Establishing Your Identity as a Rapper/MC

This blog post is inspired by:  10 Questions That Will Help You Find YourVoice

I believe establishing a unique identity is the biggest obstacle for any beginner Rapper/MC in today’s age of the internet.

Because aspiring Rappers/MCs now have access to a bigger platform thanks to the internet, any aspiring Rapper/MC can have the chance to show the world what they got.  As good as that sounds, beginner Rappers/MCs can also expect more competition for their chance in the spotlight, which brings me to why I am writing this article.

Because more Rappers/MCs have access to bigger platform, new Rappers/MCs of today need a way to stand out from the competition.

One way, Rappers/MCs can stand out from the competition, besides being good at rapping, is to establish a unique identity.  By the way, this is not the only way to stand out from the competition.  There are other ways as well.  In this blog post, I’ll only be writing about how to establish you unique identity.

This may sound simple, but there’s more to it than just stating that you represent A-B-C.  You need to be able convey your identity as a Rapper/MC and channel it through your music.

Establishing your unique identity as a Rapper/MC is so important because it will affect what type of music you will write, what kind of beats you will select for your music, and it will give an audience something to associate your music with because a lot of Rappers/MCs are forgettable.  Your skills at rapping may be great, but showing off your skills only through braggadocio-esque rap songs and showing off how good you are can only take you so far.  You DON’T want to be forgettable.  Being forgettable is the death of any new Rapper/MC

It’s also important because a lot of beginners who don’t take the time to find their own unique identity often sound like those who they listen to and admire the most.  I’m not saying that it’s bad to be inspired by other rappers because if you’re getting buzz, there will always be people who will label you as the next so and so.  I’m saying that you need to stand on your own two feet.  You need to develop your own style.  As Method Man once said, "Don't bite my shit."

When you establish your own identity, this doesn't mean that you can’t break out of the mold of people’s idea of your type of music and do something that’s completely outside of what people expect from you.  You have to send the message that it’s still the same you, but you’re just doing something that you usually don’t do.  It’s all about keeping it real.  As long as you keep it real, you can be as creative and innovative as you want through your music.          

So how do you find out what your unique identity is as a Rapper/MC?

Assuming that you are already great at rapping, you need to know who you are as a person.

One way to do that is to find your unique voice.  If you look in the beginning of this blog post, I posted a link to what inspired me to write this blog post.  That link leads to another blog post which contains ten questions which can help you find your unique voice.

As an aspiring Rapper/MC myself, that blog post has helped me a lot with establishing my unique identity.  Hopefully it will help you out as well.

So what do you think of this blog post?  Did it help you out in anyway?  Are there other ways to stand out from the competition that you’ve learned?  Share it in the comments below.

As always, be sure to support the artists who you feel deserves it in any way you can.  Good music shall always prevail!

If you want to listen to my music, you can go to my YouTube Channel.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @davidhayder