Help Please - Methods for Improving Lyrically

[binary_10essee]

Alright, I've been producing music for a few years now. 4 1/2 years I believe. I've always been interested in rappin' but I have never taken the time to work on that aspect. That is, until now.

I used to rap a bit here and there on my own beats. I did it mostly just to speak my mind when I had no other way that got the job done right. Now I would like to work on myself as an artist. I don't necessarily want to make it in the game as a rapper but I would like to get to the point where other rappers, who try to make it big, can work with me. I don't wanna try to get on a track with a serious rapper and sound like hell. LoL.

What techniques/methods can be used to improve lyrically? I understand word play, rhymes, multi-rhymes and so on. I feel like I need to work on flow and delivery.

Also, how do you come up with topics? Do you usually need to take a few minutes to get a good subject and then start writing? Do you usually always know what to write about?

I haven't had a hard life at all. I never ran the streets, I never sold drugs, I didn't have a broken home. I don't do drugs or and rarely do I drink, though I'll have a few drinks if I go to a club with some friends. I do, however, have a huge "fan base" of haters, haha. People are so envious because I work hard and live life for myself and my family. But I don't wanna constantly talk about haters.

Maybe I wasn't meant to be a rapper in any way. I can accept that if it's true. But maybe I simply have yet to unlock and release the inner artist. I must say, I have improved greatly from where I used to be. But I still can't listen to something I wrote/recorded and get as into it as I feel I should.

Advice anyone?

[M.C.-Exclusivo]

Uhm, I have only been rapping a couple of months, but when I freestyle/write, I let my mind do whatever it wants, I write whatever comes down, or say it.. If it's crap, I scrap it, and come up with a line to either cancel it out i.e. 'Your so fake, you need to stop talking about guns, pratice a bit, and start using puns' A bad example. But you know what I mean? Or if your writing, cut the lines out you dislike, or improve them. Best I can say, is just don't give up. If you don't have anything to write about at present, think about the future, or the past, and link stories together, or so be it, write about your friends, OR ANYTHING. Your cup of coffee will do. As long as it's getting you to improve, right!?

[binary_10essee]

Right, I understand completely. It makes sense 100%. I don't plan on giving up but rather just giving it time to come to me. I constantly think of new things. The majority of the time, since I work full-time 40-hour weeks, I think of a few lines here and there while I'm at work. If I like 'em, I'll keep 'em, otherwise they get scrapped or I try to improve them.

So can you provide an example as to what you would rap about if you were currently "blocked"? Like, a few lines about whatever? That could give me a start. :-P

Thanks for the suggestions.

[M.C.-Exclusivo]

No problem, well if your busy a lot, then write up drafts as text messages on your cell phone, like I do, or record into anything possible, so you can recaptcher the flow/delivery or lyrics. Uhm, I usually give myself two days just to concentrate on say, work. And then I comeback to writing and I found that when I struggled to write, once I took a break, the lyrics I came up with afterwards were probably the best I have written. If I were blocked, I would try and rest my mind, and just think about anything in my room.

The lyrics can be anything, just think of something in your room now, and write 4 lines, in about 20 seconds. Thats what I do. It doesn't have to be good.

It can be 'I just had beans on toast, now I'm going to drive out to the coast', see what I mean? It doesn't have to make sense, as long as your improving and practising!

[binary_10essee]

Understood. That sounds easy enough (and should be). I'll see what I can do, taking these suggestions into consideration.

[M.C.-Exclusivo]

Ok mate, I have to stress, that you should try different things out, if people reply with different ways of dealing with writers block, then try them out too. Some work better than others. It all depends on that person. Good luck .

[binary_10essee]

Yeah, I was plannin' on it. Good lookin' out. Funny though. I started writin' a verse shortly after my last post. :-P

[Bigwon]

kk...i decided to write an essay..hehe..i hope you can find something useful in the madness

i suppose it depends on what kind of writer you want to be. (gonna bullet this to make it easier to read)

-I think the two main titles i'd use for each end of the spectrum would be 'Literal/to the point/etc' to 'poetic/abstract/etc'

-i believe that deciding on which side you choose to lean towards, it'll definitely effect what the direction of your message takes (preachy/open to interpretation, Easily interpreted/Side stepping around the message, etc/etc.)

-one simply stimulates ones mind/imagination/creativity (poetic), as the other is your more base of knowledge/beliefs/human psychology (are you good with people in every day social situations? are you the type to lead people?) although this part i feel is really debatable, i'm just throwing it out there.

I feel were most successful writers will stay is right in the middle at perfect balance. There people who acknowledge both sides and take there favorite aspects of each to develop there own unique style. As you want to have impressive forms of imagery, word play, syllable structures, etc. you want them to take some sort of direction and say something.

say you have a painting/picture in the works and you want it to say something. To me (this is opinion) the more simple lyrics in music are simply that. it's like someone drawing a simple equation like say....Garbage=Pollution (think a diagram that'd be drawn on the chalk board for a kindergarten class).. it doesn't really stimulate any part of your brain, and it's not very interesting. but at the same time a bunch of meshing colours and squiggly lines (think abstract art....kk i'm not prejudice against it just an example) is going to completely lose people.

this is were you start to see it come together in the middle people are drawing pictures of objects....maybe a picture of garbage stacking to the clouds above with some polluted rain falling from there.(this would still be leaning away to the simple end of the spectrum but it's still there...i believe this is were most tend to write, nothing wrong with it! it's there expression)

as someone else might draw a picture of a group of survivors in.....some cave overeating there rations, not rationalizing the time they'll be waiting for rescue.
The situation is different but they can both can be interpreted in the sense that: there bargaining the security of there futures with todays comfort:

- someone satisfying there hunger,
-and a society of people too lazy to use city recycling and just throwing there recyclable goods in the garbage to conserve there 'energy'

people in our society don't know how much longer it'll take for the scientific folk to develop a system in which our waste of resource congregation of citizens will actually find recycling materials 'convenient' enough, and turn the whole pollution thing around. The same as the unlucky cave spelunker doesn't know how long it'll take for rescue to come in and swoop him out of his starvation. You now have 2 comparable scenario's which you can weave into context with each other for a song concept...that is if i wrote this whole paragraph correctly..LOL!

[Musikal1]

So you want to improve lyrically & flow wise.

Buy a mini dictionary you can whip out during work and read through it don't stress yourself trying too much in one day instead set a number of words to learn everyday and you`ll improve quickly.

To improve your speed,delivery flow etc.
What helped me out the most was to simply rap-a-long with my favorite`s.Don`t rap-a-long to soulja boy because you will fail like him instead choose some moderate to high skilled rappers and listen closely to their rhymes and heck even google their lyrics and make sure you nail those multi-syllables that way you get used to them.

Another technique is to simply try to write ATLEAST 1 verse everyday and like many great things,The path to getting good is practice so try to freestyle when you can and make sure your minds at work.

Reading also helps you improve a lot aswell.

Hope i helped =)

[the ripper]

If you want to improve flow and delivery, freestyle!!! it helps you with rhythm and timing. Study the best technical emcees i.e (Elzhi,Pharoahe Monch,Crooked I,Royce The 5'9,Percee P,One Be Lo, & E-Rule to name a few.) Freestyle whenever you can in the shower in your car anyplace!!!