This article is the one for you if you feel like you know the basics of rap and just need to hone your skills. Make sure you know the basics of rap. Start rapping, rapping freestyle, and doing exercises to control your breath while rapping. These links offer some great introductory tips if you've never rapped before and don't know where to start. Also, this article assumes that you are already familiar with some of the basics of rap covered in the additional wikiHow articles.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Taking Care of Your Lyrical Skill
Step 1. Analyze what other rappers do
Great artists in any field need to have a working knowledge of the legends that created the foundation of the field and of the contemporaries who today shape the industry. Also, rap is no different. Spend time listening carefully to all rap music, from Run DMC or Tupac to local non-commercial artists.
- Being a connoisseur is not enough. Divide the song lyrics and rhythms of your favorite and least favorite songs into small parts. Ask yourself what is good and what is not good in each example.
- Take responsibility for the same standards as other rappers. You have to avoid the difficulty of listening to a beat spent in songs if you notice that you are tired of it.
Step 2. Write everything
Do you think you have a good idea for the lyrics of a song? Write it down when you can! Writing down your ideas will help you improve your rapping skills as you will have more concepts for rap songs and an ever-expanding vocabulary for song lyrics.
- Poets and writers regularly keep small notebooks in their pockets so that they can write down the great phrases that come to mind before they forget them no matter where they are. There are many note-taking apps if you have a smartphone.
- Waiting for inspiration to come before writing will limit your productivity, so try to make yourself write every day.
- Try to give yourself writing homework. For example, you can assign yourself thirty minutes or perhaps one verse for each day. Enlist the help of your friends to ask you for your daily progress if you don't think you will push yourself enough to do it on your own.
Step 3. Look for inspiration in other naturally lyrical art forms
Rap and hip hop are basically poetry with an intensified emphasis on the inner rhythms of the language, so don't be afraid to look at the movements of modern poetry for inspiration.
- For example, Saul Williams is an American poet and a winner of the Nuyorican Grand Slam award.
- The wide array of structure, meter, and other lyrical devices found in poetry can influence you to try something new in the rap genre that you may never have considered before.
Step 4. Take care of your message
Many rappers give their music a comedic treatment, but time-tested artists often have a serious theme to convey beneath the banter. Try to connect your listeners and rap to the meaningful themes. Raps about current events, social issues, or everyday observations.
Part 2 of 2: Taking Care of Your Fluency
Step 1. Practice voice lessons
Rappers are musicians whose voices are their instruments. Voice lessons will help you with range, melody, and a variety of other aspects of singing.
Step 2. Rap with your favorite songs
Just as a guitarist can learn how to play Jimi Hendrix songs to practice his skills, you should practice rapping to the beat of your favorite songs to improve your flow and accuracy.
- Don't pick easy songs or just one artist. Practice a wide range of songs with variations in tempo, rhythm scheme, and length of songs to exercise various singing skills.
- The song Alphabet Aerobics by Blackalicious is a perfect example of the tangled tongue that can be when singing; This will help you practice your flow skills.
Step 3. Do diction exercises
In addition to rapping to the beat of other songs, try doing other exercises to increase your diction accuracy. This website offers a diverse list of songs for you to practice with your singing language. Also, they are arranged by letter if you have to deal with a specific sound.
Step 4. Practice and then practice more
Practice rapping every chance you can, whether it's in your bedroom, outside, or in your car. The more you practice, the better your flow and skills will become. Try practicing your own rap songs in different styles and at different speeds. This is good practice and you may encounter an unexpected flow by chance.
Step 5. Listen to yourself
Record yourself rapping and play it back to see what you do and don't do well. This is a great way to practice different versions of the same material as it gives you an easy way to compare yourself later.
The recordings also give you a way to evaluate your progress, which is difficult to measure when you are dealing with one of your skills per day
Step 6. Know when a material does not work
Sometimes ideas are fruitful in any way you want. In these cases, it is better to put some things aside and go back to them later.
This also means knowing when to forget an idea. Sometimes a project is about saving one great phrase and discarding the rest, so don't be afraid to start over
Step 7. Have a free style
This can go a long way toward improving your rapping skills. There is no doubt that you can come up with a great phrase in the comfort of your own home if you can come up with a good phrase on the spot.
Step 8. Get people to help you
Your friends and family can listen to your raps and help you improve. Similarly, you can turn to other aspiring rappers for advice and help.
Advice
- Be patient and receptive to the process.
- Accept constructive criticism. Don't limit yourself by not receiving a comment about your performance from people, especially people whose opinions on the gender you respect. They try to help you grow as an artist.
- Listen to a variety of rappers. You will learn different rap techniques, from which you can benefit a lot.
- Never steal material or rhythms from other artists. People own the rights to their song lyrics and music, so stealing from them is a quick way to face legal action or worse, being excluded from the rap community.
- Make sure you are comfortable in front of the crowd. Rap is about being assertive and exposing yourself, so practice in front of your friends, family, and everyone who is willing to listen to you.
- Be original. Don't repeat what other rappers have said and done.
- Try rapping over an instrumental backing track if you're not comfortable coming up with your own beats. In the same way, you can ask for the help of your friends who can be better at creating music.
- Look for features that help you stand out from the crowd.
- Deal with your voice before dealing with song lyrics.