Treat every recording as its own unique identity. The microphone, the rapper’s performance, their distance from the mic, and background static – these factors can lead to varied recording results.
FL flowĪn enormous part of processing your vocals is understanding what type of recording you’re dealing with. If you’re in a phone booth, follow the rules of the space, and try to keep competing frequencies apart. If your mix already boasts booming mids and you want to stick in a rap vocal, the result might be the sonic equivalent of jamming two angry UFC fighters in a phone booth. Naturally, then, we don’t want this range to be pressured in the instrumental. This average range is very active in the mids and high-mids. Yes, every voice is different but, for the sake of practicality, we can draw some averages here. Though not an instrument per se, the human voice has a range just like any other instrument.
This space-awareness concept flows nicely into the next essential step that needs to be addressed: the human voice. So if you’re having a hard time figuring out how to blend your rap vocals, zoom out and consider the overall picture: are there are too many voices that want to speak up? Add in the fact that rap vocals don’t simply impart rhythm and sound to the listener but also words that need to stand out, be processed and understood, and you’ll understand that rap vocals need to be granted considerable room in the mix.
