I use breaks
I chop up breaks to isolate the individual drums
I chop away at songs for various "clean" instrument notes
I use keyboards
I use stock sounds (i.e. stuff that came wiht the machine)
I download stuff
I get stuff from the homies
I sample stuff from TV and even other places I won't give away
I stash away the darndest sounds I could remotely fathom using later (and oftentimes DO end up using them to decent results).

Plus I've been doing this for years.

Now these youngstas you know about, I don't know what to tell you. They're inspired by the keyboard guys. Or by Jay Dee. And a lot of them want to sound like they've been poppin' forever right out the gate. You can get this equipment anywhere, but these minds are one of a kind. That a-- is gonna have to tinker a bit and develop that mind to make ill beats. There's batches of old beats I dived back into when I got a cache of new media to use.

This is where I get back to theory and where stuff fits and all that. I sit in the lab experimentin' like crazy to make stuff that works (at least to me anyway)...and again, I do whatever it takes to make it work. Whatever the source material or source medium is, it's all to create a new strain and earn my own stripes.

>But it's an unfortunate practice for young beatmakers to just
>search for sounds from known artist thinking they can create
>great music by using.

A lot of us have done that though. I remember making a pause button tape because I read about Pete & CL doing so in the Source to see how that worked. We knew it wasn't the hottest thing on the planet, but that was experimentation at work. Gotta begin somewhere.

I've read on forums the frustrations of
>a lottah these kids that don't seem to understand that it's
>not the equipment and or the kits you use it's the talent you
>have to create good music as well as your appreciation for the
>music to begin with.

Yeah, there's gotta be a love to put in this kinda work. If you're coming in out to hit a lick, you're in it for the wrong reason, and may just need to be patient in college and find something you will appreciate doing more. I hear there's an air traffic controller shortage...

I've had the privilege to do a little
>mentoring with a few young kats to basically give them a
>little more insight on this craft. Lottah times kats that
>really have been making music for a minute kinda roast the
>younger dudes. I think it's important to give'em a lil
>knowledge not shoot them down.

Those cars are afraid of being outshined and their spot being taken. I'm not, I do what I do (c) Kev Brown.

I do get a little rankled about all these kids that think they're doing something because they just gripped Reason. But I tell everyone the same thing, it's not the equipment, it's the person using it.