How to Write a Panty Dropper
by Steve Hoadley
Writing a song is a form of personal expression that can be used from professionals to amateurs. The only difference between amateur and professional song writers is that professionals get paid. You do not have to sell the rights to your work for it to be considered a song nor does your song have to appear on 106 & Park. As long as you follow the steps stated in the paper below you will be well on your way to writing your very own panty dropper.
Step-By-Step:
1.) You should start with a pre-produced track or the rhythm your feeling in your head. You can produce your own tracks with simply an electric keyboard. Due to electronic constraints Timberland won’t be knocking down your door for the beat, but it is close enough for government work and gives you an added sense of pride in the development of your song. If you are looking for something a little more official, you can simply pull instrumentals off the Internet and loop them onto your PC. Garage Band is great tool if you happen to be a Mac. The track is very important to aid in the creative process. Using music will help create a rhythm or beat that you can follow and incorporate in your lyrics. This will help you achieve a consistent flow to your song.
2.) Your main focus is using similes and metaphors to create vivid imagery. In an R&B song it is not simply enough to just tell someone that you love them or want to romantically engage with them. You need to show how much or how bad with the use of similes and metaphors. Marques Houston effectively uses similes in his song “Sex With You”:
Sex with you is like, like I made the last shot and everybody screaming my name
Sex with you is like my pocket full of dough and I don't worry 'bout a damn thing
He could have simply just said that he enjoys making love, but who doesn’t? This way he uses similes and metaphors to draw a comparison so that his special lady clearly understands how much he enjoys “sex with you”. It is also essential to derive your lyrics pulling from personal experiences. It sounds simple, but it makes the creative process so much easier. Writing from your own personal experiences will help you write lyrics that tell a story rather than simply rhyming ever other word.
3.) The chunk of your song, (verse1, hook, verse2) should all have the same rhythmic flow. It is important that these elements of your song have the same flow so as to not deviate from the rhythm of the track. This is why step 1 is so important to establish a rhythm that can be carried throughout the song.
4.) Begin with writing the hook. The hook is the thesis of your song and will be repeated throughout the song. The hook is usually the most difficult part to write and why you must devote the majority of your creative efforts in writing the hook. Once you have the hook written the verses and bridge will come together. All other components will play off of your hook. Bobby Valentino’s “Slow Down” hook lets the listener know what and who the rest of the song is about:
Slow down I just wanna get to know you
But don't turn around
Cuz that pretty round thing looks good to me
Slow down never seen anything so lovely
Now turn around
And bless me with your beauty, cutie
The hook explains the Mr. Valentino saw a fine little honey walk past and that all he wants to do is get to know her, but for him to do that ne needs her to “Slow Down” first. Bobby V uses his verses and the bridge of his song to further explain and describe what baby girl is all about.
5.) Next write the first verse, which should play off the overall theme of the hook.
6.) Continue with writing the second verse which will have the same number of lines and rhythm as the first verse.
7.) Next write the bridge, which will deviate in tempo from the rest of the song. For example if the song is more upbeat, then you might want to slow it down. Bobby V’s “Checkin’ For Me” is a song about a sexy young lady whom he locks eyes with in the club and instantly start digging on each other. The song is upbeat through his verses and hook and that is why he decides to slow it down with the bridge:
The night is winding down
Last call for a drink or two
I just wanna groove with you baby
My car is whipped outside (outside)
Tell your girls you’re leaving with me
Cuz, this is where you ought to be (beeeee, yeah)
This is compared to the conclusion of a paper, where the author wraps up the song before going into the final repetitions of the hook followed by the outro.
8.) Next arrange your pieces into verse1, hook, verse2, hook, bridge, hook. Depending on the length of your track you can repeat the final hook x2+ at the end before ending with your outro, which will be the last thing you prepare. You could even substitute a third verse which could be placed directly after the bridge before going into the final hooks of the your song.
9.) You can either write or adlib the intro to the song. The intro is a series of verbal statements at the beginning of the song that bys you time before the beat drops so you can go into your first verse. In addition the intro allows you to set the mood and ultimately helps you get your mind right before diving into your first verse. In Bobby Valentino’s “Tell Me”, Bobby V sets the stage for the song with his intro prefacing what he is going to sing about:
Bobby Valentino haha
Ah ay yo Tim drop the beat for me
Ah yeah haha
Do it really sexy for me yeah
Y'all see that girl over there
Hey girl check this out right here
With this intro Bobby V lets you know that first and foremost the track is a straight heater and secondly that he is talking to this fine dime breezy that just walked into the spot. This is comparable to a topic sentence in an essay and will set the tone for the entire song.
10.) Lastly, write the outro for the song, which will be placed after the last hook is repeated. Again, the outro can be written, but is preferably adlibbed after you have finished laying down your panty dropper. This gives you a chance for you to express any final thoughts or feelings regarding the overall song. The outro should fade out with the track. An outro is not a necessity, but can be one of the most exciting and underrated elements of the song. Usher’s “Nice & Slow” contains one of his best outros that comes after the final repetition of the hook:
Now tell me
Do you wanna get freaky
'Cause - I'll freak you right I will
I'll freak you right I will
I'll freak you like no one has ever, ever made you feel
I'll freak you right I will
I'll freak you right I will
I'll freak you, freak you like no one has ever, ever made you feel -
yeah
(now baby tell me what you wanna do with me)
Throughout the song Usher is telling his special lady that he wants to “take her to a place that’s nice and quiet, where nobody will interrupt”, so that they can “take it nice and slow”. In the outro, Usher lays it down and lets her know what is really good. This gives the song an added excitement and like the bridge breaks up the monotony of the original rhythm of the song.
Conclusion:
An important thing to remember when writing a song is to not be afraid to rewrite and rework the lyrics to your song. This may be necessary to accomplishing rhythmic consistency. It might seem like everything is flowing nicely when you are writing it down, but it is important to stop and sing it out loud with the track to truly see if the verse, bridge, or hook accomplishes the desired rhythmic flow. It is nice for lines to rhyme with each other, but that is not more important than the flow of the rhythm. In theory your song does not have to rhyme at all, but rhyming lines usually helps creating the rhythmic flow a little easier and usually makes the song more “catchy”. Once you have finished your song please refrain from being selfish and share it with those who will appreciate it. You’ll know when the times right. Enjoy.
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