The Architecture of Rap

A bar (or measure) in hip-hop is typically four beats. Most rap songs are in 4/4 time, meaning four beats per bar. A standard verse is 16 bars long. This is the canvas every rapper works within: 16 bars to tell a story, prove a point, or show off skill.

The beat is the instrumental track the rapper performs over. In hip-hop's early days, beats were created by DJs looping breakbeats from funk and soul records. Today, producers use DAWs (digital audio workstations) like FL Studio, Ableton, or Pro Tools to craft beats from scratch.