If you're going to be recording your raps, you'll want to be as close as professional-sounding as possible. Here are some tips that you should consider before getting started with recording raps.
Tip 1: Choose a quality mic
This is the most obvious, but often overlooked. Yes, it's great to start out recording with the mic on your phone or the built-in one on your computer if you're just starting out or want to understand the process, but if you're going to take your recording seriously, then you'll need to invest in a decent mic. There are tons of mics out there to use (many of them costing under $20 USD, if you're on a tight budget), and every rapper has their own preference. You'll also want to invest in a pop filter. Most mics these days will come with one.
The most common types of mics that people use are USB condenser mics. Amazon and Ebay are great places to find cheap mics. Be sure to check the mic's ratings and read the reviews first before you decide to purchase.
I use a Rode NT-USB Condenser Mic. At a co-worker's suggestion, I ended up breaking down and getting this mic. I don't regret my purchase one bit. I really love its quality sound. It's highly reviewed on Amazon, so I lucked out on that. The price may be on the expensive side for some, however (around $160 USD on Amazon). But there are tons of similar, cheaper mics out there that will give you some great quality. Just make sure you read the product reviews before you commit to buy.
The Blue Yeti is a popular one I've seen a lot of people on RapPad and other communities use. It's another great mic, and a little less expensive than the Rode NT-USB (around $90-$100 USD on Amazon).
Tip 2: Find a quiet spot to record
This is another obvious, but very important tip when you're trying to record. You want to ensure you have 99.999% silence all around you, because any slight noise will be noticeable in your vocal tracks. You can usually edit out the noise, but I'd prefer to avoid doing that if I can and just start with clean vocals.
I do all of my recording in my car in my garage. Yes, it's an odd place to record, but it works great for me. You can also try a closet (make sure there are lots of clothes to dampen the excess noise and voice echoes around you), or even make a small sound booth. I actually got some ideas for quiet places from this girl, who does professional voice recording.
Tip 3: Find your favorite Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
If you're a novice audio engineer like me, then you may find it hard to settle on the perfect DAW to do your recording. There are so many of them out there, both free and with a price tag.
I am currently using Audacity for Mac. It's free and gets the job done, but I'm also exploring some better DAWs out there like Logic Pro and Ardour.
Some popular DAWs that people in the Rappad community use are Reaper, Ableton, FL Studio, and Garageband, just to name a few. Whatever DAW you choose, make sure you're comfortable with using it.
Tip 4: Use a quality beat
Whether it's a beat you found, produced yourself, or licensed from a producer, you'll want to make sure it's the highest quality possible so that it will match and blend well with your voice track, and vice versa. Your song quality will suffer if you have a high-quality beat mixed with a low-quality voice track. Similarly, it would not be very pleasing to listen to a song with an awesome, professional-sounding voice track mixed with a garbled-sounding, low-quality beat. Balance is key when it comes to recording!
