How to Write a Melodic Rap Hook
Published · by Loopin
A melodic rap hook is written backwards: melody first, words last. Mumble over the loop until one shape repeats, keep it to three to five notes, and put the title on the longest one.
Find the key before you sing a note
Most melodic hooks that sound off aren't out of tune; they're parked on the wrong note. Run the beat through the free key and BPM finder and play or hum the root note of that key. Your hook should start and end near that note or the fifth above it.
If the beat is in a minor key (most trap and melodic rap beats are), the five notes of the minor pentatonic scale almost never clash. In A minor that's A, C, D, E and G. Stay inside those five and you can't land a sour note.
Mumble four passes and record them
Loop four or eight bars of the beat and hum or sing nonsense syllables over it, four times through, without stopping. Record every pass. Don't aim for words; aim for a rhythm and contour that keeps coming back. Usually by pass three your voice starts repeating something.
In Loopin you can import the beat and record each pass as a take in the same song, then listen back and pick the one where the shape repeated. That's your hook melody. Write it down as rhythm marks or hum it into the lyric notes so you don't lose it.
Keep it narrow and repeat the title
The most singable hooks use three to five different notes and stay within about a fifth. If your melody leaps more than that, cut the leap and save it for one moment in the last line. Narrow melodies are easier to sing along to on the first listen.
Repeat the title two to four times in a four- or eight-bar hook. Put it in the same place in the bar each time, ideally starting on beat 1 or just after it. Repetition is what makes a hook a hook; a melodic hook with a different last line every time is a pre-chorus.
Put open vowels on held notes
Swap words so the longest notes land on open vowels: “oh”, “ay”, “ah”, “ee”. “Night”, “away” and “slow” hold well; “stuck” and “it” don't. Put the consonant-heavy words in the fast parts.
Write fewer syllables than a verse. A verse bar might carry 10 to 14 syllables; a melodic hook bar usually wants 4 to 8. If you're cramming, you're rapping, which is fine, but it's a different hook. See how to write a rap hook for the chanted version.
Test it dry, then add the ad-libs
Sing the hook with no beat and no pitch correction into your phone. If it still works bare, it'll work on the record. If it only works with the beat and effects, the melody is leaning on the production. Leave it for a day and sing it from memory: whatever you can't remember isn't the hook yet.
Once it holds up, write call-and-response ad-libs in the gaps: a one-word echo after each title line. Then write the verses towards it: how to write 16 bars covers building a verse that lands into the hook.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write a melodic rap hook?
Find the beat's key, mumble melodies over a 4- or 8-bar loop for four passes, keep the best shape, narrow it to 3 to 5 notes, then add words with the title repeated 2 to 4 times and open vowels on the long notes.
What scale should I use for a melodic rap hook?
The minor pentatonic scale of the beat's key is the safest start. In A minor that's A, C, D, E and G. Most trap and melodic rap beats are in minor keys.
How long should a rap hook be?
Usually 4 or 8 bars, often repeated once. At 140 BPM, 8 bars is about 14 seconds.
Do I need to sing well to write a melodic hook?
No. Write it within a comfortable range of about five notes and it'll be easy to sing. Pitch correction can polish a take later, but write a hook that works without it.
Should I write the hook or the verse first?
The hook, for most melodic rap. It sets the song's mood and title, and the verses can then build towards it.
Why does my melodic hook sound off-key?
Usually it starts or ends on a note outside the beat's key. Find the key first, then build the hook from the minor pentatonic notes of that key and end on the root or the fifth.