In urban music genres such as hip hop and rap, rap beats play a significant role.
It is said that in most cases, the rap instrumentals are equally as important as the lyrics and the artist delivering them.
If you are purely a lyricist, then you may believe otherwise.
However, if you are an artist trying to make a name and sell tons of records and compete with the major heavy hitters of the industry, then it is important to realize that the fans pay attention to the rap beats that you deliver your lyrics and vocal performance over.
If your beats are poor in quality, it will hurt your overall perceived talent in the eyes and ears of most of today's urban music listeners.
At the same time, if you use hip hop beats from the latest chart topping song by an already established artist, then the listeners are subject to not take you as seriously as they would if you had your own rap instrumentals.
When you are combing through all of the rap beats and hip hop instrumentals that are now available online, you want to be aware that every good instrumental will not actually fit the subject of the song you are writing, or have already written.
Every music beat or hip hop beat has a "theme," and you should pay attention to the mood that this theme creates.
You can then either write lyrics that match this theme element, or you can find some lyrics that you have already written that go with it.