How To Structure Rap Lyrics

How To Structure Rap Lyrics {Actionable Advice For Write For Beginners}

by Dan Hartnett // July 18 //

!WAIT! Check Out

"The Rap Lyricists Handbook

"The Rap Lyricists Handbookis not just another book to skim through. It's a powerful resource designed to be your go-to companion on your journey to rap mastery. 

With 250 colourful pages of curated advice, practical exercises, and proven strategies, you'll have everything you need to create hit songs that resonate with your audience.

Rap is considered a modern form of poetry. When it comes to learning how to structure rap lyrics or writing rap lyrics, the lyrics usually personal and they tend to flow like water.

However, it takes the right structure to be able to come up with a good rap song, the one that can catch the attention of listeners.

What Are The Keys Traits When Learning How To Structure Rap lyrics?

If you are curious on how to structure rap lyrics, this article will tell you the things you can do. Check out the list below to discover the effective tips and techniques in structuring rap lyrics.

1

Let Your Imagination Run Wild

how-to-create-rap-lyrics-for beginners

One of the best things you can do is to showcase your creativity. You need to brainstorm to be able to come up with a topic. The first thing to do is pick a topic and this should be the center of your rap lyrics. Allow your imagination to run wild and be creative as possible. According to a lot of rap artists, one thing you can do is write down every idea, emotion or thought you have or that comes into mind. You can use this idea or thought as your inspiration. A lot of the time rap artists that are good at freestyle rapping will tell you just don’t stop rapping and don’t worry if your mess up. The same goes for writing rap lyrics. |Even when I write these articles from my head he the first draft of this article will never see the light of day. Why ? Because , it will have all my mistakes and a terrible use of grammar.

I genuinely feel that the main killer of creativity is perfectionism. Sometimes as rap artist’s or musicians, we are our own worst critics. And if we don’t create something that is perfect we just don’t create anything at all. Sometimes you just have to power through times of lack of creativity. During those time of imperfection ,comes a learning curve or a learning period where you are actually studying a skill set to help you in the future, during those time when you do create good rap lyrics.

2

Come Up With A Great Hook

how-to-strucutre-rap-lyrics

If you are not aware yet, the basic layout of a rap song includes the intro, verse then followed by chorus and another verse. It is followed again by another chorus, verse, bridge, chorus then finally outro.

Some of the artists you can interview these days, they would say that they usually start with chorus or hook first.

 Keep in mind that the hook highlights the theme of the rap.

It usually the one that conveys the message of the song. A lot of rappers and music writers create the hook first because it is the particular part people usually remember about the song. In other words, you have to give importance to the hook of your song.

It usually the one that conveys the message of the song.

A lot of rappers and music writers create the hook first because it is the particular part people usually remember about the song. In other words, you have to give importance to the hook of your song.

Travis Scott Hooks

Then main reason for this is that if I feel that the hook has told the main vocal point of the story, and remains to linger in my head for the day , it will more than like stick in the head of the listener.

Thus the name rap hook or rap chorus. { Thus the title of the website }. 

The main reason people call it a hook is that most of the time back in the day most band only had one chance on radio to keep the listener. If the radio DJ didn’t feel that the rap songs chorus got enough reaction from the audience it never got played again.  

 

Some rappers like Kanye West and Travis Scott like to play with the structure of rap songs. Now you may hear 2 different hooks in the song , or you might hear a pre-chorus before the main rap chorus. I also like the amalgamation of what seems like 2 different rap songs, examples of this can be seen in the song structure to Travis Scotts , Upper Echelon , Mamacita. Goosebumps.

3

“Write Down & Record Your Rough Draft Lyrics” !!!!

“Remember! When you first put a song together, you are capturing a moment it time. I can be difficult to come back to an idea two or three days later, with out having any thing to rekindle that initial inspiration.”

After brainstorming and coming up with an idea then followed by writing the hook, the next thing you can do is write the lyrics of the song. The idea and hook you have come up with will serve as your guide in writing the whole lyrics. When writing the lyrics, it is important to maintain a rhythm. You may listen to a particular rap beat while writing the lyrics because this can help you a lot.

In normal singer-songwriter circumstances , the hook is where the singer will shine , but when it comes to rap lyrics or rap songs , the verse or 16 is the where the rapper shines. So a rap artist play with the structure of the rap song , by splitting the 16 bar verse into and 8 bar verse and a 8 bar pre-chorus. Or the rapper can change it up in the bridge or middle 8 of a rap song , and either rap very fast, rap slower , change the mood of the lyrics , or build it up to hit the audience with the chorus again.

4

Be Yourself ! Make It Personal

Another good tip you need to follow is be personal and honest when it comes to writing and structuring the lyrics of your song. 

Be honest when it comes to who you are and what you really believe in. Allow your listeners to know what you really want to say and keep in mind that it is about self-expression.

And also, it is best to come up with a song that can inspire the listeners. The is nothing wrong with self-expression.

You can use some of your own life experiences to help you tell the story of a particular rap song.

 You can also amalgamate , life experiences with stories you have heard from other people and how they coped with certain situations.

Think back to the earlier articles in the website where I used “Eminem’s Stan” as the example of the create fictional rap songs but effect real emotion from your fans.

emeinem-writing-stan

​​

5

 Organise Your Ideas

If you want to structure a rap song the proper way, always give importance to proper organization of ideas.

Once you have an idea or a topic to write about, remember that your song needs to tell a story. Just like a story, it needs to have an intro / beginning, the rap verse, pre chorus a middle or the chorus part, bridge and ad libs and outro.

But is doesn’t have to be that plain and simple , Kanye is notorious for creating rap songs that make the audience guess where or what the chorus of that rap song is.

Along with Nas in the song The Firm.

6

Practice, Rehearse, And Amend

Once you have already come up with a lyrics for your rap song, always remember the importance of familiarizing everything and then practicing as many times as you can.

You may record yourself rapping in front of your friends, family, and a small crowd. Just pour both your heart and soul into what you are doing and you will surely succeed in creating an amazing at learning how to structure rap lyrics .

So, there you go. The ones mentioned above can help you a lot when it comes to structuring rap lyrics.

Always remember that it takes proper incorporation of flow and rhythm to be able to come up with an appealing piece.

One of the main challenges of writing a rap song is to make sure that your piece is appealing to the ears while being effective in conveying its real meaning or message.

However, if you are passionate enough to structure rap lyrics and a hip hop song that can catch the attention of the audience, then it is always possible to do so. Just keep moving and you will surely enhance your rapping and writing skills.

!WAIT! Check Out

"The Rap Lyricists Handbook

"The Rap Lyricists Handbookis not just another book to skim through. It's a powerful resource designed to be your go-to companion on your journey to rap mastery. 

With 250 colourful pages of curated advice, practical exercises, and proven strategies, you'll have everything you need to create hit songs that resonate with your audience.

Daniel Hartnett Getchorus.com Admin
About the Author Dan Hartnett

My aim is to create a songwriters hub of information, my plans will also include information from other songwriters and rap artists on how they create their work and the skills they have acquired over the years in the music industry.

I hope you enjoy the Blog from Dan - The Getchorus.com Admin

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