Understanding Hip Hop & Interpretting the Hip Hop Music

Hip hop is a music genre and a dance style. Hip hop skills can include producing your own beats, freestyling vocals and a number of dance techniques. The truly skilled hip hop artist is good at all three.

1. Improve your rhythm. When listening to hip hop music, tap your fingers and feet to the beat. Hip hop is a highly rhythm based music style. If you do not have rhythm, then there is very little hope for you.
2. Practice at a local hip hop night club. Glance around and see how other people are dancing. If you see something you like, try it out. Otherwise, experiment with your own moves.
3. Take a class at a local gym or dance studio. Most colleges offer beginner hip hop classes and gym classes are usually pretty cheap if you have a membership. Dance studios will be more expensive, but if you are looking for a higher level, studios are the places to go.

Make Better Hip Hop Beats

1. Buy a good music system and practice mixing at home. One of the main skills a hip hop producer needs is to know how to DJ. Learn to mix and develop new beats.
2. Buy some music studio software (sequencing software) for your computer. Some professional producers make all of their music on programs like Fruity Loops (see Resources below).
   

Improve Your Freestyling Skills

1. Buy or download some instrumental hip hop songs that have no vocals. If your friend knows how to make a beat, then you can have him make a beat for you instead.
2. Practice your freestyling or flowing skills by improvising rap lyrics to a neutral beat. Try and rap at the right tempo and rhythm of the background music provided.
3. Try your hand at beatboxing. Try to mimic a hip hop beat using only your mouth. This is a form of freestyling too.