Facebook has launched a TikTok-like app aimed helping up-and-coming rappers to create their music without having to spend a penny.

The ‘Bars’ app, created by Facebook’s New Product Experimentation (NPE) team, provides a platform for rappers to create and share raps using professionally-created beats.

“I know access to high-priced recording studios and production equipment can be limited for aspiring rappers,” said DJ Iyer, an NPE team member and hip-hop songwriter under the alias ‘D-Lucks’. “On top of that, the global pandemic shut down live performances where we often create and share our work. So, along with a group of aspiring rappers, we’ve been building Bars: a place for aspiring rappers to create and share their art.”

The app, currently available in closed beta on the US App Store, does not require the user to have any formal rap experience. It enables the artist to select a professionally-created beat, write lyrics, and record videos up to 60 seconds long, which can be personalised using a range of audio and visual filters.

Beginners will have the benefit of being auto-suggested rhymes as they write, while the more advanced rappers can have some fun with ‘Challenge mode’, where artists can freestyle with auto-suggested word cues.