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If you want to know how to rap better, then continue reading. You will learn to rap and will learn the secrets that will see you win many rap battles.

Step #1: Use The 1-2-3-4 Formula

If you want to learn how to rap, then understand and follow the 1-2-3-4 phase formula. Every hip hop song can be turned into a 4 step beat formula. Every time an emphasis is made in the rap, that is one of the 4 numbers.

To help you, move your hand from left to right every beat. Doing so makes it easier to make your flow rhyme. You need to create a pattern, for example, the 1st and 4th beat rhyming.

Step #2: Rap With Other Friends

Another secret on how to rap better is to freestyle rap with your friends. It is much more fun to freestyle rap with friends than to do it yourself. You will build confidence and can tell each other what was good and what was not so good. This will make your freestyle rapping skills improve much faster.

If you can’t find anyone to rap with, go to an online voice Internet chatroom and look for a chatroom that has many hip hop fans. You will easily find people who are willing to freestyle rap with you or battle. You may well find that some online friendships soon become offline ones too.

Step #3: Create Your Identity

Another tip to learn to rap is create your own rapper identity. A lot of hip hop emcees copy other people. They want to be like the next big hit so wear clothes and style their hair in a way that isn’t true to themselves. But when you do that, you lose a lot of your own originality.

You need to be yourself, and make a statement or originality. Look into past experiences and be proud of what makes you unique. By doing so you’ll find that people will more easily remember you, which is just what you want them to do.

Once you create your own rapper identity, you will feel more comfortable and ease when you’re rapping, and that will come across in your rapping, which will sound more natural and relaxed.

Step #4: Use A Rhyming Dictionary

To improve your rhyming skills, get yourself a rhyming dictionary. As you can probably guess from the name, this is a dictionary that lists words that rhyme with each other. This will save you a ton of time, and means you can focus on the rhythm and style of your raps.

Step #5: Focus On Your Particular Talents

Too many wannabe rappers spend too much time checking up on what other rappers are doing. That is not good because you can end up being discouraged if you see others doing better than you currently are.

So, don’t focus on other peoples lives or their rapping skills. Instead, focus on your own skills. The more you focus on your own freestyle rapping skills, the faster you will improve as a hip hop artist.

Author Bio: If you want to find out how to rap better, then sign up for my free newsletter at http://www.FreestyleMethod.com.

No matter how dire the global economic situation may seem, fans can still collect enough coins to see rap master 50 Cent live in concert. It goes without a doubt that any 50 Cent extravaganza is likely to be lavish. However, 50 himself is not completely immune to the downturn in the economy and the housing market. His mansion has been up for sale for two years?and still no bites. Originally priced at $18.5 million, it has sunk down $4 million to $14.5 million (a 20 percent decrease in value). Of course this is still not pocket change, mind you. But then again the ritzy 17-acre property comes complete with a helipad, a 40-person hot tub, a movie theater and billiard rooms. The massive pad boasts 18 bedrooms and a whopping 37 bathrooms. What you might want with 37 bathrooms is anyone’s guess, but it’s almost a guarantee that high quality goes along with high quantity in this particular case. In addition, 50′s MTV reality TV series “Money and the Power” is reportedly being cancelled.

50 Cent has spoken out about the current financial hardships gripping not only the United States but the world. Coming from a guy who currently owns 37 bathrooms, this may seem odd, but nevertheless the entertainment industry stands to suffer a bit as people shift their focus from spending money on movies and concerts as well as CDs and DVDs to saving and being more frugal in their shopping habits.

50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III, rose to fame in the rap industry with his platinum-selling albums Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and The Massacre. His success has reached beyond the boundaries of the United States, and he is currently considered one of the rap world’s most successful artists.

Of course it wasn’t always fame and fortune for 50, though perhaps he might like you to think it was. He was born in Queens, New York and as a teenager got caught up with dealing drugs during the 1980s. Inspired by rap music, he sought to gain his own footing in the industry, but even that led to trouble for 50. He was shot nine times in 2000 and somehow miraculously survived. Thanks to help from rapper Eminem and producer Dr. Dre, he started his career and would eventually rise to become one of world’s highest selling rappers.

50 Cent is just as well known for his publicized “feuds” with other rappers as he is for his music (perhaps more so). Some nasty words were exchanged with Ja Rule, The Game and Fat Joe. In 2007, 50 Cent and Kanye West butted heads to see whose album would sell the most in a day upon its release on September 11. West’s Graduation won, although Curtis was not far behind.

Any fan of rap music would likely love a pair of tickets to see 50 live onstage. You can find a pair now at http://StubHub.com. Any fan might also like a 17-acre spot of land with 37 bathrooms…but that’s up to you.

Author Bio: This article was written by Alexa Evans and is sponsored by StubHub. Stubhub sells 50 Cent tickets, as well as many other kinds of sports tickets, concert tickets, special events tickets and theater tickets.

Hip-hop heavyweight Kanye West has publically shown his support for president-elect Barack Obama ever since the senator from Illinois announced his decision to run for president earlier this year, and West is nothing but floored coming out of Obama’s victorious campaign this week. Paying tribute to the Obama campaign, West wrote the words “Hi Mom, Obama Won!” on his website’s blog, a touching move from the rapper whose mother Donda passed away less than a year ago after complications with surgery.

Other fervent Obama supporters in the hip-hop community include artists Will.i.am, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Stevie Wonder, Will Smith, Q-Tip, John Legend, Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Ludacris, Common, Mos Def, Ne-Yo, Nas, Young Jeezy, the Game, Herbie Hancock, Usher and more. Chicago talk show guru Oprah Winfrey has also been a supporting figure in the Obama campaign, and she was in attendance at Grant Park in Chicago Tuesday night as Barack Obama made his historic election speech. Brad Pitt was also in the crowd, and several other public figures celebrated Obama’s victory on television programs, websites and interviews as the presidential election concluded. Kanye West’s declaration on his website was one of many, but the shout-out to his late mother was one of the most memorable notes of Obama excitement.

West, a Chicago, Illinois native, has been incredibly involved in the presidential campaign this year, but before he was dominating the music (and now, political) scene, the fresh rapper was blazing through the Midwest with his hip-hop talent and unrelenting perseverance. West first burst on the music scene in the late ’90s and early ’00s, getting his foot in the door by appearing on Jay-Z’s Blueprint album. West’s 2004 album The College Dropout was the massive success the rapper had been waiting for, and songs like “Jesus Walks” and “Slow Jamz” placed the name Kanye West among the big dogs in the hip-hop industry.

Since 2004, Kanye West has recorded and released several number ones on the Billboard charts ranging from “Gold Digger” and “Good Life” to “Stronger,” also garnering eight Grammy Awards in the wake of his musical peak. The rapper’s confident feel-good anthems have dominated radio waves and television channels for several years now, and he’s been rocking out live performances to everyone with Kanye West tickets just as long. If you haven’t heard West’s live rendition of “Stronger” in concert, discover the Kanye West magic for yourself.

Aside from producing some of the most powerful hip-hop music on the scene these days, West has also become a fearless public icon in the media for anything and everything he believes in. The rapper has been tapped on camera saying that George Bush doesn’t care about black people in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, also depicted as Jesus Christ on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, and now his strong support for president-elect Barack Obama has earned him some time in the spotlight, as well. West is still busy performing and supporting his new album 808s & Heartbreak, and the rapper hasn’t shown any signs of a slowdown.

This article is sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com/ and was written by Jenna Jay. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling http://www.stubhub.com/kanye-west-tickets/, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Akon is set to release his forthcoming album, Freedom, December 2 via Konvict/Upfront/SRC/Universal Records and the rapper told Billboard that while there are some typical Konvict tracks on the record he is going in a new direction as an artist. The 34-year-old artist said he changed the sound because, “Everyone adapted to the Konvict sound already, so we had to switch it up. Now we’re bringing the whole Euro-club sound. That’s where we’re headed with it.” Sure enough, the album’s single “Right Now (Na Na Na)” shows the synth sound that Akon is going with for his upcoming album. The video for “Right Now (Na Na Na)” is directed by Gill Green and made its debut online and on BET last week. More evidence of Akon’s sound transformation lie in other dance singles like “Keep You Much Longer,” “Troublemaker,” “Beautiful” and “Holla Holla” which features T-Pain. The best way to see Akon’s new sound is to see him live.

Akon was raised in Senegal but moved to the States when he was just seven-years-old. Unfortunately the rapper, who has since cleaned up his act, discovered hip-hop music and crime around the same time and only thought to pursue music seriously when he was behind bars. When he was released Akon, the son of jazz percussionist Mor Thiam, released the aptly-titled LP Trouble in 2004 and its lead single “Locked Up” was an instant sensation. The ex-con turned fledgling rap star released his sophomore album, Konvicted, in 2006. Konvicted spawned the Number One hit singles “I Wanna Love You” and “Smack That” and solidified Akon’s spot among the top tier of rappers in the nation. While Trouble managed to sell 1.6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Soundscan, Konvicted eclipsed the success of Akon’s debut by selling 2.9 million.

Akon’s third album is sure to do just as well as his last two, as the second single for Freedom, “I’m So Paid,” features Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy and is one track, like “Sunny Day” and “Be With You,” that is meant for the rapper’s broad urban fan base. Although Akon is known for singing about his love of “smacking that” and not falling in love with a stripper, the rapper does lay down some compassionate rhymes on “Over the Edge” and “Birthmark” from his upcoming album.

While finalizing his new album is undoubtedly keeping him busy, Akon is planning on hitting the road for a 10-to-12 city promotional tour one week before Freedom hits stands and will embark on an official tour in support of the album in February. Be sure to get your Akon tickets quick because the buzz about Akon’s new album is only getting louder which means shows are sure to sell out. The rapper is offering an unspecified prize for fans who submit videos about what freedom means for them on his website and also working with a watchmaker out of Switzerland to design two exclusive watched for a wrist watch/phone combo. Akon’s Konvict clothing line will be available in February (just in time for his tour) and a more upscale line called Aliaune will follow next fall.

This article is sponsored by http://www.stubhub.com/ and was written by Kirby Brooks.StubHub.com is a leader in the business of selling http://www.stubhub.com/akon-tickets/, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

It is no secret that high incarceration rates are an epidemic in the Black community. Many of today’s biggest celebrities, from sports to music, are survivors of this epidemic. Some of today’s biggest hip-hop stars often rap about their struggles growing up in the Black community, but few return to their old neighborhoods and mentor children about avoiding the temptation of street life.

Few rappers have been criticized as much as Long Beach legend Snoop Dogg, whose early success led to the popularity of “gangsta” rap in the early 1990s. Despite the raw lyrics of Snoop’s early records, he is determined to see that the youth in the Black community do not follow in his footsteps, which led to his incarceration before achieving international fame.

According to reports, the West Coast rapper has teamed up with documentary director Gabriel London, filmmaker Alex Munoz and Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) Urbanworld Film Festival to present Bigg Snoop Dogg’s Youth Authority: California, an autobiographical streets-to-prison documentary production.

According to a released statement, “The resulting documentary weaves together Snoop’s experiences growing up in the midst of daily violence and gang activity with the stories of young men still caught up in the streets-to-prison cycle. Bridging generations, London has painted an intimate portrait of Snoop and the ‘young G’s,’ current prisoners and parolees who struggle to find their way in a system that is too often focused on punishment rather than education and rehabilitation. The film is Snoop and the filmmakers’ attempt to break a vicious cycle that leads to over 10,000 youth being locked up annually in California alone.”

Before signing to Death Row Records in the early 1990s, Snoop was active in the nefarious street gang the Crips, experiencing frequent run-ins with the law. The rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, actually spent time inside California’s infamous “Youth Authority” (also known as CYA).

Not long after high school graduation, the future rapper was arrested on cocaine possession charges and spent the next three years in the judicial system. Unlike so many others in the Black community, Snoop was able to find an alternative lifestyle when he discovered a love for hip-hop. Snoop, along with Nate Dogg and hip-hop producer Dr. Dre’s step-brother Warren G, founded the group 213 and began recording mixtapes hoping to impress Dr. Dre. At a NWA house party, Warren G persuaded the disc jockey to play a 213 mixtape, and Dr. Dre was so impressed with Snoop’s rhymes and charisma that he collaborated with him on his debut solo single “Deep Cover.”

Snoop would go on to become an overnight sensation in the world of hip-hop. However, he could not escape his violent past, and at one time was charged with the murder of a rival gang member, Phillip Woldermarian, a charge he was later acquitted of because of self-defense.

Despite his numerous run-ins with the law, he is determined to see a change in the mentality of youth in the Black community. Snoop’s idea for the documentary was to use his personal story to teach children in the Black community that there are alternatives to the criminal lifestyle.

Bigg Snoop Dogg’s Youth Authority screens Friday, September 12 at the Urbanworld Film Festival.

The author Todd A. Smith is the publisher of http://www.regalmag.com, an online magazine dedicated to issues affecting African American men. The website tackles such topics as social and political issues, health, relationships, business, sports and entertainment.

Article Source: http://megamusicsite.com

When hip-hop legend, Nas, began promoting the title of his latest CD, I was one of the many that thought that hip-hop had finally taken it too far.

I believed Nas was using the N-word as the CD title as a mere publicity stunt to gain more attention for the project. After months of political pressure and protest by civil rights leaders such as Rev. Al Sharpton, The Island Def Jam Music Group and Columbia Records forced their artist to release the project as a self-titled CD after many retail stores made it clear that they would not stock an album called (N-word).

Despite the controversy that erupted over the original CD title and the negative lyrics of some rappers, what we received from the NAS CD was not the ignorance that many critics thought we would get, but the most intelligent and thought provoking hip-hop CD in over 20 years. Not since Public Enemy’s heyday has a musical artist presented an entire album dedicated to the struggles and the triumphs of African Americans, and caused those who are very critical of rap music to take a critical look at themselves and realize that many rappers are willing to be the leaders of tomorrow if we took the time to understand their struggles and their solutions to the problems plaguing the Black community.

NAS is hip-hop’s version of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, and introspective look at the problems confronting the African American community from unhealthy eating habits, sub-par schools and self-hate.

In the song “Sly Fox,” the Queens, N.Y. native takes aim at Bill O’Reilly and Fox news for their conservative slant on the news we see and their tumultuous history with the hip-hop community. Nas rhymes:

“They own YouTube, MySpace

When this ignorant sh*t gon’ stop?

They monopolizing news

Your views

And the channel you choose

Propoganda

Visual cancer”

On “Fried Chicken,” he collaborates with Busta Rhymes for unprecedented depiction of unhealthy eating habits among African Americans, which is the main culprit in the Black community’s battles with high blood pressure and heart disease.

“Mmm, Fried chicken

Fly vixen

Give me heart disease

But need you in my kitchen”

On the track “(N-Word)(The Slave and The Master)”, Nas discusses issues from outdated school books in Black schools to self-hate, while arguing that we are the problem and the solution to the ills plaguing the Black community.

In the chorus Nas raps:

“They say we (N-word)

We are much more,

Still we choose to ignore,

The obvious.

Man this history don’t acknowledge us.

We was scholars long before colleges …

We are the slave and the master,

What you looking for?

You the question and the answer.”

And in the timely track, “Black President,” states:

“I think Obama provides hope and challenges minds

Of all races and colors to erase the hate

And try to love one another, so many political snakes

We in need of a break”

Although the profane lyrics might go too far at times and offend some non-hip-hop heads, the climate is changing in the hip-hop culture from focusing on the frivolous (i.e. materialism) to focusing on the future (i.e. politics). Barack Obama’s presidential bid has done a lot to destroy the stereotypes of African Americans, especially the younger generation. Many television and record company executives (i.e. Black Entertainment Television) believe that the young hip-hop generation is not intelligent enough for socially conscious rappers. However, with the success of Nas, Common and Lupe Fiasco and the attention placed on politics in the Black community, maybe the rappers are the intelligent ones and those in suits and ties are the ones not intelligent enough to appreciate the brilliance of some in the hip-hop community.

Todd A. Smith is the publisher of http://www.regalmag.com, an online magazine dedicated to issues affecting African American men. The website tackles such topics as social and political issues, health, relationships, business, sports and entertainment.

Article Source: www.megamusicsite.com