Suno reads BPM numbers loosely — they're a hint, not a command. Genre feel overrides numbers every time. Control tempo through genre + feel words, with the number as backup.
1. Lead with genre, follow with BPM: uptempo pop-punk, driving, 160 BPM — the genre sets the pocket, the number fine-tunes it. Number alone drifts; genre alone is approximate; together they're close.
2. Use feel words as tempo anchors: driving, urgent, frantic = fast. laid-back, lazy, swaggering = slow. swaggering hip-hop, 90 BPM will nail 90; hip-hop, 90 BPM might wander.
3. Reference the pocket: four-on-the-floor dance beat (locks ~120-128), boom-bap (locks ~90), double-time drums — groove names are tempo instructions in disguise.
4. Check with a tap-tempo app on the generated song. If it's consistently 10 BPM off your target, adjust the FEEL words, not the number — the number wasn't the problem.
5. For exact tempo needs (sync, DJ sets), time-stretch in a DAW after generation. A 5% stretch is inaudible and gets you exact.
Good luck! Hank founder of SonorixPG