Drugs, money, and girls, the "holy trinity" of Soundcloud rappers' lyrics in late 2018. However, as simple as it may seem to throw those into a song, there's much more that goes on behind the scenes with these artists. Take it from a "Soundcloud rapper" himself (my Soundcloud).

Before most rappers even start to make a song, branding themselves is an essential step. If it's skipped, the artist's career is on the line. What do you want to look like? What do you want to sound like? Are you going to use a stage name? What color scheme matches your vibe? What will your album art look like? What other artists do you want to be associated with? These are just a few of the questions that Soundcloud rappers often use to define themselves before they hop onto the train of discussing the ice on their wrist or the lean in their cup. Getting people to join your following involves more than just them liking your music, they need to like you.

Once an artist has created a persona that they feel comfortable with pushing, they can start to focus on the music. Step one for almost every Soundcloud rapper on the planet is to choose a few beats that they like. There are a few rappers, including myself, who started off as musicians and are therefore able to produce their own beats, but most rappers must turn to YouTube, Soundcloud, and ultimately Beatstars to find producers and beats that they like. Once they find something that they can vibe with, they need to purchasing leasing rights from the producer. These prices vary immensely from as little as $10 to a few thousand depending on the producer.

Great! Now our rapper's got a beat. Time to write the song. Rap is one of the most diverse genres in music because it contains so many sub-genres (pop hop, lo-fi, emo rap, boom bap, trap, etc.). This is usually led by the beat the rapper chose to purchase, and often times the sub-genre influences the content of the song lyrics. Writing lyrics for a song can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks (or maybe even a few months). It truly varies based on the rapper's dedication to their music, as well as how many times they go back and edit.

Beat choosing. Done. Songwriting. Done. Time to record. Studio time is probably one of the most expensive aspects of creating music, and that's why I always encourage other artists to buy equipment and record at home. Not only is it extremely convenient, but it's also going to save you so much money in the long run (plus you can do as many takes as you want). After recording comes mixing, mastering, and engineering. This is basically a step that just makes sure that all the sounds in the song mix well together and are where they should be, and the price of getting someone to do this also varies a lot based on how professional of a sound the rapper's looking for.

Time to release the song! Releasing on Soundcloud is free (thank goodness), but putting music out on other platforms requires the purchase of a package through an online distributor (CD Baby, Distrokid, etc.). Once the song's released, there are a thousand optional steps that follow (building a fan base, booking shows, etc.), but none of these are truly required.

There are clearly more steps that go into becoming a successful Soundcloud rapper than most people assume, and it definitely isn't a free process. If a rapper starts from nothing and is purchasing everything themselves (album art, beats, studio time/equipment, mixing and mastering, distributing, and anything else they may need), the price of making one song can range from $100 to tens of thousands of dollars. Soundcloud rappers put in more work and money than most people assume, and it truly is a craft that requires dedication and perseverance if one is really trying to "make it."