Freestyle rapping for beginners

Freestyle rapping can be a daunting and scary thing to learn. There is always the fear that you are not good enough or that when he time comes for you to show of your skills you flow will dry up and you'll choke on the mic.

The key to success is two fold:

1. Practise makes perfect

Though you'll hear many successful rappers saying thy are lyrically blessed to some extent they are lying. They weren't born with the skill, they developed it. Key to any successful rappers development is practise. To become the best you need to practise your skill. Do this at every opportunity, you can do it in your heads on the bus, in the shower, in the club, the more the better.

2. Develop your skill

What many rappers don't holla about too much is that they actually study their lyrical trade. There are programs out there such as Rhyme Time that will hep you to learn the basic techniques such as:

- How to never get stuck for a rhyming word again
- How to improve your flow
- How to choose the right content for your flow
- Learning to battle on the mic
- Expand your rapping dictionary

Getting started in the rap game can be a hard task. The main issue you'll find is that you are constantly relying on other people to get your rap career started. Whether you are waiting to have your demos distributed, waiting for your label to get you airtime on radio or simply waiting for a contract everything is out of your control.

One simple way to avoid this is to start your own record label. Dong so shifts all of the power to you. No longer will you be dependant on a record label exec to make it happen for you.

All of the greats such as Jay Z or Master P have done it on their own, hitting the big time with the record labels they started by themselves. Sign for someone elses label and you could be signing away up o 50% of any future revenues you make.

Getting your own record label up and running is not as hard as many people think. If you are looking for some great information about how to get started in the industry or info about how to get you demo cd produced and out there then take a look at Get Put On. Perhaps the most important part of this program is the valuable information it gives you about setting up your distribution network. Without good distribution you'll never sell any records, period.

Many people believe that rap and even freestyle rap is a modern invention. However there is evidence that indicates that it's origins go back much further than many think. Such evidence suggests that the earliest roots of freestyling can be traced to tribal ceremonies in both Africa and South America many decades ago.

In it's more recent rap form freestyling emerged out of the East Coast hip hop scene in the United States in the 1970s. In these early days MCs would simply jump on to the mic to freestyle lyrics at parties in order to keep the crowd lively. From this obviously competition between MCs rose and eventually rap freestyle battles as we know them today emerged. The aim was simple and has remained unchanged; out do your opponent with the subtleness and humour of your lyrics.

Freestyles are often used as a way to disrespect or undermine a rival. In fact rappers such as the late 2Pac used a freestyle based rap over his rivals (Biggie Smalls) rap where he dissed him and even claimed to have slept with his wife. More recently freestyling as an art form has been further highlighted by the film 8 Mile where Eminem brought freestyle rap to the attention of the worlds cinema goers.

In the 8 Mile formal organised freestyle battles were highlighted. These competitions involve two rappers in each round going head to head where each gets between 30 seconds and a minute on the microphone to do their best. The winner (often judged by the crowd) goes through to the next round, the loser is out. This continues until there is only one freestyler left who is declared the winner. These battles usually happen in hip hop clubs or on the radio.

1. Get the right beats

Due to the improvised nature of freestyle, the focus must be on the lyrics. As a result try to choose more relaxed beats than your average album/studio rap. This'll leave the focus on your lyrics as well as giving you more time to ease your flow out.

You've got two options to getting the right beats. You can buy professionally produced beats cheap or alternatively you can learn to make your own beats.

2. Use template rap

When you start a freestyle be sure to know what the subject matter or situation is you'll be rapping on. You can have a ready supply of prepared lyrics and rhyme patterns that can be combined with situational lyrics to build your set. There aren't many rappers that rap truely off the cuff. Even the illest MC's throw in the a few stock rhyms to most freestle sets.

3. Listen

If you'll be rapping in a cypher or as part of a battle it is crucial you listen to the MC's before you. You'll blow the crowd if you can take a couple of their big lines and flip at the start of your freestyle.

4. Improve your dictionary

The more words you've got in your head, the more ryhmes you'll be able to throw down the mic. Programs such as Rhyme Time will help you blow up the size of your mental dictionary. In fact the great Supernatural is a firm beleiver in improving your rap dictionary as herecently stated in an interview with Source.

5. Study your trade

You should learn about the artform and respect it and it will give you what you need to be able to succeed.

Think about all of the best freestyle raps you have heard for a minute. I guarantee you that most of them will be the ones that contain funny freestyle rap lyrics that have made you laugh.

Adding an element of humour into your lyrics will guarantee the listener enjoyment. Think about it, when you like a freestyle you smile. If you can make them smile when you freestyle they WILL like it.

Obviously if you are in a battle then you should be directing your funny lyrics at your opponents however you'll also get a lot of love if you spit a few jokes aimed at yourself.