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Rap verses stand as the pinnacle of a rap song's structure, where artists flaunt their lyrical prowess, intellect, and ability to rhyme while delving deep into the song's themes. Regardless of your chosen subject matter, passion, or stylistic approach, writing rap verses serves as a powerful outlet for artistic expression, provided you adhere to a few essential guidelines.
Steps to Follow
Structuring Your Verse
Seek Inspiration from Esteemed Rappers: Rap fundamentally intertwines poetry with beats or instrumental tracks. Much like aspiring writers immerse themselves in classic poetry, budding rappers benefit from studying the works of esteemed rap artists. Following along with the lyrics enhances comprehension. Begin with a curated selection of verses, including but not limited to:
- AZ's opening verse in 'Life's a B---', featured on Nas's iconic album Illmatic
- Notorious B.I.G's verse in 'Notorious Thugs'
- Black Thought's '75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)' from The Roots' album Rising Down
- Rakim's verse in 'As the Rhyme Goes On,' part of the album Paid in Full
- Kendrick Lamar's 'Backstreet Freestyle'
- Lupe Fiasco's 'Murals'
- Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'
Get familiar with your beat. Whether you're vibing to a pre-written track out of sheer admiration or due to a collaborative invitation, immerse yourself in the rhythm. Play the beat repeatedly, around 4-5 times, to sync with its tempo, energy, and overall vibe.
- Uptempo tracks (think Das Racist's tunes or 'People are Strange') usually demand rapid-fire verses packed with words, whereas slower beats (a la 50 Cent's 'P.I.M.P.') call for laid-back flows. Though exceptions exist, like Twista's smooth delivery on 'Slow Jamz.'
- Your verse should sync with the song's mood whenever possible. Take A$AP Rocky's 'One Train,' for instance; its brooding, cinematic beat sets the stage for all 5 rappers to narrate their journey from humble beginnings to global stardom.
Weave a narrative or concept into your verse. While adept rappers can touch on diverse themes in a few lines, remarkable verses have a central idea or motif tying them together. Sometimes it's as straightforward as 'I'm the illest rapper alive,' but many verses spin tales (like Kanye West's 2nd verse in 'Gold Digger'), delve into social issues (Killer Mike's verses on 'Reagan'), or ponder a question or theme (as Mos Def does with numbers on 'Mathematics').
- You're not bound to this motif, but it helps generate ideas and maintain coherence in your verse.
- If you're contributing a verse to another artist, discuss the song's themes with them.
- Jot down ideas in a notebook without censorship. Later, you can draw from these initial sparks to fill in gaps or enhance your verses.
Determine the length of your verse. Most rap verses consist of 16 bars, equating to 2 rhymes per bar (as seen in each verse of Cruel Summer's 'The Morning'). When collaborating, clarify the desired number of bars. Typically, each bar accommodates 2 rhyming lines—e.g., 'I treat the label like money from my shows / G.O.O.D. woulda been God except I added more Os' constitutes one bar.
- A bar corresponds to a measure of beats. Each count of '1, 2, 3, 4' marks one bar.
Crafting Your Verse
Kick off with freewriting about your subject. Utilize your chosen topic as a springboard, jotting down lines and aiming to rhyme the endings. Once one set of rhymes is exhausted, move on to the next, continuing until ideas run dry. Explore various angles of your subject until you uncover the most compelling or familiar ones.
- Don't fret about perfection at this stage—focus on generating material to shape your verse.
Construct a rhyme scheme around your favored lines. A rhyme scheme acts as a blueprint, providing structure to your verse—indicating which lines should rhyme with each other. For instance, if your first two lines rhyme with 'me,' followed by the next two lines rhyming with 'you,' you've got rhyming couplets. Most rappers employ mixed rhyme schemes, blending 2-3 lines before a longer string of 4-5 lines, as seen in Nas's 'NY State of Mind.' Use the rhyme scheme to aid in crafting your verse rather than feeling restricted by it.
- Most rappers have mixed rhyme schemes, rhyming 2-3 lines together right before a longer string of 4-5 lines (Nas, 'NY State of Mind').
- Don't feel beholden or trapped by a rhyme scheme -- use it instead to help you build your verse.
Incorporate metaphors, symbolism, internal rhyme, and poetic language to elevate your lines. Elite rappers utilize age-old poetic techniques to infuse their words with power and rhythm. Techniques like alliteration/assonance, internal rhyme, similes/metaphors, refrain, and anaphora can add depth to your verses.
- Alliteration/Assonance: Words with similar sounds placed close together, like 'Two tip-top teacher' or 'apple attitudes.'
- Internal Rhyme: Rhyming words within a line, not just at the end.
- Simile/Metaphor: Comparing unlike objects for effect.
- Refrain: A line repeated for emphasis.
- Anaphora: Repetition at the beginning of lines.
Commence with a striking line or hook. Your verse's opening lines should captivate the listener's attention. Pose a question, create a vivid metaphor, or dazzle with wordplay—anything to make yourself stand out.
Cultivate a flow, or rhythm, in your rap. After penning your lyrics, focus on delivery. Flow refers to how you deliver your lyrics along with the beat. Adapt your delivery to the beat's nuances and practice syncing your lyrics with it. Aim for a natural delivery that feels spontaneous.
- Observe the various approaches in A$AP Rocky's 'One Train,' where five rappers bring distinct styles to the same beat.
- If you're familiar with poetic meter, use it to design your flow. Eminem famously utilized Shakespearean meter in 'Lose Yourself.'
Revise your verse to align with the beat. While honing your flow, don't hesitate to revise your verse to better fit the beat. If struggling with word placement, consider shortening lines. Familiarize yourself with the chorus or other rappers' content to tailor your lyrics accordingly, as Lupe Fiasco did in his verse ending on 'Touch the Sky.'':'Touch the Sky:' 'Now let me end my verse right where the horns are like [horn section blasts in.]'
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Helpful Tips
- Ensure you stay focused on your theme. Straying too far may diminish your credibility as a rapper or lyricist.
- Consistently churn out new verses—legendary status is achieved through diligent practice.
Important Warnings
- Avoid plagiarizing bars or rhymes from fellow rappers—there's no quicker route to disgrace within the hip-hop community.
- Be truthful; fabrications can lead to accusations of being a phony, fraud, or simply subpar.
