Research your subject matter, the city of Dallas, Texas. Are you a native of Dallas? Did you just visit Dallas for the first time? Depending on your existing knowledge of Dallas, research may involve examining your own memories, taking a trip or researching the city on the Web. In hip-hop, lyrical vagueness can undermine a rapper's perceived authenticity. If you don't know much about Dallas but are determined to write a rap song about it, scour the Web for specific, authentic details to include. Drake's freestyle "9 AM in Dallas" barely mentions the city outside of the title, but the one reference -- to an exclusive, luxury apartment complex called the Manor at State Thomas Condos -- is extremely specific. If you need good reference material and can't seem to find it, consider reaching out to your social network for ideas. Who do you know in Dallas, or who really knows about Dallas?
Choose a clear perspective. Are you writing this song because you love Dallas? Are you writing it because you hate Dallas? Decide what you want to say about the city, and write from the entire song from that perspective. Though "diss" tracks -- or musical insults aimed at people and geographical locations -- have a long history in hip-hop, keep in mind that positivity may excite listeners more than negativity. A song championing Dallas could potentially win you more fans than a song that insults Dallas. Anyone in doubt of the potentially infectious nature of positive songs about places should consider the success of Tupac's remake of "California Love" or Jay Z's "New York." Examples from outside the world of hip-hop include Lynyrd Skynyrd's chart-topper, "Sweet Home Alabama" and Martha & The Vandellas' references to multiple U.S. cities in their triumphant "Dancin' in the Streets."
Draft your song using a pen and paper or your word processor of choice; then focus on adding more rhymes. Hip-hop traditionally features more complicated rhyming schemes than other genres of contemporary music. Influential 1990s rappers like Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes demonstrate a mastery of the interior rhyme -- a rhyme that occurs within an individual lyrical phrase rather than at the end of a line. Look for their lyrics and listen to their rhymes for patterns to emulate. In addition to line-ending rhymes, work in interior rhymes wherever possible. If your song feels so overstuffed with rhymes that you can barely perform it, practice it with a metronome at a low BPM setting until you can recite it perfectly; then increase the speed slowly. Dedication to executing a complicated lyric is a hallmark of the virtuoso rapper.
Examine any slang terms in your lyric. Make sure you haven't included slang you wouldn't normally use or -- even worse -- slang you can't quite define. If you're uncomfortable using a certain slang term, consider leaving it out of your lyrics. Reaching outside of your typical vocabulary to include slang artificially may signal amateurism to the informed hip-hop listener.
Keep it clean. Anyone who has attended an open-mic night or freestyle rap battle knows that, when words fail, the novice MC often falls back on unimaginative repetitions of James Brown-inspired "ughs" and repeated cursing for its inherent drama and impact. In addition to appealing to the lowest common denominator, overuse of expletives signals inexperience as an MC. If, after carefully examining your lyrical choices, you do feel the need to include the occasional swear word, be sure to write and record an alternate, clean version of your lyrics for radio and podcast play.