Freestyle rap may seem very complex to you at first, but following these simple steps will quickly get you closer to the microphone.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Compose Your First Rhymes
Step 1. Listen to a lot of freestyle rap
Improvised freestyle rap will likely be less refined than the tracks you normally listen to, but it can also be more unpredictable and exhilarating. Freestyle has its own style and listening to other rappers is a great way to learn the tricks of the trade.
- Watch live battles or freestyle hip-hop competitions if they are featured in town. Go and listen. This can be a good way to meet other aspiring rappers and make contacts.
- YouTube is a great source of freestyle battle videos from all eras. You'll find from Notorius B. I. G raping street corners at the age of 17 to classic Eminem battles to freestyle rappers' improvisations on new Kanye West songs.
Step 2. Start with a beat
Search the internet for a wordless beat or loop the instrumental part of a song you like on YouTube, and let it play for a while. Get to know the beat. If you've already written stanzas, start with them, or try writing new rhymes as you listen. Repeat this process until you begin to become familiar with the rhythm of the song and adapt your lyrics. Don't worry if you can't keep time at first.
- Start on the beat. The vast majority of rap music is written with a traditional four-quarter score, also known as Common Time. This means that each measure will have an accent on the first measure: ONE-two-three-four-ONE-two-three-four. It starts right on that line.
- In rap tracks there are often instrumental parts to allow rap to make its entrance. If you don't have access to instrumentals or YouTube, you can use these parts for practice.
Step 3. Improvise
Once you're in tune with the beat and run out of rhymes, try starting freestyle. Repeat a verse you've already written, but invent a new rhyme for the second part.
Don't worry if what you're saying doesn't make sense at first. You will just have to try to get used to the beat and create rhymes on the fly. Remember that nobody listens to you anyway
Step 4. Stop thinking
If you think too much about your next verse, you will probably make mistakes. Let your mind flow freely from one thought to another. The best freestyle rappers are relaxed and comfortable with the beat they are listening to. If inspiration doesn't come, don't try to force it. Listen to the beat and try writing verses to start, or try another beat.
Lock yourself in your room, cellar or garage. Nobody has to hear you practicing if you don't want to. Dedicating many hours to exercising will ensure you have a more spectacular debut
Step 5. Continue to go with the flow
Even if you make a mistake, get used to moving forward. If you stumble upon a word or two, say something like "Do I really stutter? No, my rap is perfect as always." Rap is like comedy; timing is everything.
Experienced rappers often have back-up lines, to be used only in emergencies. These are stanzas or phrases to use when you can't think of anything, to buy time and get back into the flow. The better you get, the shorter this sentence can be. Very good freestylers can use just one syllable like "Yo". Eventually, your backup verse will become something you say without realizing it
Part 2 of 3: Developing Your Style
Step 1. Use catchy phrases to get started
The best way to increase your flow speed and improve your freestyle is to reverse the way you work. If you've practiced starting with written verses and moving on to improvisation, start with a new verse and work your way up to the verses you've already written and know they are valid.
Here the rhyming series will help you. If you have a particularly good catchphrase, try to create as many rhymes with it as possible. Practicing that verse will ensure that you have plenty of options available next time you improvise
Step 2. Play with words
In the beginning, you will be able to try the most difficult rhymes in your improvisations, but in the end if you repeat the same ones over and over again your style will become flat and your rhymes will be twisted.
- Consonances are particular rhymes in which the sounds of the consonants are repeated, but not those of the vowels.
- Assonances and alliterations are rhetorical figures in which vowels or consonants are repeated in a verse.
Step 3. Develop similarities
The similarities that unexpectedly compare one thing to another are a cornerstone of freestyle hip-hop and poetry.
Write several endings for your similes. Fill a few pages with "like a _" and experiment by combining multiple similarities into one verse "My rap is cold / like a storm" or "My rap is cold / like a polar bear" are very different similarities
Step 4. Be yourself
Unless you're Rick Ross, it's going to be hard to brag about your drug trafficking empire if you're a small town teenager. Write rhymes about things you know and be genuine. The most important thing (which will be appreciated by other rappers) is to show your skills with sincerity.
While it is a good technique to improve and develop your style, repeating verses or imitating the style of other rappers is considered taboo in the world of freestyle and you will have to avoid doing it as soon as you are confident enough in your means
Step 5. Freestyle in front of your friends
When you feel comfortable, invite sympathetic friends to evaluate and criticize your abilities. This will help you get used to freestyle in front of other people, who can give you tips and encouragement.
- Get the audience actively involved by having the beat chosen for your rap, to prepare you for battle. You can also have a friend choose the topic, or an object in the room or a word. Start improvising on that topic, object or word. This will force you out of your comfort zone, because your friends will determine the direction of your rap.
- If you have friends who love freestyle, swap rhymes. When one of you loses flow, move the other one forward. Try to start rapping as soon as your friend stops and continues with the same topic or rhyming pattern. If you develop a rhythm together, you may have just created a crew.
Part 3 of 3: Building Your Vocabulary
Step 1. Write
The more you write lyrics and rhymes, the more lyrics and rhymes you will know. When writing rhymes, practice finding multiple variations of the same words. These rhymes series will help you when you start improvising, because you will be able to think fast through practice.
- Try different exercises, such as choosing five random words and turning them into a rhyming structure of some verses.
- Don't worry if what you're writing isn't rap. Keep moving the pen. Creating good writing habits will help you get your mind used to finding the right words and thinking in terms of composition, which you will need to do very quickly if you want to freestyle.
Step 2. Read
If you want to learn how to freestyle, words will become your means of expression. Like a painter uses colors and a sculptor uses clay, a rapper uses words. You will therefore need to familiarize yourself with as many words as possible so that you can use them in your own rhymes. Reading a large variety of books, comics, articles and magazines is the best way to do this.
Read rapper biographies. You can kill two birds with one stone by reading hip-hop books and improving your vocabulary
Step 3. Get a rhyming
He will quickly become your best friend. Think of a rhyming as a creative resource rather than a crutch. Using it when writing verses doesn't mean cheating, as it could inspire you.
A good cheap dictionary and a thesaurus are also great resources. Your rhymes will be much more interesting if you use more words
Step 4. Actively learn new words
College books are excellent sources for doing this. Look for words you don't recognize in rap songs and study their definitions. Hip-hop is often full of slang terms, which use dialect words and phrases and places related to an environment, so it will be useful to search for them on the internet. Chief Keek's "Love Sosa" doesn't make much sense unless you know it's about the baseball player.
Try sticking post-its around the house with the definition of the new words. You will be able to learn new words when you have breakfast or brush your teeth if you stick a post-it to the kitchen or bathroom wall
Advice
- Start perfecting shorter, simpler rhymes. Remember, keeping a good rhythm with poor rhymes is better than keeping a bad rhythm with great rhymes! This means that you should start with words that give a great choice of rhymes, such as infinitive or participle verbs.
- Another good time to practice is when you queue at the dentist, come home to school, or are on the bus. You could use your phone to write your own rhymes if you don't want to take out your notebook in public.
- Keep practicing every day. Never give up. Someday you will become a great rapper.
- Safety in your vehicles is everything. Be yourself and start writing rhymes about the things you like.
- Explore your home, and see things from a new perspective. You may find inspiration for new stanzas.
- If you can't think of anything, start with something you read.
Warnings
- If you haven't seen them yet, search YouTube for "Nycks vs ENJ" and "Math vs Dose" videos. There is nothing wrong with speaking ill of your opponent. However, respect the space of the other. Don't get too close and don't spit in their faces. Nine times out of ten you will get punched.
- Don't mention names, or you risk getting yourself into trouble. Unless you're with friends who react well to taunts, don't.
- Freestyle battles are to be seen as opportunities for fun, where insults and offenses are not to be taken seriously or personally. If you participate in a battle, respect the other person's space and avoid confrontations.
- Don't talk about things that are too personal, rhymes about things that are obvious, like bad shoes.
