hop Choruses – How to Write a Rap Hook

The chorus is also referred to as “the hook.” It’s the catchy part of the song.
It’s also where you give a simple, concise breakdown of what the song is
about overall. It’s the “summary” of your “story.”

Choruses can be either melodic (by using a singer or singing your lyrics),
rhythmic (rapping lyrics without any melody to it) or a combination of both.

Lyrically, choruses are usually much less dense. There usually aren’t as
many words used, but there are exceptions to this. Also, it’s usually the part
of the song that has the MOST or the LEAST amount of energy, depending
on what feeling you’re going for.

The key thing to remember about your chorus or hook is it NEEDS to

be catchy. This is the part of the song that is supposed to “hook” the
listener. That’s why it’s also referred to as the hook.

Spend a lot of time on this section and get it right.

The Pre-Chorus

A pre-chorus is a section (usually 8 bars in length) that comes from pop

music. It’s not always used in rap songs or hip-hop music, but recently it’s
become more popular. It comes in right before the chorus section and helps
to build up in energy to it (the chorus is usually the highest level of energy in
the song).

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It can be either melodic, rhythmic or both in terms of lyrics. But it’s separate
and distinct from the verse section. It’s a little more catchy or “hooky” than a
verse but less catchy than the chorus section.

And usually when you use a pre-chorus, it’s the same exact lyric/melody
every time the section comes around. With verses, Verse 1 and Verse 2 are
usually different lyrically (and sometimes melodically). But Pre-Chorus 1 and
Pre-Chorus 2 will normally be the EXACT SAME lyrically/melodically
(sometimes there are slight variations).

You don’t have to use a pre-chorus. But it’s good to know that the option is
there for you.

Stuff to Remember When Learning How to Write a Rap Song

Here’s a few things you need to always keep in the back of your mind when
you’re songwriting. This will help you really cut through the noise that’s out
there in the music industry.

Keep Things Fresh

Don’t be boring. Keep stuff fresh and interesting. A good rule of thumb is to
change something up in your rap verse every 4 bars. Otherwise, things can
get monotonous and boring.

So change up your flow, cadence, rhyme scheme, intensity – something.

Keep things fresh and interesting to the listener.

Don’t Make a Rap Using Too Many Words

Something new rappers fall into when writing rhymes is using too many
words to express an idea. That can lead you to being off-beat.

Now, we mentioned rappers that have success while still rapping off beat
(Blueface, City Girls, etc.). And if that’s what you want to do, that’s fine. It
can sound dope sometimes – it’s a style choice nowadays.

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But if you’re trying to be ON BEAT and you’ve got too many words in a line,
it won’t fit within the bar of music and will sound sloppy.

Syllables are important! The number of syllables has to fit and sound “in the
pocket.”

If you’re new to rapping, this might be tough at first, but get lots of feedback
on your lyrics/rhymes.

If you can’t fit all the words you want in a bar, cut some out or say things
differently so they fit. Re-writing is IMPORTANT. Don’t fall into the trap of
just writing what comes to your head first and never changing a thing.

Don’t Be Afraid of Rewriting Your Rap Verse

I know everyone wants to say they just step in the booth and spit or write a
full song in 10 minutes. And if you can pull that off, cool.

But don’t ever be afraid of re-writing. Changing it all up because you think it
sounds or fits better is good practice. Most songwriters re-write. Including
rap writers.

You want to make sure you’re writing the best lyrics you possibly can –
whether you’re super lyrical or more melody based.

Take the time to make it sound legit.

THIS IS IMPORTANT. Only the most talented people can spit something
flawless on their first attempt/take. But even the most talented rappers take
this art seriously and refine/rewrite their lyrics for MAXIMUM IMPACT. Don’t
sleep on this. It’s the cornerstone of good songwriting.

Rap Writing Techniques

So… Should you write with a pen/pad (or phone) or just freestyle?

This totally depends on how you feel most comfortable writing – there’s no
right or wrong way. Some people are better at just freestyling and stringing
stuff together, while others are better at sitting down and writing their
thoughts out on paper (or in your phone).

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Whatever works for you – do it.

One thing I will say is this – if you’re trying to be super lyrical, it might work
better for you to write using a pen and pad (or phone). If you’re trying to be
more melodic and catch a vibe, then freestyling might work better for you.

Try both ways and see what works for your situation.

Final Thoughts – Don’t Beat Yourself Up at First

If you’re just starting out, it doesn’t matter what you do your stuff’s probably
gonna suck. That’s ok. Everyone does.

Don’t beat yourself up about it.

JUST KEEP WRITING.

More and more – aim to write 100 songs over the course of a year. You’re
going to get so good you’ll look back at your early stuff and be embarrassed
and laugh about it.

Just keep working on it and I promise your music will get better and better
and better.

Once you’ve written your hundred songs, then you’ll be at the starting line of
being a rapper. So keep putting in the work.

THE ABSOLUTE BEST THING you can do is continue studying and

learning.

Source: https://deviantnoise.com/rapping/how-to-rap/

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