My rapping lacks the 'feel'.

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Mesmusic

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Hi all,

I've been told before that I should work on how my vocs feel when i rap. It kinda sounds like I'm just talking...I've been improving and I can tell that I'm getting better but there are still times when my vocals lack the 'feel' and seem emotionless.

I've been experimenting with the levels and distance from the microphone a lot, I'm not sure if it helps.

Any suggestions? Maybe I achieve that thru mixing?

Also, do I record twice? Meaning record over my vocs again? Having technically 2 of the same tracks playing at the same time.

Thank you,

Mes


P.s. I'll have a piece I've been working on for the past few days uploaded (been frustrating couple days)
 
Hey Mes!

Lacking the "feel" probably has less to do with the technical side and more to do with the performance side. "Feel" and "emotion" don't come from microphones. Sh*t in=sh*t out, so to speak. The best rappers I've worked with are the ones who don't hold back. They command the room when they record. Aggression is encouraged.

But, as far as the technical side, doubling hip-hop vocals is pretty common. Getting them lined up tight will help. Either by hand or with something like VocAlign will improve it even more. On the double, add a bit of distortion, compress it to holy hell, and sneak it back under the original. Very short stereo delays help as well.

Hope this helps!
-jeffro
 
Yes - big voices give better results. Attitude in the vocals. Double up to thicken.
 
I'm not a rap or hip-hop guy (middle aged white dude that grew up playing metal, go figure) but I completely agree with what JeffroMixesYou and ido1957 have said. Gear or mixing is not your issue.


Work on your performance in regards to dynamics. Listen to your favorite artist and really listen to what they're doing. You're not there to crank it up and jam, but to study. Notice when their voice goes up in pitch or drops in pitch. Why'd they do that? Why did they leave that longer space in there between that word and the next. Did they do it to make the key lyric stand out? Probably. How about the volume.? When did they go from a mid level volume to a bit louder, or even on up to full blast.

I'm guessing you probably don't record your vocals sitting down, which is a good thing as it helps with the breathing. If you are stationary while recording your vocals, your performance can sound just as static as your posture. Move around. A slight ruffling of a t-shirt is not as big a deal as capturing a great performance. Stand in front of your mic, and friggin' groove while your singing instead of just standing still in front of it. If you're having fun while singing, that WILL come through in the recording. You need to be going "yeah I'm totally loving this song" while your singing it in order for that to be translated to your audience. Hey this song is cool.

I know I'll get flak for it, but snap your fingers while your singing a slower tune if you that helps. Yes the mic will pick it up, but you can always add a track of finger snaps for the groove to give your song an old school vibe. Snapping their fingers worked for the Temptations right?

Also, make sure to give yourself enuogh time to actually breath with your lyrics. Metal bands have been notoriously bad at this, where the band writes the song and then the singer has to cram a bunch of lyrics into the spaces. It ends up sounding rushed.

Give yourself room to play with the notes. Drag them out a bit at the end of a line or verse. Don't set it up so that the vocals are just "bap bap bap bap bap bap... but more like "bap bap bap baaaa-di baaa". For example there was an album that I had called "Arise" from a thrash band names Sepultura. Generally speaking it wasn't too bad, but the drummng was nothing but blast beats like my first example : Tat tat tat tat tat tat at a thousand miles an hour. Every song. I could actually fall asleep to it quite easily even though it was loud angry stuff, simply because the rhythm of it was boring. Your vocal lines can be the same way, so mix it up rhythicly.


Well I'll wrap it up for now (pun fully intended) and wish you luck with your work. I hope this helps in some way. :cool:
 
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Who are your favorite rappers? Your answer may explain a lot....

There are good rappers with all different styles. For example, Big L sounds like he is reclining in a chair and barely paying attention, but Eminem sounds like he is yelling as loud as he can. But both of those artists are projecting from their chest.

This is the #1 problem with wack rappers. They spend a few minutes writing lyrics but no time at all practicing enunciating them. They show up to the studio reading lyrics off of a piece of paper.

Listen to a song like this:
The OtherSide - The Roots. (SL) - YouTube

His voice isn't overpowering the track, but you can tell he is putting a lot of effort into the way he says every word.
(Don't be discouraged that a 20+ year vet like Black Thought sounds better than you, but he's a great person to study like Raymeous said.)

If you boxed or ran a sprint at full intensity for 45 seconds, how would you feel afterward? Spitting a good verse will probably feel that bad at first.
 
honestly, the more you force something, the less real it sounds. you just gotta not give a sh*t about anyone or the outcome, besides just doing it for you. jack daniels and jose cuervo also help out sometimes too
 
PS, I've been listening to a lot of jadakiss lately. So that helps out
 
Well here's a suggestion. If you want a sound like The Lonely Island (in for example Threw It On The Ground), you can do a couple things. The easiest and most noticeable way is to copy and paste the rap on a second track, transpose it down 1 half step, and play it with the original rap. Then turn that up and down to determine how "yell-ish" you want it to be. Another way is to double track it but not transpose it. Instead, move the track slightly ahead or behind the other by like half a second. You can combine these two techniques and then pan them stereo if you think it sounds good too!
 
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