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.
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…
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
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
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…
Excerpts from The BeatTips Manual: How DJ Premier Sees Himself As a Producer
"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
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
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
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
This interview was carried out in November 2019 when DJ Premier visited London.
Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…: A 25th Anniversary Retrospective
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
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?
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
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?
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
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
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
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?
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
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)
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
Names on the Marquee: Bob James’s “Nautilus”
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
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
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
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
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”
"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…
Sa’id Music: “Shin Bone”
My song “Shin Bone” was one of those cases where everything was just already there in the sample. As a rapper, not…
Beatmaking Themes, Theories & Concepts • Beatmaking Tutorials • Beat Breakdowns
DJ Clark Kent on Beats, Creativity, and the Big Smoke Screen in Music
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
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
“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?
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.
Stable & Fresh: Bronze Nazareth’s ‘School for the Blindman’ — One of the Best…
Soulfully Hard and Authentic, Loaded with Dope Beats and Edgy Rhymes, School for the Blindman Confirms…
Stable & Fresh: Statik Selektah and Termanology’s ‘1982’
Duo Soars with Broadly Complete Album
By AMIR SAID (SA'ID)
BeatTips Rating: 5/5
The…
Fresh Ears & Classics: Black Moon – ‘Enta Da Stage’
About “Fresh Ears & Classics”
I’m a strong advocate for music that stands the test of time. But I…
Beatmaking Themes, Theories, and Concepts
Q-Tip Needle Dropping, As Kanye West and No I.D. Look On
“By 1977, many DJs had followed Kool Herc’s lead, none more notable than Grandmaster Flash and Afrika…
The Music Industry’s Policy On Sample Clearance Is Prior Restraint, and the RIAA Must End It
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…
DJ Clark Kent on Beats, Creativity, and the Big Smoke Screen in Music
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
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…
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