Flow has already been studied extensively, but this is often done through rap analysis, focusing mostly on the rhythmical elements of the flow. Discussing findings in relation to the final lyrics would lack insight into the process of creation. I therefore find that studying flow through an artist’s own creation process, highlighting elements of flow that aren’t necessarily rhythmical, has the potential to shed light on an unexplored territory of flow. The backdrop here is that the process of writing a song is experimental and chaotic in nature, and the resulting lyrics and their meaning may be difficult to analyse and articulate into words, lending itself to benefit from utilizing artistic research.
I will stride against most contemporary rap scholars and not consider the metrical techniques in my analysis. However, as it is considerably more difficult to quantify the articulative techniques, I will not delve too deeply into the technicalities of the rap, and instead focus on the feelings perceived by me and my panel of experts when listening to the pieces created.
The goal of my research, as already mentioned in the introduction, is to shed light on my creative process during the creation and writing of lyrics, and to highlight potential effects of rewriting those lyrics in another language. I will create two songs in both English and Norwegian, then rewrite them into the other language. When I compose, I often split the work into two parts: the creation and experimentation phase, and the writing phase. Taking inspiration from diagrams shown in Hübner’s book on artistic research (Hübner, 2024, p. 120), I have created a diagram showing my intended process.
During the creation of the songs, I will bounce vocals from every step of the process, including freestyles, as this will paint a broader picture of the process I undertook when creating the songs.
Since I am journaling my thoughts during the process, I use terminology that could be unfamiliar for people outside of the music production sphere. Therefore, I present a glossary of frequently used terminology below.
First i will provide a clean (unaltered) versjon of the sound example so one can understand what the effects add to the sound.
When the song is done, I will start rewriting it. During this process, I will change the language of the song, focusing on flow and rhymes. I allow myself the freedom of not directly translating the lyrics, but rather crafting them into something similar that retains the rhyme scheme and flow. For example, “Hun kjører i en bil, og viser meg et smil” directly translated to “She is driving a car and showing me a smile”, could be written into “she’s driving a car, smiling from afar”. Although I'm changing the narrative, by writing it like this I preserve the rhyme scheme from the first line. I will then again document my thoughts on the process, noting interesting changes in delivery, meaning and flow.
I will, using the CRP, present my songs to a panel of experts chosen by me. Even though my music is individual and based around personal preferences, having outside feedback could provide valuable insights that might otherwise be overlooked. The feedback provided by the panel and the journal provided by me may serve as a guide towards understanding the feelings and messages being conveyed, but ultimately, I hope that the recordings themselves will also provide points of interest.
This is a tool used to alter vocal pitch, one can set the autotune to a musical scale and it would alter the vocals ensuring it stays on pitch. Often used in popular music in order to fix or conceal mistakes, it is also used as an aesthetic effect in rap music, pioneered by T Pain (Duinker, 2025, p.4).
Considering Polanyi’s words, stating that the observation and analysis of one’s work or practice could result in the deconstruction and destruction of said work to an irreparable degree (Polanyi, 1983, pp. 17-18), I have decided to document and reflect upon the process after the process is finished, allowing for further cycles if felt needed. Only after being satisfied with the results of the undertaken phase will I move on to the next phase.
Delay could be described as echo, it takes an audio signal and replays at set intervals, with a steadily decreasing volume (Owsinski, 2017, p. 300). One can change number of repetitions by altering the “feedback”. One could for example set the feedback to 100% or above, resulting in an ever-growing sound. Or one could set it to a low percentage resulting in fewer replays, something we call “slap-delay” which can be perceived as creating more room, placing the sound in a space. (Olsen, 2006, pp. 66-67)
An effect that causes clipping, overloading the signal and adding distortion (Owsinksi, 2017, p. 300).
When referring to the mix of a song, I am referring the combined soundscape created in a production and the balance between the instruments, vocals and drums. Mixes can feel “tall, deep and wide” (Owsinksi, 2017, pp. 56-57).
During the creation phase, I often utilize freestyling to generate my flow, omitting words and meaning from my focus in an attempt to more freely experiment while creating a sketch. Depending on the song, this could take a long or short amount of time and may result in varying degrees of completion. Following this, I will be documenting my thoughts and feelings when composing, focusing on the feeling and delivery of the vocals, and what I aimed to achieve with them.
When the song has been left aside for a while, allowing me to separate myself from the music and listen with somewhat fresh ears, I will commence the second phase: writing lyrics. During this phase, I will work on writing and recording the lyrics, clarifying the content and intent of the song. This is not where big changes occur, but rather where I polish and draw out the identity of the song that was developed in the part prior. I will then journal my thoughts and feelings when writing, noting whether I lived up to the freestyle or if I changed things.
This refers to rendering audio in a way that commits all effects and processing. While the resulting file can still be edited—chopped, stretched, or moved—any applied effects, like delay or autotune, cannot be removed. The terms “bouncing” or “printing” are often used interchangeably (EngineEars, 2025).
When referring to an 808 I am discussing the bass in said production. The Roland TR-808 was one of the first drum machines in the market, the kick drum in this machine could be altered and lengthened to taste. The TR-808 Kick drum has sub bass elements, and was subsequently adopted by Hip-Hop, rap songs would tune their beats to fit the TR-808 Bass drum or vice versa (Deruty, 2025, pp. 1-2).
Reverb is way to process an audio signal, simulated reverberation created from a real space. For example, one could use a long reverb to simulate the sound produced inside a church (Owsinski, 2017, p. 304).
Is an effect used to emulate multiple sources of audio, it takes a detuned copy of the signal and mixes it with the original. For example, one could use it on vocals to make it sound wider and fatter, instead of recording over-dubs (Owsinski, 2017, p. 300).