Whether you are a beginner rapper or someone with professional experience, there is always room for improvement. There are so many styles by the best rappers of all time as well as upcoming ones that you can take inspiration from and so many ways in which you can express yourself, thereby breaking ground for entirely new rapping styles. The key to becoming a better rapper is to keep practicing and keep experimenting.
Three tips for becoming a better rapper
After studying some of the best rappers of all time and distilling their achievements, we have come up with three tips that might help you to improve your style and become a better rapper. Let’s look at these:
- Know your rap basics
Rap music is poetry that you perform to the accompaniment of the right rhythm. If you examine the songs of the best rappers of all time, you will discover that they have specific structural patterns made up of different components such as verse, chorus, pre-chorus, and bridge. By understanding how these components work together and in various combinations, you will be able to write your original rap songs and perform them in your unique style. While there are no strict rules to follow, knowing the basics can open up many possibilities.
That’s why you need to listen to a whole lot of rap and hip hop music by many different performers, past, current, and upcoming, not just the popular ones and those who you like. It will help to pay attention to vowel and consonant sounds, to the expression and articulation of words, to the use of rhythm patterns and beats, to rap flow speeds, and to the use of contrasts. Learn how long verse lines are usually and how they can fit into musical bars.
- Write rap lyrics
Study the lyrics of the best rappers of all time and also those of well-known and upcoming contemporary rappers. Don’t limit yourself to rap songs you like, but also listen to the ones that don’t appeal to you as much. Ask your friends to recommend rap music that you haven’t heard yet. Listen to other music genres from around the world, in different languages too, and study their lyrics as well.
Try to understand why the lyrics and rhythms work or don’t work. Use what you learn in writing your songs and then compare them with the successful lyrics. Are you as good? What can you do to improve?
Write rap lyrics on a wide variety of topics and write every day. Developing a regular writing discipline will increase your productivity and creativity. It is a good idea to keep a notebook on hand and scribble down every little bit of inspiration that comes to you, even if it is a single word or line. Think of it as an idea mine that you can turn to for fresh ideas to write new, exciting lyrics.
- Practice rapping
For rappers, their voice is their instrument. So, although you don’t need to be a great singer to be a successful rapper, it will help to undergo voice training and work on the range, melody, diction, pauses, breathing techniques, and other singing aspects. Do diction exercises and practice tongue twister songs to improve your articulation.
You can also improve your flow and timing by rapping along with the best rappers of all time. Rap with artists you love as well as with artists you are not so keen on. Practice different songs in the original artist’s style and by giving them your unique spin too.
Rehearse in several different styles and at different speeds. If you find yourself pausing or stumbling, don’t be discouraged. It only means that you need to practice some more. Practice rapping every day and in front of other people to build up your confidence and become a more assertive performer.
Record yourself rapping and listen to the recording to assess your progress. How do you fare in comparison with the best rappers of all time? Always set the bar high when it comes to comparing yourself with other rappers. Make a note of the areas in which you need to improve and work on those.