BeatTips

Presented through the prism of hip hop/rap music’s beatmaking tradition, The BeatTips Hip Hop Archive is the largest research archive of hip hop-related interviews, stories, and other commentary.

BeatTips List of Sample-Based Songs to Study: Madvillain – “Fancy Clown”

Amir Said Dec 18, 2024 0

I’m a strong advocate for MusicStudy. In my book The BeatTips Manual, I describe the importance of MusicStudy, how it improves your beatmaking skills and your…

The Main Ingredients of A Successful Loop

Amir Said Dec 8, 2024 0

The success of a loop depends on a number of things but mainly: The chop (truncation) of the sound, the pitch of the sound, the tempo of the sequence, and the…

The Music Industry’s Policy On Sample Clearance Is Prior Restraint, and the RIAA Must End It

Amir Said Nov 12, 2024 0

With regards to sampling, the Constitution already protects our right to the freedom of speech. The public is also shielded from what is legally known as prior…

Dope Sample Flips: Mobb Deep – “Trife Life” (1995) (prod. by Havoc) and Norman…

Amir Said Oct 28, 2024 0

A sample flip doesn’t just refer to the technical changes made to made to a sample, like chops and pitch adjustments. A sample flip also refers to the…

Excerpts from The BeatTips Manual: How DJ Premier Sees Himself As a Producer

Amir Said Apr 9, 2024 0

"I’m always a consumer first. Then I’m a DJ. Then I’m a producer. And then I’m an artist!"

Excerpt from The BeatTips Manual: Composing Bass Lines Using the Anchor Technique

Amir Said Oct 3, 2023 0

How to Create Bass Lines Using the Anchor Technique The following article is an excerpt from The BeatTips Manual, 6th Edition by Amir Said. …

Excerpt from The BeatTips Manual: Escaping The Tempo Trap

Amir Said Jul 16, 2023 0

When it comes to making beats, setting the right tempo (BPM) isn't as easy as it might seem. Some beatmakers prefer to "tap out the tempo of a beat in real…

DJ Clark Kent on Beats, Creativity, and the Big Smoke Screen in Music

Amir Said Oct 25, 2024 0

20 years ago, I interviewed legendary Brooklyn DJ/Producer DJ Clark Kent. Sadly, today, October 26, 2024, we learned of Clark's passing. So in honor of Clark,…

One of The Best Yet: The State of the Gang Starr Legacy Remains Strong

Jesse Bernard Oct 19, 2020 0

This interview was carried out in November 2019 when DJ Premier visited London.

Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective

Dart Adams Aug 1, 2020 0

The year was 1994. We were in the midst of a Golden Era, but we had no idea at the time. Within it, a new musical continuum began. It started with Nas’s…

How Black British Music Survives Through Collective Memory

Jesse Bernard Dec 31, 2019 0

The lineage of Black music in Britain exists in the collective memories of all the sounds that enrich our lives. We’d watch older cousins and siblings pose in…

Should Millennials Skip the Canon of Hip Hop/Rap Because There’s Too Much Music?

Amir Said Dec 24, 2016 1

As the number of new hip hop artists has grown drastically in the past decade, resulting in the explosion of new hip hop releases, the opinion that millennials…

The Soul of Curtis Mayfield

Oliver Wang Dec 6, 2016 0

In the discussion of music, numerous names are tossed around. Sure, there are many recording artists who are worthy of some level of research. But then there…

Who is the Greatest Beatmaker (Hip Hop Producer) of All Time?

Amir Said Nov 11, 2019 0

Just as numbers don’t lie in baseball, I believe that they don't (or at least shouldn’t) lie in hip hop/rap music either. Take for instance the greatest…

The Music Industry’s Policy On Sample Clearance Is Prior Restraint, and the RIAA Must End It

Amir Said Nov 12, 2024 0

With regards to sampling, the Constitution already protects our right to the freedom of speech. The public is also shielded from what is legally known as prior…

The Sample Clearance “Tax” and the Primary Beneficiaries of the Sample Clearance System

Amir Said Sep 7, 2024 0

When the music industry first took notice of sampling, their burning question had to have been: How can we profit from this? Their answer wasn’t exactly a new…

Wiley vs. Stormzy: The Long Awaited Clash

Jesse Bernard Jan 7, 2020 0

Nobody wins when the family feuds, except for all of us on the outside who need a bit of entertainment to get through the day. For those unaware, Wiley and…

Who is the Greatest Beatmaker (Hip Hop Producer) of All Time?

Amir Said Nov 11, 2019 0

Just as numbers don’t lie in baseball, I believe that they don't (or at least shouldn’t) lie in hip hop/rap music either. Take for instance the greatest…

Why Vinyl Reissues Are a Good Thing

Amir Said Oct 25, 2019 0

Every Friday, I used to spend a brief part of the afternoon digging through vinyl records at a shop over on St. Marks Place, down in the East Village. New York…

Today’s Fun Hip Hop Is Good, But It Needs A Deeper Message (Sometimes)

Amir Ali Said Oct 18, 2019 0

Trap music, modern-day “R&B”, and drill music are cool. I listen to it. Whether I’m at a party, out with friends, or at home alone, it gets regular spins. I…

Fair Use Sampling Project • Names On The Marquee • Reviews • What The Music Taught Me

The Main Ingredients of A Successful Loop

Amir Said Dec 8, 2024 0

The success of a loop depends on a number of things but mainly: The chop (truncation) of the sound, the pitch of the sound, the tempo of the sequence, and the…

Names on the Marquee: Bob James’s “Nautilus”

Oliver Wang Nov 12, 2024 0

Oliver Wang remembers one of the most sampled and interpolated songs in history, and points out why “Nautilus”, and songs like it, are heavy sample fodder.…

The Music Industry’s Policy On Sample Clearance Is Prior Restraint, and the RIAA Must End It

Amir Said Nov 12, 2024 0

With regards to sampling, the Constitution already protects our right to the freedom of speech. The public is also shielded from what is legally known as prior…

Post-Disco: Uptown Meets Downtown — Hip Hop, Punk, and the Art World

Amir Said Oct 23, 2024 0

Whenever the connection between hip hop and punk is mentioned, the assumption is that we’re talking music. This may be true in some cases, especially when you…

The Sample Clearance “Tax” and the Primary Beneficiaries of the Sample Clearance System

Amir Said Sep 7, 2024 0

When the music industry first took notice of sampling, their burning question had to have been: How can we profit from this? Their answer wasn’t exactly a new…

What The Music Taught Me: John Klemmer – “Free Soul” and Jazz Fusion

Amir Said Apr 5, 2024 0

John Klemmer’s “Free Soul” was one of the first records I ever hunted down and bought at a record convention. I first heard the song when I was 19 years old,…

Beatmaking Themes, Theories, and Concepts

The Main Ingredients of A Successful Loop

Amir Said Dec 8, 2024 0

The success of a loop depends on a number of things but mainly: The chop (truncation) of the sound, the pitch of…

Beatmaking

Sample Flips: Screwball – “Who Shot Rudy?”…

BeatTips Certified Music

BeatTips Certified: Nata – “Art Thou”

BeatTips Certified Music

Essential Records of UK Neo-Soul’s Present (& Future)

Beatmaking Themes, Theories & Concepts • Beatmaking Tutorials • Beat Breakdowns

BeatTips List of Sample-Based Songs to Study: Madvillain – “Fancy Clown”

Amir Said Dec 18, 2024 0

I’m a strong advocate for MusicStudy. In my book The BeatTips Manual, I describe the importance of MusicStudy, how it improves your beatmaking skills and your…

DJ Clark Kent on Beats, Creativity, and the Big Smoke Screen in Music

Amir Said Oct 25, 2024 0

20 years ago, I interviewed legendary Brooklyn DJ/Producer DJ Clark Kent. Sadly, today, October 26, 2024, we learned of Clark's passing. So in honor of Clark,…

The Sample Clearance “Tax” and the Primary Beneficiaries of the Sample Clearance System

Amir Said Sep 7, 2024 0

When the music industry first took notice of sampling, their burning question had to have been: How can we profit from this? Their answer wasn’t exactly a new…

Q-Tip Needle Dropping, As Kanye West and No I.D. Look On

Amir Said Sep 5, 2024 0

“By 1977, many DJs had followed Kool Herc’s lead, none more notable than Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa. Although Herc was the first DJ to use…

Albums that stand the test of time and remain stable & fresh.

BeatTips Hip Hop Archive

Stable & Fresh: Bronze Nazareth’s ‘School for the Blindman’ — One of the Best…

Amir Said Oct 13, 2023 0

Soulfully Hard and Authentic, Loaded with Dope Beats and Edgy Rhymes, School for the Blindman Confirms…

BeatTips Hip Hop Archive

Stable & Fresh: Statik Selektah and Termanology’s ‘1982’

Amir Said Oct 11, 2019 0

Duo Soars with Broadly Complete Album By AMIR SAID (SA'ID) BeatTips Rating: 5/5 The…

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BeatTips Hip Hop Archive

Fresh Ears & Classics: Black Moon – ‘Enta Da Stage’

JJ Bing Jan 31, 2017 0

About “Fresh Ears & Classics” I’m a strong advocate for music that stands the test of time. But I…

Beatmaking Themes, Theories, and Concepts

Beat Breakdown

BeatTips List of Sample-Based Songs to Study: Madvillain – “Fancy Clown”

Amir Said Dec 18, 2024 0

I’m a strong advocate for MusicStudy. In my book The BeatTips Manual, I describe the importance of…

BeatTips List of Sample-Based Songs to Study: Madvillain – “Fancy Clown”

Amir Said Dec 18, 2024 0

I’m a strong advocate for MusicStudy. In my book The BeatTips Manual, I describe the importance of MusicStudy, how it improves your beatmaking skills and your…

The Main Ingredients of A Successful Loop

Amir Said Dec 8, 2024 0

The success of a loop depends on a number of things but mainly: The chop (truncation) of the sound, the pitch of the sound, the tempo of the sequence, and the…

The Music Industry’s Policy On Sample Clearance Is Prior Restraint, and the RIAA Must End It

Amir Said Nov 12, 2024 0

With regards to sampling, the Constitution already protects our right to the freedom of speech. The public is also shielded from what is legally known as prior…

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