How To Make a Successful Rap Song

[Justice and Mercy]

Okay, it's actually really easy.

All night I've been up switching between MTV, Fuse, VH1 and IMF (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment) looking for my favorite band's (I bet you can't guess it) new video, recording it (I have it 5 times now ((EDIT: Make that 6)), man I'm obsessed).

Anyways, lots of rap keeps coming up (and I found a new song I like), apparantly successfuly rap songs require finding one really cool sound, or a catchy phrase, and repeating it the ENTIRE ****ING TIME.

Dear God it's gonna drive me insane.

So there you are, go use this secret and get rich.

[Odovacar]

Umm I hope this is nothing new for you...
Popular rap music (at least in MTV) is mainly about some crap minimalistic music in the background and some fast babbling...

man, im gonna shoot ya im the king here brotha', **** police, etc. etc..
50 cent like art

[Justice and Mercy]

Umm I hope this is nothing new for you...
Popular rap music (at least in MTV) is mainly about some crap minimalistic music in the background and some fast babbling...

man, im gonna shoot ya im the king here brotha', **** police, etc. etc..
50 cent like art

I'm still watching.

Almost all of it is exactly the same, so ****ing boring.

But as I said, I have my vid 6 times now, and I have it password protected so NO ONE is deleting this.

NO ONE!

(And I'm tired.)

[Wibbler]

I haven't noticed it with rap, but I have with "Hip Hop/RnB". It isn't actually Hip Hop or R&B but big record labels cheap cash-in bastardisation of both genres. You're right though, all the popular songs seem to follow three steps:

1) Sample beat
2) Talk Chorus
3) Repeat step 2

Artists like 50 Cent, Kanye West and Akon are champions of this kind of crap.

[misfitsfiend138]

make up words and do the same stupid dances in every video.
but the secret of rap vids is the women in it, haha.

[David Deas]

Whats interesting about the comments here is that a rap song actually contains about three times as many lyrics as the average song of the same length under a different genre. I'm really not certain whether its possible to make a successful song, period, without the use of a repeating hook.

[Justice and Mercy]

Whats interesting about the comments here is that a rap song actually contains about three times as many lyrics as the average song of the same length under a different genre. I'm really not certain whether its possible to make a successful song, period, without the use of a repeating hook.

No, but it's possible to make a GOOD song without a repeating hook.

Freestyle rapping? That's art. That's thinking on your feet.

Mainstream rap? Anyone with the right voice can do it, no talent involved (T-Pain, anyone?).

[RZZZA]

Whats interesting about the comments here is that a rap song actually contains about three times as many lyrics as the average song of the same length under a different genre. I'm really not certain whether its possible to make a successful song, period, without the use of a repeating hook.

Yes, it is possible. Among rap fans the song Triumph by the Wu Tang Clan is commonly reffered to as the "hook killer" or the "chorus killer" song because of its lack of a hook, something the Wu purposely did to take a stand against boring ass hooks in too many rap songs.

And as per usual, threads like this are full of people largely ignorant of rap...or what I deem to be "good rap"....yeah, I'm a backpacker, how ya doin?

@ medieval Rapper, good post

If you dont want hooks, go listen to REAL rap. I.E. non-industry cats rapping on the street, freestyling and battling. thats rap.

I've been on eyedea's nuts recently, personally

[Odovacar]

Refrains are necessary in many songs, nothing bad is with them.
The problem of many rap songs is the using of cacthphrases, empty machosims, etc. like boasting your bravery, wealth, sexual abilities...etc
Think about 50cent who does all this kind of ****. Its just plainly primtive. Especially the frequent swearing which has only one role to fill out the holes in a very long but empty lyric.

Song lyrics is not about quantity its about quality, and in this aspect 50cent and many rap musicians (not every though) are clearly worthless.

[Roman Rapper]

Refrains are necessary in many songs, nothing bad is with them.
The problem of many rap songs is the using of cacthphrases, empty machosims, etc. like boasting your bravery, wealth, sexual abilities...etc
Think about 50cent who does all this kind of ****. Its just plainly primtive. Especially the frequent swearing which has only one role to fill out the holes in a very long but empty lyric.

Song lyrics is not about quantity its about quality, and in this aspect 50cent and many rap musicians (not every though) are clearly worthless.

What we need to remember about rap music and hip hop in general is that, when compared to other art forms it is, by it's very nature, the most aggressive of them all.

Ever since Hip Hop's conception in the early 80's it has, in its heart, always maintained a link with the most downtrodden and poverty stricken Americans. As we all know, poverty stricken people DO tend to engage in illegal activity more than other people do. These criminal elements can obviously not rely on the police to protect them, so they need to protect themselves and it is by showing aggression that they do that.

But this is only half of the explanation as to why Hip hop is so aggressive. The other half is that, quite simply, Hip Hop is an innovative and exciting art form and, when you consider that it has only existed for 25ish years, is still incredibly new.

Not many people know this, but in Europe during the 18th century it was not unusual for actual fist fights to break out at the concerts of the great classical composers of the time. One composer would be performing, and supporters of one of his rival composers would turn up mob handed and make noise and trouble.

The reasons for this is exactly the same as the reasons why violence follows Hip hop. At the time, the music theses composers were making was so new and revolutionary it excited people. To such an extent they became fanatical to the point of violence about their favorite composers.

[Odovacar]

I understand your point Medieval Rapper.
I dont know much about rap, but I ve read about it, even checked sites about it out of curiousity.

I can feel that anger in Massive Attack songs in Eminem"s Loose Yourself.
The problem arises when there is no anger (the cliche of successful rapper who now can afford cars and women so he doesnt mind society) and when there is anger but it isn't real.

[David Deas]

Except making a song without a hook is almost pointless. That fact was the highlight of my comment.

The musical function of a hook is to give people something that they can sing along with and identify. If you don't have a hook then you're automatically damaging your potential. That has nothing to do with rap music specifically. Thats just music in general. *All* music.

[Justice and Mercy]

Except making a song without a hook is almost pointless. That fact was the highlight of my comment.

The musical function of a hook is to give people something that they can sing along with and identify. If you don't have a hook then you're automatically damaging your potential. That has nothing to do with rap music specifically. Thats just music in general. *All* music.

Ok, there's a hook, which is repeated in the song like 15 times at the most, and then there's annoying ass hooks ("A Bay Bay", anyone?) that's in popular rap today.



EDIT: 15, not 5.

[RZZZA]

wow, I dont know if I agree with that at all.


Well, lets just say I dont identify with that because its not how I am, maybe its true and all its just not true for me personally.

triumph was a very succesful single, it proved that a rap song CAN be hook-less and still popular.

[David Deas]

You need to take a music class, dude.

Its not a coincidence that *all* commercial music essentially has the same exact format; intro, bars, hook, bars, hook, bars, hook, hook, end. Its done that way because there is an actual science behind it.

[RZZZA]

yeah but just because thats the accepted norm doesnt mean its true in every case, the success of triumph proved that, and really...rap is about uniqueness and creativity, not fascist rules, man! :hippie:

[David Deas]

Its hard to believe I used to think exactly like you when I was your age.

[RZZZA]

lol, arent you still my age? I'm 19.

Whats to dispute though? triumph came out, it was succesful, hence others can be as well. As long as the beat is hot and the lyrics are delivered in a fashion thats timely...it'll catch on in the mainstream.

[David Deas]

No. I'm not your age.

When I was 19, though, I was all into that underground stuff. Knowing every rapper's name on the face of the planet along with all their lyrics was far more important than my schoolwork. I thought I was doing something by being into all that, while all the so called "squares" were stuck on the radio. Whenever someone had so much as a comment about who they thought was good, I could rarely resist displaying my superior hip-hop knowledge in attempt to make them feel as noobish as possible.

*laughs*

Pretty stupid.

But when you finally get older you don't give a damn about keeping up with that mess. Whatever is on the radio is good enough.

[RZZZA]

the radio will never be good enough. NEVAR!


but hip-pop has its uses. The girlies seem to like it.


and really, if it wasnt for the underground, I would be one of these people saying ignorant things like "Eminem is the only good white m.c.!"