How to make Siri rap is a popular question among iPhone users. The voice assistant has a myriad of jokes and snarky retorts hidden up her virtual sleeve. This programmed aspect makes for a welcome change from Siri’s usually blunt and to-the-point feel. Yet, we can’t blame it too much. It’s the nature of digital assistants and any departure towards the fun realm makes interaction much more enjoyable and relaxing. In that regard, Siri can be super cheeky when you want it to be. It can also be a rapper, although not quite like Tupac, Biggie and other prominent figures. Still, Siri does its best and we commend it for the effort. So, how to make Siri rap? In more than one way, actually. Bear with us.
How to make Siri Rap? Just ask!
Perhaps the essential part of Siri’s charm and appeal is the long list of commands and tricks that play off the assistant’s humorous side. What’s more, people seem to find new interesting features every once in awhile, adding to the already impressive vault of goofy statements and funnies. Apple made sure there is something worth exploring here, a smart move in our books as it connect the user more closely to its virtual companion. You just have to ask Siri for something, no matter how outrageous it seems. Even asking the same question multiple times in a row produces a different result, spawning a more ridiculous answer than the previous one.
The same principle of asking Siri relates to her rapping skills. How to make Siri rap is as easy as saying “Hey Siri, rap” and the voice agent will bust out a rhyme. It’s usually a short rendition of The Sugar Hill Gang’s iconic rap hit “Rapper’s Delight”. Siri’s loveable side pops once more when it issues an apology to the band for not performing the song well. In some instances, the virtual assistant can be a bit stubborn so there might be an occasional necessary repeat of the command. In the end, Siri comes through. However, it appears there is only one instance of the pre-programmed answer when it comes to rapping. No matter how many times you ask it or the way you ask it, Siri always does that “Rapper’s Delight” bit and that’s it. Luckily, there is a way to make Siri rap anything.
You’ll need to do a bit of harmless tinkering. Head on to Settings > General and tap on the Accessibility option. Select Speech and turn on on the Speak Selection feature, if it already isn’t on. What this does is enable Siri to read any text you write or copy and paste into the Notes or Messages app or select in a browser. Upon selection, tap on the Speak option and that’s it. If the voice sounds a little bit off, don’t’ worry. That’s the iOS 8/9 version of Siri’s voice with a slight difference from iOS 10 version. For additional tweaking of the word flow, you can move the slider under the Speaking Rate option. This sets how fast or slow Siri speaks, which certainly has the potential to create some hilariously fast rapping skills.
Beatboxing and singing
Siri is also adept at freestyle beatboxing, sometimes unknowingly (we’ll get to that in a minute). Upon request to produce a beat, Siri has a couple of pre-designed answers that mostly revolve around the assistant repeating a few words. For instance, one time the voice agent answers with a repetition of the phrase “boots and cats”, almost sneeringly noting that it can go on forever like that. The end result is not exactly beatboxing, but it’s what you get. Alternatively, you can create your own jam by using Siri as the base beat. This trick owes a lot to Siri’s sharp math skills. Ask it to multiply one trillion to the tenth power, which will produce a seemingly endless stream of zeroes. The result can act as a great bass beat for freestyle rapping. There are quite a few renditions online utilizing this undeniably fun trick.
As for singing, Siri is a bit more prepared and a lot more stubborn. Asking it to sing a tune almost by default results in “You know I can’t sing.” or some other negatory response. Thus, a bit of patience and persistence is required on your part. And no, saying “Please sing me a song” doesn’t help. Nevertheless, after Siri finally concedes, it recites a verse from the “Wizard of Oz”. But that’s not all. One of the more recently discovered tricks involving Siri’s musical sense is singing a specific tune. Namely, “The Bohemian Rhapsody” by the rock icons Queen. So, if you want to make Siri sing this classic, just start with the song’s lyrics. Say “I see a little silhouetto of a man” and after a few seconds, Siri will finish the famous verse. What makes things better is a little gem in the following lyrics. Instead of:
I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He’s just a poor assistant, from a poor family
and the “Let him go!” part, Siri goes:
I’m just a poor assistant, nobody loves me.
It’s just a poor assistant, from a poor family.
Let it go!
Neat trick, right? Apparently, someone at Apple is a huge Freddie Mercury fan. In addition, the same Speak option can be applied in this case, with the end result being almost identical this time around. Naturally, in each case, Siri isn’t singing as she’s more of reciting the words. Still – you can’t have it all, this is as good as it gets for Siri now, even if Samsung’s Bixby, for instance, is far more natural and genuinely better performance-wise in this department. Still, that is another story for another time.
Not quite musical, but good enough
These discoveries once again highlight the fact that Siri is a witty and sassy, if often disembodied virtual persona. If you are looking for an occasional laugh or two, the assistant will do just fine. Part of the fun lies in searching for and finding these hidden little gems if you have the patience for it. With very little information from Apple’s developers on what to look for, Siri makes it more difficult by being stubborn. Sometimes, it takes multiple tries to get it going but when it does, it’s more rewarding. For now, we encourage you to try these tricks and be creative, they are really fun. And, if you feel like exploring, give it a go – maybe you discover the next big Siri trick. We’d sure love to hear it.