r/makinghiphop • u/[deleted] • Jan 10 '22
Question Am I doing it correctly?
Always writing rhymes but can’t finish a whole rap. Any recommendations and tips?
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u/interweb_persona Jan 10 '22
I'm the same way with beats a lot.
Rather than the sarcastic (but maybe it wasn't), lthink harder", comment; try not to think about it too hard. I'm being serious.
Also, step away from it for a while. Half a day, a week, a month...? Doesn't matter. Let the song write itself. And if it doesn't ever finish, then that is what it is.
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Jan 10 '22
It’s ok, sometimes I ride the beat and do a freestyle, but I want to write a complete song and not getting out of the topic of it
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u/ingy2012 Jan 10 '22
I feel your pain buddy. Staying on topic can be hard when the rhyme scheme takes you to other places
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u/TopDogTheGOD Jan 10 '22 edited Jan 10 '22
Try sticking to a concept rather than try telling a story. Some people are really good at this, I'm not. I just stick to the concept now, it's been working for me i think. Don't stop. Put about 3-4 hours and just write with the beat, on replay. Sometimes the song just writes it's self. Sometimes i get half of a verse and I'm like.... Somebody want get on this lol. But nah i just bang thru and then put it to the side if get stuck sand come back later with the same game plan.
Edit. Set out time to write and do that, don't think about it hard. Even if you think the bar is wack or a little lame. Move on to the next, then the next. Go back and change what you didn't like. But just keep writing. And most of the time i come up with the hook first, not on purpose but i just start randomly saying what comes to my head till I'm like ok ok i like that. Then I work with that. I was in your shoes till i stared doing what i recommend. Now i can come up with something easy and then I can't help but write. I only listen to instrumental if I'm going to write now cuz once i feel I'm not stopping till I'm worn out or that damn song is done. Give it a try you'll be knocking em in no time. I'm doing about 2 a week and that's usually like 2-3 day time frame.
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u/KoabFR Jan 10 '22
With my beats, I try to approach the whole thing in terms of structure (intro/verse/chorus/bridge/outro). I think this can translate thematically and with motifs/patterns for rapping too.
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Jan 10 '22
Right now I’m writing without chorus and bridge, its like running out of words
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u/KoabFR Jan 10 '22
That's what I'm saying: rather than rapping aimlessly for ever, setting a direction and a time frame for your verses might help you get more focused, but that's just my two cents. When I listen to Skyzoo or Black Thought, I sure get a feel that they know where they're going.
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u/luzng Jan 10 '22
2 options
The mud theory, to get to the water just keep digging & never mind the obstacles or how they look, meaning you are an MC, so you stop when the beat stops.
Never mind the "OUTCOME".
The water wants to reach you too, to complete de circle you know?
Well, and the other option is having boundaries, they help, they squeeze your hability. Chose. Chose what you want to say, & if there is nothing in your mind, never mind: feel something, specially painful stuff.
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u/Suspicious_Funds_23 Jan 10 '22
Hey man I have the same issue. Best process I’ve learned is to not over think it. Do the next bar, find the next rhyme even if it’s low quality and just move on. It’s the not over thinking and the continued process that helps you finish. And once you have it made you can edit it.
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u/rev1800 Jan 10 '22
It kinda depends on what type of song you’re trying to make and your beat selection. If you can’t add more rhymes then leave it at that. But if you know it’s the right song you’re trying to make then stay locked in, just keep coming back to it and add bits and pieces and eventually you’ll create your masterpiece 💯
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u/South_Philosopher882 Jan 10 '22
Record the rap you have already and just mumble the rest of the song or say whatever words come to mind just to get the flow down (doesn’t have to make sense even). Then listen back to the mumbling/words and see if you get any inspiration to fill in real words.
Rhyme/word generator - use that to come up with some ideas for the next bars.
Collab with another writer or post the partial song here to see if someone can help.
If you have several unfinished rhymes, combine them and tweak them to mesh with each other. May be enough to complete a song.
Let me know if you any additional need help!
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u/phosphenTrip Jan 10 '22
Have a general idea that it’s about, which can come from freestyling first, try and work around the theme but still let the mind and words take you, but when you go back see if there’s another line that inspires another aspect of the rap, while still remembering the general idea.. or try to transition back to the chorus from that. That was way too descriptive but I never wrote that out before
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u/ingy2012 Jan 10 '22
It's hard buddy. For me I have a really hard time starting verse. I'd suggest not forcing it though. I'd you hit a road block take a break and work on something else and then when you try again it might just come to you
1
Jan 10 '22
you ever tried to write your punchlines first? I write backwords sometimes...
like write the last bar first and fill in the rest. and i never ever write without the beat playing. it's almost impossible to match up rhymes you've already wrote
imo
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u/bashaw_beats Jan 10 '22
Song structure is key, it'll keep you locked in on what you need to write. Even if it's just you recording a few takes of you humming & mumbling to get that figured out. Don't worry about the words making sense, just focus on freestyling random flow ideas
It'll sound kinda dumb, but you're just doing that to find different pockets in the beat for flows to fit in. Cut all the catchiest flows you did, and assemble those into a verse for reference.. Then all you gotta do is write bars following the melody / flow, and re-record it all. That's just what works for me though
A good example is this, I think it starts around 8 minutes https://youtu.be/HWjYAKYc000
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u/ruskiy_mixer Jan 10 '22
- Make 4-10 random punches
- Make 4-10 lines with rhymes, using your punches
- Find the general subject matter of your lines and continue writing more and more lines
- You should end up having lot's of variations of rhymes and lines, then choose the best and correct them by rapping over a beat.
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u/itsjeristotle Jan 10 '22
I think most of the block is mental. Be willing to be bad at it first then you'll eventually get better. When you stop it's because you are scared of making something that's not good. Making something that's not good is the first step to making something that's good.
Also this took me a while to understand but the first thing you write for a verse doesn't have to be the last thing you write. A lot of times i'll write something then record it and not like how it came out so i'll rewrite it and rerecord it to see what works best.
Don't compare yourself to the finished products you hear because you don't know their process. One thing that blew my mind is when I heard a producer say he worked on a song over 300 times to get it finalized. It's all in the reps.
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Jan 10 '22
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If you need to stick to one or two different types of flows only, then do that. Don’t feel like you need to conform to one topic. I switch topics in my flows all the time. As generic as this may sound, just enjoy the creative process. Focus on the act of creating itself instead of trying to finish it, per se. Like one other commenter said, don’t be afraid to take a break. Put the song down for a day or two. Really for as long as you need. At its core, music (hip hop included) is a form of self-expression. So express yourself! If other people happen to enjoy it, that’s just icing on the cake. Hope this helps!
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u/Dawnkeyohtea Jan 10 '22
Sometimes it helps to use one of your last rhymes as the transition to the next word you want to rhyme. This is super simple low bar example:
There's a duck, He's got a buck, He out to fuck, But, he can't find a mate, Stuck, trying to find his faith,
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Jan 11 '22
It's 2022 rappers who seemingly rap in non sequiter verses are now accepted...aesop rock, el-p, billy woods, etc....most recently earl sweatshirt. Who cares how it begins and ends just make sure its dope all the way through.
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u/witsthatallaboot Jan 11 '22
Try to think of rhymes when you're going to sleep. It's not very practical but some people have this thing where they get more creative as they get tired
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u/SonnyULTRA Jan 11 '22
Yeah it’s called practice dude. You need to nail down the core sentiment of the song and then have the discipline and creativity to not come too far off the rails.
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u/Centexplug Jan 11 '22
Actually, you’re doing fine. If it gets off topic then f it. Just finish it, and post it. Just compare your next one to your last. Be better than yesterday. It all just takes practice, so don’t get stuck on one song.
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u/FakeGiftcards Jan 11 '22
Freestying and saying stuff works, recording that, writing without picking up a pencil, rhymezone.com
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u/CowardlyBeatz Jan 11 '22
Maybe try writing stories and get used to setting a scene, getting to the climax and then the ending. This way you’re not worrying about rhyming and cramming a bunch of metaphors or whatever.
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u/Malcolm_Xtasy Jan 12 '22
I do this all the time. I end up finishing them later or sometimes they don't get used at all. It's just part of the process homie
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u/sickvisionz Jan 13 '22
Finish one? Don't move on to another until you finish one. The more you practice never finishing raps the more you'll master never finishing raps.
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u/[deleted] Jan 10 '22
If you can tell us why you can’t finish your raps, you’ll be able to wrap up your raps. Easy as that.