How to Convert a Story Into a Hip Hop Song

Write out your story. Even if you know the story like the back of your hand, you still need to write it down. Include every detail you'd like to include in the song. This step sounds simple but once you start becomes very difficult when you try to include everything. Keep it short enough to turn into lyrics unless you plan on writing a hip hop ballad.

Take a highlighter and highlight the 2-4 most important parts. Underline the details that correspond to the important parts. Take out all the unimportant bits that won't be going into the song, and then rewrite it onto another sheet of paper if you'd like, to keep it clean.

Write one stanza (usually 4-6 lines) for each main detail of the story. Make sure it rhymes, and put each stanza together so that it forms one long poem. These will be the verses to your song, since they tell the story well.

The next step is to think of the chorus. This is a little harder, since the chorus usually doesn't tell a story- it basically sums it up. Stop and think: what is the main feeling you want the story to give? If it's a happy song about something encouraging, try to write a stanza describing that happiness. If it tells the story of a break up, make the chorus a reflection of the feelings you had going through the break up.

Write out a pre-chorus if you feel the song needs one. A pre-chorus is just a short couple of lines that comes before the chorus but isn't actually part of the chorus. An example of a pre-chorus would be in Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me," when she sings "she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts, she's cheer captain..." until it reaches the chorus. This step is optional.

Write the bridge to the song. Generally this is only 1-2 lines that repeat over a few times towards the end of the song. The bridge doesn't have to have anything to do with the chorus- you could make it focus on a certain part of the story, or the entire story at once.

Decide on a song format. Figure out the order in which you're going to put the verses and the chorus. A popular form is Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Bridge, Verse, Chorus.