Knowing how to write rap lyrics to a melody is challenging - but it doesn't have to be.
In the music industry, you always hear the term “melody” thrown around a lot in reference to writing rap lyrics.
So what exactly is a rap melody?
A melody in rap is the arrangement of high and low notes in your song to make a good sound. Melodies are built from rhythm and pitch - a good rap flow must have a smooth melody.
Not all rap songs have a well-written melody though.
In fact, early hip-hop was not very melodic...
The focus was mainly on hip-hop lyrics and less on having the entire song flow with your voice.
Not every rap song had the RAPPER produce amazing vocals.
Examples of this earlier hip-hop are Jay Z and Notorious BIG.
Hip-hop has changed a lot though and it's rare to find a rap song where the MC doesn't have melodic elements in their rap verses.
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Before you start writing I must show you some Hip-Hop rap songs with good melodies.
This will help you wrap your head around melodic rap music so that your lyrics sound better and have harmony with the Melody.
Top 15 rap songs with good melodies:
| Artist | Song | Melody Key |
| Roddy Ricch | The Box | #A |
| Lil Mosey | Blueberry Faygo | Null |
| Kanye West | Lord I Need You | C# |
|
Lil Tecca |
Ransom | G |
| Drake | Pipe Down | A |
| Juice WRLD | Lucid Dreams | B |
| J. Cole | Work Out | D |
| Kid Cudi | Don't Play This Song | E |
| Lil Durk | India Pt. 2 | C# |
| NBA Youngboy | Solar Eclipse | A# |
One thing you'll notice is the little emphasis on the hip-hop lyrics and more emphasis on the melodic elements - at least in newer music.
This all started when Drake and Kanye West focussed on making the verses carry over the beat as an instrument.
When you write rap lyrics - you've gotta have a good process!
Start with the melody first so you can get every idea down, and then play with the cords and scaling to tweak it. This gives more creativity and has a better-sounding output!
Start a rap song by changing the pitches and power within your voice.
By repeating this a few times, you'll soon find something that you like for your rap song.
Here's an opinion that you may not like: You should never write a rap song yourself...
That's what amateur rappers do (and why most rap songs sound bad!)
Don't you want to Become a Professional Rapper?
Having a decent songwriter in the room can help guide you.
This will make a rap song go from mediocre to phenomenal!
Clarification: I don't mean hiring a ghostwriter…
There are many resources to screen your rap song-writing:
Anybody with good taste to offer feedback and constructive criticism while you write rap songs.
Ideally, the good rap lyrics come last -after the melody and chords are in place.
First, find a catchy hook and get started!
At that point, you can create a crap ton of literary devices and revamp the song structure.
Make sure you studying How to Make Mind-Bending Rap Rhyme Schemes!
Put a HUGE emphasis that it's still good rap lyrics.
Many artists write their rap songs with crappy lyrics just to fit the melody…
(It sounds like simple advice but lots of artists get confused with this aspect of their rap song!)
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This book is widely used in music schools around the world and was called "the best how-to book of its kind" by Music Connection.
This $12.00 book is the most impactful investment you can make in your career. Deadass.
In rap, the melody is not the beat. Melody is a mix of rhythms and chord progression - it's an optional preference when producing beats. many famous beats are non-melodic.
The music industry is powered by music producers.
The way beats are produced indicates how you write rap songs. Literally.
This is especially so in hip-hop where you generally begin writing AFTER you find a good beat.
This is a double-edged sword though.
See this means that you have to create verses to match whatever beat you have.
This can't always let your creative ideas shine in terms of melody!
It's really important that the catchy part of your songs have some melodic elements.
This is why you need to write rap lyrics that MATCH the song's melody.
When you're writing lyrics, carefully analyze the pronunciation and syllables of your rap songs.
Sometimes you may have to tweak the rap lyrics to really get the lyrics to sound nice with the Melody.
See, whenever there's a change in melody, that is an opportunity to add more emphasis on your vowels when you write a rap song.
This is what artists such as Kanye West do.
They learned how to use their voices as instruments!
Eminem does this as well in his song Rap God.
Even though he's doing fast there's a nice strong structure and the pre-chorus channels into the main song chorus nicely and melodically.
Listen below! 👇
Here are 10 tips to write rap lyrics effectively
If you follow these tips while you write rap lyrics then not only will writing lyrics become easier but you notice your hip-hop rap song will turn out so much nicer!
You probably noticed that...
Old-school rappers such as Jay Z, Kanye & J. Cole have the whole chorus song by a professional singer.
This isn't because they're against melodies.
People love listening to great melodies!
The problem is... These rappers don't necessarily have the ability to lay vocals like that.
Just because it's a rap song that doesn't mean that the pre-chorus (or even the entire chorus) can't have a lead singer!
Nowadays there's a mix. Since rap is becoming more popular - it embodies "pop" elements.
New rappers create the melodies in their songs based on their actual singing ability.
Example: you'll find this in Juice Wrld, Roddy Rich, Drake, etc.
The dope part is, your real-life singing voice doesn't even have to be perfect, either.
You can just take some vocal lessons.
Couple that with some smart audio engineering and you'll really get the song's chorus to sound amazing!
To truly be a successful artist you need to have tools and systems in place.
This is especially so when you write rap songs!
Otherwise, your music output/quality will definitely suffer from it.
Here are the five best tools to write rap lyrics & songs
Your MIDI sampler is your best friend.
With this, you can play around and just try to find melodies that way. Once you find what you like, expand it into a song.
Famous rap song producers such as Mike Dean use this tactic!
The best tip is to find good samples and then play with them.
Cymatics has the DOPEST free Samples on the market!
Don't worry if it sounds weird. It always does at first.
After getting the melody, you can easily change the cords or samples into a different composition.
This will help match the sound you looking for with the sound in your rap song.
Let's talk about the free rap song tool out there called Rhyme Zones.
Rhymezone automatically generates rhymes for any word you input!
This will help you write a rap song - just take the end word in your bar, and start writing more rap verses based on the words generated.
I don't recommend that you make an entire song using this tool...
However! Rhymezone is a huge help with writing lyrics and making lines rhyme.
Grab your notepad and create versus like crazy.
Since you already have a melody -you can easily rewrite your rap lyrics so that the verses carry smoothly.
A good song takes multiple changes to come out.
To really be a great rapper, a tool such as Rhmymezone will give your verse momentum!
Beatstars is the number one place in the music industry (aside from YouTube) to get rap beats with catchy hooks.
All you have to do is search for melodic beats. You'll find everything that you need.
You can freestyle a full song to any beat that you like. It does not have to fully make sense at first!
Just push all the ideas out.
The trick is to start laying bars and over time you'll find a nice flow and rhythm that fits you.
Once you're at this stage - hit record it, and make magic!
You can always rewrite the rap lyrics so that it makes sense, no rush for perfection.
Pro tip: If you feel sad you can just search sad beats in Beatstars.
If you feel hyped you can do the same thing there.
There's no such thing as wasted time when you're creating music - so go out there and begin writing!
I hope you now know how to write rap lyrics to a melody!
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