how?
i mean, most hip hop all follows a basic formual
a drum break or programmed drums, with heavy emphasis on bassy kick and crisp snare
bass notes to reflect the kick pattern, or a sampled melodic bassline
some piano ascendin' or descendin'
chopped samples, some synths, etc
now, most people who post on this site are from the keep it real era of rap, meanin' they don't regard anything without heavy samplin' and chopped as hip hop
lol
so eventually, while everybody's beats have their own style, sometimes they still sound alike
so in a music with supposedly rigid rules, even though there are none, we're gettin' homogeneous sounds
how do we flip the script, yet still sound hip hop?

...a child is born with no state of mind, blind to the ways of mankind, god is smilin' on you and frownin' too, because only god knows what you gonna do...©melle mel

  

but u still kno it's kev brown. i don't mean to sound corny but i think when ur really meant to be a beatmaker that ur soul goes into ur beats. so if u really listen u can hear there souls in the songs

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do the heizman on dat hoe
myspace.com/ncsoul

Arpeggiator. Makes a chopped sample sound more melodic.

http://www.myspace.com/thecollectivemusicinc
http://bigfamilyent.imeem.com/
http://www.soundclick.com/bigfamily
http://www.myspace.com/bigfamsmusic

...i think it can be done...
1. The types of samples one uses...most hip hop uses soul/jazz/rock samples...sampling other genres could give u a different sound...
2. Sampling your own compositions...If u can come up with your own loop...i mean create a nice 4 bar progression or something...then chop that....depending on how creative you are with that composition..u will sound different...

Those are 2 that come to my mind immediately..but there are others...i'm rushing off to work now though

im sure i got elements from kniown cats in my work, but i think that my beats have their own flavor, even among keyboard beats.

and play that shit...

experiment, do variations to shit you may have heard... i'm workin on a variation to dilla's stakes is high (risky to mention but, ehh) and so far i'm strugglin with the sound i want... but i'm "workinonit"...

over and out
du

"It's the return of the gangsta, thanks ta..."

-du

Think BIG. Think on a WHOLE project as a entity rather than single beats. Direct "samples" or instruments to meet your pre-determined sound rather than letting samples (or instruments) determine a sound for you. It is okay to listen and get inspired by others music, in my oppinion, simply because that is how art evolves and evolved naturally. BUT make sure you identify your own somewhere down the line. Ok, as a producer, I watch every musical entity i can think of. If you look at rock, you will find that OFTEN bands, when starting out on a search for their own sond, do alot of covers, even start out as cover bands (Godsmack, Alice in Chains, etc.) But eventually they "develop" into their own entity with their own evolved sound.

THIS IS WHAT I TRY TO DO:
As a hip-hop producer, it seems as that whole "coverband" theory is not practical. Well, I think it can be. Rather than trying to immitate a producer, take an aspect of what they do that attracts you to their sound. Since j dilla is such a favorite round here, Ill use him as example. Rather than trying and "be" dilla (which is laughable. First of all, WHY? second, you CANT) concentrate on a single song that he made. Let's take "Theloneous" for example. First, identify the appeal. To me its the rhythmic piano and its co-relationship with the bass and drums. Basic. Rather than melody, he lets a melodic instrument dictate rhythm.take that theory and build around that ONE song. That way your ersonality will come out. If you make like 25 beats with that theory in mind, your own sound will start to come out. This is just how I found my own, this was my journey. "theloneous" was one of a few songs from various producers that paved a way fr my self-discovery. I used to do what most people did and just try to make tracks. After I "restricted" my production discipline, i started to develop my own sound. I spent about 3 months messing with the "theloneous" guidelines untill i felt I was ready to apply what i discovered about myself.

Stay strong

Lexx

iamlexx.com
newvintagegroup.com
aim: lexx3001

-------
do the heizman on dat hoe
myspace.com/ncsoul

i like that breakdown big lexx....that's good stuff right there

<----- my phone


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/lifthalegend_music.htm

"No one is smarter than anyone else, they just know more" -- Brian and Brandon

that's one way.

another way is to hybridize with another genre.

another way is to amplify something -- start chopping chops, or start looping loops

another way is to apply new tools. go beyond the turntable.

there's a MILLION new things to try. but people aren't creative enough to do it. they don't want to make music -- they want to live the life of their idols.

A. Listen to Digital Underground, "Do what ya like."

B. If you're using samples, use YOUR samples from YOUR crates. The shit that's flying around here is going to get used or already has...what I call "Ho Beats". Nevermind the "how many times can we flip the same sample" posts, use the shit you grew up on and you stole outta your daddies crates.

C. A whole lotta fools can make nice BEATS, focus on what, how and WHEN your samples happen.

What: Sample shit that's not been sampled or aspects of a song that have been untouched. Make folks say, "Damn, where's that from??" Go out into the world and sample it. It's free.

How: Do you just sample cut, chop, paste? Or do you try to manip the sample and freak it like it's yours?? Do you just EQ or do you filter/modulate/bit crush/tremolo/make-it-mono/invert/steroize THEN EQ your samples? You got all that Acid-Fruity-Pro-Logic-CuNu-Magic for a REASON. Use it ALL!

When: Do all of your samples start on the beat? It sounds simple or silly, but just throwing the sample off a beat, or on the 1 "AND", makes things a lot more interesting. Especially if your doing the chop thing.

D. Add in things that aren't there, but SHOULD be. Listen to the track when you have it finished and say to yourself, "What's missing?" "What is mucking it up?". Be tactful and tasteful about what you have and what you WANT.

Great thread, I've been thinkin' bout that lately myself, I'm a new comer to this beat makin shit, but I realized that my shit, sounds a lot like other beat makers' shit who use FL, which irritates me, cause I don't wanna sound like nobody, so lately I've been tryna learn how to play bass and other instruments, cause I don't wanna sample forever, I wanna do my own shit and come up with something new, but still be dope Hip Hop, just don't wanna be like them other cats.

i dont think anything is wrong with sampling, as long as you do it creatively. Dont just loop a loop, do something interesting. Filter, chop, whatever you need. I usually use a sample to define a rhythmic undertone, then i play bass or keys over it (MIDI)

Stay strong

Lexx

iamlexx.com
newvintagegroup.com
aim: lexx3001

and the more uncomfortable you get, be it music or lyrics...explore that if you can.
be aware of melodies which move you, grooves you feel...don't be wild for the sake of being wild...HAVE A PURPOSE
Think of every song as a dream or a movie with it's own feel, theme, story, decoration, color...even if it is just a loop or some complex original composition...people relate to music they can imagine a picture with, like reading a book...it makes them want to listen more than once because you created a world which is appealing.

yep.

http://www.myspace.com/therealspreadbitch

THE PHILOSOPHY - "In the Trenches" LP
http://cdbaby.com/cd/philosophy
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=200892909
http://myspace.com/the1philosophy

and ask what's unique about me as a person. everyone's got SOME unique aspect of their life that can be translated into art... if you don't do that, you don't stand a chance.

I think the problem is a lot of people try to slot themselves into REAL LIFE -- constantly censoring what they say, trying to dress a way that will help them fit in, extremely conscious of what they consume so it doesn't make them look uncool... people actually lose what "self" means. heck, I'd argue that they get their life so twisted that there IS no more "self". this is pretty common in such an image conscious society.

to wax philosophical for a sec...

This man speaks TRUTH.
That is the crux of the issue, it has been lost due to the commercialisation of the music but this is what it was built on in the first place-being an individual and celebrating that shit to the fullest.

When u really look at it, all the greats did that shit, from Marvin and Sly Stone to Rza and Madlib. Listen to Rza speak or spit and listen to his music and u'll see the direct correlation between the person and the music.

This goes for most of ur fave artists, the ones who have longevity, critical acclaim and enduring respect. It's no different to ur best friend or fave aunt/uncle who u love cos they're just themselves-unique ppl.
To me that's what soul is. It's a major part of why we love our fave artists so much cos u can feel their personality/spirit in the music.

And to top it all off, it REALLY is bigger than hip-hop. Get the fuck out the box cos there's MUCH more room outside of it.

But anyway back to furry Kangols, Jamaican wallabies.

>I think the problem is a lot of people try to slot themselves
>into REAL LIFE -- constantly censoring what they say, trying
>to dress a way that will help them fit in, extremely conscious
>of what they consume so it doesn't make them look uncool...
>people actually lose what "self" means. heck, I'd argue that
>they get their life so twisted that there IS no more "self".
>this is pretty common in such an image conscious society.
>
especially when the object is to become a packaged entity that is desired by a certain public demographic...on an underground or commercial level you still gotta "sell" it
...problem is i don't buy what most cats are selling, or like i meant before, they fell in love with the lifestyle and appearance before they really discovered what they love about music

yep.

http://www.myspace.com/therealspreadbitch

THE PHILOSOPHY - "In the Trenches" LP
http://cdbaby.com/cd/philosophy
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=200892909
http://myspace.com/the1philosophy

..you have to learn how to truely create

even if you borrow from others, you have to find a way to OWN it

i like to layer and mesh

i spend a lot of time creatin' sounds, combinin' instruments to get a different tone/pitch

same thing goes into your trackin'/sequencin'/song structure

right now, what bores me the most is that cats still sing/rhyme over the same timeframe/measures. i can pretty much mimick the delivery of anything out right now, after hearin' the 1st 20 seconds

spend time wit' your art, and own it...

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www.okayplayer.com/guidelines
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..and miles to go before i sleep... (c) frost

'cause my guy here just nailed it.

The once and future Master

that's what separated "endtroducing" from everything else.

Happy 50th D’Angelo: https://chrisp.bandcamp.com/track/d-50

Try to think out of the box. I listen to everything. www.soundclick.com/darksyde