Building Up The Confidence To Rap In Front Of Others

So you’ve been working hard on improving your rap skills in the privacy of your bedroom. But at what point should you step out and share your talent with the outside world? And how can you get rid of your fear of rapping in front of others before doing so? I’ll be sure to cover all of that within this article so LET’S GET IT!

Are You Ready?

First things first. Before you start putting yourself out there you should spend some time developing your rap skills. You don’t have to “master” the art of rapping first but you should at least be decent at rapping already.

If you’re not sure if you’re ready yet then keep the following in mind.

Consistency

Can you rap your song consistently the same way over and over again?

If not it could be because you haven’t structured your lyrics properly, to begin with, which can make each of your rapping attempts a guessing game because you don’t know for sure how everything is supposed to be landing in relation to the beats of each bar.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my lesson on Structuring lyrics.

Ear Training

If you find it difficult to structure your lyrics to the beats it’s likely because you need to train your ears more to hear the beats so that you can structure them correctly. My video lesson on Establishing Rhythm Pt.3 can help you with that.

Also be sure to check out my FREE rap course called 5 Minutes To A Better Rap Flow

Memorization

If you find that you have structured your lyrics properly but still struggle to rap your song the same way consistently then likely your issue is that you simply need to memorize your song.

I personally like to memorize my songs in small 4 bar sections. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my article on Memorizing Lyrics.

That’s It!

The main thing you should be able to do before rapping in front of others is rap your song the same way consistently. This simply means that you know your song and are prepared to perform it without messing up. This also builds up your confidence to rap in front of others which I’m about to get into a little more right now.

Facing Your Fear

So you’ve got your song memorized and are all set but there’s still this gigantic cloud of fear looming over you which paralyzes even the thought of rapping in front of others. So how do you get rid of it?… well… you don’t… you learn how to deal with it.

The butterflies never leave

Believe it or not, Hip Hop legends such as DMX and Eminem have both spoken openly about still getting nervous before performing live on stage.

You see, that fear likely will never leave you regardless of how long you’ve been rapping in front of others. So instead of focusing on eliminating the nervousness your must learn how to convert that fear & and those nervous emotions into fuel and energy for your performance.

And honestly, the only way you’re going to get better at performing live is by… well… performing live! lol! But before you make that jump you may want to build up your confidence in smaller “stages” before rapping in front of large groups of people. And here’s how.

Back To Your Room!

You can start building up your courage to rap in front of others in your bedroom.

Simply lock the door, crank up the music as loud as you can without getting cussed out, and get in front of your mirror. If you want to feel even a little more legit grab a remote control to your TV or something and imagine it’s a microphone.

At this point, you’re going to be using your creative powers to envision that you’re rapping in front of a crowd of people and you are killin it!

Just imagine the people hanging on every word you’re saying! Envision them reciting your lyrics at the same time you’re saying them. Picture them moving their body to the rhythm of the music along with you. Imagine hearing the echoes from around the room as people are screaming and cheering your name. Let that sink in for a moment? That feels good, doesn’t it?

Self Reflection

As you’re rapping your song, look at yourself in the mirror and critique yourself on your stage presence. Study your body movement, eye contact and hand gestures to the crowd as your rapping. As your working on your stage presence, you may want to also watch videos of some of your favorite rappers live performance and mimic some of the things they are doing. This is utilizing the power of referencing.

This may seem silly but it’s actually quite powerful. When you spend time envisioning where you wish to be it’s like you’re already there and it shifts your thought process. It makes your dream seem that much more real which increases the likely hood of you actually taking action to achieve those dreams.

Success and Failure are just mindsets. Remember that!

As you do this you will be building up the courage to rap in front of others. It can take days, weeks, or months until you feel less scared to rap in front of others. Remember we’re not trying to eliminate the fear but rather use it as fuel.

Stepping Out And Leveling Up!

One On One

Once you have gained some experience performing in front of your mirror and you feel you have made significant improvements it’s time to step out the room.

Grab one friend or family member that you trust and rap your song in front of them. They’re likely not going to be too critical but instead supportive so you don’t have too much to worry about.

Once you have completed this task do it a few more times with other friends and family members that you trust, one at a time.

For A Few

After you’ve done this, you may find yourself naturally in a situation where one of the people you’ve performed in front of asks you to perform in front of them as well as several other people at the same time.

If this happens make sure you take advantage of it. If not look for opportunities to rap in front of small crowds such as a group of your friends, family gatherings, etc..

For Many

And simply keep this up! The more active you are as a performer the larger the crowds will get because more and more people will take notice of your talent which will open the doors for more opportunities to perform.

You will meet a lot of cool people along the way, and you will continue to get better as a rapper and performer because you will be getting lots of feedback on your songs because you’re no longer stuck in isolation within your bedroom.

The fear its self will likely never go away as each performance is at a different venue in front of different people. But as you rap in front of others more you will get much more comfortable facing your fears and this only comes with experience.

Sound Off!

Have you performed live yet? If so please share your experience. If not let me know if this article as helpful to you. I’d love to hear from you!