Rap, broken down.

Writing, flow, rhyme and production—explained.

Start here

What makes a freestyle hit?

Use Denzel Curry’s L.A. Leakers session to separate the writing, rhythm and delivery that make a performance work.

The basics

Get familiar with the terms before diving into a verse.

Start with a scene, give each section a job, then test the rhyme and rhythm in an eight-bar draft.

Follow the rhythm, rhyme and changes of voice that make a collaboration hold together.

Find the pulse, compare Kendrick Lamar’s timing and separate rhythmic placement from sheer speed.

Denzel Curry and Rakim describe processes that connect improvisation and writing. A finished clip only shows part of that work.

Follow internal rhymes, sound patterns and sentence endings through MF DOOM and Rakim examples.

Separate a reused recording from a replayed musical idea, then trace what a producer changes.

Track dropouts, bass, ad-libs and effect tails before giving the rapper all the credit for a shift.

Read framing, movement and edits, with a production example from grime filmmakers Tim & Barry.