10 TIPS FOR MAKING TIGHT HIPHOP BEATS

This is an article from 2011 or 2012 but i think the info is still relevant. Enjoy

10 TIPS FOR MAKING TIGHT HIPHOP BEATS

BY

ILLWILL

Howdy folks, I'm going to make this as brief as possible so that you can go back to your tweeting and facebooking. Let me start by saying that, in hiphop production (as in music generally), there are no rules; any song can become a hit, like "Sample", for example (pun intended), by Stereo Man, so do not be afraid to think outside the box. These are just a few pointers to help the newbies get to the promised land a little faster.

1. PASSION

Every great thing in life was achieved by drive and pasion. Passion is what keeps you going when there seems to be no positive result, so if you are not passionate about making music, then do not go into it.

2. KNOW YOUR WORK STATION

Find out about the different work stations and select the one that best suits you. If you like a raw sample based beats you might prefer a drum machine (rarely found in these parts) or FL Studio. If you play the keyboard and like synths you might prefer Protools or Reason, and if you want to play live then you are too advanced for this article (C ya l8r alig8r).

3. LISTEN

Listen to the beats of many hiphop producers. Some of the popular hiphop producers in Nigeria are Sosick, Venomous, Kraft, Ex-O and Sars (Joor oh!). When listening to a beat, always try to disect it and listen to the sound and arrangement of the individual tones (I remember Chobhams telling me this back in 2004).

4. QUALITY PERCUSSIONS

The kick and snare/clap are the foundation of almost every hiphop beat. Ensure you use quality one to bring out the Bang-in-the-Beat (Don't forget to compress). If you are using wave samples ensure that they are 16bit - 44.1Khz or above, and use interesting kits and drum patterns (like the one used for Wizkid's "Don't dull"). If you can't get good samples then "bite" the ones you like from existing songs using Sound forge or Cool edit pro.

5. TONE SELECTION

This is what makes the difference. If your tones/voices are cheap and weak, that's exactly how your beat would sound, cheap! and weak! You can get good tones from sample CDs, Hypersonic, Logic and Protools. And always look out for tones that would be the "ear candy" in your beat.

6. DYNAMICS AND ARRANGEMENT

Music is a combination of organized sounds, so always arrange your beat professionally: decongest the beat for the verses, then you can add more patterns/riffs in the chorus, add or remove patterns during the song for dynamics and effect, and always remember that a good beat enhances the artiste and not the other way round.

7. COPY (BUT DO NOT PHOTOCOPY)

I know this sounds unethical but my philosophy is that there is nothing new/original under the sun. It would also help you make beats (and improve) faster, and your customers are even going to ask you to make beats that sound like, say, Timbo or Kanye.  But be careful to add your own twist/identity/idea/swag to the beat to make it your own creation (and to avoid getting sued for copyright infringment) and remember, if you get caught, I know you not (hey that rhymes, i should use it in my next song) lol.

8. HAVE YOUR OWN IDENTITY

When you have found your feet in production, try to create tight beats that people can identify with you. There is nothing as good as people being able to pick your beat out in a line-up. DJ Premier is known for scratching vocal samples in choruses, Kanye west is known for his sampled percussions and creative use of samples, even Terry-G has a particular synth he uses that can be identified with him.

9. READ

If you want to make it as a producer, you have to be up to speed with the latest equipment, plug-ins, production techniques, mixing techniques and so on. If you can't find a good book on production/beat making, there are many articles online that you can read. A good place to start is looperman.com or modernbeats.com. Remember, leaders are readers.

10. FEEL THE GBEDU (SOUND)

For me a general rule is that a good beat should make an artiste feel like dropping a verse. If artistes listen to your beat and they are not bobing their heads or kicking some freestyles (how ever wack they may be), then you need to go back to the drawing board, or your work station in this case.

          With these few tit bits you should be making platinum selling beats (you can send some of the DOE to my account) and getting groupies around you or your studio, but remember that success in life is not achieved by what you know, but by what you do, so be a "doer of the word" and put these things into practice. Hola @ yo Boi

          ILLWILL is a hiphop artiste, he studied mechanical engineering at the University of Lagos. He currently works as a producer and mastering engineer for Hybreed Studios in Lagos Nigeria. Follow ILLWILL on twitter >> @illwillbeats