It All Starts With the Song

You can have the best voice, the cleanest mix, and the hardest beat, but if the song isn’t written right, it won’t land.

That applies to rap just as much as any other genre. Songwriting is what gives your track shape, emotion, and replay value.

What makes a song connect isn’t just what you say, it’s how you structure it.

Do you have a hook? Does it come early? Do you even need one? Is your song one long verse or built around a call-and-response moment?

These choices affect how people hear your music, and whether they come back for more. 🔁

A strong song keeps the listener in the loop. It brings them into your world and makes them want to stay. That’s why songwriting is more than rhyming or flowing, it’s building an experience from the first bar to the last.

If you're an independent artist trying to get better at songwriting, whether you're a rapper, singer, or somewhere in between, this guide is for you.

Let's get into it. 👊

Start Anywhere

One of the biggest traps new artists fall into is thinking they have to start a song the “right” way.

But here’s the truth: there’s no right way. Some of the best songs out there didn’t begin with a full concept, they started with a single idea that evolved. 💡

It could be a catchy hook that just pops into your head. Or maybe a melody that gets stuck on loop in your brain. Sometimes it’s a simple intro line, a rhythm, a mood, even one word.

That first spark is enough to set the rest in motion, because songwriting isn’t about following steps. It’s about following the energy.

Creative momentum often shows up after you’ve already started.

You might record a hook just to test your mic settings, and suddenly realize it has potential. You might hum a melody without lyrics and hear something special in the tone. That's why it’s so important to hit record the moment something clicks, even if you’re not 100% sure where it’s going yet. 🎧

Inspiration, motivation, and action feed into each other in a cycle.

Sometimes, taking action sparks new inspiration. 

Other times, you’re inspired by a feeling or a line, which motivates you to sit down and create.

And sometimes, you’re just motivated to make something. and that motivation leads to a new idea you didn’t see coming. 🔁

Where you start doesn’t matter. What matters is that you start, and trust the rest will follow.

Resonate With People

The songs that really stick with people usually come from a real place.

As a listener, I’ve always connected more with artists who speak from their own life, even if it’s not dramatic or overly deep.

When someone puts a part of themselves into a verse, you can feel it. There’s weight behind the words, emotion behind the melody, and honesty in the performance.

That doesn’t mean you have to pour out your trauma in every track.

Writing from experience could be capturing a small moment that made you feel something. Realness is about presence, not pressure.

And if you’re in a quiet season that’s okay too. You can always tap into someone else’s story. Maybe your friend went through something heavy. Maybe a movie hit you hard. Maybe a line popped into your head that made you imagine a whole scene.

That’s still experience, just filtered through your lens. 🎤

What matters is emotional connection. If you don’t feel anything while writing or recording, chances are the listener won’t either.

Keep it personal, even when you’re telling a story that isn’t fully yours. That’s what makes a song resonate. 💓

Have Fun

Not every writing session needs to end with a finished song.

Sometimes it’s just about messing around with ideas, seeing what sticks, and trying things you normally wouldn’t.

That’s where the real growth happens, when you’re not chasing perfection but exploring possibilities.

Try writing three different hooks over the same beat.

Flip the structure: make a song with no chorus.

Start with a bridge and see where it takes you.

Record four different versions of the same verse just to see which cadence feels best.

This kind of experimentation keeps the process fresh. 🧪

If your last three songs had hooks, drop one without a hook this time.

If you’ve never written a bridge before, make that your mission for the next track. Learn what a bridge actually does, what it should sound like, and whether your song could benefit from one.

You don’t need permission to try something weird. And you definitely don’t need to get it “right” the first time.

The more you play around with form, melody, and rhythm, the more tools you’ll have when it does come time to lock in.

Creativity needs space, but it also needs movement. Keep it playful, keep it unpredictable, and you’ll keep improving without even realizing it.

Let Your Ears Breathe

When you're deep in a creative zone, it’s easy to forget that your brain, just like your body, needs rest.

But breaks are one of the most underrated tools in songwriting. They give you perspective, fresh ears, and space to actually hear what’s working… and what’s not.

I’ve had beatmaking sessions where I spent 2 hours tweaking one melody preset, chasing something that never came. Then I took a break, came back the next day, and realized I was going in the wrong direction the whole time.

That distance matters. When you're too close to something, your critical ear turns off. You start forcing ideas instead of flowing naturally.

Stepping away helps you separate the creative part of your brain from the analytical one, and both are necessary to finish great songs. 🧠

Even something simple like going outside, playing some PS5, drinking some water, or listening to something completely different can reset your whole mindset. The goal isn’t to “rest” just for the sake of it, it’s to recharge your focus and hear your track with fresh perspective.

Personally, I like to break up my workflow: produce one day, listen the next. Mix one day, double-check the mix the next. 👂

Those small pauses help me stay sharp and avoid burning out on something that actually has potential.

You don’t lose momentum when you rest. You keep it alive.

Overthinking Is the Enemy

Overthinking kills more songs than bad ideas ever could.

And I say that from experience, not as a full-time artist, but as someone who’s spent a lot of time writing, recording, and experimenting so I can help other artists grow. I’m not building albums for myself. I’m studying the process so I can support vocalists and rappers I work with, whether it’s with lyrics, flow, or structure.

And what I’ve noticed over and over again is this: the more you sit and think about a line, the harder it becomes to actually write it. ✍️

That’s why I don’t get stuck trying to perfect bars on paper. I play the beat, hit record, and just say the first version out loud. Then I listen. Then adjust. Then try again. The whole idea is to hear how something lands, not over-analyze it in your head.

This approach has helped me a lot when working with artists. Instead of arguing about which word is “better,” we record both takes and compare. Instead of rewriting the same hook ten times, we record two or three variations and see what feels right.

It’s all about testing your ideas.

So if you find yourself stuck, try recording what you’ve got. Don’t judge the line in your notes app. Judge it in your headphones. 🎧

Write Melodies and Rhythms First 

Sometimes the hardest part of songwriting is just getting started, especially when you're staring at a blank page, waiting for words to show up.

But lyrics don’t have to come first. In fact, they shouldn’t always come first. 

A lot of artists begin their songs with melodies, mumbling rhythms, or improvising flows with no words at all. That’s how vibe-driven songwriting works, you catch a feeling first, then figure out what you want to say.

Try humming over the beat. Try speaking gibberish in your natural flow just to explore pockets in the rhythm. Add some autotune and light compression to your mic channel if you want to feel how it might sound with real energy.

Sometimes that raw melody sparks an entire concept before you’ve written a single line. 🎤

If you're working with a beat you really like, loop it and let your instincts take over.

Don’t force meaning too early. Focus on bounce, cadence, mood.

Words will come later, and when they do, they’ll land better because they’re built into the rhythm.

This is a technique I use often when helping artists structure their songs, we build the emotional energy first, then write the story around it. It keeps the song honest, loose, and more natural to perform.

If you want to practice this, you can grab any beat from my catalog for free, just download, vibe, and start experimenting.

Record Inspiration Immediately 

Inspiration doesn’t wait for a studio session.

It hits when you’re walking down the street. Standing in line. Driving. 

And if you don’t capture it the moment it shows up, there’s a good chance it’s gone forever.

That’s why I always record ideas as soon as they come. Not full songs or beats, just fragments. A melody. A title. Something that captures the energy.

Sometimes I’ll open Notion and drop three random words that help me remember the idea later.

Other times, I just hit Voice Memos and talk it out like: “yo, I want to make a track where the hook that bla bla bla...."🎙️

You don’t need a polished setup. Your phone is enough.

Hum a melody. Rap a bar. Describe the vibe. Get it down before your brain moves on to something else, and trust me, it will.

You think you’ll remember that fire idea later, but you won’t. 

And the best part?

Those rough memos become your go-to library of inspiration on slow days. When you sit down to write and nothing comes, you can scroll back through your notes and find ten starting points waiting to be turned into full tracks. 📱

So treat every spark like it matters, because it might be the start of your next best song.

Wrapping It Up 

No matter what kind of artist you are, rapper, singer, writer, or somewhere in between, songwriting is a skill. And like any skill, it gets better the more you do it.

Some days, you’ll write full songs in one sitting. Other days, you’ll record five versions of the same hook and still not feel it. That’s normal. The key is to stay in motion.

Keep writing. Keep recording. Keep experimenting.

Start from wherever the idea hits, a melody, a rhythm, a phrase, even just a mood.

Pull from your own experiences or remix someone else's.

Try weird structures, write messy demos, and don’t be afraid to throw stuff away. ✂️

Most of all: don’t overthink every step.

Let the process be loose when it needs to be. Let it tighten up when it’s time to polish. Treat songwriting like a conversation between you and the beat, and learn to listen as much as you create.

The artists who improve are the ones who show up consistently, not just when they’re feeling inspired.

So write often. Stay curious. And most importantly, have fun with it.

Take care,

Baxon 👊