How To Rap

Rapping is still a young musical form, and it is a great way to make music if don't want to buy an instrument. In rap music, your voice is your instrument. Of course, once you get good, you probably want a good DJ or other musicians to back you up with some nice beats, and other sounds.

Melody is not typically a part of rapping. The musical element that is predominant in rap is the rhythm and tempo. Also important is the tone and volume. For emphasis, the rapper can rap more loudly and with greater intensity in the tone of voice. If this is done too much, it loses its effect, so it's usually best to have variation.

The words chosen are very important because of their meaning, their poetic expression, and their phrasing and cadence. In order to fit into a certain rhythm, careful attention has to be paid to word selection based on the number of syllables. The most gifted rappers can freestyle, thinking of words on the fly, and making them work with the rhythm and tempo. For most people, this is very difficult to do, so you'll need to write lyrics in advance.

The earliest rappers were very political, with most of the material talking about how hard life is in the ghetto. By the late 80's, this started to change, and many rappers started to rap about "bling", fancy cars, "hos" and violence. The music has been criticized for being disrespectful to women, and encouraging violence and unlawful behavior. While many would argue that crime and violence are part of the law of the jungle that is the reality in today's ghettos, some rappers are trying to get back to rap's roots of talking about injustice and the need for political change.

It is ultimately up to you to decide what you want to rap about. You can draw on personal experience, or the experiences of people you know. You can talk about current events in the news. You could even just make something up. Your lyrics don't even have to make any sense. You could even rap in multiple languages, or use non linguistic vocalizations. There are basically no rules. Whatever you feel passionate about or inspired by is probably a good choice, because that will get the creative juices flowing and you are less likely to suffer writers' block.

For inspiration, try listening to other rappers you admire. Think about what it is you like about their music. As an artist, it is always OK to borrow some ideas from other artists you like, so long as you make it original enough to call it your own. You should try to write your own lyrics though since this will make your rap music unique. Once you get good, you can pair up with a good DJ and look for places to perform live. Who knows, maybe you'll even get discovered by a record company. Just be aware that the vast majority of people who try to make it in the rap business don't end up being commercially successful, so don't count on it to pay the bills. Do it because you like doing it, practice a lot and maybe some day it will bring in some money.