MC Battle
The most common types of verses to improvise in rap
Learn to use the most used structures and verses to improve your arsenal in your rapping improvisations!
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The number four is the most important when improvising and rapping. The beats are usually divided into measures of four beats. In turn, the bars are grouped into patterns to create the battle system: 4x4, 8x8...
Likewise, the timing is essential in the stanzas, the central theme of this article. Each of them is made up of four measures and, in each measure, a line is improvised. There are several ways to build a verse that is appealing to the audience, but some are more popular with rappers and freestylers.
01
Rhyme
Before starting, it is important to do a quick review of the two types of rhymes that we can choose when composing our bars.
Consonant
As explained in the academic dictionary, it is that 'based on the identity of the vowel and consonantal sounds from the last accented vowel in two or more verses':
● truck, peach, crate
● aquarium, yearbook, alphabet
Assonant
It is the one that is based on the 'identity of vowel sounds from the last accented vowel in two or more verses', as stated in the academic dictionary:
● ship, song, range
● diamond, large, maple
Both the assonance and the consonant are common in improvisation and, in general, in the world of rap. Choosing one or the other can depend on many factors: the style of the rapper or freestyler (some have a predilection for one or the other), the words that come to mind at that moment, the objects or the theme of the round...
02
The most common structures
Once we know how to rhyme, it's time to think about building the verse. It is what we know as structure. In this article, we'll point out lines that rhyme with each other with the same capital letter.
In the world of free, the usual thing is the paired verses (that is, rhyming the verses in pairs) or creating a verse in which the four rhyme with each other. They are not the only options, but they are the ones that work best and, therefore, the most common.
Rhyme the four verses (AAAA)
Cafu, do you know what it's worth? (A)
All these rappers don't stand out. (A)
Everyone respects me in the instrumentals. (A)
I know, Cafu, that even you want me to win. (A)
Clash, Red Bull Batalla Peru 2022 National Final
19 min
CHOQUE vs CAFÚ - Final | Red Bull Batalla Perú 2022
Choque y Cafú batallaron en la final de Red Bull Batalla Perú 2022
This scheme creates a lot of strength and sonority in the improvisation, although it is difficult to find four words that rhyme from the beginning, so it can be difficult for those who are just starting out.
Stanzas with free verses
It is inevitable that there will be moments when we cannot find a word that fits and we have to make a free verse, that is, leave it without rhyme. Although not ideal, it happens even to the best of them. The important thing is to always remember that the audience expects the punchline to rhyme, even if the other lines don't. Thus, examples like this can be given:
Or so I think, I rap too much (-)
you can't even see it in these videos. (-)
You already know how the rubito makes the lines (A)
and that guy's name is Skiper, you're out of options. (A)
Yoiker, Red Bull Batalla México 2022 National Final
15 min
YOIKER vs SKIPER - Final
Yoiker y Skiper batallaron en la gran final de la Final Nacional de Red Bull Batalla México 2022
The most experienced are capable of compensating the free verses with internal rhymes within the same bar (a very attractive resource also in other types of structures). Learning to master internal rhymes is also a matter of practice.
AABB couplet verses
The stanza with paired verses is the one that rhymes two by two (following the AABB, ABAB, ABBA schemes...). The AABB is the most popular and the easiest to compose for those who are just starting out; if we have a word designed to rhyme, it will be easier to find one for the next bar (and find another two after) than all four from the beginning.
Colombian, (A)
I understand it, but you know that I beat you. (A)
You are not a good rapper. (B)
You are very little robot for so many engineers. (B)
Skiper, final of the 2022 Runners-up Tournament
Other less frequent combinations
Not all structures work equally well and are not suitable for all levels. For example, those in which one verse does not rhyme exactly with the next (such as ABBA or ABAB) are more difficult for newbies, as they risk forgetting the word with which they started the rhyme. And the same thing can also happen to the public.
The punchline is the end of the verse and what always focuses attention. In an oral battle, the public tends to easily forget the previous line. So if we do an ABBA structure, they might have a hard time remembering that the last line rhymed with the first.
I'm rhyming overwhelmingly, (A)
but it still remains to reach the end. (B)
I will have to remind the current public (B)
that the punchline rhymes in consonant. (A)
In this invented example, the punch line rhymes with the first bar, and the middle two verses rhyme with each other. If this verse had been improvised in a real battle, we might only have remembered the current-final musicality, but the overwhelming-consonant force would be lost because of the distance between the two words. In this way, it is better that the verse with which the ending rhymes is close to add more power and sonority to the coup de grace.
03
From verses to stanzas
Once we know what are the verses that the best improvisers and rappers in the world usually resort to, it is time to put them into practice. Mastering the structures can be complex at first, so a recommendation is to start by practicing only with two verses, not four. When we are able to create them with ease, we can move on to the verses and make more difficult schemes, even internal rhymes.
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