hiphop as it is today is pretty much a system of complementary archetypes. for the most part it's formulaic and that's why it works.

ultimately, it's about the drums. as with most western music, the drummer has been the time keeper, and other rhythmic elements (bass, for instance) help develop the timing of a song, and allow the other instrumentalists (including the vocalist) to maintain time.

if you look at step sequencers on early beat machines like the tr-808, there's typically a layout split into 16ths in which events can occur. this represents what we call a bar, or a measure. of course, you can break it down even further, but for the sake of discussion (and to speak on what's physically possible) we'll keep it at 16ths.

those 16 beats per measure are what you should consider focusing on locking your syllabic rhythm into. actually, you could keep it a little more loose and keep it to 8 beats per bar, or 4 beats per bar, so you wont sound like a robot, but yeah. it's the responsibility of a rhythm-conscious MC to respect the timing conventions of hiphop and follow those guides.

the syllables in your lyrics should be considered as events that take place- loosely- on a grid of 4 to 16 beats per bar. for instance, you can count 1,2,3,4 evenly between each kick and snare on the average hiphop beat. play a song where an MC is keeping solid time, and do this exercise, and you will hear the MC's syllables falling very neatly in the vicinity of your count.

that's about all i got for you. don't follow pianos and other non percussive/rhythmic elements in a beat, man. the drums are your friend, stick with 'em.

also i don't think it's IMPERATIVE that you stay in the bar. but it'd be nice.

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shakin your block with a 6 million dollar bop

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www.davidevanmcdowell.com