| If you are reading this, chances are, you are | | | | the best weapons in the arsenal of any rapper. |
| either a rapper, or aspiring to become one. | | | | 3. Don't be very strict about your song structure. |
| A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that | | | | You don't have to start from verse to chorus to |
| rapping is easy (which it is not). The flow and | | | | verse and so on. Experiment with different writing |
| rhythm involved in rapping can take years to | | | | styles, and let the tune come to you naturally in |
| master, and that too if you have the aptitude or | | | | whatever order it appears. If you get the chorus |
| the talent for it. | | | | before the verse, or the outro before the chorus, |
| Nevertheless, these are 5 tips every aspiring | | | | don't worry about it; the song structure can |
| rapper should keep in mind: | | | | always be modified and tweaked later on. |
| 1. Become acquainted with all rap styles: East | | | | 4. Record yourself rapping as often as you can. |
| Coast, West Coast, South. Listen carefully to | | | | This is the best form of feedback you can get. |
| rappers from with different styles and note their | | | | How you sound in person may be very different |
| rhythm, flow and lyrical structures. A good ear for | | | | from what you sound like in your records. |
| different rap styles is probably the number one | | | | 5. Practice your timing. Rap is all about rhythm, |
| thing you can have to be a good rapper, and will | | | | flow and timing. Note how rappers like Eminem will |
| eventually help you create your own individual | | | | accentuate the the lyric at the end of a beat. |
| style. | | | | Little tricks like this make all the difference and |
| 2. Invest in a dictionary. While this may not sound | | | | really sets you apart from the crowd. Get a few |
| very "hip hop", but a strong vocabulary can really | | | | beats (or make your own) and practice rapping to |
| set you apart from dozens of other aspiring | | | | it using any random words that pop into your |
| rappers. If you don't know a word, look it up, and | | | | mind (it doesn't have to sound good or |
| learn to use it in appropriate situations. Cleverly | | | | professional), varying your timing to see what |
| rhymed words that depart from the norm are | | | | sounds the best. |