Beat Making - Analog Foundation, Digital House

Since I started making beats, I was always intrigued by how i can produce at the level of the greatest hip hop producers ever. I would analyze each kick and snare drum placement on Q-Tips’s production, and how the velvety jazz samples would lace the entire track creating a home for Phife Dawg raspy voice to break through and for Q-Tips nasal intonations to glide. I grew up on 2000s hip hop, but I fell in love with the production techniques of 80s/90s hip hop, especially the Golden Age. When Kanye West came onto the scene, his fresh and more complex sound powered by soul samples and beautiful chord progressions changed the entire game forever in my eyes.

I had to get a beat machine, definitely an AKAI. I had to get vinyl and any other music I can get my hands on to sample. The rest came later.

My production is based on the fundamentals of the golden age of hip hop and inspired by the journey that hip hop has undergone, evolving from boom bap to the digital sound of the early 2000s and now growing into the booming 808 trap sound pounding the streaming airwaves. I usually begin my beats in analog, then take it into the digital world with software and hardware. I will be breaking down my basic set up, gear and software.

Stanton T.62 DJ Turntable