how to rap like eminem

[juelz21]

goes without saying that an emcee without flow is
like Clark Kent without a telephone booth. Like Duke
Ellington without that swing. Know what I mean? But
what is flow anyway?
A rapper’s flow is the way that he raps, the way that
he enunciates certain words, puts emphasison other
words, puts words on certain beats or off-beats.
Technically, flow is separate from the writing itself, so
that two rappers rapping the same lines would have
different flows. But since almost every emcee raps
rhymes that he writes, flow and writing are closely
intertwined.
Since flow is so personal and varies so much from
emcee to emcee, it’s also one of the hardest things
to teach. As you’re reading through this lesson, the
most important thing to remember is that your flow
should be your own. You might copy Eminem’s flow
for a while as you’re practicing and learning, but the
goal in the end is to find your own flow, your own
voice, your own style. All of the information here is
just a starting block. It’s up to you to take it farther
and develop it into something amazing that no one’s
ever done before.
Before we go on, let’s make sure we all understand
what we mean by “line” and “bar,” because I’m going to
use these terms a lot in this section.
A bar is 4 beats
This is a little tricky because rappers and musicians
use different definitions of the word “bar.“ To some
rappers, a bar is two lines of a verse (i.e. one completed
rhyme). To other rappers it is one line of a verse. To a
musician, a bar has nothing to do with lyrics, it has to
do with the beat. And this is the definition we’re going
to use.
A bar is the time it takes to count to 4 on rhythm in a
song. This is only true of songs in 4/4 time signature,
but that includes every single rap song I’ve ever heard.
Typically the snare drum will hit on the 2nd and 4th beat in each bar. Most rap verses are either 8 or 16 bars
long. A line is whatever lyrics a rapper spits over one
bar.
Basic Tips on Flow
While every flow is unique, there are a few general
things that you can do to improve yours.
1. Count Syllables
Counting syllables is the most basic way you can make
sure that your flow is solid. The number of syllables in
your line will depend on how fast you rap, but generally
you’re going to want between 10-16 syllables per line.
You probably want most of your lines to match up in
the number of syllables. Here’s what can happen when
they don’t match up. These lines contain some good
elements but are wrecked because of the flow.
My lyrics so good, God’s reading them in heaven,
plus you know I got more bars than the candy aisle
in 7/11
Here’s the problem with that: there’s way too many
syllables in the second line. It breaks down like this:
line one has 14 syllables. Line two has 18 syllables.
That’s not going to work.
But it’s easy to fix. I’ll just find 4 syllables that I can
take out of line two without hurting the meaning of
the line. First of all, we can take out the phrase “plus
you know” from line two. That phrase is a filler anyway,
and all it does is hurt the flow. That’s 3 syllables gone,
but I want to get rid of 1 more. So I’ll change “the
candy aisle” to “candy aisles,” which gets rid of that
extra syllable. Now we’ve got:
My lyrics so good, God’s reading them in heaven,
I got more bars then candy aisles in 7/11
It’s much better. Line one has 14 syllables. Line two
has 14 syllables. The flow is much smoother. Whether
they’re conscious of it or not, lots of pro rappers keep
their syllable counts the same from line to line. Here’s
an example from Chamillionaire’s “Riding Dirty,” a big
single in 2006. Chamillionaire, a talented Houston
rapper and teenage friend of Paul Wall, rose to national
fame when Houston took over the hip-hop world in late
2005. Dubbed the “Mixtape Messiah,” Chamillionaire
made a name for himself with his deep, versatile voice
and lyrical agility.
Line # of syllables
Houston Texas, you can check my tags 9
pull me over try to check my slab 9
glove compartment gotta get my cash 9
cause the crooked cops try to come up fast 10
In these bars, Chamillionaire uses the same syllables in each bar. Most rap verses are either 8 or 16 bars
long. A line is whatever lyrics a rapper spits over one
bar.
Basic Tips on Flow
While every flow is unique, there are a few general
things that you can do to improve yours.
1. Count Syllables
Counting syllables is the most basic way you can make
sure that your flow is solid. The number of syllables in
your line will depend on how fast you rap, but generally
you’re going to want between 10-16 syllables per line.
You probably want most of your lines to match up in
the number of syllables. Here’s what can happen when
they don’t match up. These lines contain some good
elements but are wrecked because of the flow.
My lyrics so good, God’s reading them in heaven,
plus you know I got more bars than the candy aisle
in 7/11
Here’s the problem with that: there’s way too many
syllables in the second line. It breaks down like this:
line one has 14 syllables. Line two has 18 syllables.
That’s not going to work.
But it’s easy to fix. I’ll just find 4 syllables that I can
take out of line two without hurting the meaning of
the line. First of all, we can take out the phrase “plus
you know” from line two. That phrase is a filler anyway,
and all it does is hurt the flow. That’s 3 syllables gone,
but I want to get rid of 1 more. So I’ll change “the
candy aisle” to “candy aisles,” which gets rid of that
extra syllable. Now we’ve got:
My lyrics so good, God’s reading them in heaven,
I got more bars then candy aisles in 7/11
It’s much better. Line one has 14 syllables. Line two
has 14 syllables. The flow is much smoother. Whether
they’re conscious of it or not, lots of pro rappers keep
their syllable counts the same from line to line. Here’s
an example from Chamillionaire’s “Riding Dirty,” a big
single in 2006. Chamillionaire, a talented Houston
rapper and teenage friend of Paul Wall, rose to national
fame when Houston took over the hip-hop world in late
2005. Dubbed the “Mixtape Messiah,” Chamillionaire
made a name for himself with his deep, versatile voice
and lyrical agility.
Line # of syllables
Houston Texas, you can check my tags 9
pull me over try to check my slab 9
glove compartment gotta get my cash 9
cause the crooked cops try to come up fast 10
In these bars, Chamillionaire uses the same syllables each time except for the last line when he goes double
time on the words “cause the” leading into the line. (In
fact, he is rhyming in double time throughout, but his
syllables are still consistent). Putting the same number
of syllables in your lines like Chamillionaire does will
prevent them from being choppy and awkward. There
are sometimes, though, when you’ll want to use a
different number of syllables in each line to mix it up.
Just make sure you know that you’re doing it.
2. Prominent vs. Silent
More important than the number of syllables is what
kind of syllables you’re dealing with. We’ve already
covered what prominent vs. silent syllables are, check
out the chapter on multies if you need a refresher.
Let’s use the “Riding Dirty” lyrics from above and look
at what stresses Chamillionaire puts on each syllable.
Remember “/” means prominent or stressed, and “–“
means silent or unstressed.
/ - / - / - / - /
Houston Texas, you can check my tags
/ - / - / - / - /
pull me over try to check my slab
/ - / - / - / - /
glove compartment gotta get my cash
- - / - / - - / - /
‘cause the crooked cops try to come up fast
He stresses almost all the same syllables in each line to
make the rap come out smooth and uniform. The only
exception is the last line, which has an extra syllable
in it. I wonder if Chamillionaire’s high school English
teacher ever told him that he was rapping in trochaic
pentameter, which is the metric opposite of the iambic
pentameter that Shakespeare used. That’s a little trivia
in case you’re ever on final Jeopardy and the subject is
Chamillionaire vs. Shakespeare.
As you write your own raps, make sure that you’re
stressing similar syllables in each line. If you decide
to break this pattern, make sure you’re doing it for a
reason. If you’re not keeping track, your prominent
and silent syllables can really mess up your flow. This
simple example will show you what I mean. So some
kid on the internet wrote these lines:
I’m gonna kill all and murder you especially
I’ll do it easily ‘cause your not better than me
He probably counted the syllables in each line and
found out that there’s 14 in the first line, and 14 in the
second line. So he figures the syllables match so the
flow will be dope. But he’s wrong. Flow is about more
than the number of syllables. Look what happens when we check out the stressed syllables. Pay close
attention to the rhymes at the end of the lines.
- / - / / - / - / - / - -
I’m gonna kill all and murder you especially
- / - / - / - / - / - - /
I’ll do it easily ‘cause you’re not better than me
You can see from the meter that these rhymes won’t
work. It’s true that “especially” and “better than me”
are rhymes, but they’re bad rhymes because they’re
pronounced differently. You accent different syllables
when you say them. In “especially,” the “ly” is not
stressed, but in “better than me” the “me” is stressed.
Don’t rhyme a prominent syllable with a silent syllable.
It makes the rhyme sound uneven. Not every single
one of your lines with have exactly the same meter and
speech pattern. That’s okay. Just make sure that the
rhyming syllables are stressed the same way.
Practice This
Write out a rhyme and then mark the meter using slashes
and dashes to analyze how you use unstressed and
stressed syllables. Try to make sure your lines match up.
3. Breath Control
Ever heard those beginner emcees who have to gasp
for air between lines? There’s a reason you don’t hear
Snoop Dogg doing that. He has breath control.
Breath control is actually closely related to the stressed
and unstressed syllable count. The important thing is
to make sure your words are evenly spaced and aren’t
too packed into the line. Unless you’re Tonedeff or
Twista, you shouldn’t be putting 20 syllables in each
line or you’re going to run out of breath. Keep the
syllable count closer to 14, and you’ll ensure enough
space to breath.
Your breathing doesn’t always have to come at the
end of the bar, but most of the time it will. In general,
try to breathe from your diaphragm (your stomach,
basically) not just your lungs. You’ll get more air and
more control over your air flow.
4. Rhyme Scheme
Where in the line you rhyme has a lot to do with how
you flow it. For that reason, a tight rhyme scheme will
always help out your flow. For beginners: keep your
rhymes on the 4th beat of each measure (the second
snare hit in most songs). Make sure that you’re
dropping a rhyme every-other time that snare hits.
For more advanced rappers: use the in-rhyme and
multi-rhyme lessons to switch up your rhymes. You
can also take the rhymes off of the 4th beat, and move
them elsewhere in the bar. Speed
Fast
The speed with which you spit your rhymes determines
your flow as well. Speed is usually measured by how
many syllables you’re spitting in each bar. Emcees
typically drop 12-16 syllables per bar. As noted earlier,
don’t force it. Do what feels natural. And try to mix
it up.
One example of some emcees who spit fast but keep
it mixed are the two guys in Dead Prez, M-1 and
Sticman. The two bring some wild lyrical stylings to
their overtly political rap songs that tackle everything
from the failing school system and police brutality
to political propaganda and how radio stations try to
control your mind. They’re definitely worth checking
out and studying closely.
Pro Example
Hip-hop means sayin what I want never bite my
tongue, Hip-hop means teaching the young
If you feelin what I’m feelin then you hear what
I’m sayin cause these fake fake records just
keep on playin
What you sayin huh? DP bringin the funk
Let the bassline rattle your trunk, uhhh!
Punk pig with a badge wanna handcuff me
cuz my pants they tend to sag
Dead Prez, “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop”
Check out the example from “It’s Bigger than Hip-
Hop”. It’s some wild stuff. The rapper M-1 uses lots
of in-rhyme, lots of syllables and words, and a few
multies. Where he really differentiates himself from
other rappers, though, is how his rhyme scheme is all
over the place. None of his rhymes fall on the same
beat in the next measure. Instead, it’s almost as if he’s
rhyming out of time.
He’s also using lots of short words. He uses 68 total
words in the four lines, and 83 total syllables. That’s
an amazing 20+ syllables per line.
Practice This
Write a few lines with 15+ syllables per line, where the
rhymes do not fall on 4. The rhymes can happen anywhere
you want, but don’t put them at the end of the bar.
Slow
Some of the most talented emcees out there don’t have
the fastest flows. Don’t equate rapping quickly with
being a good rapper. A really talented rapper can rap at
almost any speed and make it sound good.
As an example of a rapper with a killer flow who raps
slower than M-1 or Eminem, let’s check out some Jay-
Z. Everybody knows that Hova spit some phat raps,
with his one of a kind mixture of hard gangsta edge
with that soft undertone and smooth delivery. Take look at the lyrics from “Moment of Clarity,” in which
Jay-Z claims that he dumbs down his lyrics for his fans
to sell more albums.
Pro Example
If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably
be lyrically, Talib Kweli,
Truthfully I wanted to rhyme
like Common Sense
(But I did five mill) I ain’t been rhyming
like Common since
Jay-Z, “Moment of Clarity”
First thing you notice is that Jigga is using a lot fewer
words than M-1 does. In these lines, he uses only 32
words and 44 syllables. That's just 11 syllables per line.
He’s basically using some really creative variations on
the simple old school flow. But no one’s hating on him
for it. The slow speed make his lines easily understood,
and his clever wordplay on “Common Sense (Since)”
pops out. So do be afraid to rap slower, as long as you
keep it tight.
Practice This
Write a few lines with 10 syllables per line, where the rhymes
fall right on the 4 (the second snare hit). Keep it simple, but
try to make it sound phat.

[juelz21]

Punches are any phrases in your verse that diss your
opponent. Punchlines are lines that contain punches.
Punches can be general, broad attacks (“No skill, lil’
boy, you totally wack,”) or personal (“read my mind,
did your mama cut your hair, or is your barber blind?”).
But they should always hit hard.
Think of a freestyle battle like a boxing match. All the
fancy wordplay and sick flow is just you bobbing and
weaving. It’s important. You might sound good, and
people will feel it, but you can’t ever win the battle and
knock out your opponent if you don’t throw a few good
punches.
Compare these examples:
The tightest flow on the planet to prove I’m the best,
I’m the illest king of the land, ruling all the rest
(no punch)
The tightest flow on the planet to prove I’m the best,
Yo flow’s like thick mucus that get caught in yo chest
(broad punch) Punches are any phrases in your verse that diss your
opponent. Punchlines are lines that contain punches.
Punches can be general, broad attacks (“No skill, lil’
boy, you totally wack,”) or personal (“read my mind,
did your mama cut your hair, or is your barber blind?”).
But they should always hit hard.
Think of a freestyle battle like a boxing match. All the
fancy wordplay and sick flow is just you bobbing and
weaving. It’s important. You might sound good, and
people will feel it, but you can’t ever win the battle and
knock out your opponent if you don’t throw a few good
punches.
Compare these examples:
The tightest flow on the planet to prove I’m the best,
I’m the illest king of the land, ruling all the rest
(no punch)
The tightest flow on the planet to prove I’m the best,
Yo flow’s like thick mucus that get caught in yo chest
(broad punch) Punches are any phrases in your verse that diss your
opponent. Punchlines are lines that contain punches.
Punches can be general, broad attacks (“No skill, lil’
boy, you totally wack,”) or personal (“read my mind,
did your mama cut your hair, or is your barber blind?”).
But they should always hit hard.
Think of a freestyle battle like a boxing match. All the
fancy wordplay and sick flow is just you bobbing and
weaving. It’s important. You might sound good, and
people will feel it, but you can’t ever win the battle and
knock out your opponent if you don’t throw a few good
punches.
Compare these examples:
The tightest flow on the planet to prove I’m the best,
I’m the illest king of the land, ruling all the rest
(no punch)
The tightest flow on the planet to prove I’m the best,
Yo flow’s like thick mucus that get caught in yo chest
(broad punch)

[juelz21]

My flow’s tight like your shirt, how can you breathe?
Yo shirts got the right idea, I think it wants to leave
(personal punch - if your opponent is
wearing a tight shirt)
4. How many punches should I put in my battle?
Ideally you want every or every other line to be a
punchline. So if one line isn’t a punch, it should be
building to one, setting one up. If you were to map a
battle verse visually, it would look like waves, where the
crest of each wave is the punch. The lull in between the
waves builds the audience’s anticipation, but you never
want to let too much time go by without delivering
another carefully-honed attacked.
Take the battle in 8 Mile. Eminem’s character Rabbit
is battling a dude named Lickity Split. This is part
of Lickity Split’s verse. Though he ends up loseing
to “Rabbit”, he comes with a pretty hard verse. Let’s
analyze the punches.
You ain’t Detroit, I’m the D
(weak semi-personal punch)
You're the New Kid on the Block
(leading to...)
'Bout to get smacked back to the boondocks
(personal punch, but not hard)
Lil’ Nazi, this crowd ain’t your type
(leading to...)
Take some real advice and form a group with Vanilla Ice
(semi-personal punch)
And what I tell you, you better use it
(no punch)
This guy’s a hillbilly, this ain’t Willie Nelson music
(semi-personal punch)
Trailer trash, I’ll choke you to your last breath
(broad punch)
And have you lookin foolish
(leading to...)
Like Cheddar Bob when he shot himself
(personal punch)
Silly Rabbit, I know why they call you that
(leading to...)
Cuz you follow Future like you got carrots up his ass crack
(hard personal punch)
And when you actin up that’s when you got jacked up
(personal punch)
And left stupid like Tina Turner when she got smacked up
(broad punch)
I crack ya shoulder blade, you’ll get dropped so hard
(leading to…)
that Elvis will start turning in his grave
(weak personal punch)
I don’t know why they left you out in the dark
(leading to…)
Ya need to take your white ass back across 8 Mile to the
trailer park
(personal punch As you can see, every line was either a punch or leading
to one. Overall, it was a solid battle verse, though he
did make some mistakes, which is why he ultimately
lost. First of all, his punches were all basically dissing
the same thing: Eminem is white / he doesn’t live in
Detroit. The broken record approach is not a successful
battle technique, like a basketball player with only
one shot. The reason that Michael Jordan or Lebron
James are so lethal on the court is because of how
versatile they are. They’re threats from 3-point range,
and they’re threats with an inside lane. By sticking to
basically one topic, Lickety Split opens himself up to
Eminem, who can now easily flip the one-dimensional
disses back in Lickety’s face.
5. How should I use broad punches?
To my mind, broad punches are over-used, but they do
have their place. Broad punches are anything that you
could spit to one emcee just as easily as you could spit it
to another. These rhymes are easy to write beforehand,
unlike specific punches. It’s a good idea to write some
broad punches that you can pull out whenever you get
stuck, or weave into your battle rap between personal
punches.
Since broad punches don’t hit as hard as personal
attacks do, make sure that your broad punches are
funny, intelligent, or lyrically impressive. Compare
these:
I’m only battling ya
to prove the point that you a sell out,
so when I come round with the ak and 9 out,
yo its lights out
This broad punch is weak. There’s no metaphor, no
vocabulary, no wordplay, no multies, and it rhymes
“out” with “out” with “out.” The only punch in there is
a gun punch, and gun punches are played out. They’re
rarely creative, and weak rappers love ‘em. So put
your imaginary AK and 9 back in your pants and spit
something real. Check this out, from a Texas rapper
named smtxgraffin, writing on the internet:
Why do you spit corny punches that nobody
understands?
You ain’t in my league, I’m pitchin’ at you underhand
This is a broad punch (it could be specific if his opponent
is spitting truly corny punches), but it works because
of the play on “league” and the creativity of the line
“pitchin’ at you underhand.” Plus “understands” and
“underhand” is a dope rhyme.
In general, use broad punches sparingly, and when you
use one, make sure it’s tight. How should I use personal punches?
Personals are the bread and butter of the veteran battle
rapper. Not only do they cut down your opponent,
but because they are basically impossible to write
beforehand (unless you know who you’re battling the
night before) they show off your freestyle prowess.
Use personals as much as you can in your battle raps.
7. How do I write personals?
Here’s the trick: as soon as you know who your
opponent is going to be, start analyzing him and
breaking him down. If you’re at a contest, as soon as
they announce your match-up, find out which guy is
going against you and take a look at him / ask about
him. If two emcees are battling at a party and you want
to jump in, figure out who you’ll be battling. If you’re
battling in an online forum, as soon as you know who
you’re up against, go and read a bunch of his old battles
and old posts. You want to dig up as much info as you
can that you can use in your raps. In the example from
8-Mile above, Lickety Split disses Eminem in these
personal ways:
*he’s not from Detroit
*his friend Cheddar Bob shot himself in the foot
*his friend Future hosts the battle
*he’s white
*he lives in the trailer park
*he got beat up by a bunch of Lickety Split’s friends
That’s a lot of personal information that Lickety Split
used against him, even if most of his attacks were
too similar. In general the more you can find out the
better. A good place to start is superficial details: what
he’s wearing / his name / what he looks like. Let’s say
the guy you’re battling is wearing two hoodies on top
of one another:
Couldn’t decide which shirt to wear so u wore both G?
U could wear 6 shirts and u still won’t hold the trophy

[Sam.]

u can be banned for triple + posting nikka

[juelz21]

Punchlines are definitely the most integral part of a
battle verse. The previous chapter discussed punchlines
at some length, but they’re important enough to merit
even more attention.
Three Common Problems with Punchlines
1. Too General / Played Out
I mentioned this in the last chapter, but it’s important
enough to highlight once again. If your punches are
general (i.e. they could be applied to anyone), then they
better be tight as hell. And if you’re talking about stuff
that everyone talks about, then you better have a new
way of saying it. If all you’re spitting is: “you’re gay,
fu** you, I fu**ed your b*tch, you suck, I’m dope, I shot
you, I’m rich,” just stop. Your verse is wack. Don’t treat
your verse like that. You better love your verse like it
was your own baby. You know what I’m saying? Breast
feed your verse. Yeah, I said it. So what? Spend some
time on your verse, and come creative and innovative
and hard as nails.
2. Don’t Mess Up Your Flow Trying to Fit in a
Punchline
I’ve lost battles for this very reason, and it always
sucks. The trick with using any punchline is not
to disrupt your flow. If you’re writing a verse and a
certain punchline fits, then use it. But if you have to
change up the whole flow of your rhyme to fit it in,
you’re better off finding something else. Here’s an
example of a punchline tripping up some cat’s flow:
Oops you’re dead, just shot your head,
you should pass the microphone to your team like
Jason Kidd
The first line isn’t bad, but the second line seems stuck
on randomly. The second line is much longer than the
first (it has 14 syllables, the first has 7). The whole
thing comes off as uneven. Avoid that.
3. Don’t Overwrite Punches
A common problem among smart beginners is to
overwrite their lines. It’s a thin line to walk. You want
to make sure your lines aren’t boring and simple and played out, but you can’t spit obscure references or
convoluted rhymes. You don’t want to be stupid, but
you can be too clever too. Check this:
You couldn’t en-’Tyse’ ‘Mikes’ if you won at ‘Punch-Out’
So that line is referencing the old Nintendo boxing
game, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out! But the line barely
makes sense. It plays with the word “entice,” but “entice
mics” isn’t a saying. It doesn’t really mean anything.
It’s wordplay, but it isn’t funny or very clever. When
you’re stretching it that far, it’s time for a rewrite or a
whole new line. Here’s another example of what you
should avoid at all costs. Let’s say I’m battling someone
on the net, and I drop this:
You know who I am,
the one these players love to hate,
I discuss first cause in my first clause like
the Saladin-Gish debate*
*In 1988, the Dr. Kenneth S. Saladin and Dr. Daune
T. Gish debated the theory of evolution. In the first
clause of Saladin’s argument, he made reference to
the old thirteenth century “First Cause” argument,
which states that everything must have a cause.
Ok, here’s a general rule: never, ever, ever include a
footnote to your raps. A battle verse shouldn’t be like
a treatise on oceanographic currents in the Byzantine
Empire. If you have to include a footnote, then your
punchline is never going to hit as hard as it should.
Rewrite it. Another rule: if you’re going to reference
something smart, make sure people understand the
basic idea of what you’re talking about.
This is cool:
I’m like Zeus throwing lyrical lightning bolts
But this is not cool:
I’m like Hephaestus, cuz my arts too crafty*
(*Hephaestus was the Greek god of arts and crafts.)
You can drop that as a joke, but not as a serious punch.
You’d get laughed off the stage. So overall: spit smart,
but don’t overwrite. And don’t include footnotes.
Battles are supposed to be between two opponents
spitting live on a stage or a street corner or in a living
room. There are no footnotes in real life.
Popular types of Punchlines
Use this list of popular types of punchlines to get
ideas on forming punchlines, but also be careful. If
a punchline has made this list, that means it’s been
covered a lot. If you’re going to use one of these
types of punches, make sure to use them creatively,
otherwise your punchline is going to sound like news
from the day before yesterday. Wordplay Punchlines
Like I mentioned in the previous chapter, punchlines
with wordplay are often some of the most effective and
interesting lines you can drop. Not only do they diss
your opponent, but they show off your lyrical skills
and get the audience laughing. Check out this example
from Wordsworth on “Twice Inna Lifetime”:
In rhyme battles, you’ll dial nine,
just to get a line out
Wordsworth is referencing the fact that in most office
buildings or schools you have to dial “9” on phones
before you make a call outside the system. This kind of
punchline isn't the hardest punch in the world, but it
will always win you points with the crowd, which is the
key to winning. Do your best to make something that
both disses and is truly clever. Consult the Wordplay
chapter for more on how to create rhymes with
wordplay. Here’s one more example from B-Ghutta on
EmceeBattleForum.com:
Ok prophet,
you done stepped into the wrong domain...
So i’ll just Kill u in the first two lines
like some strong cocaine
As discussed in the Metaphors chapter, B-Ghutta is
using a metaphor with wordplay, a killer combination.
The “you couldn’t _____ if you _____ “ Punchline
One of the most popular types of punchlines are the
“you couldn’t _____ if you _____” punches. These
punchlines almost always involve wordplay as well.
For example:
You couldn’t spit fire if you had lighter fluid saliva
You couldn’t rock if your mom was granite / your
pops was quartz
You couldn’t play me if your middle name was Atari
You couldn’t hit me if this was Blackjack and you
was the dealer.
This is a really popular type of punchline (they’re used
all over the internet). These punches can be very
effective when done correctly, but they can also come
out corny, stupid and awkward. As with all punchlines,
just make sure they don’t mess up your flow and
they’re not overwritten. When done right, though,
these punches hit hard.
Make sure to mix it up. There are lots of variations
on this type of punch that you can use. You can easily
change “you couldn’t” to “you wouldn’t, you can’t, you
won’t, you aren’t.” The “you [doing something] is like [something
unlikely]” Punchline
A variation of the “you couldn’t blah if you blah”
punch is the “you [doing something] is like [something
unlikely]”. These punchlines are usually unique enough
that they don’t need any wordplay. But they almost
always involve historical or cultural references.
You rocking me is like Jessica Simpson finding the
cure for cancer
You winning this is like Mr. Rogers
singing “I hate kids”
Those lines work fine by themselves, but you can
also explain what you mean in the next line. Like
this example, which involves an interesting rhyme
scheme:
U beating me is like a Jew becoming the next pope,
it ain’t gonna happen, so quit hopin’, ‘n stop rappin’
There are other good variations of this type of punch.
As always, make sure you use variations if you find
yourself using this type of punch more than once or
twice.
You punching me?
You’re more likely to marry Jerry Fallwell
The day you win is the day the Marlboro Man
quits smoking
Punchlines That Diss Your Opponents Name
This type of punchline is made popular thanks to the
large number of wack / unoriginal names that emcees
decide to adopt for themselves. You can easily use
this type of punch when your opponent has a name
involving any combination of the following: lyrical /
verbal / gun / king / diety / ruler / G / chrome / gansta
/ doctor / killer.
Dissing someone’s name is usually a must-do in online
battles, and it’s done a lot in live battles too since your
opponents name is probably the first thing you’ll learn
about them. Try to use other techniques in these
punches to make them strong. Here are two good
examples, both of which involve wordplay. The second
one plays around with “matzah,” which is the bread
that doesn’t rise when cooked, and is eaten during
Passover.
You don’t stand a chance in this race like Hillary,
Dr. Death you’re not a doctor cuz u suck at delivery
Gangsta Masta? more like Gangsta Matzah,
You ain’t rising,
I’ll cook ya young ass up like Gangsta Pasta

[Wreck]

u can be banned for triple + posting nikka

that's a stupid ass way to ban somebody.

[juelz21]

u can be banned for triple + posting nikka

eat a dikk

[juelz21]

Drink Water / Eat Mints
You can’t spit rhymes without salivia. In order to keep
flowing easily on a track, make sure your mouth isn’t
dry. I always have a big bottle of water with me when
I’m on the mic, and I usually drink some or chew some
mints before each verse to get the salivia flowing Punch In or Not to Punch In
To “punch” or “punch in” means to start recording a
verse somewhere in the middle of the verse - i.e. not
starting from the beginning.
For a long time, punching in was thoroughly avoided
by rappers. A rapper who couldn’t spit a verse all the
way through was thought to be weak or unskilled. For
a long time, it was a thing of pride. The best rappers
would step to the microphone, spit it all the way
through once or twice, do some doubles and then be
done.
The good thing about this method (other than the fact
that it’s impressive) is that it ensures an even pitch
and good continuity throughout. The drawback to this
method is that in an effort to show off how skilled you
are, you might not get the best verse on the track. And
if you do make mistakes, you have to start over from
the beginning.
Unless you’re stepping into the booth with Jay-Z
watching, there’s really no need to spit all the way
through. Flow for as long as you can without losing
your breath or messing up. Then punch in somewhere
that makes sense. You want the track to sound
continuous, so try to match your pitch and tone.
Doubling
Doubling vocals means laying a second vocal track on
top of the first to emphasize certain words or phrases.
Most rappers utilize this technique to add depth and
texture to their verses. Here are three techniques.
Standard doubles. The way most rappers double is
to let the track play and occasionally spit a few words
or lines on top of the original. This way they can
emphasize the words they want, and let the rest of
the lines stand on their own. One big problem a lot of
amateur’s have is that they don’t match the pitch and
tone of their original verse and so the double sounds
sloppy. Try to match your tone as you double. Avoid
always doubling just the rhymes at the end of bars.
Tupac-style doubles. Tupac often employed a
technique of doubling himself throughout a verse on
almost every line to add intensity to the whole track.
Depending on your voice, this technique can work very
well or very poorly. The key is to make sure your voice
and flow are identical the second time as they were the
first time. If you can’t get them to match up exactly,
avoid this type of double.
No doubles. Some of the best verses out there don’t
have doubles. When you listen to certain Kanye, Jay-
Z, or Big Daddy Kane, they don’t have doubles and the
verses sound tight. Not every verse needs doubles.

[Sam.]

u can be banned for triple + posting nikka

eat a dikk

that rhymed

[Elision]

[Sam.]

lol its you again

why the fuck wouldbi wanna rap like eminem ? each rapper should have his own unique style
copying eminem would make me more of a stan than a half decent rapper

[juelz21]

THE CURE FOR WRITER’S
BLOCK
Rapping is an art form
One thing I love about hip-hop music that a lot of
haters (and even a lot of closed minded rappers) don’t
understand is that rap music is a form of art. It’s an art
form based on borrowing elements from other forms,
and using them in new ways. Think of the first DJ’s
who took James Brown and Parliment records and
found the hidden break beats in them. DJing itself is
an artform of taking something that already exists, and
using it in a new way, cutting, splicing and scratching.
Obviously, there is no single ‘hip-hop sound.’ When
Afrika Bambatta was presiding over block parties in
the Bronx in the late seventies, he’d instruct the DJ’s
to find break beats in all kinds of music, from jazz
records to funk to soul to gospel to the ‘beach blanket’
pop songs all the white kids were listening to in the
fifties. All of this got incorporated into hip-hop. Rapping itself is a form of art. Rap is poetry, a form of
verbal artistic expression. Because of this, you can rap
to express anything. There are no boundaries on what
rap is or can be.
When the Cold Crush Brothers spit raps at a party,
no one said, “no that’s what rap is supposed to be.”
When Public Enemy made rap political, no one said,
“no, that ain't rap.” When Common rapped about the
emotional toll of deciding to have an abortion with his
girlfriend, nobody said “that’s not appropriate for rap
music.” When Eminem rapped about how he hates his
mom, nobody said “rap isn’t about that.” When I wrote
a song about the revolutionary war, nobody told me
“rap music shouldn’t be teaching history.” Push the
envelope. Express yourself and be real. Innovate.
What not to spit about
This is a hard lesson for a lot of young wannabe
gangstas to learn: don’t fake something you’re not.
There’s nothing sadder in the whole world than a 12
year old suburbanite rapping about sippin’ Crys, sittin’
in the ‘Lac, bustin’ gats, countin’ cash, pimps n’ hoes.
Everybody knows that you’re not a gangster, pimp,
murderer, drug dealer, big baller, millionaire or prison
inmate. You don’t have a rack of gats or a briefcase of
cash, you didn’t have sex with two models last night,
you don’t rock glocks in your tube socks and pull ‘em
out to just drop cops, you don’t have any gold records
on your wall. You don’t know what you’re talking
about. You might as well be rapping about what it feels
like to give birth.
Just because you’re rapping, doesn’t mean you have to
spit the same things Jay-Z spits. Unless you grew up
in the Marcy Projects, were abandoned by your father
as a kid, and dropped out of high school to sell crack
(like he did), don’t rap about it. He’s rapping about his
life. You rap about yours.
The other thing regards women / gay people / and
some minorities. Just because you’re rapping, that
doesn’t mean you have an excuse to be racist, sexist
or homophobic. If that’s how you are in real life,
then that’s your problem to deal with. But if you’re
a sensible person who doesn’t hate other people just
because they fall into a category that you’re not in,
don’t spit that idiocy in your raps. Be real, and respect
other people.
Spit About
As Wikipedia notes, “delivery and wordplay can be
indicative of a rapper’s skill, but the subject of a rap
is equally, if not more significant. A rapper who has
an excellent delivery but lacks substance is frequently
perceived as less skillful than a mediocre rapper who has
a message or story.” Determining the lyrical content
of your music is a crucial decision that some emcees
don’t spend enough time considering. Certainly give
the subject of your rap as much time and consideration
that you give the techniques you use. Almost every
artist who comes with amazing metaphors but spits
about absolutely nothing is destined for total obscurity.
Give it thought, and know that the possibilities are
limitless.
Sometimes, though, with limitless possibilities comes
unending frustration. Writer’s block sets in and
nothing you write seems to work. You begin to criticize
your own ideas as too stupid, too obvious, or too corny.
Hours pass, days pass, and you’re writing nothing. Is
this the end of your illustrious rap career?
Here are just a few basic ideas to get you out of that
writer’s block:
Rap about things around you
If you’re sitting in your car freeing with a friend, rap
about the streetlight out of your window, the fact that
you’re car doesn’t have AC but it’s a hot summer night,
the view, what you’re wearing, what people walking on
the sidewalk are probably doing.
Rap about your life
Rap about what you did that day. What happened at
school, at your job, in your house. Rap about how Julio
came over to play X-box and told you that his sister has
a crush on you. Rap about what you ate for dinner.
I mean the macaroni’s soggy, the peas all mush and the
chicken tastes like wood.
Rap about impressions / frustrations / feelings
Look within yourself for inspiration. Past the surface
we all have a well of energy, and you can turn that
energy into creativity. Look deep. Rap about what you
truly love and what you truly hate. What’s making you
pissed off in your life? Rap about your boss who treats you unfairly. Rap about your teacher who always favors
the jocks in your class. Rap about how mad you are
that your girlfriend / boyfriend just broke up with you.
What’s making you truly happy? Rap about getting up
before everyone else and having the house to yourself.
Rap about hitting that shot, getting that raise, meeting
that person. Rap about your relationship.
Rap about politics / society
Rap about the social world around you. Rap about the
president. Read the newspaper and then rap about the
wall we’re building on the border with Mexico or the
bird flu, or the war in Iraq. That’s realness. Like Mos
Def says, “beef is not what Jay said to Nas / beef is when
working ni**as can’t find jobs.” Rap about history.
Rap about something no one’s ever rapped
before
Push the envelope. Get innovative and provocative.
Rap about birds. Rap about comic books. Rap about
Starbucks or MLK. Rap about ancient Egypt or modern
Tokyo. Rap about what it feels like to take a bath.
Tell stories in rap
Some of the great raps out there are story raps. Any
story that you can tell someone, you can also tell in
rap. Tell the one about getting beat up by some punks,
the one about that crazy ball game, the one about going
fishing with your dad.
Flow without criticizing yourself
Don’t let your conscious mind censor your inner beast.
Do this exercise, which was invented by the surrealists
in France a hundred years ago: write without stopping,
hardly thinking, barely pausing. Just write nonstop.
Flow and flow and flow. Rhyme and rhyme and rhyme.
Kick a freeverse. Sort through the garbage later on.
Diversify
Make every rap you spit be different from the last one
you spit. Take Kanye West’s first album, “The College
Dropout” for example. Each song on the album
addresses a topic that he cares about. Each song
is unique, and it makes the album that much more
listenable. Here are the topics the songs deal with:
*Family reunions (“Family Business”)
*The aftermath of a car crash (“Through the Wire”)
*Dropping out of school (“School Spirit”)
*Jesus (“Jesus Walks”)
*Working out (“The New Workout Plan”)
*Insecurities (“All Falls Down”)
*Getting high (“Get Em High”)
*Working a crappy job (“Spaceship”)
The album features those songs, plus a bunch of
standard tracks just uppin’ himself. And that’s all on
one album. There really is no limit to what you spit
about. It might sound trite, but don’t follow the leader, follow your passions.
“Redundancy is what kills countless mainstream
and underground Emcees. Although they do not
realize it, they have repeated their message and/
or style numerous times and people eventually
get bored with hearing it.” - Anonymous
Borrow Lines from Rakim
Finally, if all else fails and you’re still hitting your head
against the wall because you still can’t think of any
good topic for that new track you’re working on, just
do what all the pros do when they face writer’s block:
steal some lines from Rakim.
Now, this isn’t actually stealing. It’s not biting. With
Rakim, everyone knows you’re doing it because you
love and revere him and respect his influence on hiphop.
Plus, his songs are a near endless source of poetic
lyrics flowed with ease over bangin’ beats. His lyrics
will inspire. So, don’t bite a whole verse, but use one of
his rhymes (or the rhymes of one of your other favorite
emcees) and use those as your hook. Build the rest of
your song around the meaning in those lines.
Just look how great this technique worked for Mos Def,
Eminem, and Talib Kweli. Here’s lyrics from Rakim’s ,
“You Know I Got Soul,” used verbatim as the hook in
Mos Def’s “Love.”
I start to think and then I sink into the paper,
like I was ink, when I’m writing I’m trapped in
between the lines,
I escape when I finish the rhyme
Eminem took the following lyrics from “And the Rhyme
Goes On,” and reworked them for the hook in his “The
Way I Am”:
I’m the R – A – to the K – I – M,
and if I wasn’t then why would I say I am
became:
‘Cause I am whatever you say I am,
and if I wasn’t then why would I say I am
Talib Kweli used these Rakim lyrics as his hook
in “fortified live.” The orginal song is “Follow the
Leader”:
In this journey, you’re the journal, I’m the journalist
Am I eternal, or an eternalist?
So one solution to writer’s block is to use the inspiration
of your hip-hop predecessors as creative fuel.
When to Write
As practice is really the key to improving, you should
be rapping as much as you can. One great thing about
writing rhymes is that you don’t have to do it outloud,
so you can be writing while wating in line, while on the
subway, in the elevator, on a plane, whatever. Keep
a pen and a small notebook with you at all times to
write down some of the rhymes you come up with. If
you want to keep it hi-tech by using your Sidekick or
Blackberry or whatever, do that. Sometimes, if I don’t
have a pad with me and I think of some good lines, I’ll
call myself and leave a voice message of me spitting the
lines and then I’ll write them down later.
There are moments too, when you’ll feel the flow. You’ll
get in the zone and the words will come spilling out
of you, metaphors, wordplay, vocabulary, multies, inrhymes
and all. Those are the amazing moments, and
they happen to those who have worked hard to attain
a certain level of mastery. It’s the same feeling that a
basketball player gets when he just can’t miss. Time
slows down and the basket just seems to be calling for
the ball. There will be moments when your pen or your
vocal chords or your fingers on the computer will just
takeover and you’ll watch as they deliver you line after
line of beautiful rhymes.
As Rakim himself mentions, “at certain times, it’s just
time to write, and it flows the way I want it to flow. It’s
almost like I get numb and it just happens.” Those are
the moments that all the hard work helps you achieve.
And it’s worth it.

[Wreck]

lol its you again

why the fuck wouldbi wanna rap like eminem ? each rapper should have his own unique style
copying eminem would make me more of a stan than a half decent rapper

C.R.E.A.M I agree with you here but dude also had a lot of real good advice for upcoming rappers, just let him go.

[Sam.]

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=109430

[juelz21]

lol its you again

why the fuck wouldbi wanna rap like eminem ? each rapper should have his own unique style
copying eminem would make me more of a stan than a half decent rapper

eat a dikk