How to Rap using Metaphors(1)

This exercise will help you to improve your skills in rapping with metaphors. How to start with a raw sentence and end up with a witty couplet, that holds a metaphor inside.

In order to complete this exercise, youll be provided with

a regular sentence

1! This sentence is something youd like to share with your listeners in your song. It wont be in a rhyme form. "! Once you have this sentence, you have to think of a metaphor, which represents the same sentence. eaning that you should think of an indirect way of writing the sentence. #! Then, youll be asked to provide a couplet, with a specific rhyme form. This couplet, has to include your metaphor.

$xample
1! Regular %entence
Im feeling awesome today.

"! Metaphor &eriving 'rom the %entence

! I feel so great today, as if Ive slept on "amela #ndersons boobies last night!

#! Rhyme %cheme(()()
Its a Thursday morning and Im feeling alright #s if I slept on "amelas titties $ust last night

*ow Its +our ,urn

1! Regular %entence
I dont like my neighbors%

"! Metaphor &eriving 'rom the %entence

&'rite a metaphor, that is saying what the sentence is saying, in another way(

#! Rhyme %cheme(()()
&'rite a couplet, with the )*) rhyme scheme, which includes your metaphor(

+ou can use the 'ollowing instrumental to assist you in the process! ,his is the exercise! -eel 'ree to submit your attempts in the comment box below, in the 'ollowing 'ormat, so its easier to chec.
+.,entence -..our etaphor

/. .our 0ouplet

+our attempt will be analy/ed and 'eedbac. will be given "( hours within your entry!

How to Rap 0sing Regular %entences

This exercise will show you how to rap by using a techni1ue, with which you can translate regular sentences into rap bars. #ttempting it on your own, will help you to develop the skills youd need to present a clear argument, illustrated with witty punchlines and well*written metaphors.

+oull be provided with

# short text, that will be presenting one argument. #n Instrumental to write on.

+our 1ob is to

Translate the sentences from the text into bars, by keeping their original meaning. .ou have to basically say the same thing, but in a different way*with rhyme.

+ou can use metaphors, wordplay and any other techni2ue that you want! 3s long as your bars tell the message 'rom the text!

$xample
1! Instrumental "! ,ext to be ,ranslated
2Its perhaps a shame that your path can forbid you to be good. 0rushing alot of souls on the path of helping many. 3ife taught me to be ruthless and focused, letting other people in rarely and carefully. Tunnel vision on my main aim.

#! 4yrics
Its a shame how I got corroded by my 1uest for doe, 0rushing many souls on the path of helping all, Tunnel vision hoping that Id blossom, hard to let, other people in my microcosm

*ow its your turn5

1! Instrumental "! ,ext to 6e ,ranslated
Is this right, I dont know. The illusion of control is perhaps not helping me. The tears Ive caused, are they $ustified. #ll the souls that Ive poisoned with my evil charm.

#! 4yrics
4ow its all you. 3ook at the example if youre still trying to figure out what you have to do. 5ust translate this text into a rhyme form like I did. Try to write at least a 1uatrain. It can be longer of course. This will improve your skill of following an argument guys.

Rhyme
Rhyme 7 Rhyme %chemes
6y 5ohn 6raheny
To make rhyme work as a memory tool, you must be consistent. Once you establish a rhyme scheme for your verses, it's best to use the same pattern in all the verses. That same verse pattern in the choruses and bridge, however, could get monotonous, so it's better to establish one rhyme scheme for the verse, one for the chorus, and yet another for the bridge. You can introduce a subtle element of surprise this way without affecting the predictability of the song. Another way to surprise the listener is to either precipitate or delay the rhyme. It can be used with any rhyme scheme and the rhyme can occur at any of the underlined positions in the last line Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta T!" Ta T!" #ere are the most common rhyme schemes 1. Rhyming all four lines. !sually too predictable. This gets old fast. a a a a more score door floor

2. Rhyming second and fourth lines. #as fle$ibility and the element of predictability without the boredom. Allows more freedom to develop content without the restriction of rhyming each line. a trust b guess c hurt b mess 3. Rhyming first and second lines, third and fourth lines. %eferred to as rhymed couplets. &e careful. 'an get predictable and restrictive.

a a b b

luck stuck brave save

4. Rhyming first, third, and fourth lines. a b a a able still cable stable

5. Rhyming first and third, second and fourth lines. a b a b making good taking could

6. Rhyming first, second, and third PLUS last lines ad oining !erses. This works best in up(tempo songs where verses are close enough together in time for listener to remember the )c* rhymes. a when a then a men c know b stand b band b land c show There are other variations. These forms are often doubled, for instance. +iven that one of their functions is to help us remember, rhymes in any consistent position in the line may work. In the ,nglish language, though, there is an e$pectation that the primary rhymes come at the ends of the lines. &ecause they're in a powerful position it becomes e$tra important that they enhance, or at least don't distract, the listener from the mood and meaning of the song. R"P The best rappers are rhyme masters and the rhyme schemes I list above, though they apply to rap too, aren't essential for it. 'ontent and rhyme hold almost e-ual importance in the style, since it's essentially a spoken genre. #olding a story thread while using as many inside rhymes and internal phrasing meters as possible I. the game and many of the conventions of pop, rock, and country writing don't apply.

R#$%&'( )&*+&,'"R&-S "') +#-S"URUS-S .ome writers look at rhyming dictionaries as a crutch, as though it was cheating to use one. If you've been writing for any time at all, you probably know the most natural possibilities for rhyme. &ut when you're really stuck, it's always good to know that there's somewhere you can go -uickly to make sure you have the best rhyme possible for the line. I've also run across rhymes in these sources that instigated a whole new thought pattern. The human mind has such wonderful facility for /connecting the dots/ between seemingly unrelated images and words that anything you feed it can become an ingredient for something new. A friend of mine once put a few hundred descriptive ad0ectives in his computer and 0ust ran them through to fill in the blank in a line. The results were often comical, occasionally profound, and usually words that he would have had difficulty coming up with /off the top of his head./ This is one of the things a good rhyming dictionary can do for you. And the more you use it, the more you develop a storehouse of rhyme possibilities in your mind. All rhyming dictionaries contain thousands of words that you'd never use in a song. You'll also be able to come up with collo-uialisms that aren't in the dictionaries and make up your own words, so don't let yourself get too attached. The Modern Rhyming Dictionary by pro lyricist +ene 1ees and 'lement 2ood's The Complete Rhyming Dictionary are both good ones. If you use a computer, there are very fast and efficient software rhyming dictionaries available. 3ust +oogle /songwriters rhyming dictionary./ 2hen you're looking for a particular word and can only come up with a word that's somewhere in the neighborhood, you need a thesaurus. It will give you words or phrases that mean the same or almost the same thing )synonyms* or the opposite )antonyms* as well as words and phrases that are only remotely related. It incorporates slang and lists words by part of speech. !sing a thesaurus is like a treasure hunt in which each new discovery can send you on yet another e$citing 0ourney. It's an indispensable tool. %oget's International is my favorite. "icrosoft 2ord and other word processing programs also contain thesauruses.