Add a vocal to your hip-hop beat
To add a vocal to your hip-hop beat, upload the beat in Lyro Music, paste your lyrics or say what the song is about, and pick a voice: for hip-hop, “Rap” is the usual fit. Lyro’s vocal model listens to the beat itself and sings or raps your words on its tempo and grid, then returns the vocal alone, as its own track. Your beat is never changed.
With lyrics it costs 7 credits for a beat of up to a minute and 11 credits for three minutes, on every plan.
No file at hand? Start from a description, or generate a prompt.
At a glanceHip-hop
| Tempo (BPM) | 80 to 100 for boom bap, most often 85 to 95 |
|---|---|
| Keys | minor keys, often G minor or D minor; the sample sets the harmony |
| Feel | swung sixteenth notes, kick and snare slightly behind the beat, head-nod groove |
| Signature sounds | a dusty swung drum break with a fat snare, a chopped soul or jazz sample, a warm round bassline and a rapped vocal with clear diction |
| Song form | usually a 4 to 8 bar intro on the sample, then 16-bar verses alternating with 8-bar hooks, arranged by muting and unmuting parts of the loop |
| Voice that fits | Rap |
| The usual vocal | Hip-hop vocals are rapped: rhythmic speech locked to the drums, where diction and flow (how the syllables sit on the beat) matter more than melody. Hooks are often sung or chanted. |
How it goesThree steps
- Upload your beatLyro reads its tempo and key in the browser in a few seconds. Correct them if you know the real values.
- Give it words and a voicePaste your lyrics, or let Lyro write a verse and a hook from one line about the song. Then pick the voice: “Rap” for hip-hop.
- Mix the vocal with your beatThe vocal opens in the studio beside your beat. Nudge a phrase that lands early or late, balance the two and master.
Tips for this genre
Three things decide how a vocal on a hip-hop beat comes out: the words, the voice and the delivery.
- Write the whole verse and the hook. With only a few lines, the model adds lines of its own.
- Keep the lines of a verse to a similar number of syllables, so none of them gets rushed.
- Use the Style box for the delivery you want in hip-hop, such as laid-back, breathy, aggressive or melodic. Name a delivery, never an artist.
Where the limits are
- The model writes its own melody for your words; you steer it with the lyrics, the voice and a line of style, not note by note.
- An AI vocal can mispronounce a word, and a new attempt costs credits.
- A word can still land slightly early or late; split that phrase in the studio and move it on the grid.
- Lyro has no voice cloning, and it does not imitate a real singer or rapper.
Questions
Will Lyro change my hip-hop beat?
No. The vocal model listens to your beat so it can sing on it, but what comes back is only the new vocal, as its own track. Your beat file is never changed; the two meet in the mixer.
Which voice suits hip-hop?
“Rap”. Hip-hop vocals are rapped, so the Rap voice fits: it asks for a confident, rhythmic delivery with clear diction. You can pick any of Lyro’s voices and describe the delivery in the style box.
Does the vocal land on my beat’s timing?
The vocal model hears the beat itself, not only its tempo, and sings on its grid. A word can still land slightly early or late; you fix that in the studio by splitting the phrase and moving it.
I have no lyrics yet. Can Lyro write them?
Yes. Say in one line what the song is about, or pick a theme such as love, heartbreak or hustle, and Lyro writes a verse and a hook in the style of hip-hop before it sings them. They appear on screen, so you can edit them before the next try.
What does it cost?
With lyrics, 7 credits for a beat of up to a minute and 11 credits for three minutes. An improvised vocal without written words costs one credit per started minute, with a minimum of 2. It is on every plan, and failed generations are refunded automatically.
Is my beat really hip-hop?
The neighbouring genres differ in clear ways:
Related
More for this genre: A beat for your vocal, Mix and master
Other genres: Trap, Drill, R&B, Pop, Afrobeats, Amapiano, Afro house, Deep house, Reggaeton, Lo-fi, K-pop