changing beat after recording vocals?

Hey all, I’ll write to a particular beat, and then ill record my vocals to it. Well after awhile I’ll just completely remove the beat and start building a new one around the vocals. I’m noticing most of the time I’m happier with the revised project. I can piece together a beat and I have that freedom of doing so but I don’t know if this is a good practice/work flow as it’s time consuming.

Does se anyone else find themselves doing this? I heard the RZA of Wu-Tang is notorious for this and caused beef with the group because he changes beats after vocals have been lates out.
 
I've always said that you should be able to write to any beat that is at the tempo you need it to be. You should even be able to do it in your head. Most of the time, it won't change much. It is not usually an issue as far as melody, chords clashing, etc. Rap is rhymed words over a rhythm. Continue to develop the skill of writing over any beat. You will certainly stand out from the crowd (most of the rap writers I've worked with can't do it-- "I need a beat").

GJ
 
I'd think doing it all together, as like a full project is probably best. Getting a beat and rapping over it doesn't have the same care in arrangement and build as starting from scratch does. So work on the beat and the lyrics at the same time.
 
I did this a few times and ended up with some heat.

Its one of my "Production Strong points". I pride myself on having the ability to craft a beat to a vocal track.

For some reason when I hear the lyrics it actually helps me get a better feel for what the track vibe should be.

My $.02
 
I guess it's a pretty normal thing - not really rap specific - that you start a piece of music from an idea, but somewhere along the process you (or someone else) comes up with something that either requires rewriting around it or just makes the original idea obsolete or a fancy metronome at best. And of course after all this you realize that the original whatever was actually better in its honest simplicity than all the complex layers you ended up putting on top of it :)
 
I did this a few times and ended up with some heat.

Its one of my "Production Strong points". I pride myself on having the ability to craft a beat to a vocal track.

For some reason when I hear the lyrics it actually helps me get a better feel for what the track vibe should be.

My $.02

I agree I feel like I can really bring out the feel/vibe of the lyrics that I’ve already laid out by building the beat around it. I recorded my boy over tracks I’ve already made for his project but I’m so tempted to take his acapellas and make something new.

I think it’s awesome to be able to do this but at the same time I can’t help but think I’m being too much of a perfectionist.
 
i wrote a gritty HipHop beat in FL Studio and recorded the vocals in Cool Edit Pro.... i saved the vocals for a sampler channel and did whatever EQ and FX i needed, i saved the rap Raw File on CD and found it years later... i took the vocals and adjusted the tempo of a sweet melody and beat, and it worked out well, though i'm not a good rapper, so i'm off note once in a while, losing the edgyness that comes from being a solid rapper.

i sing acapella: Audioslave, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, Aaliyah, Lorde, Lady Gaga, to keep my vocals tuned in, but due to smoking for 18 years, sadly i've lost my consistency, especially when i sing Aaliyah and try to get the pitch right with Falsetto :(. i know a dude singing chick songs is weird, but they're really good singers and if you can get the oscillations and accennts right, even in a different pitch, it can help you iing better, R&B and Pop and Rock CD's are basically cheap tutorials ;)
 
I have done this.. but I will just use the original vocals as a template then I will re-record the vocals to the new beat to customize the flow and cadences to ensure they match perfectly with the tone and groove of the new beat.
 
Yeah, all the time. I'll write music for a song that I think is amazing, then after adding the vocals, all the sudden certain parts of the music sucks. For a lot of songs in the genre, the vocals are the most important part so don't be afraid the delete and rewrite beats when you get the feeling that they aren't meshing well with vocals.
 
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