Cheap Music Video Ideas for Rappers

We’ve created an additional list of cheap ideas for rappers to pursue in 2023. With rising costs of services, it’s now more work to book a videographer and rent out spaces for music videos. It’s more important than ever to be creative regarding your production. There are also many more ways to market yourself on social media, which include budget-friendly options.

Nowadays, cheap videos get as much attention as videos with big budgets. Utilize our list of affordable ideas to maximize your creativity with music videos. From home budget sets and projectors to learning new editing software that’s free to use, we’ve packed this article with new things for you to try!

1. Budget Set At Home

One of the most budget-friendly ideas is to use a room inside your house to build an affordable set. You can do this by clearing the space and setting up a frame on the walls with wood or other materials. Afterward, you hang curtains that fit your scene, and now you have a cool backdrop for decorating with other items like old-school speakers and other things you can purchase from a thrift store. An example that’ll help you better picture this idea is hanging all-black curtains, with one having more glitter than the rest so it’ll sparkle. Then add some LED lights at the bottom, which will look fantastic on video with grainy effects. 

2. Use A Projector

There are plenty of music videos that show an overlay of clips on top of the artist. This effect uses a plug-in or portable projector and a solid textured background like a garage or a wall. You can find a mini projector for cheap prices on Amazon, eBay, or even Goodwill. This is an excellent option because you can showcase video clips that relate to your song while your body is visible on the screen. Whether you’re rapping on the microphone or staring off into the distance, having a compilation of videos overlaying your face makes an emotional vibe that’ll grab the attention of fans. 

3. Learn Blender Editing Software

The beauty of the internet in 2023 is the availability of free software that produced things that used to cost millions to create. Blender is top editing software that allows you to create realistic 3d models and scenes that mimic those in Pixar and VFX movies. The best part is that this software is free, and thousands of YouTube tutorials teach you how to create models, scenes, and more. You can take a step further and plug yourself inside these scenes by capturing yourself on video with a solid color background and removing the background in the software while replacing it with your Blender scene. 

4. Studio / Warehouse Shoot

A very popular concept for hip hop music videos are these studio & warehouse shoots. The reason why we see lots of these music videos is because the set is so versatile. You basically create your own shots which can save money on traveling, scenes etc. With one large backdrop in a warehouse or studio, you can switch out structures and props conveniently. On top of that you may also have the opportunity to create green screen effects. There are so many shots a videographer can take when you are using a large warehouse/studio. From simple solid color background shots to complicated green screen effects, a rapper can really get a lot of different shots done with this kind of shoots.

5. One Long Take

Popularized by lyrical artists like Kendrick Lamar, long take shots are a beautiful way to capture a story in your music video. Rappers with heavy lyrical content take this route with music videos because it gives the audience a chance to step into the characters shoes. For example, if the story is talking about the struggle, you can have the videographer follow you the whole time while you are doing tasks like popping the hood of a broken car, walking in a grocery store etc. These daily tasks don’t require much money at all and it can still deliver a powerful message to the viewers. Show your fans your personal side by showing them your morning routine. These long shots for hip hop music videos really tell stories if done correctly. Well known long shot music videos have the videographer be in front of the artist as the artist is walking towards the camera.

6. VHS Style / Homemade Look

Want your fans to experience an old school vibe? Take them to a trip down memory lane by incorporating the VHS look. VHS / Homemade looks are still very popular for artists and rappers. Buying a camera like this can be rather cheap and this ‘cheap’ look can be very intentional when it comes to your music video. If you song is a bit old school, this is a perfect style of music video for you. Sometimes showing your fans the old times will help them get to you which in turn builds loyalty. I remember Mac Miller and Swae Lee would do these kind of looks with their music videos and it brings a whole new vibe. Again, this VHS look draws away from content but draws in perspective.

7. Lots of Effects & Camera Tricks

Listen, what if you don’t have a videographer and your friend owns a terrible camera? No problem, you can still get away with a great music video by intentionally making it over the top with effects. As long as the video flows you can add a multitude of effects to really distort the image without going off timing. Adding distortion effects will take away from your camera’s bad quality but you need to make sure it is still interesting and appealing. Getting creative with the effects is not the only thing you must do to pull this music video off. You must also get creative with how you record and the tricks you can do with your camera. Maybe tape your camera on your fan for a quick shot, add a string for another shot, put weird filters like a Pringles lid. Silly things like this will add creativity to your music video and will make it stand out from others!

Conclusion

Making a music video is no easy task and can get very expensive at times. But the purpose of this article was to draw light on affordable music video ideas. You do not need to spend a fortune to create a memorable music video and sometimes these kinds of videos can become viral. Creativity is more important for rising artists because just about anyone can spend lots of money for a nice car for the shoot etc. But this won’t make your music video more memorable than some really creativity funky shots that makes the viewers wonder. What kind of ideas do you guys see for music videos that does not require a lot of cash?