What Is Assonance In Rap

You want to know what assonance in rap is and after this article you will fully understand how simple it really is.

First let’s start with the definition of assonance.

I know I know, It may seem a bit confusing but I break down assonance in some raps for you below so don’t worry.

Below I will highlight the assonance in rap in a Eminem and Crooked I verse.

I will only bold the parts that are the assonance in the rap.

There is more assonance than what I am going to bold on the Eminem verse but I’ll do the basic parts so it doesn’t get too confusing.

One Pattern will be in bold and the other pattern will be underlined.

 

Eminem – Patiently Waiting Verse Assonance In Rap Example

They think they’re crazy but they ain‘t crazy lets face it, shit basically
They just playing sick, they ain’t shit They ain‘t saying shit, spray ’em Fifty
A to the K, get in the way I’ll bring Dre and them wit me
And turn this day into fucking mayhem you staying with me?

Now what I want you to do to understand assonance in rap WAY easier is to simply re read that verse above real quick but

 

1 ) ONLY READ THE BOLD PARTS OUT LOUD.

2) Then ONLY READ THE UNDERLINED PARTS OUT LOUD

 

This is how the bold assonance sounds in each rap line above.

CRA – AIN – CRA – FA – BA
PLA – AIN – SA – SPRA
A – K – WA – DRE
DA – MAY – STA

Notice how they all rhyme just using the sound of the vowel. That’s assonance in rap for you.
Read it again really quick.

 

This is how the underlined assonance sounds in the rap above

THI – SHI
SI – SHI – SHI – FIF
WI
WI

 

Notice he uses the bold assonance as the primary sounds and then also built in the smaller amount as the additional impressive assonance in the song. This is a big reason why Eminem is such an impressive rapper.

Now, don’t let me lose you I’m not trying to confuse you lol here is another example so you can grasp it easier.

 

Let’s look at the assonance in this verse from Crooked I

On the real, it’s a wrap, how could you possibly stop the Apocalypse
When I’m atomic bombing the populous
Shock the metropolis hostile as a kid popping the Glock at his moms
And his pops then he hops in his drop with his iPod rocking his slaughterish

 

You can see that the VOWEL sounds on all of the O’s are what make the verse sound interesting.

The O’s sound like A’s in certain words when they are bent to make them sound like they rhyme

 

Let’s break them down again so you can read them

POS – STO – APO
ATO – BOM – POP
SHO – TRO – HOS – POP – GLO – MOM
POP – HOP – DRO – PO – ROC – SLAU

 

I hope this is sticking with you. If you don’t get it now, you will get it later. The assonance in songs you write will just click and you’ll get what you’re doing instantly.

 

It’s really not that complicated.

Once you learn enough words and use them enough in your raps the assonance will go on auto pilot and writing the assonance in songs will become fun to go above and beyond and make.

And when you write complete super sick verses that have a ton of assonance you’ll look like this if it’s hot enough.

I can tell you from experience that this type of rhyming and bending and finding words that match vowel sounds will become incredibly easy to do after you are rapping for a long enough time.

I do it on a consistent basis and didn’t even realize it because it became that automatic.

You’ll be bending words together just to create great lines with wordplay and suddenly go back and realize all of the assonance in your raps.

 

Someone who is really great at assonance in rap is my friend Passionate MC. He told me in his head he color codes how he puts together the words. I was really interested in that and I told him I would get an interview from him about it to put up here on Smart Rapper.

Be on the look out for that in the future.

 

– Rob Level

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