You need to know how the Spotify algorithm works to know where to place your rap chorus...

“Now Do” Chorus

The first chorus type we’re going to explain to help you write better raps is what we call a “now do” chorus.

This type of chorus is used when giving an order or a command to the audience or listener.

These are very effective when making songs that have a hard, edgy, or crowd-based concept associated with them.

We’ll use Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” and J. Cole’s “A Tale of Two Citiez” as examples of this to help you along when learning how to write better rap lyrics.

“Talk To” Chorus

The second hook style we’ll explore is the “talk to” chorus.

This is where you’re using a conversational tone of voice in your chorus to help draw the listener in…

…Imagine what you say in a conversation to write a chorus of this type.

Eminem’s “Cleaning Out My Closet” and Drake’s “Best I Ever Had” are excellent examples of the “Talk To” Chorus.

“Wide View Chorus”
One of the best ways to learn how to write better rap lyrics is practicing how visual your lyrics can be.

With the “wide view” chorus, what you’re doing is find a common, but LARGE visual image to paint a picture for your audience in the hook.

You can think of Kanye West’s “All of the Lights” or Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” as great usages of the “wide view chorus”.

Write Better Raps Using The “Now Do” Chorus
The “Now Do” chorus is best explained by imagining how you would ORDER or COMMAND your target audience to take an action.

You can also think of how you would tell your opponent or enemy what to do in a tense situation to help you consider how to write better rap lyrics using the “Now Do” chorus.

A great example of this is Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble”.

In the hook for this song, he is addressing an egotistical opponent or enemy and COMMANDING them to “now do” something… in this case, BE HUMBLE!

“Sit down… be humble!

“Sit down… be humble!”

When thinking of how to write better raps in developing your chorus abilities, consider creating an imaginary opponent or enemy in your mind to address in the chorus, as Kendrick Lamar does here.

Similarly, you can simply address the audience and order them to take an action.

This is one of the most common ways rappers have done things since the beginning of time… you remember the old “put your hands in the air, and wave ‘em like you just don’t care” line, don’t you?

J. Cole himself uses the same tactic in his banger, “A Tale of Two Citiez”:

“Hands in the air now!

Hands in the air! RUN IT!”

Additionally, J. Cole creates an enemy that he is address in the line before, much like Kendrick did in “Humble”:

“I pulled up on my n****a at the light like…

Nice watch! RUN IT!”

In this way, J. Cole uses both the imaginary opponent AND commanding the audience components of the “Now Do” chorus.

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