Does rap require vocal abilities?

S

SexAnDrugS

New member
Hello, I have been writing rap for a while and basically started with music because I wanted to be a rapper. Then I also decided to get my voice developed and started going to a coach.

Now that I'm alittle more advanced in the subject I still have something I'm not sure of.

When I sing (when I sing right of course), my throat and vocal chords are fine.

When I rap, they aren't. rapping makes me feel like I should be almost talking and automatically I hit the vocal chords and it hurts..

(I didn't pay attention to that back when I was just starting, who knew it would be a problem ^^)

I started paying attention to rappers. I have noticed that some of them clearly follow a few notes, but others just seem to be pressing their vocal chords and shouting.

Don't rappers use the same technique that singers do? (just with MUCH fewer notes)

Do only the good ones do? Or am I all wrong about it and all rappers just kill their throats? cuz that just wouldn't seem right o_O
 
Rapping = talking to music.

Talking = saying notes

Sure, there are some rappers who kinda scream into the mic and it sounds like their vocal cords are being shredded (Lil Wayne's verse on Luda's "Last of a Dying Breed" comes to mind), but there are others who are more laid back almost with a sing-songy rap style (think Eminem's "Mockingbird")...

I would say that most rappers (minus the screamer ones) use the same techniques that singers do in the fact that they do not desire strain their voice, and if it starts to hurt their cords, they stop. Regardless of your rapping style, it shouldn't be hurting your voice. If it is, you need to stop and find a better technique...try softer/louder/sing-songy.
 
hmm this is what I do when I rap, i choose a lil note range and sing in it/rap on it.

But it makes it sound a little too planned.. I have hear eminem (EVERY song/freestyle ever) and he seems to have a very singing alike sound, but it still sounds like he's using his throat..

In a song I can plan the notes ill hit, but what about accapella verses and all that?

I feel like I hit my chords..
 
Don't worry about the notes...rap is muuuuuch much more about the rhythm of the words than what notes you hit. Just don't strain your voice...simple as that!
 
guitaristic said:
Don't worry about the notes...rap is muuuuuch much more about the rhythm of the words than what notes you hit. Just don't strain your voice...simple as that!
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Yes but when I know I have to hold on to a certain note I do it, when i don't I can't really make a full loud sound without hitting the chords. That's why I qant to know whether rappers hold on to certain notes or not...?

* and about the autotune it's just a way of editing sound, and in my opinion it sucks in most cases.
 
Rapping is a particular singing style, and like any other singing style, to get the best out of your voice you would benefit from singing training. Maybe it is not as melodic as other styles, but it requires the use of your vocal chords and your lungs. If you are hurting your vocal chords, that's a sign that they are not coping, and you need that training to make them cope better.
 
SexAnDrugS said:
Yes but when I know I have to hold on to a certain note I do it, when i don't I can't really make a full loud sound without hitting the chords. That's why I qant to know whether rappers hold on to certain notes or not...?
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I'm not understanding what you mean by that last sentence...

Another thing to keep in mind is that rappers who have huge voices on tracks (like Eminem's emotional ones) are actually double/triple/quadruple tracked on their voices so they sound huge. Sure some have natural big voices, but those are the exception rather than the norm. Training like GZ said will help for sure with your projection.
 
guitaristic said:
I'm not understanding what you mean by that last sentence...

Another thing to keep in mind is that rappers who have huge voices on tracks (like Eminem's emotional ones) are actually double/triple/quadruple tracked on their voices so they sound huge. Sure some have natural big voices, but those are the exception rather than the norm. Training like GZ said will help for sure with your projection.
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what I mean by that is: Do rappers INTENTIONALLY rap/sing over notes(that fit the beat)?
 
SexAnDrugS said:
what I mean by that is: Do rappers INTENTIONALLY rap/sing over notes(that fit the beat)?
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Yeah. There are, like singers, different kinds of rappers. Just like in the singing world some aren't great singers {but may be wonderful melodicists and lyricists and performers}, in the hip hop world you'll get rappers who rap well but may also be good singers. It's not a requirement to be able to sing though. One of the most liberating aspects of hip hop, certainly at it's inception and high point, was that one did not need to be able to play a conventional musical instrument or sing the solfa scale. It was a different kind of art form and despite the ragging that it gets here at times, is as musical as punk or metal in it's myriad offshoots. It just happens to put more of a premium on lyrics and the rhythm. To many hip hoppers punk is just thrashing, metal is just solos. All have aspects of truth. None are the truth
But just as every other form of popular music has evolved, fused with other genres and mutated and gone into different directions, so has hip hop. Different practitioners of the art came from different backgrounds, both musical and social, and so inevitably different things found their way into the music. Jazz horns. Classical arrangements. Strong singing. Metallic guitars. Soulful electric pianos. Pop layering. Equally, hip hop bled into all those other genres too.
So if as a rapper you feel that singing isn't your strong suit, it doesn't matter. Unlike most other forms of music that utilize melody, in hip hop, you're liberated from that.
If you want to include singing however, then that's another matter altogether.
 
that's the thing tho! I do sing well, but I LOVE hip hop, and it just feels weird to have a melody, a beat, but not at least holding one or two notes while talking..

and just btw, is it weird that I dont freestyle? (out of having vocabulary problems, i have basic English knowledge but it's harder to remember what means what out of nowhere, im from Israel)
 
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no matter the style or technique rapping is generally very expressive and way more animated, and involves more breath control than just talking. so yea imo any vocal training or ability can only help and add to your style's character. anyone who raps can tell you that it sounds a lot easier than it really is
 
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