How to become a rapper: lessons from recording around 150 songs

I rapped as Deep Impakt from my mid-teens into my twenties. I recorded my first raps at about 16, battle rapped at live sets, left a graduate job at Deloitte to take it seriously and recorded around 150 songs in my own studio. I did not become a famous artist. I think that makes my lessons more useful, not less: they are about the work, not about luck.

The story is told in full elsewhere: from my first rap in school to battle rapping, leaving Deloitte to rap and building Deep Impakt Recordings. This page is the practical distillation.

Start where you are

I started at the back of a classroom and recorded at a school friend's house. Later I recorded properly at a local community studio. No one starts with a label deal. You start with a notebook, friends who care about the same thing and somewhere to record.

1. Write every day

The single habit that mattered most was writing constantly. Volume teaches you rhythm, rhyme and your own voice faster than anything else. Around 150 recorded songs means many more written, most of them never heard.

2. Record, and learn to record

Hearing yourself back is uncomfortable and essential. I eventually learned to engineer and built my own studio, which meant I could record as much as I wanted. You do not need to go that far, but understanding the basics of recording and mixing will make you a better artist and save you money. I learned Logic Pro from producers who had worked on my tracks.

3. Perform in front of people

Battle rapping and live sets taught me something recording could not: how to stand in front of people who expect you to fail and do it anyway. It is the fastest way I know to stop fearing judgement, and it has been useful in everything since, from conference stages to a Muay Thai ring.

4. Make videos

Several of my tracks got music videos, and those videos are what survive. A few from the Deep Impakt playlist:

Even simple videos give people something to share and give you a record of your progress.

5. Expect people to be surprised

As a British Indian ex-Deloitte graduate, I did not look like what people expected a rapper to look like. People were always surprised. That surprise can be a hook rather than a handicap if your music is good.

6. Find your real strength

My most honest line from a 2018 interview: "I definitely had more success as a recording engineer than I did as a recording musician." The studio got more traction than my own songs. Paying attention to where you actually get results, rather than where you want them, is a useful skill in any field.

7. Treat it as a business too

If you want music to pay, someone has to sell it. My studio taught me to find customers, deliver and earn referrals. Learn how releasing, distribution and royalties work, and get proper advice before signing anything.

What I would do differently

Release more consistently, rather than in bursts.
Collaborate more widely.
Get help with marketing earlier.

Questions readers ask

How many songs did you record as Deep Impakt?

Around 150.

When did you start rapping?

I recorded my first raps at about 16 and had been rapping since around 15.

Can I listen to your music?

Yes: the Deep Impakt playlist on YouTube and my SoundCloud are embedded on the rap years page.

Sources and notes

Song titles are as published on YouTube. No lyrics are reproduced.

Written in October 2026 from my own contemporaneous records.