(01-10-2016, 05:44 AM)Beat Eater Wrote: I'll definitely be searching more my own voice as I continue. Sometimes I feel it's hard to hear my own voice in my head because it's drowned out by all the voices of musicians, rappers, writers, etc. that I love. I tend to gravitate a style of someone else that's similar to the style I'm writing.We all do that to begin with. There's a thread of "you" in it though -- pull it and see where it goes. I know rappers always think they've got a handle on "the beat", but I guarantee if you learn about meter and other poetic forms, your rapping will improve. Most of the truly great rap/ hiphop lyricists -- Eminem, Tupac, Aesop Rock, obviously a few others -- have a good command of poetry in the written form. It's better/stronger if it doesn't rely on your pronunciation and the music to make it "flow".
There is no substitute for reading outside of the genre/style you are writing in. The best poetry often calls on classical and pop culture references, and not just those that people who listen to rap music will be familiar with. If your objective is to appeal to a wider audience, and to expand the influence of your art outside its hard core fan base, you're going to have to elevate yourself.
You can though. We see hundreds of "rappers" crash and burn here every year, because they already think they know how it's done and assume that cliche and crap content is enough. That's insulting to your readers/listeners. People are crying out for great art but they're settling for average because that's all that's on offer. Don't be average. Be fucking amazing.