What Does Bars Mean In Rap? (Revealed!)

“Bars” in rap refers to lyrics in a rap song. Bars are literally measures of time in music, so “bars” in this context refers specifically to the lyrics and how well they flow. Often, then, in the context of rap, “bars” is used in the context that the lyrics are particularly good and flow really well.

The simple answer to the meaning of “bars,” then, is just that it means the lyrics in a rap song.

However, the meaning gets a bit more complicated than that when you take a deeper dive into it.

The connotations can vary slightly depending on the context, so let’s look further into it.

What do rappers mean by “bars”?

The simplest explanation for what rappers mean by “bars” is just that they mean the lyrics of a rap song.

This could be the pre-written lyrics of a recorded song, or it could also be the improvised lyrics of a freestyle rap.

The term is a more widely used technical music term, but in the context of rap it has very much taken on its own particular meaning.

It often relates not only to lyrics in rap, but specifically to very good lyrics.

If a rapper is said to have “bars” or something along these lines, then generally this means that they are a very skilled wordsmith and can create elegant and flowing rhymes.

“You got bars, son,” for example.

This isn’t always the case, of course.

Some rappers simply don’t refer to rap lyrics in any other way—they are always “bars” rather than lyrics.

Similarly, some rappers might instead refer to lyrics in rap as “rhymes”.

The point is that very often rappers do not refer to lyrics as lyrics—although, of course, very often they do as well.

Bars on a certain level reflects the way that rap tends to set itself apart from other forms of music in a number of ways.

The culture of rap, for instance, is often a point of pride and something that rappers feel makes rap a very distinct genre.

Another way is in the language used. Music always has an element of this—it’s a technical skill involving knowledge that the average person doesn’t have.

Rap builds on this by using its own specific set of language which, at the same time, ultimately has its roots in musical convention.

So, again, the short answer is bars just mean lyrics—the longer answer is a bit more complex.

Where does “bars” come from in rap?

As mentioned, bars are a part of music generally and so this ultimately is where rap borrowed the term.

The meanings are slightly different, though, but the basic principle is the same.

In music more broadly, a bar is a musical segment bound by vertical lines.

This typically indicates a recurring beat, The length of these bars is indicated by the time signature.

In simple terms, then, bars are a form of musical notation.

The notes are indicated by specific symbols on the stave, and the bars generally indicate the time.

In terms of how this term came to have such a particular meaning in rap, we can look to the growth of hip-hop in the 1990s and 2000s.

Hip-hop artists of this period came to use bars as a term for lyrics in general, somewhat decoupling the word itself from its strictest, technical meaning.

In rap, a bar generally equals four single beats worth of lyrics—in other words, a line, we might say.

It’s not known who specifically began using this term in this way.

It grew very quickly in the 1990s to have this meaning, so it is hard to trace to its original source.

What does “spitting bars” mean in rap?

One phrase you’ll very often hear in rap is that a rapper is “spitting bars”.

While this could literally sound like it just means someone is rapping lyrics, the meaning is more specific.

To be “spitting bars” generally means you are rapping extremely well, with again particularly strong word craft and flow.

The lyrics are steeped in meaning or are simply very rhythmically impressive.

Again, this is very often used in the context of freestyle rap.

That said, you can definitely use it about someone performing a pre-recorded rap, usually when you are hearing it for the first time.

How many beats is a rap bar?

There are usually four beats in one bar.

Verses can last varying lengths of time in a rap song, the duration usually being around 16 bars.

Within that, you will have 4 quatrains to the verse, and around 3 verses to the song.

This is by no means a hard and fast rule, but it does highlight the way that “bars” in rap is more than simply a term for lyrics.

It’s a complex and technical aspect of rap that rappers need to understand to rap well.

Structure in rap is really important, though it doesn’t always sound this way to the untrained ear. It simply doesn’t register.   

So, there’s a simple answer and a more complex one.

Simply put, “bars” in rap just refers to lyrics—this is how it’s generally used and how most people tend to understand it.

However, bars are a very important part of any music, and they relate to more than just lyrics.

It’s about timing and how different parts of a musical piece fit together and transition between each other—a complicated part of music at which rap excels.

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