How Do I Write A Structured Song?

There’s a long standing trope in Battle Rap that states Battle Rappers are almost incapable of crossing over to writing Industry records. In practice, there’s absolutely an observable precedent of famed and lyrically intense Battle Rappers who for some reason continuously miss the mark on commercial releases. What we know about Battle Rap would lead most consumers to assume that these artists and competitors should be at the forefront of the Hip-Hop industry, considering their visceral lyrics, extremely technical and advanced wordplay, and metaphor and simile driven content. These are the essential pillars of Rap in and of itself, so why are barely an iotas worth of Battle Rappers household names? 

Similarly, when I first started writing music, and as I’ve noticed with a multitude of up and coming artists, there’s a disillusionment in realizing that, ‘BARS,’ are not Songs. Bars are a component of a Song and an important and necessary staple in Rap itself, but delivering 4 minutes of dense lyrical content rarely ever sees heightened commercial success.  Even with developed conceptual records on Concept Albums, these kinds of tracks are often less favorited than the more packaged and structurally written Records. Though many songs are experimental and sound infinitely unique, the build for their structure is pretty standard. While this may be chalked up to the attention span of the consumer and what consumers derive from their music, it’s important to be able to craft these types of songs.  For Freelance and Contracted Songwriters, commanding the versatility to be able to design different forms of songs will be an important skill to develop in order to further your career. This takes a fundamental understanding of song structure and also the people listening to the song.

Starting at the most important cornerstone, the Consumer will always need a Hook. While Hip-Hop and the music consumer have sanded down the appropriate length of time for a record, EP, or LP, the concept of the Hook is universal and ideal in writing music. It’s the earworm. A return to or build to the most memorable and retainable concept in a song itself. To see this phenomenon in action, go see an artist that you like a lot at a large festival or venue performance and see how many individuals in the crowd know the lyrics to the entirety of the record versus just when the bass drops and the hook sweeps through the audience. Watch the increase of energy during these moments as well. The Hook has been constructed to captivate. It’s the part of the song people will mumble to their friend when they can’t remember the name of the song, and furthering that, commonly records are named after the most memorable and impactful bar of the Hook itself.  Because if you can remember the Hook, you can remember the title of the song. It’s marketing. 

Your hooks should be simple, preferentially organic, and catchy. There’s truth to more is less. Strive for provocation, emotion, and release. Try to change intensity between the Verse or Pre-Chorus (A small section prior to the Hook) and the Hook itself. If there’s energy in the Verse, try to bring the listener towards a section of reprieve in which to catch their breath. If the Verse is light in intensity, turn the song upside down with aggression and impact. Try to build and fall towards these sections. The more palatable and ‘catchy,’ the Hook, the more likely for a Consumer to return to your record for that moment that makes the hair on the back of their neck rise. 

The Music Consumer craves memorable moments, personally resonating lines, and a duality in consumable simplicity with emotional depth from its Songwriters. It’s hard to achieve all of these for any writer, especially when some Genres don’t actually require these. Specific to Hi-Hop, Rap, and even Pop, you’ll want to ensure you have some form of content. There’s something to be said for the success of contentless songs like Lil Pump’s 2017, ‘Gucci Gang,’ the most syndicated no-content record possibly ever.  But what’s to be said is often out of the hands of the Songwriter; that the success of a Record with no writing integrity will require other facets of bolstering to catalyze the success of the song.  Excluding one-hit-wonders, you’ll need a strong grasp of Marketing, Memes, and Promotion to overcome the barrier of having minimal amounts of writing. Remember your demographic as well to properly ascribe to the necessities of what’s considered writing integrity in the first place. If you’re writing Pop Music under a Nickelodeon Talent contract, you may need to adjust your lexicon, song length, and concepts compared to if you’re writing for Beyonce. 

Contemporarily, we’ve decided to tag out of 32, let alone 16 bars, opting for much shorter more viral driven products. 2 minute run times and Hook – 12 bar Verse – Hook records are rampant and dominating as they can be easily produced and are just enough content to return to. Most professional Recording Artists spitting longer durations have already left an impact on Rap as its Gatekeepers. Internally, the war between Conscious and New-wave will always rage on, both sub genres with antagonistically opposite requirements for quality, but there’s no Hip-Hop without Verses.  The fluidity of what’s even considered Hip-Hop however, leaves many variations of your Verse and Hook structure to bounce between depending on your aim. The important part is that in the Verse you instill the Mood, follow a real concept or narrative, and modulate between rhythms, rhymes, and meters in those short bars. Occasionally you’ll find not variating can add substance and emotion to a song, especially in RnB and TrapSoul, but these are often predicated on Vocal runs and the strength of your Artist. Make sure you know whom you’re writing for, what you’re writing, or why you’re writing. Knowledge regarding intention creates purpose in your song.  Try to pride yourself on delivering something that can be retained by a listener. This way, no matter your chosen route of delivery (emotion, repetition, lyrical quality, ‘catchiness,’ intensity) you’ll be able to ensure a marketable facet to your Record. 

The more nuanced your Songwriting becomes, the more elements you’ll seek to add and experiment with. Introductions, Refrains, Skits, and Bridges add changes in dynamics and Moods by coloring the song with variations and conceptual development. Arrange your Song to pull the listener in, ushering them through some form of progression. We must all know by now that any Record has the potential to sell any amount. But, you can increase your likelihood of finding success and having your song selected to move on to become a Record by honing and shaping what you know the consumer wants and what you’re supposed to be giving. If you’re following older principles of songwriting, strive for emotional range and lengthy concepts of grandeur and hyperbole. If you’re adhering to newer principles of Songwriting, keep your Hooks short and repetitive and your verses short… and repetitive.  If it generates revenue, we don’t criticize in the industry, and its definitely easier to pen songs under the principles of Contemporary Hip-Hop, but even the most excellent of these songs have concept, depth, or some base in the production and composition that support the less restrictive and expedited packaging of that kind.  If you’re trying to pen the next To Pimp A Butterfly then this article will hardly move you, but as standards of songwriting, just promise you’ll put two Hooks and a Verse in there at the very least.