Foreword

Twelve years ago, I published the first edition of The BeatTips Manual . At the time, I was going through some turbulent situations. During those uncertain moments in 2001, I found solace in spending time with my son, Amir, and in making beats. Soon after the turbulence subsided, it became important to me to document everything that I knew about beats. Moreover, I wanted to share my knowledge about the art of beatmaking, hip hop/rap music, and the broader hip hop culture with my son, who at the time was turning 5 years old.

From the onset of this highly personal endeavor, I promised myself that I would meticulously record everything that I did relating to beatmaking, or saw, heard, and generally learned about beatmaking. After more than 30 yellow legal size note pads, I felt that I had created the ultimate beatmaking guide for my son. Shortly thereafter, I poured over revisions, drafting all of my notes into one cohesive reference journal. A reference journal that I hoped would one day nurture my son’s understanding of beatmaking and its impact on modern music and popular culture. After reviewing the first several sections of this reference with my son, he and I both thought that it would be a good idea to share what I had created for him with the rest of the world. Thus, I decided to develop and transform my reference journal into a book for anyone interested in learning about the beatmaking tradition. Hence, The BeatTips Manual was born!

When I began writing The BeatTips Manual , I gave myself one goal: write and publish a comprehensive, relevant, and accurate book on the beatmaking tradition. In order to achieve this goal, I set out a few guidelines to follow. First, I pledged to learn as much as I could (whenever and wherever I could, from whomever I could) about beatmaking and all the aesthetics that surround it. Second, I followed what I called the “rule of inclusion.” That is to say, I made a commitment to conduct extensive research on everything associated with beats, i.e. the art, craft, and business. To that end, I immersed myself in the study of as many relevant production methods, styles, sounds, and/or techniques that I possibly could.

The third guideline that I followed dealt with my aim to break everything down to a level where everyone could understand and appreciate. Unlike overly technical music instructional guides, self-help, how-to books and the like, I set out to write a book that was engaging, clear, and accessible, while at the same time challenging and rewarding to many different mind sets, skill sets, musical orientations, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Looking back on that first edition of The BeatTips Manual , I can honestly say that I’ve followed the same three core guidelines for this edition. And just as in my previous efforts, in this present edition, it is my sincere hope that I educate, motivate, and otherwise inform as many new, mid-level and/or advanced beatmakers as I possibly can. Indeed, if I do so, I will have done what I originally set out to do — nothing more, nothing less…

—Amir Said (Said), 2013, Brooklyn, NY