What Makes You Want To Rap?

OGBama

Moderator
Can you identify one or two factors that really drive your passion? For me it's because I'm lyrically inclined and it is about owning my voice as a Black woman. It's not about the "lifestyle" promoted via media (plus the "lifestyle" has been/is male centric so I can't relate in that regard), it's about going wherever my mind takes me when I put pen to paper.
 
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everyone has that voice that they need to own, and the specifics of who they are and what they've been through help personify that voice. Rapping is a beautiful creative outlet for artists of all tiers, levels, and wealth. People can come as they are as an artist, and other artist respect it because it comes from the heart.

I rap because no one has the same voice as I, so its my duty to make sure it is heard.
 
Well that's a good question, for me it's because I grew up in an era when I was watching rapcity with Big Tigga playing music videos and having guys come and spit rhymes in his basement(pause). I would watch BET's TOP 25 on saturdays where stars would come and play their favorite videos in a 25 video countdown and I also would watch 106 and Park. This exposed me to a lot of great rap music as a child. My older cousin also used to play a lot of rap music around the house from time to time and being from NY it was natural to be around hiphop in some way form or fashion and I enjoyed it so I became a big fan.

Then when I went to high school I got into it even more because many friends of mine had rap dreams and I would watch them spit in cyphers and kill it which made me want to try and though I only spit once and it was my first time they were all very impressed and this was yeas before I started writing. My school was partially an art school too so friends of mine also did Grafiti writing on paper and tagged things with markers, they also created all kinds of cool art which I thought was worth mentioning. It was a bad school to be honest to make a long story short with it being very crip but it was a hell of an experience. With that said one of the things about that experience which confirmed to me I should rap was in my 12th grade English class, their was this poetry part of the curriculum and I had seen my father(who I am not that close too) write poems when I was young but I never tried it myself. This class gave me an opportunity to give this a try, and I sat near this girl who I had a huge crush on which also made me want to give this a try very seriously so I can impress her lol. I ended up doing just that, she loved my poems and would smile when she heard them and it came easy and natural to me. Proving I must have got my fathers genes for poetry too and not only his looks. Poetry was one thing, to write a poem in stanzas and the whole nine but even hearing my poetry kids would comment I wrote my poems like a rap verse and delivered it like a rap and so it was easy to make that transition to rap. To make a long story even shorter, I see the current state of the rap game and I really want to make a difference because their has been too much tight jeans, auto tune, mumbling, and biting going on and people really saying something is not as popular as it once was. I also see rap as a way to vent that is very freeing and I have a lot to say.
 
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Well for me, it's the passion it making raps. Being able to express even in silly bragging style ways. plus the competitive, in which drives people more determined to do better. Plus, I love the lyrical side of rap. Eminem, being my biggest inspiration. I love the whole Mcing of rap too.

I'm only 20 so, can't really say I really experienced any of the rap stuff I listen too. Wasn't till d-12's My world came out I started following rap. But I'm a big fan of Eminem and shady records,
dre, the game, Nas, etc.The old stuff.


But as a summary, It's the ability to express myself through something I have passion about.
 
Wouldn't let me edit for some reason my previous comment... But what I said in my PM to you.. I'll Add it here!

"Ever since I was like 8, i was rapping a long to the d-12 song my band. and started learning it's words.
In 2008 I was 12 ish I was put in a foster care, with siblings and had a rough time let's say and stuff got difficult. Gained what i think was depression from those years, and all i had was Eminem. I came close to almost overdosing on perscribed medicines like paracetomal shit (I know it's nothing major.. But a love of them in one go is a lot) but listening to Em, saved me in some ways... So I owe my life to him really. Sound so lame.
So that line in stan " I ain't got shit else, that shit helps when i'm depressed" was basically like me. Started writing as a way of venting, releasing. Yes I was 12/13 so the raps weren't great. Over course of last 7 years, i've changed how I write stuff. I try to be a tad bit more lyrical with some stuff, and focus on being an Mc, as well as being able to have people relate to what I say, as none of the music now really does that.
J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Logic all good rappers but still can't capture the feels I used to get with Eminems older stuff or Jay-z

I also was very interested in the music beef side of things. the battle rapping. I'm not the best freestyler but I do love that side too.

Although, now when I write, I tend to try and rap it to a beat I make... So I make my own songs. Yes Amateur like. But practice makes perfect.
I done a song I called "struggles of life" It was a about an ex, who I was kinda becoming some what controlling and pushy with trying to get her to succeed in her college. but spin in the last verse to saying sorry for realising I wasn't helping, I was making things harder. But it was how i felt at that moment, so I started writing stuff down, next thing I do it turned into a song.


I don't claim to be the next Eminem, or even close. But I don't want to give up, as I have passion for it. I'll do it till it ain't fun no more I believe the Eminem quote it.

I know I reference Em a lot, but he's my inspiration, He's why I got into rap..

Sorry, I went on a bit there... Sorry :("
 
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I personally make music because its my favourite art form and it is one of the true things in life in which you can just be yourself(even if most rappers end up being generic carbon copies of each other). I dont really care if people like it, even though it would be nice, just making a song makes me happy. I listen to ATCQ or J Cole and think i want to do that but my way about my story. I like to express my self and own my voice like OGBama put it, itlibertaing and exhilarating and if i can make my profession i would give everything for it. Im not putting a exact moment or story like other people if you want to know that check my music out :)
 
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I personally make music because its my favourite art form and it is one of the true things in life in which you can just be yourself(even if most rappers end up being generic carbon copies of each other). I dont really care if people like it, even though it would be nice, just making a song makes me happy. I listen to ATCQ or J Cole and think i want to do that but my way about my story. I like to express my self and own my voice like OGBama put it, itlibertaing and exhilarating and if i can make my profession i would give everything for it. Im not putting a exact moment or story like other people if you want to know that check my music out :)

Well go for it :) We all gotta start somewhere. Would love to check out your stuff and leave feedback.
 
I just want to do me. I love rap music and everything about it, and I'm a pretty creative fella myself. I've been doing rap about 3 years now. It's always fun.
 
Everyone is different, how we interpret situations, our choice of vocabulary to paint you a precise picture of how we feel in that very raw moment we're revisiting from the past for our listeners.

Second, validation. Though I know I don't need others sign of approval to rank where I stand, as a human, its just that.

What drives me initially is that, there is only one ME, I want to be a voice for those in my community & communities alike, growing up being told you wouldn't be shit, over hearing ppl tell my mother my siblings & I would beat on her once we got old enough. Being connected with ppl in the streets but not stereotypically following that same pattern to fit in. Growing up with out a male figure to guide you.

Second,
 
I rap because it's personal expression and I hope that if someone can relate it may help them through tough times or let them know someone knows what they're feeling.
 
When I started it was because I felt I had to. Like my whole life has been preparation for me to do this thing that I would have never thought of before.
 
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When I started it was because I felt I had to. Like my whole life has been preparation for me to do this thing that I would have never thought of before.

everyone has that voice that they need to own, and the specifics of who they are and what they've been through help personify that voice. Rapping is a beautiful creative outlet for artists of all tiers, levels, and wealth. People can come as they are as an artist, and other artist respect it because it comes from the heart.

I rap because no one has the same voice as I, so its my duty to make sure it is heard.

Everyone is different, how we interpret situations, our choice of vocabulary to paint you a precise picture of how we feel in that very raw moment we're revisiting from the past for our listeners.

Second, validation. Though I know I don't need others sign of approval to rank where I stand, as a human, its just that.

What drives me initially is that, there is only one ME, I want to be a voice for those in my community & communities alike, growing up being told you wouldn't be shit, over hearing ppl tell my mother my siblings & I would beat on her once we got old enough. Being connected with ppl in the streets but not stereotypically following that same pattern to fit in. Growing up with out a male figure to guide you.

Second,

All the above.

Rapping is showing your heart to people with words and what you have been through...
 
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Everything about the movie Krush Groove is why I rap. That was my inspiration. Today, the cliche that "music is my savior" is kinda my adopted mantra.. When I started writing, it was just to hammer a cypher and anybody in it but, thankfully it evolved. Now, more often than not, it's to relieve tension or to inspire or hopefully, thru my turmoils, allow any listener who relates to know, they aren't the only person on the planet with those issues.

Ultimately though, at my core, I'm a true fan of Hip-Hop and it's origins - so I LOVE the competitive nature of it. Not so much the cypher anymore - my project days were filled with them - I'm talking about mixing metaphors and double entendras to make the listener go "WTF did he/she just say?!!".. That feeling is embedded in my passion to write/rap along with the aforementioned paragraph..
 
The First Track that got me hooked on Rap was Nelly - Ride with me, Then that Air Force one Track, then the Nellyville Album, from them it spired to Eminem, Redman, Fat Joe. Sean Paul, Methodman, Wu-Tang, Dre, 50, the game etc. So I was brought up with mofo's that were not whack. Where I live in Germany there is no seen, so early in my days of starting out with rap I did it cause I was just such a big fan. Id come home and just vibe for hours n hours, I was obsessed, however it was pretty hard to find a Producer with the Equipment I dont even think I had Internet till I was 15, as it wasnt as affordable as it is today^^ So then I just put it on hold and found something else to put my Energy in. Then I remember turnin 24 and realising that shit is just going downhill and I believed that if I tried I could make Music 90% better of the Music that is on the Radio. So I went all out and got my set up, So I could make Music myself and have been since, I spent two years just writing and I've been recording for 1. All in All, I would say HipHop/Rap has done so much for me, got me through some really tough times, at even kept me sane in a few moments. So I just think its my duty to repay the Scene by Blessing it with Real, No Bullshit, Anti-Autotune, Anti-Christopherstreetday clothing, non mumbling Music :D Like im not even out to be the next big Thing, I just want People from my era to have that same Feeling as a kid when they go on soundcloud/Youtube.
 
Rhythm and Poetry. That feeling you get when you know its your voice saying something meaningful or catchy and other people being touched by it never gets old.
 
I like putting my opinions and thoughts into something clever and witty, and making people think a little. I really enjoy the wordplay and the challenge to make stuff rhyme, it gets my brain ticking.
 
Its an outlet #1, #2 i feel if worded correctly that my struggles conveyed through my music, or my situations ive gone thru, someone out there surely has gone thru the same and they may not rap or sing, and hear my stuff and identify and perhaps make their minute, moment, second.... a little easier to breathe.
 
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