Writing Process

[greenvale]

I've been sitting on a stash of beats I created that haven't really been going anywhere. I figured I might as well try my hand at creating some songs on top, but I struggle with writing lyrics. Just wanted to ask the brehs who rap what your process is? What works for you and what helps out when you have writers block?

 

[TripleAgent]

Story - Start with ending, work backwards
Freestyle/General - Think of a great starting bar with the beat, go from there
Topic - Come up with witty relevant lines, plug and rearrange until amount of bars is made or exceeded, then edit

 

[Johnny Kilroy]

This is my elaboration on a lesson from Rakim...


Write 16 dots. Or 24, 32, whatever.

Hum the entire lyric-less verse over the beat how it should sound, counting the syllables in each bar

Assign appropriate number of syllables for each dot/bar

Go into each dot and craft the most eloquent bar possible following the syllable structure

If you must pause, do it only after completion of a 4 bar section to complete the thought/rhyme pattern



I normally just go in though, beat sets the tone for the first bar and then the lyrics flow to me automatically but I do plan on at least trying this method in the future.

 

[TripleAgent]

This is my elaboration on a lesson from Rakim...


Write 16 dots. Or 24, 32, whatever.

Hum the entire lyric-less verse over the beat how it should sound, counting the syllables in each bar

Assign appropriate number of syllables for each dot/bar

Go into each dot and craft the most eloquent bar possible following the syllable structure

If you must pause, do it only after completion of a 4 bar section to complete the thought/rhyme pattern



I normally just go in though, beat sets the tone for the first bar and then the lyrics flow to me automatically but I do plan on at least trying this method in the future.

I did a variation if this back in the day, but I grew out of it. Kinda rigid to me. Good if you want to force a bunch of syllables in the same place. Great for beginners.

 

[Johnny Kilroy]

I did a variation if this back in the day, but I grew out of it. Kinda rigid to me. Good if you want to force a bunch of syllables in the same place. Great for beginners.

It seems a bit tedious and I couldn’t imagine doing it every time. But for one of those special beats I’ma hafta try this. After all, it’s a blessing from the God.

 

[TripleAgent]

It seems a bit tedious and I couldn’t imagine doing it every time. But for one of those special beats I’ma hafta try this. After all, it’s a blessing from the God.

Find whatever works for you. There is no one right answer.