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.

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…

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,…

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…

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 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…

Kanye West Fliped “Strange Fruit” For “Blood On The Leaves;” And There’s Nothing Wrong With That

Amir Said Oct 18, 2019 0

First, it was “Blood on the Leaves.” Outrage from everywhere for how Kanye West used a sample of Nina Simone’s heart-wrenching rendition of “Strange Fruit,” a…

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

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,…

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

Amir Said Feb 1, 2022 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,…

Timeless Music: Isaac Hayes – “Soulsville”

Amir Said Sep 24, 2020 0

"Soulsville," from the movie Shaft. This is my favorite Isaac Hayes joint. The scene in Shaft where this song plays is so appropriate. The images — which are…

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

Amir Said Oct 15, 2019 0

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

Beatmaking

Sa’id Music: “Shin Bone”

Amir Said Oct 5, 2023 0

My song “Shin Bone” was one of those cases where everything was just already there in the sample. As a rapper, not…

BeatTips Hip Hop Archive

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)

BeatTips Hip Hop Archive

Sample Flips: A$AP Rocky – “Praise The Lord (Da Shine)” Ft.…

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

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…

What’s a Loop Really About?

Amir Said Oct 9, 2023 0

Here's a very important point: No song "comes with" a loop in the way that most people think. Instead, whatever you sample can then be looped. (If you haven't…

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

Beatmaking

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…

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,…

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…

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