Need guidance for rap recording process

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psihobambi

New member
To cut a long story short... I try to record these few songs for a few weeks now, and it's driving me crazy. It's no problem for me to record for 5 hours straight (which is the time I've got for myself every day of the week), but when I spend all those hours just listening to previous takes and slamming my head on the wall without any sign of a good take I feel like I'm doing something terribly wrong or I'm just not built for it (which is the fact that I'm not gonna take well). My voice is as unreliable as yours would be if someone was standing behind you and poking you with a needle every once in a while, while you were recording. Maybe not so much, but I often don't say out words the way I want to (if I want to, I need to be super concentrated, and then I lose the energy and emotion that I want to translate). Sometimes I have ideas which include going from smooth voice to nasally (something like Eazy-E or Em) and it sounds downright disturbing, even with a lot of compression. I don't know what it is. Maybe I want to sound original to much so I get this unreliable voice which varies from take to take. Maybe I should rap quieter. Maybe I should learn how to breath properly so I have that reliable voice. Maybe I should try something else ? I kindly ask you to share your experiences, exercises, habits and solutions with me so I can get better :). I really want to work and develop, but this stuff is discouraging.
P.S. I used to do some guest verses and I received nothing but praises. Hell, I don't trust those n00bs.
P.S.S. I got low self-confidence. To be honest with you maybe that's the cause of all of this.
 
Do you have samples so that we can give suggestions on specific aspects?

If it's an infrequent issue like somebody "poking you with a needle every once in a while", you can probably comp your takes together. Take one passage from one take, the next from another, etc.

The double-edged sword that is recording your own voice is that you can hear everything you're doing wrong that you missed the first time. On the one hand, it's bad because now you hear all your mistakes. On the other, now you can hear them to fix them.
 
AFA breathing well. Best exercise I've ever worked with is simply walking. As you walk, breathe in for one count and concentrate on breathing out consistently for seven. After a while you get really good at stable breathing/vocal consistency.
 
Thanks guys. I will try out that breathing technique. I feel like I tighten everything in my body to produce a sound. The result is a tiny, nasal, annoying voice.

edit.

I do have samples, but I'd rather not put it on the internet for now.
 
I can't add much to the advice you have already received. Practice practice practice.

One other thing (expanding on what VHS said) - post a song in the MP3 Clinic (another forum on this BBS). If people can hear what you're talking about, they may have other suggestions for you. Or maybe you're just being too hard on yourself and you have some decent material.
 
I have worked with singers that try all kinds of things and are all over the place as far as style. Soft, nasally, screaming,...you need to find your range and style that you feel the most comfortable in. Don't try to go over the top yet with crazy ways of singing(rapping). Find your foundation and work within it, then later branch out. It's difficult, I am the same way.

Also, keep in mind that sometimes less than great singers can sound decent because of the mix. If your hearing your vocals dry, by themselves, and way out front they probably will sound crappy....sit them in the mix, Compress them with a softer knee and slow attack and see if that helps any. And I second posting a clip of your rapping so the forum can help you better.
 
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