It takes hard work to be a rapper, let alone a great rapper like Nicki Minaj. However, you can learn Nicki's style, improve your basic rhyming skills, and learn to rap like Nicki. Read this article to find out how.
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Part 1 of 3: Learning Nicki's Style
Step 1. Listen to lots of Nicki songs
Want to rap like Nicki Minaj? The easiest first step is, listen to the music, as if you were paid just to hear the music. Imagine that listening to Nicki Minaj is your job. Learn about the new and old songs he has produced and their appearances in other people's songs.
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Nicki's three studio albums are:
- "Pink Friday"
- "Pink Friday: Romance Reloaded"
- "The Pinkprint"
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Nicki's official mixtape is:
- "Beam Me Up Scotty"
- "Playtime is Over"
- "Sucks Free"
Step 2. Listen to the singers who influenced Nicki
If you want to dig deeper into Nicki's style, listen to the songs of the people she listens to. If you're a huge fan, you'll want to know their favorite singers and their songs. Once, due to being too similar to them, Nicki had to deal with some of these people on Twitter. Nicki has been most influenced by the following pop and rap singers:
- Madonna
- Lil Kim
- Missy Elliot
- Eve
- Janet Jackson
- Trina
- TLC
- Lil Wayne
- Cyndi Lauper
- Enya
Step 3. Learn Nicki's lyrics
This is the most important thing: study Nicki's lyrics and see how they are made. Listen to the sound of the words and their meaning. Learn the best rhyming styles.
- Memorize Nicki's best songs. Before you try to sing your own rhymes or songs in the Nicki style, it's a good idea to memorize your favorite Nicki songs, all the way through, so you can understand how the lyrics are made. Copy it in a notebook or on your phone, and take it with you everywhere.
- You can find the lyrics to most of Nicki's songs on RapGenius, or you can view the provided lyrics sheet along with the physical album.
Step 4. Follow the rap songs of Nicki Minaj
Once you've started memorizing most of the lyrics, lock your bedroom door and start singing with the pink queen. Along with the song, try to follow exactly how Nicki uses her voice. Follow the rhythm as best you can. Don't be left behind.
Also try rapping a capella, without an instrumental companion, once you've started to be able to rap along with the songs. Focus on the beat and try to sing as rhythmically as possible. Don't miss out on Nicki's flow
Part 2 of 3: Rap Sing Like Nicki
Step 1. Find your high pitched shrill voice
One of the unique things about Nicki's rapping style is the use of a loud, shrill and cute voice that is done in the parts of the song that she wants to highlight. Nicki's style goes from cute to aggressive, then vice versa; This shrill sound is an important part of creating that style.
- Sing in your normal voice, then close your throat, pulling your tongue back to sing with a voice from the back of your throat. Then, move your mouth up and down like a belly sound puppet. Sometimes, Nicki does this to get a shrill voice.
- In some of her songs, she also performs a vocal fry, a low-pitched vibrating sound, in the style of Sorority Girl. This is done to get a funny effect. For example, listen to his previous mixtape songs, such as "Itty Bitty Piggy".
Step 2. Find your low-pitched growl
Like Lil Wayne, Nicki's mentor, who has and can change voices, Nicki also has several voices at her disposal, including a cute "Cookie Monster" growl that she can suddenly let out.
Sometimes, when singing on stage, Nicki would sing meaningless words, random voices that sounded cool and rhythmic. For example, you can watch a live video clip of him singing "Starships" on the Today Show
Step 3. Sing out loud
Nicki's voice is loud, so don't try to rap like Nicki if you're shy in front of the microphone. Practice growling and rap with confidence in your voice and rhymes. It's more important to sing loudly and aggressively than to lose your rhythm or miss a word.
When you rap, switch loudly and suddenly between your two voices. One of the reasons Nicki growls her cute Cookie Monster voice is to show you how she doesn't care about your opinion. On the other hand, he did the sound anyway
Step 4. Emphasize the consonants
One of the vocal styles Nicki uses in many of her rap songs is the emphasis on tight, rhythmic consonants; like trying to stab the words into the ground. The rhymes that make him stand out come in the form of loud, stuttering voices, as in the song "I Don't Give A". Check out the following songs for examples of the pressure he exerts:
- "Blazin'"
- "Make Me Proud", with Drake
- "Up All Night", with Drake
- "Beam Me Up Scotty"
Step 5. Don't be afraid to sing out of tune
Sometimes, Nicki will forget the beat and start talking, growling, or mocking in a funny voice. This is one of the unique things about his personality, and also one of the reasons people love his songs. If you're a rapper hoping to be famous with your own songs, don't be afraid to get off the beaten track, forget the song and start talking. It all depends on how you feel.
For example, consider a live video of Nicki's concert on YouTube. He does this more often on stage than on record
Step 6. Believe in yourself
You don't have to hear a lot of Nicki's songs to know that in her songs, Nicki is very confident about her rapping abilities. Nicki loves to rap about her talent for singing and making love, and it's her naughty nature that makes us laugh and love her songs.
Don't be afraid to compare your songs to those of other rappers. Nicki often mocks other rappers in her songs. This is often done in hip-hop culture, including by Nicki and other great rappers. Don't be afraid to mock others
Step 7. Use similes and lots of wordplay
Like Young Money's colleague Lil Wayne, Nicki also uses a lot of similes in her singing. A simile is a comparative statement, usually indicated by the words "like" or "as" (in the English used to write Nicki's rap lyrics, "like" or "as"). You can also use word games; use words that have more than one meaning. Many rappers use these techniques. However, Nicki Minaj was able to do it very well.
- An example of a simile is, in English, "I come through, it gets hotter than a soup kitchen / Leave clips in your head like a beautician" ("Brraattt").
- An example of a pun, for example: "You couldn't get a fan if it was hanging from the ceiling".
Part 3 of 3: Improving Your Nicki Minaj-Style Rap Singing Skills
Step 1. Keep rapping
Nicki Minaj didn't become famous in one day; she also didn't become famous just because of her looks. He became famous by working hard and getting people's attention on the microphone. If you want to rap like him, you have to learn about rap, dedicate your time to hip-hop, and rap all the time.
- Put your favorite Nicki songs into your iPod or phone, and listen to them often while muttering the song in a low voice. When you get home, turn off the song and try singing yourself. Practice to perfection.
- Find a quiet place where you can easily practice your rhymes, so you can focus on improving your skills. You may want to hurry up and show your friends your skills, but make sure you're very kind and talented from the start, so they'll be blown away.
Step 2. Practice rapping with a rhythm
Rap is more than just making words rhyme. You also need to find a flow that can be sung to different rhythms. Also, to become a good rapper, you also have to build your rap along with the beat. Even if you've written great lyrics and impersonated Nicki coolly, there's no way you'd be able to become a rapper at Nicki's level without flow.
One way to learn to flow is to listen to versions of other rappers on a free mixtape or on YouTube. Check out Nicki Minaj's freestyle when she sings labelmate Lil Wayne's "A Milli". Through the song, you can see how his flow style is different from Lil Wayne's
Step 3. Keep a rhyme journal
To keep your rhymes neat and tidy, keep a rhyme journal. In this journal, you can jot down great rhyming words and sentences, and from there you can start building Nicki-style songs.
- If you don't want to carry a large notebook with you, jot down your rhymes on your phone or other device. Make sure these notes are clearly labeled, so you don't have to search for the rhymes you wrote last weekend.
- Even if you consider yourself a freestyle rapper, you should still keep track of your best rhymes and keep working on them. This of course doesn't make you a bad freestyle rapper, but a smart freestyle rapper.
Step 4. Begin to note groups of words that rhyme
If you're a rapper hoping to be famous, you can start here. After that, you will build your ability to sing freestyle. Many rappers, as their learning progresses, write down lists of rhymes with good endings or punch lines.
Purchase a rhyme dictionary or use a rhyme dictionary site on the internet to help you find rhymes you can use to fill in your work
Step 5. Try to write at least three new rhymes every day
You need to keep going and keep practicing. If you want to improve your skills and start rapping like Nicki, plan on writing three new rhymes every day on a regular basis, which means six new lines of rap lyrics. If you keep doing this, each week you will have one new lyric. It doesn't take more than half an hour or an hour each day.
