once i read this post my way of writing totally changed, it is way better thank's to all of you for your advice
PS: please next time you post an advice, add an exemple of rap lyric so it would be easier for other to get what you mean
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sneaky liar quickly erased
freaky girl fakely chaste
no time to waste, living my youth
making haste,telling the truth
and i'm like amazed
i tried to apply what SBU told in these lyrics,do they match what he said ?
if no can you correct them somehow thank's e'rry body
PS: i noticed they'd sound good on bag of money instrumental -
keep at it, Xianos. the rhyme scheme is better here. now work on your lyrics. try to expand on what you're saying. learning loads of new words and what they mean is always a great idea so you can say things in different ways and open up a whole new world of rhymes.
Originally Posted by Xianos
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Sneaky liar quickly erased
freaky girl fakely chased
no time to waste, living my youth
making haste, telling the truth
and I’m so amazed like boom pow wow yo
-Make your dreams come true
Originally Posted by Venomonology
Last edited by emmy2922; 10-04-2012 at 01:13 PM. Reason: i forgot to add some
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Listen girl, you can't rhyme with this forum.
I'll glisten when I shine out the chime of this chicks quorum.
She wants to get busy, me and v's two heads three babe.
YOU said it.. get with me and redo NOW the 'dream' phrase. -
I have a question for people who write with beats or instrumentals playing in the background, or maybe in your head.
Being a drummer I find that when I'm writing lyrics to beats the flow comes quite naturally, having studied and learned how to play fairly complex beats on the instrument helps to recognize the limits of the numbers of syllables you can realistically use, I think. I was wondering if other people write the lyrics first and then alter / adjust to the beat, or do you write the lyrics specifically to match the beat with a flow in mind? -
I try to match the beat, but being totally word-centric my imagination and words go beyond the beat and flow. I have to read through things ten times at least to make sure I can say the lines (with personal style and dragging out words accounted for) to ensure that it fits with the beat. if I don't do that then I get something like post 200 in come get slaughtered...so so bad.
But, really my main question is how to take something that is freestyle and make it more classic song structure and polished. Anyone have thoughts on turning free verse into a song? That would be an awesome technique to master... -
actually, that's what I do a lot when I first hear a beat & I get some pretty damn good lines from it. for example, the 'lucky charms' song I posted here.. I started freestyling to the instrumental when I heard it, and one of the lines I came out with was "kind of girl to keep a record just to set it straight", so I immediately stopped flowing and wrote that down. then started up a new free. Originally Posted by Vouve
in terms of structure, yes you do want it to be structured.. but you don't want a 'classic' strcuture. you want it to be your own. your flow / cadence & your rhyme schemes are what separate you from every other rapper so don't try to make yourself sound similar to them, try to distance yourself from them. having said that, obviously your syllable count still needs to fit into the bar structure of the track, whether that's a 4/4 beat or a 3/4 or a 7/4.
when it comes to polishing it, I wouldn't worry about that until you've got a good idea of what you're doing already written down as you want it. the polishing then comes when you start practicing the delivery and you feel like you should take out a syllable here, or add one there. that's how I do anyway.Last edited by Venomonology; 10-14-2012 at 09:49 AM.
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I've always been a writer. Not only do I enjoy writing, but I've always been what some would say, "good" at it. In high school I even won awards and praise for some of the poetry I had written. I never really explored anything further but felt that I could certainly use my creative writing ability to my advantage at some point in life.
Now in my 2nd year of college, I have finally found a purpose and a dream. My friends and I, all of which are musicians(except myself but technology solves that problem), decided to start making music. Specifically, making beats, whether instrumental or electronic, and laying down some verses over the top of them. We only got into production a week ago but since we began I decided to just keep writing. Inspired by the line in "10,000 Hours" by Macklemore, "The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint, the greats are great because they paint a lot". Now more than ever I feel that if i can really put my head,heart and soul into writing lyrics that eventually I will reach at least some level of personal success and maybe even financial success.
Over the past few days I have been looking a lot into writing techniques and collected tons of reference articles and advice, so here, as a very inexperienced lyricist I can offer up some things that I myself will be utilizing, but may also come in handy for those with similar ambitions.
1. Write A LOT!
Simple idea, difficult to implement. Don't just write things that rhyme, write stories, use free-writing excersises, simply get used to the idea of turning images,thoughts,emotions,and descriptions into written word. You have to start somewhere and starting with the most broad, yet still most important aspect of lyric writing is a good way to go. Plus as you write song ideas, lyric ideas, and even more natural rhymes will reveal themselves.
2. Tell your story, if not your story, then someone elses.
Freestyling can sound and feel pretty awesome if you have a big library of verses to choose from or if you can just rhyme two words without too much neccesity for a common flow or theme. However,(and trust me I fail at this too) telling your story is the best way to get people to vibe with your music. Start simple, maybe tell a story about your first love, a memorable experience, this might not be a song, but again its a solid exercise to help to learn how to put stories into written word. As you write more try to eliminate things like punctuation, filler words and transitions and try to improve your flow and story-telling ability.
3. Make your rhymes have impact
Sure, rapping has a lot to do with rhyme scheme,which words you rhyme and where you put the words that are meant to rhyme. But one thing I have run into is having too much rhyme structure. Anyone can up with a couplet such as, Good at anything I put my mind to, Think of all time I wasted back in high school. But does this rhyme contribute to the flow? The words at the beginning of a rhyme should not be just filler, a couplet should come out as freely and smoothly as a single sentence. If your rhyme scheme is AABB, throwing in something other than that is still a good option.
4. The words that don't rhyme are as important as those that do
Again, a chorus, hook, or verse can be structure based on rhymes, lets say your line is
Slowdown, proceed with caution
..Your talking to a green martian.
When thinking of the next line try to avoid starting with the rhyme. Work forwards instead of backwards. I've noticed when I write by trying to find a 2-line or even 4-line rhyme pattern, and I start that process by deciding which words im going to use that rhyme, the rest of the line falls flat.
For now thats it but ill be back later.
Thanks -
Ah lots of great advice on this thread, it's good to see.
With regards to freestyle practise (freestyling as opposed to using stock verses), I advise using any random word generator that can show a whole list at once. Try to incorporate any of the random words without hesistating so much as to go off beat. bring as many of them as possible into your freestyle rap and try to link them when you can.
That said, I can't freestyle.
I saw a vid with Charron practising by using that technique though. He can freestyle. -
So here's some advice when writing a diss song, plenty of ways to go about it but sometimes it's all about building up to the punchline. Rhymes aren't even that important in the middle but check out the LAST LINE - ties everything together and the impact has gotta hurt whoever you're up against...
Eff the chase I laid to the waste
Your favorite girl, she liked the taste
We took it slow - no need for haste
I'm king of ring in major ways
Cuz second place's an ancient state
I'm blowin' up while you decay
Your style's cramped and been replaced
Your girl don't miss you anyways
I'll give her back in couple days
Returned her used - thrift store taste -
disagree here, although that may be down to a preferred style more than anything else. Originally Posted by quickill
if you're gonna go the full verse on the set-up I'd sure hope the diss was a lot worse than what was in essence just "I f*cked your girl"
personally, I'd rather work in a whole load of insults and disses with different angles, plays, etc. -
Aaah always talkin smack!! Alright then battle me right here 16 bars each and we'll let the people decide who's advice to follow.
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lol, go set up a thread. no need to clog this up with your "fire drops". and you drop however many lines, no limit. Originally Posted by quickill
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I personally can vary. Sometimes I think of a good theme or idea for a song, write it out with a malleable flow, and find the beat later. If I find a beat I like first, I normally think of the theme then, and try to write with the beat on repeat. My main issue is I tend to forget to speak out as I write and my mind makes words fit in where they can't. Originally Posted by Venomonology
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sorry I ain't got at you in that battle thread, I been so busy in work man. I know you had lessons and stuff too, but seriously that's nothing in comparison to the hours I've endured this week. I'll try to hit it up today or tomorrow. Originally Posted by quickill
also, I wasn't talking smack. I just disagreed with your advice on a personal level. lol. just so people knew there were alternatives. wasn't saying you were wrong, just that I do it different. -
word. my mind is always telling me things flow fine... then I try to spit it... lol. Originally Posted by Zachre
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Its so deceiving... Haha
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best advice that I can really offer is to listen to a lot of dope and varied rap styles. Learn and hope to develop beyond them, never copy. Never bite, write with hopes to be bitten from. Develop a kind of 'toolset' of rap writing techniques and pieces of wisdom. Always originate; strive to advance things lest they stagnate as potential perishes. Listen to the greats and be in awe. Always relisten and be critical; nothing is sacred, nothing is perfect.
Off the top.. Rhyme Asylum uk, Chester P, Jehst, Contact Play, Jedi Mind Tricks, Ill Bill, MF DOOM, Aesop Rock, Sage Francis, Sole, Dose One,
could list a hundred more but I'll restrain myself (unless those are devoured and the people request more)Last edited by _SBU; 11-10-2012 at 02:04 PM.
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Originally Posted by Xianos
you mean what I said regarding viewing bars as halves or other fractions when writing?
Yeah, the scheme does that quite nicely. The ending rhyme of the first two lines being used again in the first half of the third line is a great switch up technique, very useful indeed.
the 'lines are very short syllable count though, I'd combine each pair as a single line, then you've essentially got each line viewed in quarters. Then you should carry each of the end-of-line rhymes through for another line though.
to advance flow further.. you could use longer multi-syllable rhymes within it, however you choose to integrate them, to split them off internally or to switch up between lines/couplets.
