Birthday, hip-hop
Same cake, same card, same off-key happy birthday. This year they get a verse with their name in it.
A birthday rap song with their name in the hook
A birthday rap works when the verses brag about them for once. Give us the age, the wins of the year and one thing they always do, and the song turns it into two verses and a hook the whole party can shout back.
Comes with a vertical lyric video for TikTok and Reels
Hear the second a name lands
Marcus, it's your birthday, let's celebrate the day,
You wrote“Marcus failed his driving test three times and still calls himself the best driver in the group.”
The song singsThree times you took that driving test and got a big reject,
From a real song made here: “The Best Driver in the Passenger Seat”, for Marcus, from what his best friend typed.
The moment you give it
You ask for the aux like it's nothing. The beat drops, the first bar is their name, and the whole room turns to look at them. By the line about the thing they swore you'd never bring up, they are yelling it back.
NOW PLAYING · A RAP ABOUT THE BIRTHDAY KID · NOW PLAYING · A RAP ABOUT THE BIRTHDAY KID ·
11:48 pm · Kitchen, everyone holding a paper plate
Start with one memory
Pick a question. The form opens with your first line already started.
Two real birthday raps
Marcus gets a male-voice birthday rap from his best friend; Siobhan’s 30th has a female voice rapping the verses and singing the hook.
What you get for $12.99
You hear it first, free. You pay once, only if you keep it.
- Free preview
- The first 60 seconds, ready in about two minutes after you enter your email. No card.
- The song
- The full song, about two minutes long, as an MP3 to download and keep.
- Lyrics
- Every line is on the preview page before you pay. Unlocking adds the lyric sheet, to print or save as a PDF.
- Their link
- A private link that plays the whole song without an account, with your name and a short note. Switch it off any time.
- Photo video
- Free: a vertical 9:16 photo video of your photos with the lyrics on screen, plus 15- and 30-second cuts. Made in your browser.
- The name
- Unusual name? Type how to say it (SEER-sha for Saoirse) and the singer says it that way.
- Re-record
- One free re-record per song: change a line, the style or the voice and record it again.
- Name sung wrong?
- After you pay, a free remake with the name fixed, once per song.
- Languages
- Rap is sung in English. The other six styles also come in German, French, Spanish or Japanese.
- Teaser
- Before you pay, a 15-second teaser link that tells them a song is on its way.
- For this song
- Posting it? The 15-second cut fits an Instagram story and the 30-second cut a Reel, with the lyrics already on screen.
- Want a nudge next year? Opt in and we email you three weeks and one week before the date.
What a birthday rap should brag about
- The age, said proudly: thirty, forty, sweet sixteen.
- This year’s highlights: the move, the promotion, the marathon, the new baby.
- The thing they are best at, the one they would put on a jersey.
- Who they are to the crew: the planner, the driver, the one who never forgets.
- A running joke from past birthdays.
- What everyone wants for them next year.
Playing it at the party
Raps hit hardest loud, so play it on a speaker rather than a phone. The chorus opens with their name, which gives the room a cue to join in the second time it comes round.
If it is a surprise, cue it up before the cake comes out and let the first verse run while everyone works out who it is about.
Rap or upbeat pop?
| Hip-hop | Upbeat pop | |
|---|---|---|
| Tempo | About 92 BPM, head-nod | About 118 BPM, dance |
| Verses | Rapped, more words, more details | Sung, fewer words |
| Chorus | Sung hook with the name | Big singalong with the name |
| Best for | Brothers, best friends, sons, the life of the party | Anyone who will dance |
For example
A birthday brief for a rap could read:
- Marcus turns 25 on Saturday and just got his first apartment downtown.
- He has made the same chili for every game night since college.
- He drove four hours to help me move and only asked for pizza.
More song ideas
Questions
Let the verses brag about them.
Their name, their age and one win from this year.