In today’s article, we’re going to listen the top 10 signs you’re meant to become a rapper.
When we say rapper, we’re not saying you’re necessarily meant to make a million dollars next week or meant to hit Billboard #1 overnight…
…What we mean is that you’re meant to develop your skills in rap to a point that you can make a full-time income from the music you make…
…You can get some of the most important perks of being a skilled rapper like fans, tours, and getting paid to make tracks…
…And then you will ENJOY doing it as opposed to feeling like you’re FORCING yourself to get better.
NOTE: Be sure to pick up our “How To Rap Dictionary”, a free spreadsheet resource where we constantly update the top 100 words and phrases you MUST known to become a full-time professional rapper. You can get free permanent access to the How To Rap Dictionary by clicking HERE.
How To Rap Dictionary
1. You are obsessed with clever and witty phrases
We’re starting off with this one because regardless of what “type” of rapper you become –
Lyrical miracle, catchy club writer, “mumble rapper”… more than likely you will need to have the skill of saying your thoughts and emotions in a clever way.
Regardless of if you strictly make music to get “lit” to… you still need to be able to put it into a way that stands out from the norm.
Even rappers historically associated with making “party Hip-Hop” from Drake to Nelly going all the way back to MC Hammer or the beginning of rap with “Rapper’s Delight”…
They all found clever and witty ways to make their rap stand out. Being clever with your words is one of the main prerequisites with being a bona fide “rapper”.
On the flip side, lyrical rap is inextricably connected with the ability to come up witty punchlines, lush storytelling, and entertaining descriptions of life.
2. You listen to a lot of different types of rap
In 2003 when Eminem won best rap album at the Grammy’s for The Eminem Show, he notably shouted out a list of rappers who inspired him to pick up a mic:
“Run DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Dr. Dre, NWA, KRS-One, Treach from Naughty By Nature, Nas, Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z… Thank you, ‘cause I learn from all of you”
Eminem Grammy Acceptance Speech
Outside of being a veritable who’s who of major rap artists from the late 1980’s to the early 2000’s…
…It is also a list of talented rap artists who have pretty much every style in the book. Whether it’s the pumped up party anthems of Run DMC and Beastie Boys, to the gritty social commentary of Nas and Tupac, all the way to ‘mainstream’ rappers like Jay-Z and LL Cool J…
It’s clear that Eminem learned from every different type of rap he listened to, and if you do the same… it’s a good sign you’re meant to become a rapper.
3. You have been known as a hard worker in the past
There’s an old saying I like to repeat often… “The way you do anything is the way you do everything”.
As somebody who known for helping rappers on my little corner of the Internet… I get a lot of artists who approach me for management or just to help them in general.
One of the funny things I don’t usually admit is that I’m less concerned with them having a “perfect flow” or “sick mixing” and more how often they work on their music and how hard they work in other areas of their life.
How you work in other areas of your life is a big indicator of how successful you’ll be as a rapper because MANY of the things you’ll have to do as a rapper… you WON’T want to do.
While it may seem fun to go on a world tour and do shows in a bunch of cities you’ve never been…
You have to remember you’ll be required to:
- Show up 5-6 hours before every show, often hungover or stoned out of your mind if that’s your thing
- Sound check… go back to your hotel while possibly being mobbed by people
- Not be able to leave the hotel room and be stuck there like a prison at times
- Have failed relationships because you’re never in one place too long
- Miss important family events
- Deal with the stress of the press, ignore your phone in case you freak out on a troll and destroy your career
If nothing else this is A LOT OF WORK. And if you aren’t a person that can deal with the stress of a REGULAR job or a few CREDIT HOURS IN SCHOOL…
Why do you think you’ll be able to handle the pressures of success and fame?
If you’re a hustler now, you’ll be a hustler then.
4. People compliment your voice a lot
After about 3-4 years into rapping, I began to get compliments from random strangers about my voice… they would say things like, “You have a great voice…” or “Do you do music? Your voice is amazing!”
Believe it or not, when I was younger I had a pretty squeaky nerd-type voice due to the fact both of my parents work in education and taught me to speak “The King’s English”.
When I began rapping, I was spending hours of my day manipulating my voice not only to deliver lyrics, but to interact with the instruments in a way people enjoy…
…So it’s no surprise that with a few years of experience, that lead to people… enjoying it.
If you have heard compliments on your speaking voice before, this is a great sign you’re going to become a rapper…
…If on the other hand, like many beginning rappers, you dislike your voice, then that’s a clear signal you want to speak the next couple of years focusing on developing a delivery that’s pleasing to the audience’s ears.
5. You find yourself wanting to write your thoughts down
To this day, when I am in an emotionally heightened state… whether that be from stress or feeling really good…
I feel “driven” to write things down. Sometimes it’s rap, sometimes it’s poetry, sometimes it’s just a straight journal…
…But at the very base level rappers are writers… so if you feel the urge to WRITE… that’s a good sign you’re meant to be a rapper.
2Pac notably first started “rapping” by converting the poems he wrote into a more rhythmic form over a beat. Logic recently started releasing novels.
Remember this: most “regular” people don’t feel the urge to write their thought down, ever. They just go about their day and “think alot”… or don’t think at all.
Since rapping is as much a form of writing as a form of music, if you tend to find yourself writing down your thoughts down, it’s a good sign you’re meant to become a rapper.
6. You joke around a lot
If you are known as a prankster or somebody with a good sense of humor, it’s a good sign you’d be good at rap.
Part of the reason for this is that rap is built on a lot of word games or perspective shifts to help illustrate the emotions the audience feels.
Humor is also built on using words to produce an emotional reaction… in this case, laughter.
If you think of some of the most heralded rappers of all time from Redman to 50 Cent to Lil’ Wayne to more recently the late XXXTentaction, they were very well known for their sense of humor both on and off the mic.
7. You like being the center of attention
As somebody who’s been coaching rappers online for over a half a decade at this point, one of the more terrifying things I come across is a phenomenon I call “bedroom rappers”.
These are people that only rap alone in their bedroom, may or may not have invested thousands of dollars into a studio, and convince themselves they’re meant for the big time it’s just they need a “break”.
The problem here is even if that “break” comes if this bedroom rapper is not confident in their skills in front of other people…
…It’s unlikely they’ll deliver well when it comes to perform in front of tens of thousands of people at an arena or on a television show they know will be seen by millions.
With this in mind, most of the famous people I’ve met in L.A. (and out here you meet a LOT of famous people of course), enjoy being the center of attention in almost any situation…
…ESPECIALLY if it’s to display their art.
Even artists who may be well known as private individuals off the stage like Eminem or on the R&B side, Beyonce…
…When the lights come on, they are like a different person. When it’s time to be the center of attention, they relish in it.
If you like being the center of attention, that’s a great sign you’re meant to become a rapper.
8. You Have Above Average Social Skills
We put this because similar to the point we made about hard work… It’s extremely crucial for you to understand that becoming a rapper involves more than just knowing HOW TO RAP.
You need to be able to use your social skills to convince people that you are not only the one for them to follow and believe in…
…But that you are a worthwhile FINANCIAL INVESTMENT.
Even if you are fully independent and run your own record label, you are going to have partners and employees who need to enjoy working with you, for you, and investing their TIME (WHICH IS MONEY)…
…Towards making you the biggest artist you can be. So the more socially skilled you are to continue to fan the flames of belief in you and as a brand, the better of you’ll be.
Additionally, if you don’t have any money and you are still starting from the ground up, the more socially skilled you are, the most likely people will be willing to help you (or even full-on work for you) for free or being underpaid…
…Because your charm and charisma will keep them excited to be part of your team.
9. You have a rebellious side
It goes without saying that the DMX’s and the 2Pac’s of the world had or have a rebellious side.
But I would put to you that even the more quiet, lyrical rappers have rebellion against an unjust system in their heart as well…
…They just may translate into song or story form, the way that MCs like Kendrick Lamar, Nas, and J. Cole do.
On the flip side “fun turn up” rappers like Juicy J or Wiz Khalifa are well documented as being rebellious in their party antics when on tour.
If you are a person that bucks your nose at the system, whether that be political or social, it’s a great sign you’re meant to become a rapper.
10. You rap even when things are going bad
I put this as last because I think it’s important to remember that everybody who gets good at rap does it through both GOOD and BAD times as they finally reach success.
There seems to be this idea floating around lately that if you are always “losing motivation to write” you are meant to be a rapper.
Absolutely not. If you keep losing motivation to play basketball, you are not meant to play in the NBA.
If you keep losing motivation to leave the house and chase girls at the bar… you are not going to be Hugh Hefner.
Every single major rapper regardless of lyrical skill did music because they truly FELT like do music… it was something that brought them JOY not STRESS.
Often when rappers STOP feeling joy from making music, that’s when they retire or take a hiatus. But the idea that you just STOP rapping because things are TOUGH is a joke…
Most of the best music is made when you’re directly in the struggle.
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