User blog:ShaunoftheRed/How to structure a decent rap verse

Introduction
Hi. Shaun Gordon here (AnimaShaun) and today I'd like to take a minute to teach all you amateur rap battlers out there how you can create a good, well structured verse against anybody with just 3 basic simple rules:

Rule #1: Insults
A rap battle must ALWAYS involve an insult or derogatory line at some point. In the world of rap these are refered to as a "Dis" (Short for disrespecting/ive)

Rule #1.1: Discresion
Now, of course you don't just go ahead and state the obvious blatently because anyone can do that... Let me explain: I.E. If someone was fat you wouldn't just say:

"You are overweight and that is funny.

If you would like a chocolate bar then here is some money"

Because that, in every meaning of the word, is shit. No... In stead we try to cleverly force the insult or "Dis" into their heads using clever sub text or just hinting at their failed quality. I.E.

"Look I'll give you a few pounds, but you should drop a few.

You look like you're gonna be the lead in Fat Albert 2!"

(As taken from: Epic Rap Battles of History Wiki Rap Tournament - Round 3 - Ynkrdlevin17 Vs. Jordanrising11)

So basically, you need to mildly disguise your insult within other words. Saying the fact blatently and inanely is not considered rap talent.

Rule #1.2: Facts
A final thing about insults, and this a minor one, is that saying something that just remotely is not factual can be effected is used right but is often a bad way to go. I.E:

"You might wanna shut up right now.

Because yo mamma and I fucked last night! Yeah I hit that cow!"

While that can be funny, is not as great as something that is true will go a longer way. Try to excell at "dissing" them for something which they have done in their past (ragequitting, really terrible raps, something embarrasing) or something that they are: (overweight, a certain race, a nerd, gay) something like this will definately offend them more and ergo see you more points in terms of rap battling.

Rule #2: Rhyming
Ah yes.. rhyming. Now rhyming words are essential in a rap battle... and ANY rap if we're honest. Rhyming, in a nutshell, is 2 (or more) words that sound very similar are used at the end of each line. They often come in groups of 2s but can be seen is higher amounts of lines.

Rule #2.1: Structure
If your verse does not rhyme similar to the structure of a poem, then it is instantly looked down upon regardless of the rest of the content. Your rhyming need to be very clear and fluent. If it is not clear that you are tyring to make somethings rhyme then maybe those 2 words are just not meant for eachother. But aside from this, you also need to keep the tempo of the beat in mind. Each line is often worth around 4 beats so you'll need to make sure that if you're going to rhyme 2 things they're both need to be on the 4th beat. I.E:

"Sit down, man while I make a mess of your face.

Aside from that hair and spots and shit all over the place!"

This is an example of good structure. It is well laid out and is clear what is being rhymed and when. However, if you were to something like this:

"I'll make a mess of your face.

Not that I'll need to because it's hilarious anyway, you've got spots all over the place!"

This COULD work if said right but is very wobbely and not as obvious as the previous example. Rapping this within a beat could prove to be a real challenge and even you good do it, it wouldn't sound right and make people think you suck at rapping.

Rule #2.2: Simplicity
Rhymes are an essential thing in rap battles as I've already said. But the type of rhyme you are going to use is another thing. Your verse will surely be weakened by the lack of quality, good rhyming words. Here's an example:

"Dude, you look really fat.

Did I forget to mention that?"

While this does rhyme, it is very loose and well... shitty. Anybody could say that off the top of their head! You need to first, broaden your vocabularly... seriously... Then and only then will you be able to come up with more complicated rhyming words off the top of your head. I.E:

" Dude, you're a fucking idiot! You lack all sense of linguistics,

 You’d better just leave now, because your rhymes are so simplistic"

 (Adapted lyrics from: Rap Battle Tournament 6: AnimaShaun vs BasaltWolfED145RS )

 This, not to brag, is much more impressive and complex than the first example. It's use of long words that don't have a lot of rhymes to them signafies that.

Rule #3: Structure and Technique
As i already touched on in my last rule, structure is a crucial thing to a successful rap verse. This, along with technique, may be a heard thing to teach but here are the basic things you need to remember:

Rule #3.1: Lines
Like most lines that you will find on the "Epic Rap Battles of History" the structure can vary and become different to the simple "1 rhyme per 2 line" over and over for the duration of the bverse. It's your verse remember. Mix it up a bit! Don't be afraid to get creative! the 1 rhyme every 2 line thing is literally the most basic structure for a rap you can get and it will not impress or intimidate your opponent. For an outstanding example of this just look here:

BackToTheFuturama86 vs EyeOfAllEyes

This is a really boring battle in terms of structure. it's just 2 lines, 2 lines, 2 lines. No real skill involved to do that. Now, this may become a habit of your rapping. don't let this happen. It gets very boring and as I said, requires little skill. An easy way to avoid this is to do 2 lines, 2 lines, 4 lines, 2 lines 2 lines 4 lines and keep that pattern. Or something like this. NEVER use an odd number as it will not work if you are remember the thing about beat I told you earlier.

A more advanced and experienced form of rap battling will allow the rapper to actually use individual raps within the same line before coming to the rhyme that rhymes with the one next it but don't worry about this if you are just a beginner rap battler or are just shit.

That's All Folks!
Well That's all I have to say on this front really. In conclusion, insults only work if they are true and make sense, rhyming only works when it's in beat, actually rhymes and uses complicated lanuage, and a careful technique is something you always need to bear in mind. Well, thank you fro reading this educational blog and I look forward to seeing your rap verses in the future. Bye for now :D