How To Rap In The Hip-Hop World

DIY Mini Studio Recording Booth

2015-03-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

DIY Mini Studio Recording Booth

Start off with a box at least 16x20 inches.

I used bubble wrap to line the inside of the adjustable height mini studio recording booth.

3M spray adhesive is used to affix the bubble wrap to the inside of the mini studio.

Tape the box up so that it looks like this. Tape all flaps together as well.

Spray adhesive inside the box and begin pressing the bubble wrap inside.

This is the inside with all of the bubble wrap completed.

You will need two 1x2 inch pieces of wood cut to 6 inches in length.

You will need two 1x2 inch pieces of wood cut to 20 inches in length. These are for the adjustable wall mounts.

Drill a hole at the top middle and bottom. These are the height adjustment holes.

Drill two holes in the sides of each piece in between the two front holes.

Glue the 6 inch pieces at the top on both sides of the box. The holes should be at the top.

When finished it should look like this.

Now use 2 bolts and put them thru the height adjustment brackets and the middle holes on the wall mounting brackets.

Now use something to support the mini studio recording booth where the wall brackets are at the maximum height that you would like to have it. Then screw the top of each bracket to the wall from the front.

Next remove the side screws and the mini studio recording booth from the wall. Then screw the bottom two parts of the brackets to the wall.

This is a side view of the brackets mounted to the wall.

You can now line up the top holes on the brackets and insert the bolts through both brackets on each side.

Your adjustable mini studio recording booth can now be set to 3 different heights.

1. Standing height
2. Stool height
3. Desk height

Now all that's needed is to mount your mic. In my home studio I use the CAD GXL2200.

Please see the video below on the DIY Mini Studio Recording Booth.

DIY Mini Studio Recording Booth

Mini Studio Recording Booth DIY Made Simple And Easy

Rap 101: How To Write A Rap Song E-book

2015-02-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

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Rap 101: How To Write A Rap Song E-book

How Long Is A Hook In A Song

2014-11-06T00:00:00.000-08:00

How Long Is A Hook In A Song

How long is a hook in a song you ask? Well it's not that long. A hook in a song is roughly 8 bars long. What many rappers do for their hooks is they will write a 4 bar chorus and then say the chorus twice. This will equal out to a normal hook structure.

There are other rappers who do it a little different. Some of them will actually rap out 8 bars and spit it straight through. This becomes the chorus for that type of structure. With this kind of hook it does not hold the value of the other kind of hook styles because lacks the repetition that makes a hook stick in your head.

Another chorus type has the same 8 bar length but it is a little simpler. Some rappers will write 2 bars and repeat them 4 times. This structure is similar to how Drake raps the hook in the song "Started From The Bottom." He simply says the two lines and then says them again and again and then again. If you are lazy with your hook writing or if you just get cant come up with anything else then try this hook method.

32 Bar Rap

2014-11-05T23:58:00.001-08:00

32 Bar Rap

If you want to know what a 32 bar rap is then I will definitely tell you what it is. No we are not talking about how to wrap 32 candy bars. We are referring to a rap song structure type. In a rap song there are rhyming lines. Each rhyming line represents a sentence. Each sentence represents a thought. And each of those thought is a rap bar.

In a basic rap song structure of 16 bars every two lines will rhyme with each other. The first line and then second line will rhyme and so on. Once you have your 16 lines or rhyming sentences that makes up a verse. In a 32 bar rap you have two verses. The 32 bar rap song structure is not really common. The standard rap song structure is three verses.

In order to not be so similar to other artists some rappers will attempt to refine the way they do their rap songs and they will often try new structures of a rap song. Having a two verse rap song structure means also having two hooks as well. The chorus will follow each of the verses.

Once drawback of a 32 bar rap is the song length. By making the song 32 bars it will shorten the time of a typical rap song. The length of an average rap song on the radio is about 3-4 minutes. This kind of rap will vary from the normal 48 bar rap which is the industry standard.

Rap Song Hook And Verse Length

2014-08-28T20:27:00.001-07:00

How Long Is A Hook In A Song

There is a frequently asked question of how long is a hook in a rap song. The answer is different depending on the length of the verses of the song. The hook of a typical 3 verse rap song and a 2 verse rap song is 8 bars long. That means that there are 8 rhyming lines. The difference between them is that a 3 verse rap song usually has the hook in it 3 times. Where as a 2 verse rap song typically has the hook 2 times in it. The hook always follows the the verse. So if you have 3 verses then you have 3 hooks and if you have 2 verses then you have 2 hooks. The chorus is used at times as and intro and also the chorus can be used as the outro. I hope that this helps you to know how long is a hook in a song.

How Long Is A Rap Verse

Another question often asked is how long is a rap verse. A typical rap verse is 16 bars long. This is what is referred to as a hot 16 or when someone says spit 16 bars. Rap verses are usually sixteen lines in lenght. There are also other types of rap verses such as a 24 bar rap verse. A 24 bar rap verse is typically apart of a rap song that will include only 2 verses within it. The structure is as such: intro, first verse, first hook, 2nd verse, second chorus, and an outro.

How Long Of Hook On 24 Bar Verse

On a 24 bar verse the typical hook is 8 bars long. It is the same hook structure as a chorus on a 16 bar verse. The same rules apply on both type of rap songs. However there is no set way to structure your rap song. You can have your producer to tailor a beat to fit any style that you would like to rap. For instance if you wanted to have 4 verses in your rap song instead of three then you could request that you music producer add an additional 16 bars to the beat for the forth verse and another 8 bars to the beat for the fourth hook. But if you examine the average song on the radio or on an album then the 8 bars is how long of a hook on a 24 bar verse

How Long Should A Rap Song Be

There is no set length of how long should a rap song be. The typical rap song is 88 bars long. It should look like the following:

RAP SONG PART	NUMBER OF BARS
INTRO	8 BARS
FIRST VERSE	16 BARS
FIRST HOOK	8 BARS
SECOND VERSE	16 BARS
SECOND HOOK	8 BARS
THIRD VERSE	16 BARS
THIRD HOOK	8 BARS
OUTRO	8 BARS

So the "intro" should be 8 bars long.

The "1st verse" should be 16 bars long.

The "1st hook" should be 8 bars long.

The "2nd verse" should be 16 bars long.

The "2nd hook" should be 8 bars long.

The "3rd verse" should be 16 bars long.

The "3rd hook" should be 8 bars long.

And the "outro" should be 8 bars long.

Rap About Women: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Rap About Women

In order to rap about women you will need to know a great deal about them. And if it's one thing that a rapper knows is women. A rap video is worthless it seem without some beautiful, brown, voluptuous woman shaking what her momma gave her in it. I can think of very few rappers who have ever make a rap video without this criteria.

And what straight man would not want that? To rap about women you need to have women. When dealing with them you have to take into account emotions and attitudes whether they be good or bad. When you write a subject about women be sure to relay all of the experiences that you have gathered while dealing with them. Was there a special woman that stole your heart? Did she feel the same about you? Did she break your heart into little pieces?

Write about women you may have only been with for one night. Why was she not worthy to be more than a one night stand. Maybe there's a woman that is pursuing you to be the father of her future children. Whatever the topic may be you can rap about women extensively. Your whole adult and maybe teenage life has been spend dealing with women on one level or another. So take those experiences and turn them into a good topic to rap about.

Rap About Selling Drugs: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T12:07:00.003-07:00

Rap About Selling Drugs

I really don't understand why a rapper would rap about selling drugs. Why would you commit a crime and then willingly tell on yourself. Seem ass backwards to me but it has always been one of the most popular topics to rap about. Every rapper knows the consequences of getting caught with a controlled substance while driving or in their hotel room. Turn on the news every other week some entertainer's mugshot it plastered all over the evening new about being busted with drugs. This is a reoccurring theme in society today. And for that reason you should have plenty of subject that you can produce from topic of selling drugs.

Tell your tales about how you got into the drug game. Tell rhymes about how you would be out in the cold for several day and nights rocking the same clothes until your finger tips were numb. Was business booming that well. Tell about the parents of your friends that would come to you to by drugs because they were strung out. How did that make you feel for your friends mom to offer you sex acts in exchange for drugs because she had no money. Were you remorseful for selling your people drugs and death. Or did you feel like if you didn't sell them drugs then someone else would and so you took the money.

Tell about the issue you had to endure from the cops as a result of them seeing you dealing drugs regularly on the block. Did the cops arrest you multiple times? Did the cops take liberty and rough you up with police brutality? When they stopped you did they take your money and drugs for themselves and then let you go with a warning? Maybe and officer gunned down someone you know who was caught selling drugs and had a gun on him. Whatever the case may be there are almost infinite scenarios that can play out in your raps about selling drugs.

Rap About Sex: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T12:03:00.001-07:00

Rap About Sex

A staple is the bulk of popular rap songs is to rap about sex. Who gets more sex than a rapper? Every rap song details how he met this girl and that girl. How he smooth talked her into his apartment, hotel room or home. How sexy she was and how little clothes she had on. Then go on to what sex acts the woman or women performed on him. And how long his stamina allowed him to last. Then the next night rinse and repeat. Rapper fill their albums with songs that rap about women.

At every show or concert you can find teens on up to cougars throwing themselves on a rapper. So it is no wonder how a rap about sex can be and easy topic to cover. You can write in detail about what made a particular woman so desirable that you would sex her. Did she stare at you from the front row while you were performing? Did she make sexual gestures or flash her body parts at you to get your attention and turn you on? Did she manage to find her way backstage and into your dressing room only to be in there barely clothed waiting for you. There are many examples of subject to rap about sex.

Tell if the sex was good or bad. Did she make herself submissive to your every desire or did she try to dominate you in raunchy manner? Some women are like that you know! Rap about how long you had sex and what positions the two or three of you manage to figure out. Was it a one night thing or is it an ongoing thing. Is she threatening to tell your spouse or girlfriend about your secret relations. Maybe she is claiming to be pregnant with your love child in hopes to get her hand on some of that rap money that you have been steadily making?

No matter the scenario it is a good topic to rap about sex.

Rap About Clubbing: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

Rap About Clubbing

If you are a party animal then it should be a no brainer for you to rap about clubbing. What rapper has not started his career off in the clubs. The clubs are the breeding ground for rap careers. Local night spot may be the only place and up and coming rap artist can get his music spun. A lot of times the radio station program directors will seek some type of payola to spin your music. And so the club seems to be where rappers feel more at home. And for that reason alone you can tell stories of how you struggled to get where you are and clubbing was your thing.

Rappers bring their homies and their entourages to night blubs religiously. There is always some celebrity gossip magazine detailing exciting VIP romps of celebrity rappers and some actress or supermodel that he is supposedly secretly dating. If the tabloid magazines can use this subject to write about why can't you. After all it's your lifestyle and not theirs!

When crafting your rap songs about being at the club you should highlight all of the things that go on there. Is there a hot female bartender that you love to flirt with. Maybe there are celebrity women that you may have slept with in the club's VIP section. Who knows what goes on behind those close door better that a rapper in that position. This topic is extensive to write about because there is no shortage of elements and details related to it. Almost every rap song nowadays is centered around clubbing. So go with what works. Like the old saying goes “if it ain't broke then don't try to fix it!” Stick with what works and rapping about clubbing is a tried and true subject to rap about.

Rap About Clothes: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T11:58:00.003-07:00

Rap About Clothes

It is routine to hear someone rap about clothes in a song. The items that a rapper wears is the most telling part of his whole style. You can basically tell how successful a rap star is by studying the things he wears. If a rapper wear the brand of hip hop clothing he wore before he signed his deal then it's safe to say he is not very successful. But if you notice a rapper wearing $1000 sneakers then it's a safe bet that he probably is well on his way to a certain level of riches. And a good subject to rap about there is how you rose from a low lever earner to where you are now.

I have noticed favorite rappers begin their rap careers wearing brands like Nike, Dickies, Timberland and the such. And a few years later they were wearing Prada sneakers, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Brands of this caliber tend to show that a person has attained a certain level of financial success as a rapper. The financial growth you go thru as a rap artist can be an excellent topic for you to write a rap about.

Make sure to focus on the details. Be sure to include all of the ups and down that you have experienced on the road to earning your success. Include details about the styles and brands you used to adorn and the clothes you no longer wear. Explain the reason you don't wear certain brands any more. Could it be because a designer said he didn't want people like you wearing his designs? Could it be because those particular clothes are beneath your level of dress for the level of success that you have reached. Whatever it is be sure to include details when you write your raps about this subject.

Rap About Cars: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

Rap About Cars

A rap about cars should be easy for you. For all of your life you have watched cars rolling by and you know what make and model it is from a distance by looking at the tail lights or the car body shape. We have all played the game of “That's My Car” where you spot a nice car and you yell out “that's my car” before your opponent does.

I'm sure you have a favorite car or one that you have always wanted but cant quite come by just yet. You can write about cars and give details about the car. What color was it? What options did it have on it? Was it slow or fast? Was it a sports car or an SUV? There are a number of detail you can include when you write about this subject.

I have seen rappers do everything possible with their cars that can be used as a topic to write a rap about. One time I was watching a video of a famous rapper and his entire car interior was ostrich skin leather. If that's not extravagant or unique then I don't know what is. How many other rappers do you think could have that subject to rap about? I also quite frequently see rapper cars with suicide doors. Those suicide doors are the type that open upwards instead of outward like a Mercedez McLaren. You don't see that everyday.

Also the paint jobs on a car can be a good subject to write a rap about. Candy paint seems to be the staple for a rapper's car to show that he is successful in the rap game. Candy paint jobs can cost well into the 4 to 5 figures. Upwards of $10,000. That is something that is so unique to rap about that you can surely make a subject out of it.

Rap About Money: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T11:55:00.003-07:00

Rap About Money

To rap about money is almost cliche. If it is something that all rappers have in common it would be their obsessive need to rap about how much money they have. For most rappers their financial situation is not even yet secured and they are already bragging about the wealth that they have. There is an old saying in the rap game called “fake it til you make it!” Meaning if you don't have it just rap about until you get it.

Money for a rapper is the ultimate goal. There is no one thing greater than the achievement of more and more dead presidents. The question is why is money more important to a rap star than the art form. Well when you are constantly making it rain night after night at various strip clubs and other venues you can run through huge sums of cash very quickly. I guess that is why rappers are always performing so they can make enough extra money to cover the bills that actually need to be paid.

Sometimes it seems like rappers are not too savvy with money. There are very few of them who accumulate or properly invest their earnings in a way where if their career would suddenly end they would have a house where it was fully paid off with no mortgage. Or even that luxury car with no car notes left to pay on it. It seems like a rap artist would remember the meager means that they come from and would try to stash something away for a rainy day. But usually that is not the case. It is important to realize the need to maintain a certain quality of life that the rap money has afforded you in the present. So keep these things in consideration when you choose to rap about money.

Rap About Death: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Rap About Death

One of many rapper's favorite topics is to rap about death. It almost seems like rapping and death go hand in hand. Not that that is a good thing! For some reason we seem to see rap artists caught up in scenarios where getting killed is a very likely possibility. What is the attraction between rappers and death? It's hard to tell but it make for a really good subject to rap about.

If that has been your experience or you know of a situation of the sort then you can incorporate it into your rap lyrics. Start off by telling the story from the begging of what caused the altercation. Be sure to include the names of the people. I would suggest using fictitious names if legal reasons dictate. Set the plot of when and where it took place. Was it in a car or was it at a club. Maybe it was in a car outside of a club? No matter the scene this will make an intriguing subject to rap about.

Rap About Life: Subject To Rap About

2014-08-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

Rap About Life:

A good subject to rap about is life. What is so special about your life that you can put into a rap song? There are many individuals who have life struggles as well as life successes. If you life has been a struggle then you can surely come up with topics around that. If you life has been has seen a lot of successes then surely you can find a topic surrounding that as well.

Get out a piece of paper and write down either life struggles or life successes as a title. Under that put numbers 1-10. Come up with 10 ways your life has been a struggle or a success. Not any awards or rewards you have had in your life. Or jot down any failures or letdowns that have happened to you. Now under each of those topics write a 1 or 2 sentence summary. This summary will help you greatly when crafting a subject to rap about. You can use the ideas in your summaries to incorporate into the rap song you write.

Fast Best And Easiest Ways To Build Your Fan Base

2012-08-18T10:32:00.001-07:00

If you want to do deal with a major rap label you can't depend on anyone to discover you as you are. What you need to do is learn the best ways to build a fan base. I know you are thinking you are better than the best rappers out there but the problem that you have is that nobody knows who you are. You have to
think of yourself as a brand. You are a business and you need to treat yourself and your brand and like a business.

There are ways to go about marketing yourself online to build your fan base. One good thing that up-and-coming artists have is Youtube.com. If you're rapper then you should be using their services to create videos of you rapping. Create an account and then create videos often. Do as many as you can per day and
upload the videos. This will give you exposure to the millions of viewers online and it will start to build a fan base for you.

By starting off small and doing the work on your own you are learning how to not just be a rapper but a businessman as well. When doing your videos make sure that you look like a professional rapper. You want to be presentable and have a nice image about you that fans will gravitate towards. You will need to have as much original material as possible but you can also make mix tapes using popular beats and uploading the videos online.

To find original music there is a site called Soundclick where you can purchase original instrumentals from producers for reasonable prices that you can have and create your own music for sale around. When searching for beats be sure to listen to as many of them as possible and only choose the ones that relate to your style. Some of the producers have free tracks that you came use to create a song around. These charts can be used in music videos that you create and they are good for creating a buzz for you and for the producer of the tracks. Make sure to say in the video at the beginning or the end who the producer of the track is and also in the video description please give credit to the producer as well and maybe even a link back to the producer on Soundclick.

The more you work with the producer the better the relationship he will have with you and the better the deals you may be able to get on future tracks. The best producer to have is a producer that can work with you and create instrumentals around your rap style. There are produces that you can tell how you would like the rap patterns to go. You can even give them a sample of the way your hook goes and they can craft a beat to mimic the pattern of your rap. This is the type of beat maker that you would love to have when you do land a record deal because hit songs come more easily with this type of producer on your side.

Another thing when it comes to marketing yourself as a rapper is to do performances. As a rapper your job is to perform your rap songs. You're an entertainer and as the entertainer you have to entertain. An easy way to help you with performances is to learn how to control your breathing while you're rapping so that you're not out of breath during performances. No fan wants to see a rapper huffing and puffing on stage and can't even say the words to their own raps because they're so out of shape. Imagine a singer that you like and how you would feel if they cracked every other note that came out of their mouth. So work on building up your stamina and strength in your lungs for when you're rapping.

Do exercises while you're saying your lyrics. Try standing in front of a mirror and running in place as you say the lyrics to as many rap songs as you can. What this will do is get your heart rate beating fast and it will test your endurance. By doing this repeatedly every day you will start to notice that you're better able to control your breathing so you're better able to perform for longer periods of time without getting tired. The average time of a decent performance is 30 to 60 minutes. This is the minimum that you need to be able to control your breathing and give a good performance.

Social media also plays a big role these days in the success of building a fan base for up-and-coming rap artists. You need to have a Facebook account, Myspace account and a Twitter account. Make sure that all of these accounts have your stage name or rap name as the user name. That way anyone that sees that name or knows who you are going to be able to follow you and be a fan. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to become a fan of yours. These fans are the people that will buy your products, like your music, and follow you throughout your career. There are many other ways to continue to build the following of fans but these are the ones that will get you the fastest results in the shortest amount of time.

WHY DO RAPPERS BRAG

2010-01-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

Why Rappers Brag or Lie

Rapper brag a lot in their songs. I think rappers do this for various reason in various stages in their carriers. A new rapper that just got signed will brag about being rich after he received his signing bonus check. New rappers are not rich. But it helps the songs to portray that or lie that they are. Who will ever listen to a broke rapper anyway?

A rapper that has been around for a few years will brag about money and cars and women. They brag at this point because they have successfully navigated past the (fake it til you make it phase) which is the new artist phase mentioned above. At this point the rapper has amassed a decent following of fans and can do shows and draw in a good amount of money per show regularly and so they are speaking from a semi successful perspective. This is where the brag starts to cross the line from (fake it til you make it) to the (i'm here) phase.

Then you have the rappers that have consistently put out 5 or more albums like Jay-Z and have cemented their place in rap forever. These artist are in the final stage called the (I made it phase). The phase where they have amassed a fortune from their rap career and have crossed over into other careers besides rapping. They brag because they have made it. They have the cars for real. The houses, the money and the fame. This is the realest point in a rappers life and music because the braggadocio is backed up by visible success. So rapper will brag for different reasons but all in an attempt to make the listener believe in them.

3 Verse Rap Song & 2 Verse Raps Song

2010-01-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

Typical 3 Verse Rap Song

Most rap song that you hear on the radio have a typical structure to them. Many rap songs have standard layouts and this standard makes it easier to duplicate the process of rap song writing. The typical structure of a 3 verse rap song consists of an intro, 3 verses, 3 hooks, and an outro. The basics of a three verse song is broken down like this:

Intro - 8 bars long
Verse 1 - 16 bars long
Hook 1 - 8 bars long
Verse 2 - 16 bars long
Hook 2 - 8 bars long
Verse 3 - 16 bars long
Hook 3 - 8 bars long
Outro - 16 bars long but can be as much as 32 bars or longer depending on if the rapper has something he would like to say over the outro.

This structure is typical of a 3 verse rap song and the length of the typical raps song is around 4 minutes.

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Typical 2 Verse Rap Song

There is another standard used in rap songs although this type of rap song structure is mainly found on albums and not radio singles. The typical 2 verse song consists of an intro, 2 verses, 2 hooks, and an outro. The basics of a 2 verse rap song structure breaks down like this:

Intro - 8 bars long
Verse 1 - 24 bars long
Hook 1 - 8 bars long
Verse 2 - 24 bars long
Hook 2 - 8 bars long
Outro - 16 bars long but can be as many as 32 bars or longer as needed.
This is the typical structure of a 2 verse rap song and the length of a 2 verse rap song is around 4 minutes.

Many people trying to learn how to write rap song frequently ask how long should a verse or a hook be. Normally when you are talking about rap songs everything is measured in bars. The typical length of a rap verse is 16 bars and that is an industry standard although there are a few other types of verses with varying lengths. So what is a bar in a rap song anyway? How do you measure a rap bar?

A bar or a rap bar in one line in your rap or the first sentence in your verse. A 16 bar rap song should have 16 sentences.

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How To Write A Love Rap

2010-01-06T12:09:00.000-08:00

A love rap is a rap expressing some type of affection for the opposite sex. There is a great void in rap currently for love raps. My artist kind of keep away from writing them because they perceive themselves as weak if they do so. They sometime think of themselves as too hard or too gangster for those type of songs. But I think 2pac said it best that if you write songs for the ladies then the men will follow. A love rap doesn't have to be about mushy love. There are some gangster rap songs as well.

To write a love rap you need to put yourself in that kind of mind state. Think about someone that you really like or want to get with. How does that person make you feel when they walk in the room? Take those feelings and put them into a rhyme. Talk about the things you want to do to or with that person. Also talk about the type of relationship you want from that person. If you want the lady to be your #1 lady then say that. If you just want to sleep with the lady then say that. Be honest with your feelings because your raps will come across better and more believable when you do. Talk about how things will be between you two in the future. If you want to make her your wife then say that. Or if you want her to be just someone you see every now and then include that as well. The object is to build a story and make a woman that hears your love rap song feel as if you are rapping to her. Make a man that hears your rap song feel as if these are words that he would say to a lady. The more descriptive your raps are the better your love rap will be received.

Write A Gangster Rap

2010-01-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

First of all when it comes to gangster rap I would suggest you not even try it unless you have lived that lifestyle. The one thing about gangster rap is that if you are a phony you will be found out and that can mean an end to your rap career. Not to mention if another gangster rapper calls your bluff on the harsh words on your song you may find yourself fight for your reputation or even your life. If you have lived a somewhat gangster lifestyle then proceed on.

A gangster rap usually talks about what goes on in the hood. What things the rapper has done to people and done to survive life on the streets. When you write a gangster rap song include tales of the struggles you face on the streets. Tell about your hustling ways and the dope deals that you have done. Tell about the dope fiends that you have encountered and what they have done to get the drugs they need to feed their habit. Talk about robberies you have committed or have been apart of or know of. If you experienced that then tell how it went down in very little details though. If you have been involved in shootings where you have shot someone or have been shot at then use that in your rap. Talk about prostitution, stabbings, killings, murders, break-ins and any other illegal activities that a gangster would be involved in.

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If you are not a gangster ready to defend your raps then don't do any gangster raps. Also if you are personally involved in illegal activities and you have not been prosecuted for then I would suggest you not name names or go deep into details with your raps. In fact I think real gangster rap tales or the only raps where you may want to be untruthful as possible to protect those involved. If there is a possibility you will be prosecuted based on your crimes then don't write about them. I do not condone illegal activities, however I have no control of what another individual does.

How To Write A Rap Hook

2010-01-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

In order to write a rap hook you normally need to know what it is that you want to rap about. However there is another way to get a hook other than this method that I will discuss later. Choose a topic to rap about and either play the beat that you are going to rap about or think up a beat pattern in your head to base your hook around.

Once you have your topic with the beat playing then try to rap your topic to match the flow of the beat saying it over and over allowing ideas to flow. Listen to your mind and write down what you are coming up with in your mind. Once you have the first line then build on that. Use that line and come up with a line that rhymes with the first and repeat this until you have 4 line. At this point you can either decide to say the 4 lines twice or think up 4 additional lines to make a hook which is usually 8 bars long.

Continue to say your hook over and over and edit some of your words that sound weak or don't really fit wit stronger words. The strong your word are the better your raps will sound. Rappers like Eminem will constantly write and rewrite a single rap song until it perfect.

Every time you repeat your rhyme you find things that you can edit about the rap song hook. But be care when you are editing that you don't over edit until the point where you end up scrapping the hook altogether. And remember to never throw away a single rap line. All of your lyrics can be recycled.

How To Battle Rap

2010-01-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

A battle rap is usually a contest between two rappers where they go head to head with one of the rappers being crowned the winner. A great example of this would be the rap battle host on BET's 106th and Park called Freestyle Fridays. With a battle rap the two rappers are use a freestyle rap. A freestyle rap is a rap usually thought up off of the top of your head but it can sometimes be a song that you write down and memorize for the battle. A cleaver battle rapper will usually have 10 or more battle raps memorized and ready to be used at any given time. This is to ensure that you have enough rhymes so that you don't run out of fresh content so rap. The worst thing as a battle rapper you can do is use the same raps too many times where your opponent know your line and can recite them along with you. This will not only embarrass you but will almost certainly cause you to lose the vote of the audience and judge and cost you the battle. Many rap battles are done for prize money which can be a great incentive for you to stay up to par and keep a small catalog of raps ready to go. Battle raps are usually 16 bars or timed for 30 seconds. A good way to build a catalog of battle raps fast is to write a 3 verse song but without any hooks or anything else. Just learn the whole song and you have 3 battle raps ready to go. I would not recommend you go into a battle rap with less than 10 raps ready with various content.

Improving Your Raps

2010-01-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

If you have raps that you think are not up to par then you will need to improve your raps. A good tip to follow is to try your rap out on individuals like your family and friends and ask them for their honest criticism. Allow them to tell you how they feel about your rhymes and don't be offended by what they say. Once you have the criticisms then use those as a basis for improvement. I think its a good idea to have a beat already picked out for your rap song because it will help when choosing new words to improve your rap. You will need to see how other words sound in place of the words that you are replacing. Go through your raps and pick out the weak parts of it. try using more descriptive words that mean the same as the words you want to remove. Rewrite the song on another piece of paper instead of erasing or scratching out the old words. This way if you ever want to go back to the old version of the song you still have it. It also gives you a second version of your song that you can call a remix. There are many song on the radio that are remixes that sounds identical to the original song. Sometime its over a different beat and sometimes on the same beat with a little added to it. The key is to edit the song in a way that you feel comfortable rapping it and others that you rap it for can feel it. It is always good to strike a balance between your audience and yourself and this will help with improving your raps.

How to Write A Rap In Your Head

2010-01-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

The most difficult form of writing a rap song is to rap off the top of your head. To learn how to write a rap in your head is not an easy task but with practice it gets easy. This practice also increases your brain's memory abilities.

The process of writing raps in your head teaches you brain how to memorize things using structure to your methods. In order to write a song in your mind you need to start with your first line. Once you have your first line in you mind and say it out loud two times. This helps to remember the line as you progress. Now on the third time add a second link to your rap. Then say the rap over with the second line included. Repeat the process until the rap song is finished.

Remember every time you ad a new line start over from the beginning and recite all of the lines up to your newest line. This is what I call the rap step structure. Picture your first line as a step and then your next line as a step that you are stepping up to on another step and so on until you have a flight of steps.

This is the technique that rappers like Notorious BIG, Jay-Z and Shyne use to write their rhymes. You are basically building the sentence in your mind and holding it there instead of using paper to jot it down on.

How To Rap Freestyle

2010-01-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

How to rap freestyle is almost like learning how to write a rap in your head. If your want to learn to rap freestyle you need to have the ability to think fast to come up with words that rhyme and follow the beat. Anyone can freestyle but not everyone is good at it. But the more you practice the art of freestyling the better you will become. A true freestyle is always misinterpreted by many rappers entering into freestyle battles. A lot of people think that writing a rap and memorizing and using it in a freestyle battle is considered a freestyle. But that is far from the case. A freestyle rap is a rap that is straight off the dome or a rap that you think up right there on the spot. When the beat drops like on 106 & Park then you have to be ready to go into lyrical battle with fresh rhymes that you have not previously memorized. To Freestyle rap you have to put together rhyming lines one after the other without messing up. I would suggest that you learn to freestyle by playing a beat with a fairly slow tempo. The slower tempo will give you time to think up good words to keep the rap going. The slower the beat the more time your mind has to improvise when it comes to your rap. Faster beats tend to cause you to lose your place and stumble over your words attempting to salvage your rap. A good thing to do is to get a pocket thesaurus and keep it with you. Try to look for synonyms to words that you commonly use and these words will help to keep your mind fresh. A good tip is to use a mirror to practice your freestyle in as well.

How To Rap Better

2010-01-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

OK! So you now know how to rap but your raps are only OK. You need to know how to rap better than you currently do. Rapping better will require the same effort that it took you to learn how to rap in the first place. There are things and techniques that you can use to be a better rapper. In order to improve your rapping you have to first address where the sub par qualities are in your raps. What needs to be improved? Is it your content? Maybe you don't have a lot of substance to what you are saying. Is your delivery wack? Maybe you need to figure out how else you can say certain lines to make your delivery more acceptable. The best way to find out where your strengths and weaknesses in your rapping are is to have an audience. It doesn't have to be a large audience just a few friends or family members. Get them together and spit your rhyme to them and ask them to critique you with their harshest opinions. Make sure to take mental notes on what each of them likes and dislikes about your delivery or you content. If they say that you content was not that good then the next rap you write you should research a little info to help give you content. For example if you are rapping about hard times then search the web for news articles about current events and include some of that in your rhymes. Not only does it give you more to write about but it also makes your listeners think that you are up on current events and gives you more credibility than just rapping about your shoes and socks or something like that. If it's your delivery that is the problem then it's time to become an actor. Rapping is like acting because when you rap you are telling a story and giving visuals with your words and your expressions. Practice in the mirror more and picture your rhymes as a script as if you are acting out your raps. Use hand gestures to add to your whole persona to make your delivery a little more convincing. You can surely learn how to rap better by trying out these suggestions.