Q&A for How to Write Lyrics to a Rap or Hip Hop Song

Yes, rapping is more about the uniqueness of your flow and delivery than the quality of your voice itself.

You can definitely learn to rap, it just takes practice. You have to have an extensive vocabulary which can be learned by reading a multitude of different types of books.

Ask friends and family to listen to your piece. You could listen to other rap songs to become inspired.

Yes. You just need to know the counts and words. You can always ask someone else to make the background instrumentals for you, or you can have some friends beat box in the background.

Of course. Many rappers actually have lyrics produced partially or entirely by others. You can have a friend rap your lyrics to test out how they sound, or just imagine a rapper you like rapping the song.

No. Rapping and singing are different. Just develop a rap style that suits the voice that you have.

Ask your friends to throw a word at you at random times, and think of as many rhymes as you can. Start off easy, then get harder. Once you've started to see improvement, try to speed it up. See how many rhymes you can come up with in 20 seconds.

Go through the lyrics again and again and practice them until you know them in your sleep. When there is a certain line you have a really hard time remembering, write that line down on sticky notes and put the sticky notes in places where you will see them.

Have your friends look at it. Rap it to them. Once they listen to it, ask for constructive criticism, or ways you can improve. If they say it's okay, ask another set of friends since everyone has different opinions. Keep in mind that you cannot please everyone, so only use the suggestions that you truly believe will improve your raps.

Practice. Rappers look like they're going crazy when they're performing, but this is a performance, they have carefully crafted every word and movement to go together, practicing it over and over. The better you know your material, the more control you will have.

It's not weird, and there are plenty of rappers who rap about subjects other than the stereotypical ones. Search around on the internet and listen to some rappers you haven't heard on the radio. You can try searching up alternative rap. You're more likely to hear more interesting things.

Yes, that could definitely help. You might be inspired by the latest music in rap.

You have to find a rhythm; lines should have the same number of syllables, and should have a rhyming pattern, like AABBA, or ABA.

Listen to a lot of raps and pick up words or phrases from different raps and put them together, or express your emotions on paper all the time.

Now! You can start practicing anytime, and now is better than ever.

Yes, you can be a successful rapper regardless of your race as long as you are talented.

In most cases when I am about to write raps about my country, I first pick a topic that's trending at the moment or something I need people in my country to be aware of, and rap about it as a way to spread awareness. I also rap about things I wish the government would do or understand.

Just start doing different things and find the one that you can most relate to.

Just write whatever you feel. Only you know how to do you best. Practice it, make it your own craft and build a solid structure around it.

Listen to 90's hip-hop, like Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Notorious BIG, etc.

There's not a single number since new rap styles can be (and are) created all the time.

Just start thinking about a beat and just sing. Don't push your mind to it. Just let it come out naturally.

You don't need fancy words. Just rap from the heart, or find a writing partner who has an easier time with words.

If you feel comfortable with it, try to use the stutter in your raps to show off who you truly are. Rap is very subjective, so only certain people will want to listen to a rap that has an acquired sound to it, but listen to Danny Brown. His voice is just ridiculous, but there is a certain audience out there who enjoys it because he is highly unique. Be you.

If you don't feel comfortable with cursing, then don't. If you mumble, it might take away from what you're saying, but honestly, it's up to you.

Practice in front of your family first. Then ask them to give you a couple of words and see if you can build up on that. Then practice in front of friends and get feedback and ideas. Keep practicing till it feels normal to you.

Post your songs online. You'll get royalties from Soundcloud, YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music if your music is good enough. If you tour, you can make a living off a few thousand streams a week.

If you already know how to write songs, then just start with rhyming more and maybe trying to write songs that have a faster beat. Eventually if will turn out to be a rap song. Also, follow the suggestions in the article. Another thing to do is to listen to good rap songs. Good examples are songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda such as Alexander Hamilton or Guns and Ships. You will learn a lot from listening.

Try maybe to reverse the process, doing so has helped others. First, invest time in finding a beat that you like and vibe to. After finding the beat, listen to it and write the rap after that. So it will be easier to have a flow and follow the beat.