About BeatTips
BeatTips is a platform for research in hip hop culture, notably the art of beatmaking, and related music history. It includes a hip hop archive, the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive (accessible here and through the BeatTips Archive newsletter), and print and digital publications, including the books The BeatTips Manual and The Art of Sampling, both written by BeatTips founder, Amir Said. Other books include the Best Damn Hip Hop Writing book series, Ghetto Brother, and the Hip Hop Retrospectives book series.
About the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive
As a writer and publisher of multiple hip hop-related books, I know how important research is to writers who are formulating ideas that lead to new works in the twin fields of hip hop studies and hip hop journalism. I also know, however, locating such research isn’t always easy. Moreover, I also believe that it’s important for future generations to have easy access to hip hop scholarship. That’s why the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive is committed to building the largest research archive and index of hip hop related interviews, stories, news, and other commentary. The archive includes works by some of the most respected names in hip hop studies and hip hop journalism. In this regard, BeatTips advocates for long-form feature writing, and we aim to offer critical observations and fresh perspectives with each piece that we publish.
Updates to the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive are made and indexed at least twice a week; and we publish new in-depth pieces around four times each month. Individual author collections and single articles are added to the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive on an ongoing basis. If you would like to have your previously published article, interview, story, reporting, or other commentary republished by BeatTips and added to the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive, please read carefully the information below and follow the guidelines.
Submitting work to the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive
Republishing your pieces at the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive has a number of benefits. It gives you an instant BeatTips by-line, a searchable author profile, an author page, a new spotlight on your work, and a new addition to your writing portfolio and CV. Also, through your author profile, you will be able to add notes and commentary to your previously published pieces; and you will further benefit from professional editing/copyediting. Finally, we pay a fee for all of the pieces that we acquire for the BeatTips Hip Hop Archive. Note: this fee is for a *non-exclusive license to republish, so writers retain full copyright in their work. The rates are as follows:
Collections
- $800 for full website or blog catalog, multi- or single-author. This includes independent websites as well as Tumblr, Medium, and newsletter catalogs. Minimum 40 bylines/pieces in the collection.
- $400 for single-author collections. Minimum 20 bylines/pieces in the collection. Collections of academic papers, including dissertations, are accepted.
Individual Pieces (Articles, Profiles, Interviews, Research Papers, and Dissertations)
- $75 per piece for pieces with no active internet links, including pieces previously published in print only.
- $50 per piece for pieces with active internet links older than 10 years old.
- $50 Academic papers, including dissertations.
- $50 per interview, previously published or unpublished, must include transcript and audio.
- $25 per piece for previously published pieces with active internet links less than 10 years old.
Previously Unpublished Long-Form Pieces
- $200 (*starting rate) per previously unpublished piece. Serious long-form, well-sourced pieces only.
The Story of BeatTips
The short story is that BeatTips.com began in 2004 as my personal website/blog. It was (and still is) a place for me to publish my thoughts online about beatmaking and hip hop/rap music, and all of my other music interests as well. As I expanded my book, The BeatTips Manual, BeatTips.com grew in scope and detail as well, becoming a more focused blog. In 2008, I re-launched BeatTips.com. Now three years later, I’ve further expanded The BeatTips Manual, writing my most comprehensive edition to date, and BeatTips.com has also evolved to a much broader online publication.
The long story is that BeatTips.com grew from my desire to further expand upon what I had started with the publication of my book, the The BeatTips Manual. And thus the story begins there…
Eight years ago, I published the very first edition of The BeatTips™ Manual. At that time, I was going through some turbulent situations; and during those uncertain moments in 2001, I was able to find solace in spending time with my son, Amir, and in making beats. It was during this period in my life that it became very important for me to document everything that I knew about beats. Specifically, I wanted to preserve my knowledge about hip hop/rap in general, and beatmaking in particular, for my son, who at the time was turning 5 years old.
From the onset of this highly personal endeavor, I promised myself that I would meticulously record everything that I did, saw, heard and generally learned about beatmaking and the hip hop/rap production process. After 30 yellow legal size note pads, I felt that I had created the ultimate beatmaking guide for my son. Shortly thereafter, I poured over revisions, drafting all of my notes into one cohesive reference journal. A reference journal that I hoped would one day nurture my son’s understanding of beatmaking and the hip hop-rap production process, and it’s impact on modern music and popular culture. After reviewing the first several sections of this reference with my son, he and I both thought that it would be a good idea to share what I had created for him with the rest of the world. Thus, I decided to develop and transform this highly personal reference journal into a book for anyone interested in learning about beatmaking. Hence, The BeatTips™ Manual was born!
In 2002, I published the very first edition of the BeatTips Manual–the first book dedicated entirely to beatmaking ever be published. Then in 2003, I published the third edition of the BeatTips Manual; at the same time I launched Superchamponline.com.
Superchamponline.com (an ode to the name of my family’s company, Superchamp) was my first serious attempt at operating an internet property. It featured just a few of the ideas that would later become staples and trademarks of what I do now. I maintained Superchamponline.com until 2004, when I converted it to BeatTips.com.
Since 2004, The BeatTips Manual has gone through countless updates and two major changes. What initially began as just a “support site” for the BeatTips Manual, has morphed into its own resource. And though BeatTips.com operates with the nimbleness that only an internet enterprise could provide I’m humbled to say that it still has the heart & soul of the very first beatmaking reference journal I that I made for my son…That will never change.
—Amir Said
Founder/Editor-In-Chief