How to Improve Your Rap Voice

Introduction

Presented by Drew Marci from How to Rap.
Focus on improving your rap voice in three simple steps.
Video for those with monotone or high-pitched rap voices, or those wanting to learn technical aspects.
Drew Marci’s background: over 15 years of rapping experience and has trained amateur rappers professionally.
Encouragement to subscribe and check out a free songwriting course.

Definition: The volume of your voice when rapping.
Common Issues: Many beginners rap too quietly, sounding insecure and amateurish.
Goal: Learn to project your voice loudly to dominate a beat.
Exercise: Visualize your voice traveling further; imagine a red line 5-7 feet away and project your voice to that line.
Alternative Exercise: Have a friend or family member stand 6-7 feet away to verify your vocal projection.
Key Insight: Your perception of loudness may differ from actual loudness—use external references.

Definition: Which words you put inflection on, stretch, or shorten.
For Monotone Voices: Focus on changing the way lyrics are written to reflect emphasis.
Writing Techniques:
- Use capitals for emphasized words.
- Use italics for smoother words.
- Intentionally misspell words to remind yourself of their needed emphasis.
Example: Tupac’s emphasis on words like "Hennessey" and "enemies" by stretching sounds.

Definition: Sound quality or timbre of your voice.
Influences: Somewhat related to physical voice characteristics (e.g., naturally high-pitched voices).
Practice Tips:
- Focus on where in your face you feel the power of your voice.
- Experiment with different tones (raspy, deep, high pitch) for different tracks.
- Gain muscle memory by identifying and practicing voice placement.