How to Rap: Content Part II

                In this edition of Content in How to Rap, I want to highlight sentence structure. In the previous edition of content, I mentioned how you want your sentences to sound concise and to avoid saying “I” and “you” at the beginning of each line. One tip is that there are multiple ways to structure the same sentence: ex. You rap with a slow pace, OR You’re rapping with a pace that’s slow. Simple rearranging of words can help preserve the rhyme and the message you wanted to say, and adjust the flow (which will be covered later).

              Another thing you want to avoid, which is going to take even more practice, is avoiding the SAME TYPE of sentence. Chances are, when you first start writing, most if not all your sentences are going to be declarative statements. Feel free to ask questions when you rap.

                When you write a line, you’re not restricted to start a sentence on a line, and end at that line. You can have two sentences in one line, or you can make four bars one sentence. In order to do that, you might need: 

                                1) Standard Conjunctions: and, but, so, or

                                2) Prepositions: Around, inside, beneath, beside, within,

                                3) A hypothesis-based statement (using the words “if” and “then”)

• Example: “If you wanna challenge me, or if you wanna test me, then give me the mic so I can hand it to you directly.”

 One example that uses one sentence, four lines, conjunctions and a hypothesis-based statement.

All the above alternatives can really help extend your sentences and give more depth to the meaning as well. Also, if you modify a statement with a hypothetical condition: like saying “When/Where x happens, y will happen,” that will also add more weight to your words as well as make you sound smarter and utilizes different verb tenses. So feel free to use subject matter that can use past and future tense too.

Fragments. Utilize them! Sometimes when you have too many words or just want to emphasize one thing, just use all that’s necessary (Kanye West’s “Two Words” is the perfect example for this). In many cases you can break the monotony of the “I” statements just by taking out “I” and letting the verb speak for itself.

3^rd Person. Maybe you’re not the kind to “speak the truth” about different people, cultures or countries, or you’re not ready for it. I admit I don’t rap a lot of “truth” in my raps, just passionate expression or experience. So you may find it hard to rap about people, or maybe not. But you can always rap about objects you interact with day to day, and make your feelings, or your possessions the star of the sentence.

So provided with the above tips, you have multiple different ways of forming sentences now. Stay tuned, next edition goes back to rhyming.

Hip-Hop vs Rap

Before I get to my next few rounds of advice, I’d like to drop a post about my thoughts between the breakdown of Hip-hop and Rap. There is a distinct way to identify the two and I thought I would share that.

Hip-hop, first of all, is a CULTURE, emanating from The East Coast in the mid-late 1970s, specifically Brooklyn, New York. Themes of hip-hop can be seen in artwork/murals/graffiti, clothing, and even literature/spoken word. When you delve into the actual music genre, hip-hop can be described as smooth, youthful, and energetic, with jazz or funk or even blues inspiration. Real hip-hop features talented singers, (John Legend, Kid Cudi ex.) and covers subjects such as love, partying, urban culture, or personal expression/experience. The more Old-School styles of hip-hop include MC-ing, sampling and turntables.

Now—though that is not mutually exclusive or debarred from rap, rap is a TECHNIQUE. When you speak with a flowing chant at a relatively quick rhythm with rhyme, that’s rap. Rap music, very broadly speaking, is what I like to call The All-Encompassing Genre. Because rap is a TECHNIQUE, and only provides the lyrics, that still leaves the music unaccounted for.  Now you do have specifically Gangster Rap, defined by heavy bass, “clap-and-snare” percussions, and synthesizers, and outside of that you do have East Coast and West Coast Rap, alternative, etc. But keep in mind all across the board, you can have a Rap song accompanied by instrumentals with the sounds of: “Pop, Techno/Electronic (Flo-Rida, B.o.B), Rock/Metal (Hollywood Undead, Rage Against the Machine), R&B/Jazz (Common) Ethnic/World (Lupe Fiasco’s American Terrorist) even Country (Dub Pistols’ Everyday Strangers) and then of course, Hip-Hop (Mos Def, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Nas, Game, Common etc.)  Now, like I said earlier, rap would be considered hip-hop, if it sounded influenced by the actual music genre, its inspirations, or something close to it. So the latter half of the examples/styles (except Country) would more align with hip-hop than the first half. And there's my two cents on the two genres.

So with plenty of artists referenced there, what are you waiting for? Youtube and Last.fm are great sites to keep streaming music, and Google searching info about these genres is a great way to follow up learning more about them!

Friendly Tip #2

So I was listening to a write-up on Lupe Fiasco’s Hip-Hop Saved My Life and I discovered a new word: Doggerel.

 “Doggerel is a derogatory term for verse considered of little literary value. The word probably derived from dog, suggesting either ugliness, puppyish clumsiness, or unpalatability (as in food fit only for dogs)” –Wikipedia 

“Loosely styled and irregular in measure especially for burlesque or comic effect; also : marked by triviality or inferiority” Merriam-Webster.

It’s not hard to know the difference between quality, innovative, meaningful works of art, and shallow expression that merely touches a surface.  There is a large border between today’s gangster rap which exploits women and glorifies money, drugs, and violence, and quality rap, which may include simple, wholesome expression to conscious lyrics that can get you to think about the complications behind and consequences of urban/gangster cultures.

In the end, to avoid writing a doggerel rap or a similar brand of any venue of art, make sure that you put forth time, effort, and thought behind the concept and the mechanics of it. Try to sound natural, honest, and to an extent, proper.  And rap, although usually easier to listen to than read, should double-up as a form of a poem, one way or another. So if the lyrics don’t act or flow like poetry, you should probably give a re-write a go. 

Listen to This (2)

Well, after exactly 9 months of blog inactivity and having half a summer vacation ahead of me, I'm going to try to get back into the blog-making-groove and notably advance what I had started.

Here's some 90's action:   AZ - The Come Up

Blackstar ft. Common - Respiration

How to Rap: Delivery

              

  Though people may overlook “delivery” when thinking about rapping, the thing is it matters a lot. You can have good lyrics, but if the delivery is off, you can instantly get written off as a whack rapper. The BEST advice I can give to begin with, is to sound natural.

                Rap like you’re reading your lyrics, but don’t “read” monotonously.

Most people I’ve known try to go the other direction and stylize their sound by changing their voice, putting too much emphasis on unnecessary lyrics, overdoing their hand gestures, and stretching out the sounds of their rhymes just to make sure their audience heard it. That’s a no. That stuff comes to you naturally in time, you shouldn’t by any means have to force it.

Also, sometimes space needs to be filled, or you want to hype your audience for a rap. You DON’T need to say “yo” 5x before you start rapping, that’s also a turn off. Before you start rapping, sound natural and you can even say nothing special, like:

“Yeah…okay,” and maybe one “yo,” before starting.

If you want to get more stylized go:

“Listen up,” “I’m gonna drop this,” “Check it,” or even “Alright, let’s go.”

Work on hand gestures. Try to move your hands at the speed of your rap and try to make gestures that if possible can match the nature of the subject you just mentioned. If that doesn’t quite apply, you can use generic hand gestures like using a pointer finger and swinging it down at the end of a line. Having both hands open palms down or palms inward like carrying a box, and shifting it left and right. Doing a swift slap, and swinging your hand down at stomach length.

If you’re sitting, make sure to keep your eyes as well as your hands moving. Eye contact with many people.

If you’re standing, walk around with a mic like you’re the center of attention.

That sums up this edition of delivery for now. Thanks for reading.

 

How to Rap: Content Part I

               Now that you have a slightly different perspective on how to look at rhyming, we’re going to take a look at how to build the rap, the content that includes the rhyme and constructs the rap itself.

                Two editions ago we worked on inspiration, so hopefully given that time since then (or within a few minutes from now) you can develop your own inspiration. Your inspiration should...in a way…be able to sum up your whole rap. Good rapping has to have a characteristic called cohesion. This means that everything that you speak when you begin should be related to your hook or inspiration in the some way. Though at the same time you want to avoid repetition in your raps.

This is my technique. I feel like I do this subconsciously, but feel free to try it out.

1)  I pick a topic, (like mentioned above)  time, love, travel, etc.

2) Then you have to break that segment into points you would like to discuss regarding those topics. Does time travel too fast or too slow? Are you in love or heartbroken or even confused about love? Do you take pride in your hometown or do you want to go on a world tour?

3) List as many key-words or little descriptions to modify or describe HOW time travels too fast or slow. What features that boy or girl must have as in their personality, or what memories you have experienced to get you to feel the way you do about love? What kind of vehicles will you travel in, places you’ll travel to, and things you’ll do at those places?

4) Once you write these points, find keywords in them you can rhyme with, and arrange your sentences accordingly. Keep it flowing with your content.

A good goal to try to last would be for about 30 seconds or maximum to a minute. The only way I limit it to a minute is because when I first started rapping, my lyrics would just ramble past that mark, and without enough real substance, creative flow or punchlines, my audience usually lost interest and literally zoned out while I was rapping. But don’t worry, in due time I’ll help you work around that too.

Listen to This #1

Every few posts or so, I will update ya with some (good) rap music to help introduce you to new artists, develop your tastes for rap, keep you motivated with your interests.

Remember the Name -- Fort Minor ft. Styles of Beyond.