How To Write A Rap Song That Your Friends Will Enjoy
In today’s article we’re going to give you something that I know a lot of you want to learn about: how to write a rap song that your friends will enjoy.
We’ll set this up in a step-by-step format so that you can not only be sure by the end of this article you’ll know how to do it…
…But also that it is a repeatable format that you can do over and over again and turn your friends into fans…
…Which is the goal, ain’t it?
Now, before we break into this be sure to subscribe to our “How To Rap” YouTube channel by clicking HERE where we give you weekly videos on not just how to write a rap song your friends will enjoy, but how to transition from an amateur “bedroom rapper” until a professional-level rap artist…
…AND if you would like to learn how to write a rap song of quality basically on command, be sure to get our brand new free video course, “How To Write A Rap On ANY Topic In 20 Mins. Or Less” by clicking HERE
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Step 1: Select A Beat Style They Already Like
As the old saying goes, “People never forget a first impression”… and in this case, you’re trying to make a GOOD first impression when it comes to showing your friends your music.
The easiest cheat code in the book is start by selecting a beat style you ALREADY know they’ll enjoy.
The trick here is if you are JUST making a song to impress your friends (but not necessarily release to the MASSES)… you can skew the instrumental choice to something you know they’ll be into.
This will be the first step to making them HAVE to admit they like the song.
When you’re learning how to write a rap song that your friends will enjoy, you always have to skew the odds in your favor, and so having a competitive mentality where you’ll basically force them to nod their head through smart beat selection will help start you off on the right foot.
If you’re having trouble thinking of what kind of beat they like, the easiest way to know (without blowing your cover and asking them) is to think of what rapper they ALWAYS seem to defend…
…If you were to stay your friends were a “Stan” or a “super-fan” of one particular rapper… what would that rapper be? Trust your gut.
So, for example – if you have that “one friend” who is always talking about Tyler The Creator, it should go without saying that you probably want to create a track on a Tyler The Creator type beat to get them excited.
Similarly, if your whole friend group is into more auto-tune based rap such as NBA Youngboy or someone like that, be sure to only purse those types of beats for the purposes of making a track that your friends will enjoy.
Once you have that rapper’s name in your head… choose that style of beat.
Step 2: Write A Chorus Based On Slang They Already Use
People who aren’t rappers or musicians often like songs because it sounds like something THEY would say… especially on the chorus.
If somebody hears a song with a chorus that has a phrase that they ALREADY use in conversation or WOULD use in conversation if they were as a witty as a rapper…
Usually they end up liking the song.
This is one of the reasons why songs like “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar or “God’s Plan” by Drake are such big hits.
How many times even BEFORE that song came out had you heard people saying “You just gotta be humble” or “It’s all God’s plan”?
Don’t think for one second that the world’s most well-known and/or respected rappers are not culling their biggest hits from expressions already used in their peer group…
Because they definitely are.
One side comment or joke from your friends might be your next major hit, so be sure to keep an ear out for the kinds of slang and expressions you and your homies use.
Pro-tip: keep a note in your notes app on your phone list down all of the common expressions each one of your top 5 closest friends say the most. Start practicing writing songs around those phrases as the title and main chorus concept.
Because the main concept of the chorus is ALREADY something they would say in everyday conversation, your homies (and probably other people) will naturally be drawn to it.
In your case, think about the most common slang or jokes that you and your friends use and MAKE THAT the title of the song.
If you are from a particular city or country where they have a unique slang word, consider making the song about that.
One random video I saw recently that might help you think about this is about New York slang by the YouTuber Fanum.
He’s a young kid from The Bronx who just runs through all the slang people use in New York these days and it’s pretty thorough actually.
In any case, you might want to watch that video because although there’s a lot of New York slang in it, there’s also just a lot of slang that everybody uses these days that you might get an idea for a song from.
Watch the video by clicking HERE.
Step 3: Make The Subject Matter Aspirational
What I mean by this is make the song about something that you and your homies aspire to doing.
That could be traveling the world, that could be getting a lot of money, that could be helping the community, it could be anything that y’all ALL want to do in the future.
It doesn’t have to be necessarily cliche mainstream rap things like fly cars, clothes, and cash, but it has to be something that will inspire them to want to grind and listen to the song other than the time you FIRST play it.
The reason to do this is because if you make a song that’s super braggadocious, even if it’s HOT…
…Your friends will probably hate on it ‘cause they’re your homey and just see you as a regular person and not some big superstar.
You are setting yourself up to get clowned if you brag too much on this song.
If you make the song too depressing or too “deep” they’ll also probably clown you for being all soft… even if you saying some real stuff.
Again if the goal is to make a track that IMPRESSES THEM and go crazy, better to talk about reaching your highest goals as a clique and they will HAVE to love it.
I personally have used this trick many times, where I create tracks that I know my friends will feel inspired by, whether that’s a track about hustling to success for my friends who are really into motivational content, or whether that’s a song about traveling for my friends who live in other countries and I have met on tour.
The real key here is to again “force” them to admit they like it by speaking directly to what they enjoy.
Step 4: Switch The Flow Often
One of the reasons why friends might doubt your rap skills if they think you have a boring flow or the rhythm of your words is unoriginal.
A way to keep them on their toes is to make sure that you change the rhythm of your rhymes and flow more often than your friends would expect.
If you are pretty new to flow and rhythms, check out our “Rap Flow Techniques” playlist on YouTube by clicking HERE which will get you acclimated to the different possibilities and pockets you can hit.
But MAKE SURE that you are changing the speed and tempo of your words often to keep them impressed.
One of the easiest ways to get your friends NOT to enjoy your work is by having a predictable, stiff, and static flow by not having enough switches in tempo and syncopation with your words.
That’s the kind of thing that even the friends feel like THEY could do well, so you want to add in a little spice in your flow to allow your friends to know they CAN’T do what you do, and you’ve been stepping it up lately.
Step 5: Use More Advanced Rhymes Than Normal
Similar to flow, your friends will be INSTANTLY impressed if you are using rhymes that THEY couldn’t think of even if they tried.
Check out these two videos on rhyming like Eminem and creating an infinite number of rhymes to help you think of some unexpected rhyme choices that will BLOW THEIR MINDS when you drop the track (HERE and HERE).
But on this particular point, make sure that you go back and look at your rhymes before you record it to make sure nothing is too elementary or expected.
Your friends will ABSOLUTELY ROAST you if the song is filled with “game / name” or “lit / hit” rhymes.
Again just like in step 5, you have to remember that your friends will not be impressed by rhyme patterns they think THEY can do as well.
So, throw in some multi-syllable rhymes and pronoun rhymes to get them surprised. Again you can find more information on that on our rhyming videos above.
Step 6: Keep The Song Structure Concise
What I mean by this is make sure that you have a nice, clear chorus repeated two or three times, keep your verses roughly the same length, and maybe throw in a third section like a bridge in there…
…But DO NOT try to reinvent the wheel here and try to have verse 1 be like 32 bars long and verse 2 have like 12 bars… or not exist at all…
…MOST major songs that MOST people like, including your friends… are simple, straight to the point chorus-verse-chorus-verse songs, so in order to reach your goal…
Be sure to make it a concise, tried-and-true song structure. If you need more information on that, when you sign up for our free video course, “The Top 20 Songwriting Secrets of Professional Rappers” by clicking HERE for more info on rap song structure.
Step 7: Use MORE Than One Rap Voice In Your Song
This means that you should have the EXACT same vocal tone on every single bar or in every single section of the song.
One of the reasons amateur rappers sound boring to people (including your friends) is because they don’t know how to manipulate their vocal delivery in different ways that keeps the song interesting.
There are many things that keep a song interesting from the rhyme choice, to the song structure to the beat selection… all the things we’ve mentioned… and as well… the VOCAL DELIVERY.
No matter how experienced you are to vocal delivery, be sure to at least throw in two or THREE voices, such as having the chorus be a different vocal tone than the verse… and again your friends will be impressed because it will sound more professional.
Step 8: Don’t Only Make Music To Impress Your Friends!
This final step is a little bit of reverse psychology but essentially I mean that if you want to get good at music, you shouldn’t ONLY really on your friends opinion to create epic stuff.
If you wanted to run a multimillion dollar business, you wouldn’t only try to sell products to people you know…
…And if you wanted to join the NBA you wouldn’t ONLY play against players you know…
…You would branch out and challenge yourself to be heard and gain knowledge from other people’s opinions.
This article is a roadmap on how to consistently “trick” your FRIENDS into enjoying your music, but if you want to make this a consistent skill and impress even STRANGERS…
Don’t put all your eggs into one basket!
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