What Makes a Good Rapper

Many people wonder why certain rap artists are or are not successful. Why is she on top and why is he not? There has to be some sort of formula or remedy for success. Sadly there is no easy way to explain success in the hip-hop industry, but here are a couple pointers.

Staying true- It is very easy to point out a fake rapper. Someone who is not what they rap about. These artists usually find themselves out of the game pretty quick. Nobody wants to listen to bull shit, so keep your lyrics and your persona true! Sorry Vanilla Ice.

Production- Great lyrics on top of a terrible beat and crappy production doesn’t do you any justice. It is crucial that you find a producer/beat maker who you work well with. It helps to find this person early in the game because your producer is the one person you need to trust. Drake wouldn’t be Drake without 40 and Boi-1da, just like Missy wouldn’t be Missy without Timbaland.

Features- Features are a very important aspect in hip-hop. It is a chance for artists to merge different fan groups into one. If Kanye West made a song with Beck, then that means that both Kanye fans and Beck fans would be listening to the record. This more than likely would make some Beck fans turn into Kanye fans and Kanye fans turn into Beck fans. However you need to be careful of who you feature on your song, because one bad feature can ruin the whole record.

Tough skin- Any artist big or small is going to get some hate from the public. Not everybody is going to love your music, and thats okay. The trick is dealing with the hate in a respectable, nonchalant manner. Although it sometimes comes off as an artist being soft, it really is just him or her not paying attention to the hate. In the end, ignoring the negativity is going to benefit you greatly.

Great lyrics- Being a great lyricist does not always mean rhyming big words with each other or rapping fast. It is also about telling your story in a way that other people would not think about. Anybody can rhyme words, so how are you going to do it in a way that nobody else does? The artists who try to take other peoples flows are the ones who don’t make it, and if they do then they don’t last.

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