How To Write Hits Like Drake (Even If You Hate Him) [Songwriting Tips]

The Top 20 Songwriting Secrets of Professional Rappers (FREE VIDEO COURSE): https://freestylefortnight.com/top20s...

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HOW TO RAP DICTIONARY: The Top 100 Words That Professional Rap Artists To Create Hit Records On Demand (FREE): https://freestylefortnight.com/top100

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In this video we'll show you how to write hits like Drake... even if you hate him so that you can make more well-constructed music for you raps. If you wanted songwriting tips for rapping, this will be a great video for you to learn how to rap better while still learning how the pros do it. We'll discuss how to be a rapper through classic songwriting techniques, how to write a rap song better, and how to use lyrics to paint a picture for your audience. Enjoy!

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FULL ARTICLE ON THIS TOPIC: https://rapgamenow.com/how-to-write-h...

Drake Songwriting Secret #1: Chorus-First Mentality
The first songwriting secret Drake uses is what I call a “chorus-first” mentality.

A simple survey of most of his major hits reveal a strong pattern of beginning the track with a chorus after a very short, meaning 5-10 second, instrumental intro:

Hotline Bling
In My Feelings
Started From The Bottom
Fake Love
Best I Ever Had
Energy
Gyalchester
…This chorus-first list also includes some of his more notable feature tracks, such as:

Look Alive
Walk It Talk It
Life Is Good
Now, as you read this list you may think that there are some noticeable hits missing, including “God’s Plan”, “Controlla”, or even most recently, “Toosie Slide”.

Drake Songwriting Secret #2: Shorter Verses, Longer Hooks
In the case of songs that don’t start with a course, usually Drake will shorten his verse to get to the chorus faster…

…Or he will make the actual “hook”, or chorus (and sometime bridges) LONGER so that more of the song’s running time is filled with “catchy melodies” and not hard to remember verse sections.

Let me take a quick aside here for people reading this who think, “SHORTER PARTS WITH ACTUAL LYRICAL CONTENT?! THIS IS WHY DRAKE IS DESTROYING MUSIC!! I’M GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY COMMENTING ABOUT MY OPINION SINCE EVERYONE CARES WHAT I THINK SO MUCH!!”

Slow down, homey.

First things first: as I mentioned, you need to understand your opponent to beat him.

If you don’t like how “un-lyrical” you think he is, then take his secrets and use them to make LYRICAL songs. I would argue that artists like J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Kanye West do this approach.

Secondly, Drake is making music for a specific demographic: people who are PARTYING, who about to have SEX, or trying to RELAX.

If you are making music for more reflective people GREAT!

Everything you learn here can be applied to deeper topics.

I would suggest studying artists like Lauryn Hill and Mos Def in addition to Drake to help you bridge the gap between lyrical and catchy.

In any case, “Controlla” starts with the verse… however that verse is only FOUR bars and immediately rolls into the “I think I’d lie for you” first part of the chorus (also known as the pre-chorus), followed by the main “Controlla” chorus…

…Which means that the chorus of “Controlla” is TWICE as long as each verse, and it repeats three times.

Similary, “One Dance” has a short four bar verse followed by a full eight-bar chorus.

Drake Songwriting Secret #3: Samples As Riffs
Interestingly, “One Dance”, much like “In My Feelings”, “Nice For What” and “Nonstop” has a prominent vocal sample that serves sort of like another “hook” or “chorus” throughout the song.

In other genres of music, especially rock, this is sometimes known as a “riff” or an identifiable series of notes meant to serve as another section of the song.

The easiest way to think of a riff as a rap fan if I was to ask you to hum the piano part of “Still D.R.E.” could you do it?

What about the “eeh-err” of Roddy Rich’s “The Box”?

Those are riffs.

In any case, Drake adds an additional layer of “catchiness” by choosing samples that get stuck in your brain as much as the parts he’s actually rapping or singing.

Drake Songwriting Secret #4: Start With The Bridge
“God’s Plan” actually begins with him saying the “wishing on me” refrain softly, which will be repeated a full TWO TIMES in this short anthem, despite each verse never clocking above eight bars.

Similarly, “Toosie Slide” begins with the “black leather glove” section, which will in turn become a bridge later in the song.

A bridge is a third section of music that’s not quite the verse and not quite the chorus that helps to transition between the two.

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