How to Freestyle Rap for Beginners

Freestyle rap is a battle to conquer on its own, and even some the most musically talented people in the world cannot get a handle on it.

However, with these ten simple steps on how to freestyle rap for beginners, you will be able to perfect your flow, improvisation, and spontaneity. From simply doing your research, to practicing in front of friends, and focusing on your flow, we've got you covered on all of the best tips to find confidence on the mic.

Learning how to freestyle rap for beginners not only takes practice, but research. Listening to lots of freestyle, and discovering the rappers who you best relate and look up to is great practice. This is done simply by searching up some of the best freestyle rappers, of any generation or era.

Much like researching for a paper, this research is beneficial to your process of learning. YouTube has tons of great resources for freestyle, as well as competitions. Take a listen, and learn from the best. The video above features some of the best freestyles from 2017's 97.1 radio station in New York.

Discover your beat first.

A great beat will not only motivate you, but it will transform your creative process. Simply discovering a beat without any words that can play on a loop is easier than you think.

However, finding the ultimate beat to practice freestyle rapping will take a bit of time. To start, begin with the downbeat, and find a piece of music that has a four-four time signature, this way the downbeat at the beginning of the measure will be strong, and keep you on track. Before you even begin to practice how to freestyle rap for beginners, finding a great beat is half the battle.

Don't challenge yourself too much.

When you're first learning, starting off easy is the best route to take. Instead of overwhelming yourself with rhyming that is too tough, or choosing a beat that is too fast, starting off with a simple and easy task will allow you to test the waters. Freestyle rap is freestyle rap, no matter how simplified you might have to start with.

When you're first learning how to freestyle rap for beginners, your main focus should be to continue your rap flow, no matter how stupid you might feel, or how hard you struggle to. Even if you stutter, laugh, or fail to rhyme, keep going.

The task at hand is to continue no matter what, and you will eventually become better with each practice. A great way to continue your flow is to come up with the rhyme in your mind ahead of time. This will allow you to find confidence in your lines, and train your mind to always be racing ahead. This skill is perfected simply with a ton of practice.

Add some humor to it.

Now that you've practiced keeping your flow constant, adding some humor to your flow is a great way to make your lyrics your own. Turn your starter lines into punch ines.

You can come up with these punchlines outside of freestyling, and have them ready to use while you're riffing with friends, especially during a freestyle battle. If you've got a great punchline, try out different rhymes with that line, with as many different words as possible.

Talk about your surroundings.

Take advantage of your surroundings while you're learning how to freestyle rap for beginners. Rap about what you see, how you feel, who you're with, anything. While you are just practicing, this is a great way to come up with a topic, and just riff by yourself, rapping about what you see in your room, what you did that day, etc.

You should especially take advantage of the people you are with, and mention them, especially if you know them well. It will definitely draw a crowd, and grow interest in what you're rapping about.

Rapping and poetry are very similar. And if you consider your craft to be poetry, your mentality might approach it differently. Freestyle hip-hop and poetry are more alike than you think. In developing similes, descriptions, visualization, and of course rhyming, you're not only rapping, but creating a poem.

Even if you wouldn't consider writing down your simple raps, you would be surprised how much easier it might seem if you reconsider it to be a different type of art besides rap.

Be true to your style.

Don't try to be your favorite rapper. People will see right through you. Instead, discover what your style is, and be true to it!

One of the best tips on how to freestyle rap for beginners, staying true to your own style is one of the best practices you can do while learning. This will allow you to discover the best style for your flow, and eliminate the factor of copying those you who have researched and looked up to. Be your own artist.

Try it with friends.

Freestyle in front of your friends. A great way to remain somewhat comfortable, while still reaching outside of your comfort zone, your friends will always be honest with you.

An audience is important to provide the pressure on your rhymes, as well as your flow. Plus, you can only give yourself so much feedback. Your friends will keep you on your toes, and allow you to practice rapping in front of an audience. Plus, it's fun.

Though the main concept attested to learning how to freestyle rap for beginners is the improvisation, writing down raps will allow you to learn, practice, and get better. The more you write down your raps, the more you will learn from yourself, and perfect your talent.

After practicing freestyle, take a few minutes to write down what you thought to be your best rhymes. You can also practice freestyle by simply constantly keeping the pen moving, and putting pressure on your line production.