Rap Attack 101: What to Have Before You Leave the Studio

 

BREAKING NEWS: I'm a Jay-Z fan.  This is only my opinion and not law, but he's the greatest MC of all time because "MC" stands for "master of ceremonies" and nobody masters a ceremony as a hip-hop/rap artist like Mr. Carter.  (I will say that Doug E. Fresh is arguably more or at least equally entertaining as a one-man show.)  Now for the real point of this post...it takes a lot to go from Picture #1 to Picture #2 as a rapper, MC, artist or however you choose to bill yourself.  Seems like an obvious statement simply because Jay is the subject in these pictures.  However, judging from many of the performances that I see at open mics, artist showcases, and even "professional" concerts, it's not as consensus of a practice as one should expect it to be.  Let's forget lack of stage presence or a clear sign that an artist doesn't practice enough before they grace the stage.  Let's not even get into whether somebody is dope boy fresh or spewing wack juice all over the game.  The thing that annoys me the most is that many artists think they're so ready for Picture #2 that they leave Picture #1 without the essentials.

What do I mean?  It's simple: rappers who either rap over their own voice through the ENTIRE song or rap their whole song over an instrumental without a hype man to help ad-lib and chant the chorus.  I've seen some people get away with rapping over their full tracks and you barely notice because 1) their voice carries so well on the mic and/or 2) they have enough stage presence to get away with it.  Unfortunately, most rappers who do this are not that exceptional and their performances leave much to be desired.  Fret not, folks, for I have the cure for your many ills: the first installment to Rap Attack 101, "What to Have Before You Leave the Studio".  Let's be clear: I do not claim to be the authority on this.  Nevertheless, here are four things you need before exiting Picture #1 and considering being the focal point in Picture #2:

1. The full track (with all vocals over the instrumental).  This should be titled as an "UH DUH ALERT".  You spend anywhere from $50 per hour and up just to record--and let's not get into the prices for mixing and mastering--so you should leave with at least a rough copy of what you've done.  However, it's not just for vanity's sake to brag about how nice you are during smoke sessions with your homies.  No, my friend...it's about studying everything you've done in that session from how you stress certain words or punch lines to breath control (or lack thereof) to your overall energy level in delivering the product on wax.  This may come as a surprise, but you may not like what you hear once you step away from the high of the moment and actually analyze the end result.  You will not only become a better recording artist by analyzing your work, but it will also bolster your live performances because you'll be more familiar with your voice.  Besides, it's not what you say that separates you from the average rapper, but how you say it.
2. The "TV Track".  If you plan on being a performing artist, then this is the most important track to have before leaving the studio.  I'll never forget my first open mic at what ended up being more of a poetry slam two years ago.  When I performed the first song in my set, I had a track that featured the instrumental, my ad-libs and the chorus and it went a long way in how I was received.  After the show, one of the poets that was also a rapper came up to me and asked, "How did you get that track without your lead vocals?"  I told him, "Oh, I just had my engineer do a TV track."  Now back to you...contrary to your perception, people hate when rappers rap over themselves.  If you let me tell it, it doesn't work because 1) it's borderline lazy and cheating because if you want to take a bar off or you forget your lines, you think you can get away with it; and 2) if we wanted to hear the studio track, then we could've waited for you to bombard us with it online.  On the converse, trying to rap a song completely by yourself without any of your vocals (especially the chorus) can quickly deplete your energy when people don't know the chorus already.  It only works when you have the breath control of an aquatic creature.  Believe it or not, your audience wants to hear the difference in your studio recording and your live performance.  Whereas your studio recording is the introduction to who you are artistically, your live performance is the confirmation of who you are personally.  With that said, your audience can live with an ad-lib or a chorus as part of your live performance, but they don't want to hear you either shouting over or mumbling under yourself.  Hence, have your engineer bounce TV tracks for your songs--especially those which you plan on performing.  Trust and believe, your audience will greatly appreciate it.
3. The a cappella track.  Now this has a little less to do with your live performances, but let's say that you plan on being relevant down the road and you happen to meet a producer that also has skills as a DJ or wants to bring in a DJ who is a scratching phenom.  That producer may want to handcraft a beat for you that features many of your catchiest lines in the hook and really give you a hip-hop banger.  Let's go back to the live aspect and having a DJ on stage with you that plays a recognizable instrumental of yours and scratches your notable lines on stage over that instrumental.  That would really add to the showmanship of your performance, right?  Let's also think about those catchy lines as the feature in someone else's chorus or sprinkled throughout a potential hit.  Now other people are paying homage to (and potentially dollars for) your voice.  However, it's awfully difficult to do that when you don't have an a cappella available, so make sure you get a track with no instrumental and either all vocals or minus the ad-libs.
4. The instrumental track.  I know what you're thinking...you came in the door with that.  However, depending on your producer and his capabilities, his or her instrumental may be as raw as sashimi--and not everybody can stomach the thought of sashimi as easily as sushi.  Your engineer will typically do rough mixes of your instrumentals if they have access to the raw file to adjust the levels and tweak each sound individually.  Besides, just in case you are that artist who is amazingly adept at spitting over the instrumentals alone, why not have a slightly more polished version of it?  Also, what if you're on a radio show and the host asks you to freestyle over one of your beats?  It would definitely behoove you to have a quality copy of the instrumental--not to mention that's technically a "live" performance.

Yeah, it might seem hard to do all of this, but see who the standard is and start pondering how much further you have to go.  One might say, "C'mon, give us a break, Dirk.  People know his songs by heart, so he doesn't have to say his choruses half the time.  Plus, he can afford to get The Roots to perform his music, Mary J. Blige to sing his hooks, AND bring in the best DJs to implement even more of a hip-hop element."  Points well taken.  However, he was on the same level as you at one point--albeit, with more raw talent in his thumb than many of us have in our entire bodies.  If you look back at a lot of his singles, he normally did at least three out of the four aforementioned points necessary to being a marketable recording artist and a standout live performer.  Therefore, if your goal is to ascend above being just the nicest rapper on the block or in the hood or recording a bunch of material just because you have a hookup on studio time, please strongly consider these suggestions.  Just doing the little things before you walk out of that studio might propel you to "William H." status as a performer.  More important, people will respect your craft and your artistry more when it's evident that you do in every aspect of it.