BeatTips Friday Freestyle: Sa’id – “High Top Fade”

Fridays are always a heavy day for me. It’s usually the day that I have the most going on. So to help me stay creatively focused, I make new music, often just a beat and one freestyle verse or a practice session were I’m exploring new ideas. I liked to share this music with the BeatTips community and offer insights into my individual style sound. So I present to you BeatTips Friday Freestyle…

On this joint, I wanted to make the beat sound like a “spin back” — like I was rhyming over a record (a break) that a DJ was spinning back, a la early 1970s Grandmaster Flash. So I “dragged” the record (held my hand on it for real-time pitch) while I sampled it. I also what that ’80s feel with some ’90s drums, so I added a couple of sound stabs and did some drumwork that was urgent with the kick and hats tucked and the snare slapping (added some slight reverb on the snare hits).