How To Write Storytelling Rap In 5 Steps
Written by Rome Earth
In today’s article, we’re going to break down five ways you can level up your storytelling rap abilities.
If you look at any of the most legendary rappers, past or present, storytelling is a crucial aspect of their skillset.
The ability to tell a fire story through rap is what separates the best of the best, from “just another rapper.” Storytelling takes a precise blend of experience, flow, intellect, creativity and technical rap capabilities.
This is a serious skill, that cookie-cutter emcees simply can’t hold their weight in.
If you want to be a complete and unstoppable emcee, you’re gonna have to develop your knack for dropping a story through rhyme.
So without further ado, let’s get into the 5 steps to drop a dope storytelling rap.
#1 Bend Reality
There are some story raps that are delivered so perfectly and with such strong emotion, it’s hard to distinguish if it is 100% fact, or just a story.
The best example of this is the song “Walk Like a Man”, a masterful story painted by L.A. legend Murs. The story weaves in and out with bone chilling beats as Murs tells the story of his friend being killed, and him getting revenge a year later.
His story is a rare example of being so realistic that it leaves the listener unsure if it’s a true story or not.
The other crazy example of this is “Dance with the Devil” by Immortal Technique, which I will warn you, is a bit dark and gruesome but boy did he paint a picture with that one.
While writing a true to life story with every detail pure being pure facts is possible, chances are it’s gonna be better if you stretch some of the details a bit to make the story bigger, more movie-like.
In general, the dopest storytelling raps I have ever heard sound like, although they may have some real life influences from the rappers experience, they take full advantage of the story format to tell a hyper-exaggerated, outlandish and entertaining story. Take notes from this.
Let’s say you wanna tell a story about the time you went to the club with your friends, had a great time but ended up in a big brawl in the parking lot.
That’s a true story, but for the sake of entertainment, you’re gonna put steroids into every detail of your adventure.
Maybe the busted up van you really rolled up in is now a fresh painted, old school Monte Carlo on 24s.
Your whole crew is dipped in designer, and sippin’ on the most expensive drinks in the place.
The girl who caused the fight was an absolute 10, a stunner, top notch, and the parking
lot scuffle, which was relatively harmless in real life, actually ended up in a huge shoot out where you had no choice but to kill 6 dudes with your big old chopper.
Look, there’s rarely a time I would encourage lyrics of party party, shiny shiny, bang bang, and I’m usually all for rigid and complete authenticity, but this is merely an example to express that for the sake of the story..anything goes!
That being said, it’s not just limited to exaggerating material possessions, but can stretch as far as your imagination can.
Eminem, especially on his earlier songs like “Brain Damage”, would create ridiculously violent and outlandish scenarios that sometimes defied reality altogether.
The outrageous nature of the story allowed Eminem to wile out creatively, and he even managed to share some deeper underlying messages through the chaos.
Point being, allow yourself to be free when you start to pen out your story. Use it as a chance to explore your thoughts and ideas, and share your unique perspective through the timeless art of the story.
One thing is for sure, if you’re gonna tackle storytelling with rap, you’re gonna need whole lotta rhymes at your disposal.
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#2 Plot It Out
When I say plot it out, I mean literally, create the plot first. Figure out the beginning, middle and end of your story, then you can get to work on writing the bars to fill in the details.
Quick example, I’m gonna write a story about seeing a fly lady at the grocery store, right? I’ll break this story into 3 pieces:
First is the meeting. This is where I see the lady, approach, and spit my game.
Next is the waiting, the time that goes by where I still haven’t heard back from this beautiful girl, who I can’t get off my mind.
Then, the reunion. Finally! She hits me back up and we plan to meet up at the park to do some sunset yoga. Oh yeah, I’m on now.
But that’s a little too basic, so I wanna add a lil plot twist.. When we go to meet up, she’s with a group of her friends, which is cool, except, her boyfriend is with her! Dang how did this happen?!
So there you go, I have my basic plot outlined, now is the time to fill up the story with all the juicy details.
#3 The Detail Job
This is where you can go through each section and expand on the scenarios, adding adjectives and subtle details that help make your story more descriptive and enjoyable to consume.
Assuming they are tastefully chosen, the details that you include are gonna draw the listener in, giving them more and more imagery to play back in their mind. This is literally what makes a story a story.
The next level of the detail job is to find a unique or clever way to deliver information.
Back to the grocery store example… Let’s say I approached the lady, and cracked a couple silly jokes to break the ice.
Instead of simply saying that I made her smile, I drop the clue by saying, “got her showing off her dimples”.
This right here is a two for one detail, not only does it explain that I made the girl smile, but even gives a visual representation of her smile, which creates even more imagery for the listener.
The small details are what really make the difference between an average, mildly entertaining story, and a storytelling masterpiece. Work on finding the nuances that will really bring a listener in, and make their mind experience the story on a whole new level.
As always, the more you practice, the more advanced your detail game will get. Get to work.
#4 Cut the Fat
You can go about this in two ways.
First one being to write your story out freely, writing even more than you need, then go back and edit later.
This way you can flush out all the potential ideas and details you want to share, and then cut out anything that seems extra a.k.a. cut the fat!
Which lines were kinda weak, fillers, or not crucial to the story you are telling?
You may have included a detail you thought was good, or a bar that helped keep the flow alive, but upon reflection, it’s actually insignificant or even irrelevant.
This brings up another important tip… Don’t include lines just because they sound right or help maintain your rhyme scheme. That’s a weak shortcut. Don’t do it!
You gotta be vigilant in what you allow to stay in your story. Your goal is to provide the imagery in the mind of a listener, so every word counts. Take the extra time to make sure every single bar is improving the story.
Let’s go back to the grocery store girl example..
Maybe at first I wrote that I saw her in line at the Starbucks, then later I realized that line didn’t really add any value to the story, and plus I’m not tryna drop the free Starbucks promo, so without further thinking, I cut the fat, take out the Starbucks line, and go straight into the details of what she was wearing, which I feel like added more important details for the story.
Option 2 is to “cut the fat” as you go. With each line you write, or before you even write it, decide if it is actually a crucial detail to to share in advancing the story.
Is the detail really helping paint a vivid picture for your listener? If not, you have to cut it!
It’s important not to get too attached to any one line or detail. I’ve noticed that sometimes I will make excuses to myself to keep a line that I got attached to, even when it doesn’t make sense, or I know it’s not really fire.
Maybe you do this too? You gotta notice your mind’s patterns, and be heartless with your editing!
If you know it was a lazy line, or it just doesn’t seem to fit, cut that motherf*cker out and forget about it!
Go through your verses and ensure that every line in your story is there for a reason.
It will take some practice, but in the end, your story telling abilities will be sharpest when you learn what to keep, and what to cut.
#5 Story Shape
There’s only a few structures that make up pretty much all stories, ever.. Let’s go through ‘em.
A) Starts good, gets bad, ends good
This is the format for the majority of all stories, and is an easy way to ensure a solid, tried and true formula for a story. The story starts out either good or kinda neutral, then a conflict arises, giving the whole story its meaning, and one way or another, the character you are rooting for makes it out of the conflict into a happy ending. Yay!
The conflict is crucial, because it gets the audience on your side, and gives you a chance to show ’em what you’re made of.
Next you got..
B) Starts bad, gets better, ends tragically
A good example of this structure is Big L’s “Casualties of a Dice Game”. (one of the absolute illest story rhymes EVER, imo)
While waiting for his homie to pick up some ganja, he starts gambling outside, loses a bunch of money, but then makes a comeback worth an estimated 45 maybe 50 g’s. Definitely something to smile about.
But, it’s all downhill after that, as Big L gets followed by the bitter dice opponent and his grimey crimey looking for a refund.
Big L calls his friend Bones for backup, and is shocked when Bones leaves him hanging to entertain a woman in his apartment. After a gory crash and killing the dudes in pursuit, Big L then moves on to punish Bones as well.
After a shootout with the police, he ends up in the park bleeding out, tosses all the cash in the air, then he dies. Not quite the fairytale ending.
C) Starts bad, ends bad
This is the scenario where things start off bad, then just keep on getting worse.
Not the most common choice for a storyteller, as it can be a little un-inspiring or even depressing, but some real talented artists can make a “bad” story good and keep the listener entertained with the series of unfortunate events.
This is the recipe for songs like Slick Rick’s “The Moment I Feared”, or “8 Million Stories” from A Tribe Called Quest.
Lastly, we have
D) Starts good, stays good, ends good
This is another option for your story. The whole thing is good, celebratory, and positive.
The best example of this in rap music is Ice Cube’s 1992 classic, “It Was a Good Day”.
If you haven’t heard this or you can’t tell by the title, Ice Cube’s day starts off beautifully, goes good all day, and also ends well. Good breakfast, a good game of basketball, good luck on the dice, some good punanny, and he didn’t even have to use his AK. A good day indeed.
These right here are the main 4 structures you will find in all stories ever, whether it’s a book, a movie or a rap. If you choose one of these structures before you begin, you’re gonna have a lot more clarity on the trajectory of your story.
So there you have it. These are five ways you can get started on developing your storytelling rap ability, a skill absolutely necessary to becoming a great and well rounded emcee.
