The key to writing great rap or hip hop songs starts with understanding the foundation behind rap song structure. Fortunately, the basics behind rap and hip hop music are much more straightforward than you might expect - it comes down to understanding the universal structural elements of a song and adding your perspective within these parameters.

Below, we'll walk you through how to appropriately structure a rap song so that you can start writing great rap songs from the ground up.

How Do I Structure a Rap Song?

Structuring a rap song isn't unlike writing any other genre of music, though you need to pay special attention to the three essentials of rap or flow, delivery, and the message of your lyrics. Rap structure is essentially putting together different sections like verses and choruses, each of which has its own standard length, communicated in bars as discussed below.

However, there is no one-size-fits-all structure when it comes to rap. To structure a rap song, first you have to understand the vital components of track, decide what style you want to work with, and then build your track surrounding that framework.

YouTuber Rapping Mannual gives an excellent overview of what you may expect from structuring a rap song:

The 3 Rap Essentials

In order to write a rap song , you need to understand what makes writing rap different than other genres:

• Flow: Flow refers to how your lyrics and tone fit with the groove of the beat. Great rappers keep the momentum of a track going just by adjusting their energy over the course of a song. Rhyme scheme is also an important part of keeping flow.
• Message or Content: What perspective is the rapper coming from? How is this story conveyed? In rap music, the most important factor is the strength and perspective of the rap lyrics themselves.
• Delivery: What tone are the rap lyrics showcased in? Does the feeling of the speaker come through? The inflection, tone, and overall delivery is vital for making a rap song stand out from the masses.

Understanding the Different Types of Rap Music

We showcase the different styles of rap music in more depth here , but a central part of decoding your rap song structure is deciding what type of rap song you want to create. These are just a few rap subgenres in which you might want to explore:

Hip Hop

Hip Hop music helped pioneer rap from the ground up, with this style primarily featuring artists rapping over sampled and shuffled beats. Classic hip hop artists include the likes of Jay Z and Kanye West.

Conscious Rap

Conscious rap or hip hop aims to use lyricism to bring light to social issues and other causes. Some conscious rap artists include Kendrick Lamar or Mos Def.

Emo Rap

This rap subgenre is known for its gut-wrenching, vulnerable lyricism and often melodic lines. Juice WRLD and Lil Uzi Vert are known as pioneers of this genre.

Drill

Drill brings together the influences of Gangsta rap and trap percussion and rhythm. Some Drill rappers include Pop Smoke and Lil Durke.

Jazz Rap

As showcased through legends like A Tribe Called Quest, Jazz Rap fuses together the rhythmically complex and diverse world of Jazz with spoken word.

Pop Rap

The worlds of pop and rap often crossover, especially with the rise of artists like Doja Cat and Drake. These rap songs may be shorter and feature a more melodic hook or structure than others.

Understanding Bars

To understand rap song structure, you need to understand the concept of "bars" or measures. A bar in music is the same as a measure of music - a unit of time determined by a piece's time signature. In most popular music and rap songs, time signatures are written in 4/4, meaning that each measure or bar consists of 4 beats, with quarter notes each counting as 1 beat.

It sounds complicated, but essentially a bar is every time you can count to "1, 2, 3, 4" in a piece of music. This measure of time can be used as a reference in rap song structure as shown: a standard rap chorus runs 8 bars or measures, while a standard rap verse runs 16 bars.

Basic Rap Song Structure Explained

Now that you understand the basics behind bars, you're ready to start writing! Now, there isn't a singular song structure when it comes to writing rap music. Instead, there are building blocks like the intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and outro which we'll uncover below. Each of these elements has its own characteristics, considerations, and generalized length. These elements can be mixed and matched to create song structure for your rap song:

Intro (4 bars)

The intro of the song is fairly short and gives the listener a preview of what they can expect in the beat, or even the chorus of the track.

Verse (16 bars)

The verse is the meat and potatoes of a song, or where rappers spend the majority of the time.

Pre-chorus or Pre-hook (Optional - 4 bars)

In some cases, rap songs will have a pre-chorus which will help lead into the chorus. This section is distinct from the verse in terms of cadence and delivery.

Chorus (8 bars)

The chorus is the one repeated section in a rap song. Most rap choruses last about 8 bars, or half as long as a rap verse.

Verse (16 bars)

Rappers can add as many verses as they like to any particular track, though they usually are packed in groups of 16 bars.

Chorus (8 bars)

The second, third, or continued choruses repeat the hook and chorus ideas expressed from before.

Bridge (Optional - 8 bars)

The bridge is a shorter section, typically the same length as a chorus that often has different rhyme schemes, tone, or cadence in contrast to the rest of the song.

Outro (4 bars)

This section can be limited to ad libs or the instrumental or beat of the song. This is essentially the cool down of the track and typically only lasts 4 bars or so.

Popular Rap Song Structure Examples

One of the best ways to learn proper song structures is to take a look at some of your favorite tracks.

Gold Digger by Kanye West and Jamie Foxx

This classic rap banger featuring one of the most memorable rap chorus hooks of the past two decades holds to an intro, chorus, verse, chorus, verse chorus, and outro structure. Starting the song strong with the rap hook gives this song more memorability:

Humble by Kendrick Lamar

Humble brought Kendrick Lamar into the larger limelight of music, which is no surprise considering the catchiness of this song. This track features a traditional structure of intro, verse, chorus, verse, and chorus:

Nice for What by Drake

Nice for What is an excellent hit song by Drake featuring a simple yet effective song structure. Moving from the intro, to chorus, to verse, to chorus, to verse, to the bridge and final chorus and outro, this song gets people dancing:

Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang

This hip hop, pop, rap crossover has a simple structure moving from one rap verse to chorus and back again. With 9 amazing verses, this track has flow and delivery for everyone:

Rap Song Structure FAQs

Writing a great rap song doesn't happen by accident. Consider these commonly asked questions and answers to guide your songwriting:

What are the 3 components of rap music?

The three components of rap music are flow, delivery, and message or content. Rap music is unique in that its lyrics are intended to deliver a specific message as opposed to other genres of music and places a high level of emphasis on rhythm.

How many bars are in a rap song?

The amount of bars in a rap song will vary, but many rap songs contain between 60 and 72 bars of music based on traditional rap song structure. This is assuming a basic rap song structure like intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, and outro.

What is 8 bars in rap?

8 bars in rap refers to 8 measures of music. In rap song structure, an 8-bar section is usually used as the chorus or hook of a song, and occasionally as a bridge.

What is the standard structure of a rap song?

A standard rap song structure consists of 16-bar verses, 8-bar choruses or hooks, along with potential intros, outros, and bridges. Song structure can vary from one song to the next, but an 8-bar or 16-bar section is fairly standard.

What is an example of a song structure?

A song structure refers to the arrangement of a song, or the pattern of elements like a verse, chorus, and bridge. One example of verse chorus form is The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight , where the song entirely consists of verses and chorus sections alone.

How to make a rap song template?

Creating a template for a rap song is just a matter of understanding the main components or the verse, chorus, bridge, and any intro or outro flow or instrumentals. We explain the meaning behind all of the components above.

In short, most rap songs follow a fairly predictable, traditional song structure - if you can nail this basic template, you'll be well on your way to writing killer rap lyrics and songs that adapt to your own style of music. Have fun putting these song structures to the test and writing rap music!