5 Tools Every Hip Hop Producer Needs!

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in, and day-out.”

- Robert Collier

Consistency

This is a great quote, but it’s pretty much just a fancy way of saying that consistency is key. This rings true across all walks of life. It doesn’t matter what your chosen field is, regardless of your skill-set, you MUST hone your craft.

For producers and beat-makers, this means making beats daily. I know it may sound tedious, but it’s a great way to get you into the habit of creating on the spot, so if you’re in a studio and need to make a track for an artist right away, you’ll be able to do so.

Making beats every day is also the fastest way to become a better producer. I mean, let’s face it, unless you’re some type of musical savant, or child prodigy, the first beats you make will be garbage!

But as you make more, you’ll learn more, and remember tricks, and shortcuts, and soon you’ll have a tested formula that you can use any time you need to make a banger.

Making beats every day also increases your catalog. Can you imagine if you made a track every day for just a year? That’s at least 365 beats!

Drum Programming

I’m a hip-hop producer, so I understand that drums play an integral role in every track. The drums gotta bang! And ain’t no way around that.

Whether it’s trap, boom-bap, neo-soul, r&b, even lo-fi, if your drum patterns are repetitive and sonically sound thin, it’s going to turn listeners off. Have you ever seen the reaction of someone who’s heard a hard beat for the first time, or a hot song on the radio? The first thing they do is start to bob their head back in forth in rhythm with the drums.

Knowing the intricacies of programming complex drum patterns is essential. Things like applying swing to kicks and snares and quantizing hi-hats can add color to your drums and drastically change the tone of your track.

Arranging.

It’s also important to have an understanding of how to compose tracks. Songs generally follow a certain structure and knowing how to break your beats down in this manner will enhance their appeal.

It would be good to get in the habit of dividing your beats into this type of format (Intro, Hook, Verse, Bridge, etc.). You can do things like take the drums out of the intro, add synths to the hook. This will give the track an edge and ensure it doesn’t sound repetitive throughout. It will also help artists when they are recording to your beat, because they will have a sense of structure.

Live Instrumentation.

I’ll always be a huge proponent of learning an instrument. I mean, it’s not integral to being a successful music producer, but it can only help you to understand music better.

When I started producing I couldn’t play any instruments at all! But I learned to play piano a few years in, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made musically.

I was able to understand that music theory is akin to ‘formulas’ that I could use every day in my beat production. I learned what chord groups sounded good together, and how to give my songs a certain vibe or mood.

I also learned to play some bass guitar too. This was key when I went to various studios, especially the bigger ones in the city. I would often be asked to start tracks off or in some cases create the whole beat because I had some knowledge of live instrumentation. This ability opened many doors for me, even in the beginning stages of my learning.

Mixing.

This is extremely important for all music producers. You can have the hardest beat in the world, but if it’s not mixed right, it still won’t knock. Conversely, I’ve heard some very simplistic beats over the years that were straight bangers, because they were mixed properly.

Knowing where to place instruments sonically in a track is key. When I first started producing I was often told that my drums sounded ‘thin’. I had to learn how to layer them to give them some ‘bottom’. I then learned how to mix other elements of the track. I started in Logic Pro, and focused on learning to mix only the instruments in my tracks. I then moved to vocals and learn to EQ and use compression.

Eventually, I went to school to learn mixing with a focus in Pro Tools, and realized that most of what I learned there was already on YouTube haha. But regardless if you’re self-taught or instructed, you won’t be a complete producer in this climate if you don’t have any knowledge of mixing. It’s just that simple.

These are just a few of what I think are the basics for anyone looking to get started with music production. I go into detail about more advanced things producers can do to get better a little further down the line here.

But at the end of the day, just have fun and don’t be too hard on yourself. You’ll be making bangers in no time!