Structuring A Rap And Rnb Song

[Rookee]

Hello, I want to become an RnB and rap writer. I'm new to this, I need some help with insipiration to the song what to basicly look for and how to structure it.

For rap i use this template:

Title

Verse 1

Verse 2

Chorus

Verse 3

Verse 4

Is this good to start with?

[Retrosaurus Rex]

You're on the right track. There's a lot of variations that are possible. If the verses seem a little too long, you can drop a teaser of the hook in between v1 & v2, or maybe have only one verse before the chorus. If you're looking for a mainstream sound you generally don't want the people to have to wait too long before you get to the hook, about 45 seconds or so is good (some say even that is too long...). With rap it also depends on how many MCs are on the track, sometimes a change in style from one MC to the next is enough to keep it interesting. Check out the songwriting articles for more in depth info. They're more or less geared toward pop-rock-country, but the info is perfectly applicable to R&B & Hip-Hop as well.

[Rookee]

You're on the right track. There's a lot of variations that are possible. If the verses seem a little too long, you can drop a teaser of the hook in between v1 & v2, or maybe have only one verse before the chorus. If you're looking for a mainstream sound you generally don't want the people to have to wait too long before you get to the hook, about 45 seconds or so is good (some say even that is too long...). With rap it also depends on how many MCs are on the track, sometimes a change in style from one MC to the next is enough to keep it interesting. Check out the songwriting articles for more in depth info. They're more or less geared toward pop-rock-country, but the info is perfectly applicable to R&B & Hip-Hop as well.

Thanks for the help

[BoParker]

Traditional hip-hop/rnb songs "must be" hook oriented. Its very very rare that most of the song will be centered around the verses for HipHop and RnB, since the history around rap songs is anthem based. Most mainstream hip hop songs are 8 bars into the verse with about a 4 bar chorus that normally repeats itself and becomes another 8 bars. RnB songs depend heavily on thier bridges too to bring in cameo artists who'll deliver a 4-8 bar rap into the middle of it or allow the vocalist to change up the song a bit. If I'm writing a rap song, I start with the hook first.. then write the lyrics around it. And that hook better be anthem ready... something that will make the crowd yell it out.

IE: DJ Kaled (All I Do Is Win), Jay Z/Alicia Keys (NY State of Mind), Rihanna's (Only Girl in the World).. all these songs are chorus driven.. Keep that in mind when writing Rap/RnB...

I got a RnB beat that I need lyrics for.. let me know if you're interested.