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Teaching artist Harold “Fyütch” Simmons demonstrates how to create and perform an original, autobiographical rap using a simple template.

Vocabulary You Will Learn:

• None in this video

Materials You Will Need:

• A pencil and paper to write down your rap

How to Create Your Own Rap

1. First, you need to create a four-count beat. You can use the music Fyütch plays at 1:40 in the video, play your own music that has a four-count beat, or simply count to four the way Fyütch does. 
2. Next, you’ll write your rap using the template that Fyütch shares in the video. Each line of the template should last four counts, with the rhyme coming on the last count. Remember, you can add as many words as you’d like to each line—it will just affect how fast you have to rap! The template is below.

           (Your name)_ is my name

 _(an activity you enjoy)_ is my favorite game

         I am _(your age)_ years old

_(how long you think it will be until you are grown up)_ years until I’m grown

         Making rhymes on _(day of the week)_

         And that’s all I have to say!

3. Once the template is complete, you can perform your rap! Remember to do your best to stay on the beat as you perform.

In this video, Fyütch teaches us to create a short rap about our own lives using a basic template. If you want to go even further, think about these questions: 

• At the end of the video, Fyütch challenges us to create a rap without using the template. Can you write your own original rap on the four-count beat completely from scratch?
• In the lesson, we write a rap about ourselves and our own lives. What else might you want to write a rap about? What other kinds of things do musicians and rappers write about?
• How did listening to, and “feeling,” the beat before you began writing help you create your rap? Do you think it would be more difficult to write a rap without hearing the beat first? Why or why not?
• While rhyming is very common in rap, it’s not required, and rappers use rhyme in different ways. What do you think rhyme is intended to do in rap? How do raps with fewer rhymes sound and feel different than those that use rhymes in every line?

Accessibility

Don’t forget that you can turn on “Closed Captioning” to view the YouTube video with English captions.

More about the Teaching Artist

Harold "Fyütch" Simmons (he/him) is a Grammy ®-nominated music and social justice artist, educator, and content creator based in the Bronx, New York. He leads workshops and interactive performances for K–12 classrooms, colleges, and corporate events. Fyütch uses Hip Hop, spoken word poetry, and visual storytelling to create unique all-ages experiences that promote racial equity and liberation. To learn more about Fyütch, visit his website:.

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Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;

Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..

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