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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,…
Can You Beat The Clock? How Long Does it Take to Develop a Skill For Beatmaking?
How long did it take me to develop a real skill for beatmaking? The beatmaking know-how? That took me…
BeatTips MusicStudy and Source Material: Gwen McCrae – “90% Of Me Is You”
I learned more about how to create drums and drum patterns from this song than I did listening to any hip…
Don’t Over Cook The Beat: Overproducing and How to Avoid It
Picture this. You’re in the lab making a new beat. You’re nodding your head, the beat is dope —…
LL Cool J – ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective
After the success of LL Cool J's double Platinum selling 1987 album Bigger And Deffer, LL was on top of…
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…
Eric B. & Rakim — Let The Rhythm Hit ‘Em: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective
Eric B. & Rakim released one of the best Rap albums of the Summer in 1988, which was quite a feat…
Stevie Wonder’s Reworking of “Happy Birthday”
Singing Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday,” with the pulsing, rhythmic refrain: happy birthday to you,…
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…
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…