It's probably fair to state that hip-hop has been probably the most globally influential style of music since some young wag stepped on Elvis's blue suede shoes. Starting out as a voice for African-American and Latin communities in the us, hip-hop soon spread and became the soundtrack to the 80's, 90's and the new millennium. Each year its influence and penetration increase, from commercials to films, and from charts to bars. In this section I will explain the fundamentals of hip-hop production together with 20 must know ideas to make the best hip-hop tracks possible.

BEATS AND LOOPS

With hip-hop its about the beats - so get inspired!

Beats are the backbone of all hip-hop. Whether you're into the cheeky one-two of Dre's Eminem productions or the juddering steps of Dj Premier, it is advisable to ensure that if nothing else is playing, your beat still stands up to scrutiny. As US comic Chris Rock put it: "If the beat's alright, they'll dance all night."

As we've already seen, hip-hop beats began as breaks from records, beatboxes and sampling drum machines, so its very easy for hip-hop produced on a computer to sound a little lifeless. Live playing and clever quantisation can fix this, though. The main trick would be to keep it sparse and once you've got a basic groove going, try taking right out different percussive hits before adding more.
Also, its vital that you keep it simple. In the event that you listen to professional hip-hop productions, you'll observe that its rare for just two different percussive elements to play simultaneously - unless its a layered clap and snare, and even then they'll alternate over a bar or two between both playing and then only one or another. You'll also hear many parts were an instrument such as a shaker only plays for a little and specific section of a looped bar, almost as though the various percussive elements are taking turns. This is no coincidence, as hip-hop culture is centered on this kind of connection. Wether its DJs, MCs or breakdancers, hip-hop is, at its core, relating to this type of backwards and forwards interaction, and this transfers to each and every production element including beats.

STEP BY STEP the drums

1-The first thing I really do when working on beats is lay down a hi-hat pattern. Usually , I really do an eighth-note pattern and then go back and change it out if necessary after I've laid down the other parts.

2-Next up may be the kick and snare . I keep them simple at first because I know that I'll be utilizing a drum loop underneath. I start with a drum loop and add extra kicks and snares to reinforce it. The kick and snare are both sounds that I re-use on many tracks.

3-Next I'll add a sampled kick and snare to reinforce the stock kick and snare sounds. rap instrumentals makes the beat sound a little thicker and grimier. I also leave a bit of 'air' on the tail end - this acts like 'sonic glue', giving the beat a more sampled feel.

4-The basic beat is currently complete and ready to send in to the arrange screen, later on I'll use this pattern as a template for other parts of the song, were I'll add snare fills and rolls.

STEP-BY-STEP The loop

1-When using sampled breaks, I usually make sure they're either royalty-free, original roughly obscure they wont be recognized. That way I dont have to be worried about sample clearance. I'm a fan of busy drums so I'll usually choose an action packed two-bar drum break.

2-Now you need to match the tempo of the drum break to the tempo of one's song. You are able to do this with any beat-slicing program.

3-Later on, after you've added vocals and such you can utilize this drum break, were its needed throughout your song.

MELODIES, STABS, SAMPLES AND SYNTHS
Just like every other style of music, hip-hop's gotta have hooks

Melody or bass: it's hard to state which one you need to start work on first, because hip-hop reaches its best when its simple - great tracks often have a bassline but no melody or vice versa. And sometimes the bassline may be the melody.