What Is Rap Flow?
First off, to explain what flow is, let’s go over what a beat is.
A beat is drum patterns and rhythm. The percussive hits such as kicks and snare that start and end bar lines. Your words are also in a rhythm. So, you can think of your words as drums hitting. Your rap flow is really your words in drum form over a beat. It is creating patterns that fill in the spaces between the drums laid down by the beat maker/producer.
You can rap over any beat as long as you have rhythm.
Stressing a syllable on each of the four beats gives the lyrics the same underlying rhythmic pulse as the music and keeps them in rhythm. Other syllables in the song may still be stressed, but the ones that fall in time with the four beats of a bar are the only ones that need to be emphasized in order to keep the lyrics in time with the music.
Where rhymes hit in a rap adds to a flow’s musicality. That’s why the more rhymes you have the more it appeases the listener’s ear and impresses them. As far as flow, flow itself is completely rhythm based. Staying inside of the beat and creating patterns that go with the rhythm of the beat.
When you think flow, you usually think about water or a stream of water. The cool water flowing nice and smoothly in a stream down a slightly graded hill. Well, in rap, flow is just that, a very smooth, relaxing listen a to ‘stream’ of lines. A good rap flow gently glides over the rap beat without interfering with how the other instruments in the song are flowing.
Imagine every time you are flowing your raps over a beat. Is it smooth? Is your rap flow hitting all the right spots so it’s not abrasive in combination with the other instruments? If your flow is hitting a bunch of rocks in the stream it’s altering its path and it’s not so smooth. A really bad rap flow is like a dam on a rap song.
Your voice is an instrument so when you ask how to flow in rap you have to keep in mind that you are using your voice as an instrument to lay over the other instruments. Your voice needs to fit the beat rhythmically and carry along with it just right so it’s smooth to the listener’s ear. For instance, imagine that the kick drum, snare or other instrument was all off beat, you couldn’t vibe to the song and you surely wouldn’t want to listen to it again and again.
Flowing is following the beat with your voice at the perfect pace. Just the right rhythm. The thing is, flow in rap and rhythm in rap are extremely similar.
To have flow in rap you have to have rhythm.