Today I’m going to show you how to rhyme better in rap by drifting your rhyme schemes. To get started let’s check out some lyrics I wrote to an instrumental I produced called “Drowning”. If you like this instrumental you can get it over on my beat store. Now let’s check it out.
BARS 1-8
Now it may sound like I had the same end rhyme scheme going for the entire 8 bars but technically I didn’t. Let’s listen to the first and the last bar back to back so you can hear how the rhyme scheme has drifted away from where it began.
BARS 1 and 8
Now let’s take a closer look at what happened to the end rhymes.
BARS 1-2
For bars 1 and 2 I have a 2 syllable end rhyme that matched perfectly with the “a” and the “n” sound.
BARS 3-4
However on bars 3-4 I changed the first syllable of this 2 syllable rhyme scheme and started using “i” sounds in place of the “a” sounds.
BARS 5-8
Then on bars 5-8 I kept the 1st syllable of my end rhyme scheme the same but I changed the 2nd syllable to “meh” sounds. They still have the “n” sound on them, so they don’t sound totally different than where I started, but they have obviously drifted away from where they began.
WHAT ARE SLANT RHYMES?
This technique is using a rhyming technique called slant rhymes which is a type of rhyme with words that have similar, but not identical sounds. And the cool thing is, if you slant rhyme an existing slant rhyme you will keep getting further away from the original rhyme which can be really cool!
This will open up a whole new world of possibilities for your rhyming potential. You don’t always have to jump from one rhyme scheme to another. You can drift from one rhyme scheme to another.
LET ME HEAR YOU SPIT!
Today’s example was subtle but feel free to be as dramatic with this as you like. In fact, I’d love to see you give this technique a try! Drop some bars in the comments section below and try to make your rhyme schemes to drift by using slant rhymes on top of your slant rhymes!
My name is Cole Mize with colemizestudios.com where I strive to make you a better rapper now! If you’re trying to perfect your rap skills make sure you get a FREE copy of my eBook The #1 Fundamental to rapping below. And always remember, when it comes to rapping, there’s no rules, there’s only techniques! Peace!
