Many people always ask me how to make hip hop beats and I always give them the same answer. There is no one answer or formula on how to make hip hop beats. It all depends on you and how you are able to use your creativity and imagination while maintaining the proper structure of a hip hop beat.
It’s All About the Detail.
When it comes to making a hip hop beat it is all about structure and arrangement more than anything. The reason I say this is because when you add little details to a beat such as adding a snare roll before the chorus hits or pausing the beat to emphasize certain words it creates a certain anticipation that keeps your listeners interested. Think about all of the hip hop songs you’ve heard, how many of them did not have a certain type of build up or transition? The answer is probably none! The reason for this is because many of the top producers know that in order to keep us listeners interested there has to be some sort of change in the beat.
Where Do I Start?
Many people find themselves stumped when trying to make hip hop beats. Whether it be lack of inspiration or confusion the important thing is to never force yourself to be creative. What I mean by this is if you aren’t feeling it at that specific time then its good to take a break and free your mind. Whether that’s by going for a walk or even a drive it’s important to free your mind to be able to work efficiently.
When Am I Finished?
One of the hardest parts about learning how to make hip hop beats is knowing when to stop. Many people make the common mistake of not knowing when to stop when they make hip hop beats. What that does is saturate the beat so instead sounding like music it just sounds like a bunch of noise. Its kind of like when your in a room with a lot of people, there are so many people talking at once that it just sounds like a big bunch of noise. So always remember that a little goes a long way.