It's probably fair to say that hip-hop has been the most globally influential style of music since some young wag stepped on Elvis's blue suede shoes. Getting started as a voice for African-American and Latin communities in the states, hip-hop soon spread and became the soundtrack to the 80's, 90's and the brand new millennium. Every year its influence and penetration increase, from commercials to films, and from charts to bars. In this section I will explain the basics of hip-hop production along with 20 must know tips to make the best hip-hop tracks possible.
BEATS AND LOOPS
With hip-hop its all about the beats - so get inspired!
Beats are the backbone of all hip-hop. Whether instrumental hip hop 're in to the cheeky one-two of Dre's Eminem productions or the juddering steps of Dj Premier, it is advisable to make certain that if nothing else is playing, your beat still stands up to scrutiny. As US comic Chris Rock put it: "If the beat's alright, they'll dance all night."
As we've already seen, hip-hop beats started out as breaks from records, beatboxes and sampling drum machines, so its super easy for hip-hop produced on some type of computer to sound just a little lifeless. Live playing and clever quantisation can fix this, though. The main trick is to keep it sparse and once you have a basic groove going, try taking right out different percussive hits before adding more. Also, its important to keep it simple. If you pay attention to professional hip-hop productions, you'll observe that its rare for two different percussive elements to play concurrently - unless its a layered clap and snare, and also then they'll alternate over a bar or two between both playing and only one or another. You'll also hear many parts were an instrument such as a shaker only plays for a little and specific section of a looped bar, almost as though the different percussive elements are taking turns. That is no coincidence, as hip-hop culture is centered on this kind of connection. Wether its DJs, MCs or breakdancers, hip-hop is, at its core, relating to this type of back and forth interaction, and this transfers to every single production element including beats.
STEP-BY-STEP the drums
1-The first thing I do when working on beats is lay down a hi-hat pattern. Usually , I do an eighth-note pattern and go back and change it if necessary after I've laid down another parts.
2-Next up may be the kick and snare . I keep them simple at first because I know that I'll be using a drum loop underneath. I start with a drum loop and add extra kicks and snares to reinforce it. The kick and snare are both sounds that I re-use on many tracks.
3-Next I'll put in a sampled kick and snare to reinforce the stock kick and snare sounds. This makes the beat sound a bit thicker and grimier. I also leave a little bit of 'air' on the tail end - this acts like 'sonic glue', giving the beat a more sampled feel.
4-The basic beat is currently complete and prepared to send in to the arrange screen, later on I'll utilize this pattern as a template for other parts of the song, were I'll add snare fills and rolls.
STEP-BY-STEP The loop
1-When using sampled breaks, I usually make certain they're either royalty-free, original roughly obscure they wont be recognized. This way I dont have to be worried about sample clearance. I'm a fan of busy drums so I'll usually choose an action packed two-bar drum break.
2-Now you need to match the tempo of the drum break to the tempo of your song. You can do this with any beat-slicing program.
3-Later on, after you have added vocals and such you may use this drum break, were its needed during your song.
MELODIES, STABS, SAMPLES AND SYNTHS Just like every other design of music, hip-hop's gotta have hooks
Melody or bass: it's hard to state which one you need to start work on first, because hip-hop is at its best when its simple - great tracks often have a bassline but no melody or vice versa. And sometimes the bassline may be the melody.
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