Alright, if you want to create hip hop beats, you need to familiarize yourself with these 3 elements: the basis of hip hop beats. They are the kick, the trap and the percussion.
Making hiphop beats is a subtle art that you need to practice to make standout beats that will get your audience moving.
Hip Hop Beats Element No. 1: The Kick
The kick drum function to hold down the beats and is usually the first beat of the measure. The name “kick” is actually derived from the term “kick” found in the actual drum kit, from the biggest to the lowest in the game. It’s the “Boom” of the conventional “Boom & Snap” of a hip hop beat.
There are endless kick drum sounds out there and hearing more of these will help bring the gem into your subconscious mind so that when you mix it with your hip hop beats, it sounds more engaging. Just listen and find the uniqueness of each kick: Lil ‘John’s time and crunch kick, classic 808 kick, Dr. Dre kick, etc.
Hip Hop Beats Item No. 2: – The Trap
The snare that normally appears in the second and fourth of your beat is the most distinguishable element of your rap beat. So, take your time choosing the right one. It’s the “snap” in your beat that will jump off the music track and catch the audience’s attention. Like the Kick, there are infinite different cheat sounds ranging from a full, highly filtered, super compressed sound. Listen to some of your favorite beats and try to figure out what the catch is.
Hip Hop Beats Element No. 3: – Percussion
Well, Kick and Snare can be compared to the heart beat that keeps pumping blood and The Percussion would be the veins that carry blood everywhere. It is an important element that decides the type of genre of your rhythms. Percussion made up of many different elements; claps, tom fills, clicks, hi hats, cowbells, shakers, etc.
Therefore, it is very important that you learn the correct percussion to use when putting it into your rhythms. In reality, it is the background sounds that are quiet and are usually placed outside or behind the beat for added flavor. This hip hop rhythm element will decide your beat, be it amateur hip hop, pro tracks, or slick.
Tie them all together