Introduction
Rap, first and foremost, is, and will always be, about the beat. –Marley Marl
Mis-teaching…fouls up the roots of the neophytes’ resources and imprisons their imagination. –Wole Soyinka
Roughly 30 years after the advent of hip hop/rap music, the pop culture commodification and corporate co-option of hip hop/rap music is complete: Hip hop/rap is no longer a small, but powerful, sub-culture; it is a major part of popular American culture. On one hand, this development has clearly threatened the creative and artistic values of hip hop/rap music. On the other hand, this development has helped give hip hop/rap music a level of influence OVER the American musical psyche and, subsequently, American culture, that has not been seen since the advent of the blues and rock ‘n’ roll.
Hip hop, once a little known Bronx sub-culture comprised of four elements — graffiti writing, b-boying, DJ’ing, and rapping — stands today as a mighty world culture. And while the significance of b-boying and graffiti have somewhat waned through the years, rap music still remains the most powerful, and certainly the most visible, of the four original elements (artistic expressions) of hip hop culture. Thus, one might wonder, What has given hip hop/rap music its staying power? Further, What gives hip hop/rap music its richness and unique energy? Is it the no holds barred street history of hip hop culture that continues to underscore hip hop/rap music even to this day? Is it the assortment of charismatic rappers and exceptional lyricists? Sure, you can attribute it to both of those factors as well as countless others (far too many and nuanced to adequately cover in this present study). But I believe that beatmaking is one factor that stands out among the others. Moreover, just as with the blues — and all of twentieth-century popular American music — it’s the beat that drives hip hop/rap music. Accordingly, this book examines beatmaking, the chief compositional process for making hip hop/rap music, in all of its glory.
Beatmaking is an art-craft that requires serious study and long hours of practice. And despite recent attempts to make it merely just another marketable idiom of hip hop culture, it’s not a consumable good. Though there has been a plethora of beatmaking tools to come to market in recent years (making it easier than ever before for anyone to get into the hip hop producer phenomenon), beatmaking is not some kind of pop item that can be bought. Sure, today a production setup can be purchased for almost nothing, but a beatmaking skill-set can not be bought. Knowledge must be learned and then developed, no matter what set of music production tools one might have. In fact, I maintain that throughout the history of beatmaking, the most successful beatmakers have reached their station by engaging in the very meticulous and time consuming educational process that quality beatmaking demands.
Though some of the basics of the beatmaking art form may be learned in a relatively quick manner by the truest autodidactics, beatmaking is notoriously difficult to learn and even more arduous to master. It is a tremendously deep (and rather dense) art-craft that is marked by a rich history and a meticulously detailed methodology. And even though there are no written “rules” in beatmaking, there are, however, numerous universal norms and preferences and, more importantly, fundamental aesthetic concepts, principles, and priorities. Thus, if learning how to become a beatmaker is notoriously difficult, then you can be assured that writing about it is equally (if not more) challenging.
The first major challenge in writing about beatmaking deals with the question of how to distinguish beatmaking as its own distinct art form and musical discipline, without completely separating it from the broader cultural context of hip hop itself. There is a commonly held (but ill-informed) belief that hip hop/ rap music and hip hop culture are one in the same. Semantics aside, the truth is, hip hop/rap music, which is just one component (albeit the most powerful) of hip hop culture, has its own distinct identity — an identity, I should add, that doesn’t always adhere to the sentiment of a so-called purist view of hip hop culture. And even though hip hop is indeed a music-based culture, the music did not necessarily beget the culture, the music was begotten by the culture. Then after the music was born, the other elements within the culture coalesced around it. And thus hip hop culture as a whole can never be deferential to hip hop/rap music. However, hip hop/rap music is always deferential to the broader hip hop culture. Anyone can make/produce or manufacture hip hop/rap music without even attempting to subscribe to any of the original tenets of hip hop culture on the whole. Actually, there are some who believe that knowledge of hip hop culture is not necessary for making beats. I strongly disagree with that position. Not only do I believe that some understanding of hip hop culture helps beatmakers, I think it’s critical to the overall creative hip hop experience.
The other major challenge in writing about beatmaking is figuring out how to accurately describe its unique compositional methods and its canon of aesthetic priorities, while at the same time present its similarities to, and in some cases its reliance upon, various concepts and aspects of traditional Western music composition and theory. Let’s remember that beatmaking is first and foremost an art-craft. And at its roots and its most fundamental and most popular forms, the aesthetics of the beatmaking art form represent an unwavering preference for (really a devotion to): (1) rhythm rather than tonal harmony or melody; and (2) repetition rather than linear progression. Moreover, beatmaking can be fundamentally characterized by its use of syncopated rhythms and strong drum beats (i.e. back beats). Yet even with its most obvious differences, the art of beatmaking still conforms to some of the general practices of traditional Western music compositional practices and theory.
Beatmaking Is a Teachable Music Process
The pursuit of knowledge (“know-how”) has always been an important theme in hip hop culture. Likewise, the concept of teaching has always been critical to the advancement of all hip hop art forms. In hip hop culture’s infant stages, the earliest hip hop architects sought and secured knowledge when and wherever they could. DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa (the three earliest pioneers of hip hop/rap music) learned directly and indirectly from each other as well as other influential artists and figures of the time. Moreover, they willfully took advantage of whatever educational resources were available to them at the time. (For instance, Grandmaster Flash, an electronics major in high school, read books on electronics and audio systems, this helped him go beyond the boundaries of the DJ equipment of the time.)
Thus, to seek out knowledge — to read a book on beatmaking; to watch beatmaking video tutorials; to read websites that offer beatmaking information; to ask for help from other beatmakers — is not to go against the hip hop/rap tradition. Seeking knowledge is not an anti-hip hop measure. On the contrary, to seek sound knowledge — wherever it may be — rests at the very foundation of hip hop culture. That said, beatmaking, an infant music process as far as previous major music processes are concerned, is still establishing its main metrics of uniformity. Which is to say that beatmaking knowledge, something that was once acquired entirely through informal means, is formalizing just like how other music processes have.
The Democratization of Music Production Tools and Its Effect on Ideas About Music Education
Once the tools of creative production are democratized, that is to say, made more accessible, an interesting phenomenon takes place: More people create. This phenomenon, although seemingly simple on the surface of it, is actually more complex than one may gather. For instance, in the case of contemporary popular music, the more people who create music, the more blurry the line gets between what music consumers deem “good” or “bad” music. Likewise, the more people who create music, the thinner the line gets between professional and amateur musician. Further complicating this matter, especially when it comes to beatmaking, are the various notions about music education, training, and expertise. Specifically, as more and more beatmakers enter into the beatmaking community, what constitutes appropriate training and learning activities?
In the case of the beatmaking tradition, accessibility to a wide array of electronic music production instruments (EMPIs) has taken the beatmaking tradition from the obscure shadows of an otherwise underground art-world to somewhere near the front of the global pop cultural psyche. Beatmaking is no longer a secret; it’s no longer a tradition inherently reserved only for a select group of individuals (like some of those beatmakers who happened to be around right when the major recording labels first began to recognize hip hop’s mainstream appeal and subsequent commercial viability). Instead, beatmaking is an open pathway to anyone who dares to embark on the journey. And as with all open creative markets, this journey allows (naturally) for the inclusion of various personal commitments. In other words, some will travel farther and deeper on this journey than others; and some will commit more to the beatmaking tradition than the processes of other music traditions. That is the great reward — and risk — of a swollen number of beatmakers.
But an exponentially large increase of beatmakers aside, a bigger concern of mine is where does beatmaking stand in terms of teaching and learning? What are the educational possibilities that exist for the beatmaking tradition? And more simply stated, can beatmaking be taught? In terms of teaching and learning, beatmaking is ideal for teaching, as the educational possibilities for beatmaking are immense. As to the question whether or not beatmaking can be taught, of course it can. Beatmaking is a teachable music process; everything from its DJ sensibility, to its history, to its most complex processes and methods can be taught. Therefore, in the fundamental matter of education, teaching, and learning, beatmaking’s no different than any other music process. who disagree.
Why Some Claim that Beatmaking Can’t Be Taught: Self-Taught Beatmaker Ideology and the Cloak of Secrecy as Competitive Coverage
Self-Taught Ideology
Many self-taught beatmakers tend to romanticize the factors that go into developing a skill at beatmaking. Those who carry the self-taught beatmaker ideology often tend to argue (sometimes with paranoia) that beatmaking is not something that can be taught or that one can learn through books, video tutorials, and the like. These beatmakers seem to support the narrow notion that beatmaking is only learnable through a self-imposed, “trial and error” journey in one’s room. Of course, the implied idea also being that they are learning through indirect means, such as the study of records and gear manuals, and other books. Then there are also some self-taught beatmakers (especially well-known vets) who openly admit that they learned directly from other beatmakers, yet ironically, they also often claim that beatmaking can’t be taught.
What is often lost on many self-taught beatmakers is the fact that for many beatmakers prior to the early 1990s, beatmaking education resources where scarce. There simply weren’t any books that specifically addressed beatmaking, hip hop/rap’s chief compositional process; nor were there any beatmaking classes or online tutorials available. But at the same time, there were such resources available for other music forms, including the blues, jazz, rock, and, of course, Western classical. Therefore, beatmakers throughout the 1980s and early 1990s learned through a combination of indirect means, direct teachers, and a great deal of trial and error. But such learning paths, especially self-taught trial and error, shouldn’t be inflated with a sense of superiority. And as honorable as being a self-taught beatmaker may be (I taught myself a number of things and I’m proud of that fact, but I’m humbled by it as well), the self-taught ideology itself should not hang over the heads of new beatmakers as the best or only legitimate model for learning the beatmaking tradition.
Furthermore, the self-taught beatmaker ideology overshadows the fundamental fact that as beatmakers, we are all students of the beatmaking tradition, no matter how developed (or underdeveloped) our beatmaking skills are. Thus, as students of the beatmaking tradition — and the broader hip hop culture — shouldn’t we remain committed to studying, learning, and educating ourselves whenever and however possible? And shouldn’t this commitment be applauded rather than ridiculed or dismissed? Also, shouldn’t beatmakers be encouraged to follow any learning paths that recognize and authentically represent the beatmaking tradition and hip hop culture?
Look at other music forms and processes, particularly the most highly regarded tradition in Western culture: the Western classical tradition. As musicians of the Western classical tradition advance, they study and train in the areas of theory, advanced theory, form, structure, harmony, melody, counterpoint, etc. And they do so utilizing teachers (directly and indirectly), books, tutorials, and the like. It doesn’t matter if beatmaking lacks the global prestige of the Western classical tradition, the fundamental point that I’m making here is that a commitment to serious beatmaking studies is valid and no less legitimate to similar commitments made in other music traditions.
The Cloak of Secrecy and Paranoia in Beatmaking
The issue of secrecy in beatmaking is complex. On one hand, secrecy in beatmaking is valid. There are some areas in beatmaking where I find secrecy to be useful, if not necessary. Along the lines of digging for records and sampling and sample source material, there’s a deep rooted history in not disclosing the source material that one samples. In this regard, I’m a very strong advocate for secrecy. In this area, secrecy is appropriate not only because it helps shield samplers from unnecessary copyright infringement suits, but also because it represents a link to early DJ culture, wherein DJs notoriously hid the names of the records they used to gain an advantage over rival DJs. But useful secrecy, i.e. a cloak of secrecy about sample source material and the like, is one thing. A hard line position of secrecy about the fundamental mechanics (method, process, aesthetics, etc.) as well as styles and sounds and the history of beatmaking is quite another.
Notwithstanding the areas of beatmaking that I believe do require (and benefit from) secrecy, for the most part, I find that the cloak of secrecy that many in the beatmaking community (including notable vets) evoke is absurd and not useful. Although there is a rite-of-passage dimension in beatmaking, particularly associated with an understanding of the fundamentals of beatmaking and the embracing of canonical works, the beatmaking tradition is not a secret music society. But the simple truth is this: There has always been a cloak a secrecy surrounding beatmaking, mostly because of the lack of formal uniformity within the beatmaking tradition — due in large part to the actual “newness” of the beatmaking music process. But in no way has secrecy surrounding the mechanics, nuance, and history of beatmaking been useful. I believe that such useless secrecy has contributed to a great deal of beatmaking knowledge not being passed on, which has, in turn, also contributed to an increase of lower quality hip hop/rap music in the past decade. Imagine if musicians from other music traditions held similar positions of secrecy. Imagine if musicians from other music traditions ridiculed and dismissed the validity and usefulness of teaching their tradition.
Competitive Coverage
Looking past the conditions that merit useful secrecy in beatmaking, I believe that a new stream of secrecy emerged as a means for competitive coverage for certain beatmakers. Keeping personal methods and practices a secret are certainly understandable. If a beatmaker develops a style and sound through the ingenuity of his own device, then it’s reasonable for him to protect his formulas by keeping them secret. (Some see nothing wrong with a beatmaker practicing creative protectionism with other beatmakers, but I don’t practice it.) However, cloaking the mechanics of beatmaking in the same veil of secrecy smacks of something else. I think when beatmakers do this they are enacting a form of coverage against new beatmakers, or rather new competition.
Nothing demystifies the secrets (or in some cases, the talents) of beatmakers like know-how and a solid understanding of beatmaking. Therefore, given access to the know-how and understanding of beatmaking, a new beatmaker can, in time, potentially emerge as competition to existing beatmakers. But cut off the knowledge base of beatmaking, or undermine access to it by discouraging others from pursuing it, then one beatmaker — particularly one already in the beat market exchange — can dull competition by another. Now, make no mistake, I’m all for competition; it’s one of the hallmarks of hip hop. But I support competition based on the merits of a beatmaker’s beats, no matter how many competing beatmakers that may exist. I don’t, however, support competition that’s based on a rigged talent pool that’s created in part by some experienced beatmakers discouraging others from learning paths that may be different than their own. Such activity is competitive coverage, plain and simple.
The Need for Beatmaking Education and Committed Training
Beatmaking is now recognized around the world. In other words, it has made it to the global stage of music processes. As such, it deserves the same treatment as any other music process. Namely, it can and should be taught to anyone committed to learning the tradition. Fact is, the number of people interested in beatmaking has gone up (and it will continue). So the need for beatmaking education and capable teachers has intensified, not just to account for those newly interested in beatmaking, but to also preserve the beatmaking tradition and culture.
Also, as the pioneers and lead architects of a tradition fade away, either by means of new career pursuits, volatile market forces, or, unfortunately, death, this task of preserving the knowledge and history of the tradition becomes ever more daunting. Just think of the alternative to no beatmaking education. Sure, one might be able to learn the functions and features of an EMPI, but without a solid knowledge of the beatmaking tradition, one might simply become well accustomed with an EMPI, not necessarily well-grounded in hip hop/rap music, or more specifically, beatmaking, its chief compositional process. If EMPI based teaching is allowed to masquerade as beatmaking (hip hop production) education, like it already is at some schools and institutions, then the beatmaking tradition, in all of its essence and glory, runs the risk of being lost to future generations. This is another vital reason why beatmaking education and training is needed.
Plus, with more beatmakers, comes more competition; with a better quality of competition, comes a better overall grade of beats. And since know-how and understanding of the beatmaking tradition directly correlates to the ability and talent of a beatmaker, then beatmakers should be encouraged to study the tradition. This is yet another important reason why beatmaking education and training is needed.
The Reality Exists
The argument that beatmaking can’t be taught, that it is a non-teachable art form is not only misguided and unfounded, it’s counterproductive to the advancement of the beatmaking tradition. For one thing, this argument undermines beatmaking’s rich history and nuanced complexity. Further, this argument ignores the fact that beatmaking, one of the newest musical processes in Western civilization, is quickly becoming one of the most influential contemporary musical processes in the world.
Even more troubling than the non-teachable argument itself are those who maintain it. Those who argue that beatmaking is a non-teachable music process do so to the detriment of beatmaking’s status among other music processes. The prosperity and/or survival of a music tradition is determined by the caliber of its primary practitioners (and, of course, the general popularity of the music a specific process produces). Therefore, if beatmakers, the primary practitioners of the beatmaking tradition of hip hop/rap music, push the argument that beatmaking is a non-teachable music process, they essentially reduce beatmaking to nothing more than a hodgepodge, trial-and-error system of tinkering that has little conscious music direction. Thus, such an argument goes against what beatmaking truly is: A serious music process that contains clear and well-defined compositional and aesthetic methods, preferences, and priorities. Furthermore, by arguing that beatmaking is not teachable, then what those beatmakers (those who presumably already have the knowledge, mind you) are essentially saying is that beatmaking is something of a rightful (natural) privilege reserved for an elite few, not something ultimately accessible for all interested in learning.
Beatmaking is in fact a teachable music process, but this does not discount one’s natural affinity for or connection to beatmaking. Instead, it’s a firm acknowledgement that anyone, not just a select few, in a select city, region, state, or country, can develop a skill for beatmaking through committed study and training, be it formal or informal, direct or indirect. People can be taught the mechanics and integral nuances of beatmaking; people can be taught a certain level of proficiency in beatmaking; and people can learn how to become better beatmakers through beatmaking education and committed training.
Three Spheres of Beatmaking
One of the things that makes beatmaking such a unique musical tradition is the fact that its compositional method can incorporate, integrate, and convert any other music form into its own. In fact, hip hop/rap music, in its most historical form, contains elements and direct influences of an eclectic mix of various genres and styles of music, including, most notably, funk, soul, early disco, jazz, and the blues. This is why beatmaking can also be described as the chief procedural means by which an eclectic mix of musical influences and styles are converted into hip hop/rap music.
Like all music traditions, beatmaking contains its own distinct procedure and process. Simply put, beatmaking is the fundamental process by which hip hop/rap (instrumental) music is made. As a musical process, beatmaking can be broken down into three separate but equally important spheres. The “three spheres of beatmaking” include: the technical, the logical, and the creative spheres. The technical sphere of the beatmaking process describes the mechanical procedures of making hip hop/rap music instrumentals. It involves all of the steps associated with operating various Electronic Music Production Instruments (EMPIs). The technical sphere is encompassed by procedures and methods like sampling, chopping, looping, sequencing, recording, mixing, mastering, and the like. The logical sphere of the beatmaking describes the structuring and arranging processes of making hip hop/rap instrumentals. It involves the application of one’s own unique knowledge and understanding of fundamental music structures, typical hip hop/rap music arrangement practices, and traditional and non-traditional music theory. The creative sphere of the beatmaking describes the creative processes of making hip hop/rap instrumentals. It involves the application of one’s own imagination, musical knowledge, music intuition, unique style and approach.
Taken together, the three spheres of beatmaking determine the quality of a beatmaker’s instrumentals. The way in which each beatmaker can excel within the three different spheres varies because each beatmaker is different. Likewise, how each beatmaker handles their deficiencies within these spheres also goes a long way in determining the quality (and effectiveness) of their instrumentals.
The Accessibility of Beatmaking and the Skill Factor
During the inception of beatmaking in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the very first beatmakers were usually persons with strong DJ’ing and/or audio engineering backgrounds. Their typical setup was comprised primarily of two turntables, keyboards, and the early drum boxes and effects modules. But as hip hop/rap music’s popularity grew throughout the late 1980s and exploded in the 1990s, interest in beatmaking ballooned. Taking their cue from this spotlight on beatmaking, EMPI manufacturers accelerated their development of electronic music production tools that were almost exclusively targeted to the beatmaking market. Collectively, these developments presented setup options perhaps only imagined by the earliest beatmaking pioneers. Today, would-be beatmakers are overloaded with setup choices, making the beatmaking art-craft more accessible than ever. But although beatmaking is quite accessible, it’s an art-craft in which a high level of proficiency often proves allusive. Anyone can acquire EMPIs, but this acquisition (by itself) does not guarantee that anyone will develop a unique skill or great proficiency in beatmaking. And one of the biggest reasons that many people who enter into beatmaking rarely receive the opportunity to earn a living from their music production services is because they fail to master the art-craft of beatmaking.
In cases where beatmakers stop short of developing a solid proficiency of the art-craft, many simply resign themselves to being “ for-the-love-of-it” hobbyists. I’ve known quite a few beatmakers who were quick to point out that they didn’t measure success by money and paychecks; that it’s all about the love and passion for hip hop/rap music. In part, I hope to always agree with this sentiment. On one hand, I do believe that a beatmaker should enjoy creating beats. But on the other hand, I believe that a beatmaker should have the opportunity to earn some form of compensation for their talent, hard work, diligence, and creativity. Still, I must acknowledge that success is something that is unmistakably relative to each individual beatmaker. For me, success is determined by the development of a beatmaker’s own unique, recognizable style and sound, as well as critical acclaim and the appropriate financial compensation for that beatmaker’s music-making services. Creating music for the purpose of sharing it with other beatmakers, family, friends and co-workers is any beatmaker’s prerogative. But one of the main goals of this book is to help beatmakers develop their talent and skill, with the ultimate goal being that of self employment and self reliance.
Beatmakers, like other skilled artisans, have the unique opportunity to earn a living by simply doing something that they’re good at, and perhaps more importantly, something that they enjoy and love. With this in mind, I designed this book to help beatmakers develop and increase or hone their beatmaking skills, while at the same time offer insight on how they can best manifest their beatmaking (production) expertise into a successful career.
The Matter of Success or Failure
There are a number of reasons that contribute to the commercial and/or critical success (or failure) of beatmakers. Only a small number of beatmakers ultimately reach a high level of commercial success; more have a chance at critical acclaim than vast riches. In either case, a beatmaker’s development of their own unique style and sound is paramount. For this to effectively take place, there are many factors each beatmaker must honestly consider. For instance, what kind of person are you? Are you organized, disciplined and forthright? Or are you disorganized, undisciplined and prone to procrastination? Do you have a decent knowledge base of music, one that spans multiple music genres and moments in music history? Do you use a hardware or software setup? Do you use a classic (vintage) setup or contemporary electronic instruments and pro audio gear? Do you prefer sampling records or utilizing synthetic sounds found in keyboards and soft synths? All of these questions are critical aspects of creating beats. Hence, one of the aims of this book is to help beatmakers identify, then manipulate, the various aesthetics that are critical to creating and developing their own unique sounds and styles.
Finally, the insight offered in this book covers the fundamental, intermediate, and advanced principles of beatmaking. With regards to actually making beats, I’m much more focused on simply revealing how and what is and what works, effectively. This applies not only to the compositional and procedural characteristics of beatmaking itself, but to everything in and around the hip hop/ rap music production process. Moreover, I should note that this study explores the cultural factors that have shaped and continue to underscore the hip hop/rap music and beatmaking traditions. It is my firm belief that an understanding of the unique circumstances of hip hop/rap music and beatmaking is fundamental to any beatmaker’s success.