Reverb takes a close-up sample of any recording, vocal or instrumental and synthetically alters it to make it sound as if it were being played in a room. Thus, instead of getting a close, clean vocal sound, with reverb settings included with normal plug-ins and programs, you can make your artist sound as if he was in a studio, a club or even a grand hall. After you have a setting you like, you can choose how much of the track you want the reverb to affect. The higher the percentage, also known as a "wet" setting, the farther away the vocalist will sound.
Equalization attempts to fix any problems caused by recording and editing that have to do with high, middle and low frequencies sounding too loud or too quiet. By changing the balance of these three settings, no pitch will overpower another. However, taking away certain frequencies can create special effects. For example, a drastically reduced mid-range will make your vocals sound like they are filtered and coming out of antique speakers.
When a single lyrical track is recorded multiple times, the results will vary slightly, as no one can perfectly replicate a previous performance. Rappers tend to use this to their advantage. Because the tracks are not exactly the same, you can hear both or all of them distinctly and add character to your vocals. One of the most common effects in modern hip-hop involves recording a few takes of the same vocal track and raising or lowering the pitch to a different setting on each for a very computerized sound.
An extremely well-known tool used in hip-hop, Auto-Tune comes with an effect simply called "the Auto-Tune effect," which was made popular by the artists Cher and T-Pain. It is used for singers rather than rappers. Because the method turns singing that may have been slightly out of tune into a perfectly pitched performance, its use encourages everyone to sing. It is wildly popular among aspiring hip-hop artists. Also, this program comes standard with an automatic setting. This particular effect requires minimal editing.