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. Getting started as a voice for African-American and Latin communities in the states, hip-hop soon spread and became the soundtrack to the 80's, 90's and the brand 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 basics of hip-hop production in addition to 20 must know tips to make the very 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 in to the cheeky one-two of Dre's Eminem productions or the juddering steps of Dj Premier, you must 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 forever."

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 some type of computer to sound a little lifeless. Live playing and clever quantisation can fix this, though. The primary trick is to keep it sparse as soon as you've got a basic groove going, try taking out different percussive hits before adding more.
Also, its important to keep it simple. If you pay attention to professional hip-hop productions, you'll observe that its rare for two different percussive elements to play concurrently - unless its a layered clap and snare, and also then they'll alternate over a bar or two between both playing and only one or another. You can also hear many parts were an instrument just like a shaker only plays for a little and specific portion of a looped bar, almost as though the various percussive elements are taking turns. This is no coincidence, as hip-hop culture is all about this type of connection. Wether its DJs, MCs or breakdancers, hip-hop is, at its core, relating to this type of backwards and forwards interaction, which transfers to every single production element including beats.

STEP BY STEP the drums

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

2-Next up may be the kick and snare . I keep them simple initially because I know that I'm going to be utilizing a drum loop underneath. I start with a drum loop and add extra kicks and snares to bolster 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. This makes the beat sound a bit thicker and grimier. I also leave a little 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 sections of the song, were I'll add snare fills and rolls.

STEP-BY-STEP The loop

1-When using sampled breaks, I always make certain they're either royalty-free, original roughly obscure they wont be recognized. That way I dont have to worry 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 your song. You are able to do this with any beat-slicing program.

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

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

Melody or bass: it's hard to say which one you need to start focus on first, because hip-hop is at its best when its simple - great tracks frequently have a bassline but no melody or vice versa. And sometimes the bassline is the melody.