My senior Project is rooted in a single question I formed as I was shuffling through my playlist: Why are artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Dababy, and J Cole all considered artists within the same genre, rap? I then began to wonder: What are the common instruments/aspects of music that place punk rap, emo rap, mumble rap, lyrical rap, melodic rap, etc all in the same musical category and how can I explore these elements to create a song that captures the essence of rap?  I spent 4 weeks studying different subgenres of rap from trap to experimental, noting the ways they used their voice as an instrument, what they spoke about, and what instruments were used in their instrumentals.

 By the end of the study portion, I realized how much there was to uncover in rap music, and I was able to uproot some of the stereotypes I had internalized about the music.  One example would be the usage of wordplay and pronunciation to deliver a different message than the proper words deliver. 

I was also made aware of the common theme of storytelling, more specifically the common rap timeline. All rap music seemed to be a story from different parts of the timeline, the before aka the struggle, the grind or transitionary period, and the flexing or established period. I kept this timeline in mind as I went into my song, hoping to focus on these common elements and make a song like no other.

The creation of my song was a true journey that challenged me to think outside of the box through each step. Starting with the production, I found myself stressing too much about incorporating different elements into a single instrumental that I ended up with a mess of a beat that felt impossible to rap on, mostly due to my lack of an idea of what I wanted the song to sound like.

As stated before, all rap music seemed to be a story from different parts of the timeline, the before aka the struggle, the grind or transitionary period, and the flexing or established period. I kept this timeline in mind as I went into my song for the second time, hoping to tell a story that incorporates all three of the key points in a single song. 

Once I had my game plan, using Bandlab I used a mixture of Jazz, Trap, and Melodic instruments such as bass, trap high hats, synths, guitars, and electric guitars. By being simplistic, I allowed myself to include a range of keys, flows, and topics. The slow tempo also hints at the storytelling aspect of lyrical rap, while the beat switch references trap music; this was a task I completed by referencing The London by Young Thug, J. Cole, and Travis Scott. Choosing to mute the synth for the second verse was also a key choice, allowing me to completely transform the feel of the beat and the assumed subgenre while making no actual change. The instrumental interludes, a reference to Jazz and Blues music but also to show how Jazz keeps it’s ties to rap regardless of how much it changes.

Using my research on trap music, I referenced Future and Lil Uzi Vert’s ability to be emotional and discuss relationships while using a mix of vocals, adlibs, rapping, and straining of the voice. Using these tools, I focussed the first verse on the aftermath of heartbreak with a groupie and telling the story of how they met and how I felt afterward. For the second verse, I mostly referenced Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, and JID whose word choice, storytelling, selective cursing, rapping speed, and annunciation stood out to me. I used these tools to tell the story of the transition to what should have been the glow-up. However, after the pause in the middle of the course, we see I fall back into the trapped life, however talking about it differently than trap music. Instead, we get another point of view about the why behind trapped life actions, and how I suffered from it, being unable to cope. We see the struggle to deal with pain in lines like “Cry it out and shed a tear // But be a man a weak ass man is fucking worthless” and “Bottle it up ‘til you got time to deal // Overflowing I can’t cry at all still”. The third and final verse is inspired heavily by Young Thug. While the style is undoubtedly trap music, The adlibs, and change of voice mimic experimental rap. Using these elements, as well as selective annunciation, and flexing of assets to write this verse. This third verse is about the final part of the timeline, the flexing or established period, talking about going to college, learning the value of my body, flexing, living fast, and taking care of family.

As I used and or kept all of these tools in mind while writing my verses, there were some interesting moments. For starters, when I first recorded the verses, I noticed myself thinking as if I was really the person living through these verses. One could even consider it “method rapping”, where I placed myself into a bad mood before the first verse and allowed every ounce of emotion to flow into the paper. With the third verse, I found myself embracing my senioritis as well as manifesting a secure future, writing as if my life was full of luxury as the verses stated. Most of the verse also came from a freestyling to the beat and writing down what I liked, whereas the first verse I wrote more like a poem. The second verse was by far the most challenging part of this project. As you’ll see below, I wrote multiple versions of the second verse, challenging myself to be as close to lyrical rap as I possibly could, ultimately settling for storytelling rather than lyricism.