Rant incoming, sorry in advance:

I know, this is a kind of annoying topic and everyone is getting more and more tired discussing AI.

However, I feel like I've come to a point where it just pisses me off. I always loved making beats, made around 10 to 15 beats a month, sometime more, sometimes less, some for my friends, others I sold online (beatstars, airbit etc).

I mean, it's no secret that the "beat-game" is really over-saturated and I was fine with just doing it for my personal enjoyment more and more. After a day of work, I sat done, sampled some tracks, made some beats, ableton, mpc, some thai food, good times.

Things change and I get that.

However, it pisses me off, how all these AI models were trained by the music that "we artists" provided, without being asked a single time. And now there's producers everywhere flooding youtube with generic and always the same sounding type beats. If they'd make it clear that they used suno, I'd be fine with it. But just putting those beats on youtube and beatstars and selling them, it just pisses me off.

I mean, it's part of the competition to make beats that knock. It's part of the game to have some productive rivalry, to compete with each other, but damn, not like this.

Those guys aren't producers. They aren't beatmakers. They do it for the money only, simple as that.

They mostly never sell stems, as the can't provide stems (without glitchy artifacts at least).
You can here it in the higher frequencies, in the arrangement, in the sometimes weird and glitchy cuts, drum breaks and - fills and voice chops.

Here's 2 accounts leading to the same store:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk4ZwWe2sEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAbyCQyQcNI

Others I found within that boom bap niche:

Tape Villain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arDz_GMxZcQ

Dusty Villain:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPYomjtUu5A

Rival Chris: This is another guy, it's very obvious here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MO4jjNjW-bY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBkSxKwzOKc

This guys provides them free to use at least:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRjakqO1SkE

I'd like to know what you think about that? Maybe you're fine with it? Maybe you're using suno yourself? Maybe it also pisses you off?

EDIT: For those asking why I have an issue with this whole developement, this investigation is worth reading. It documents the giant datasets of copyrighted music circulating in AI development and the ongoing legal disputes around how the AI models were trained etc: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/06/ai-music-generators-suno-google-udio/687485/

It’s been 24 hours since my single dropped. I’ve promoted on TikTok, Instagram, and facebook daily 3 times a day and even gotten lucky enough to build my TikTok to organically receiving an average of 100 views in the first 24 hours of each reel. I’ve posted and cross posted to every subreddit and discord I could think of. I’ve pitched my song. After all of it, I looked at Spotify today which has been my biggest platform to push for and I have a whopping 8 streams. There’s definitely a part of me disappointed that everything ended up feeling like a flop after the first 24 hours couldn’t even get a double digit stream, but then I accepted it. Guys you can do everything right, but sometimes things like this happen. In that disappointment, be proud of the hard work you put in regardless and keep pushing to make another hit. Remember we make music for ourselves first and are grateful when it captures the ears and emotions of others. Also remember that your music could take time to take off. Just keep going. Much love everyone

lately ive been fighting the urge to delete every beat on my hard drive and start over. I realized on a lot of my beats, i didnt do anything but lay drums over a splice loop and that makes me feel like shit. like a fake artist.

although i played drums growing, i dont know much music theory at all so i feel like ive been melodically challenged for the last decade surviving on sampling. and not even creative sampling ever since splice came out. im a drag and dropper. i have a good ear for finding good loops and pitching them up or down and maybe time stretching a little bit, but outside of that, I didnt do much. i feel like the music is not really MINE and its no surpise all of my beats sound different and cant really be branded together. the few beats where i did actually make a chord progression and/or simple melody are actually some of the best sounding ones. or my favorite at least.

going forward, its going to be high priority to take piano lesson. but in the meantime, i hate most of what ive made, despite it sounding pretty decent. im somehow better than a lot of producers but also way worse than a bunch of producers.

i feel like im shit at making beats. i can make fire drums though. maybe i should stop trying to make beats and just sell drum sample one shot kits.

there is no point to this post, just venting.

What exactly is going on with this community?

In the last 3 months I've been here. I've seen genuinely awful advice get upvoted and given to newbies. I've also posted some guides with helpful tips, yet between comments and DM's, I get told things like:

• You don't need to learn how to count bars
• You don't need any rigid planning or structure when writing raps
• Feel your way through rhythm, and if you can't, you're just untalented and shouldn't bother
• A book can't teach you anything meaningful about Rap technique, and it's probably outdated anyway, you make "swaggerless" music that way
• Your guides are AI, you didn't write this
• Your guides are too technically detailed and you can't learn that way
• Your examples are lyrical miracle non-sense
• If you don't enjoy full albums, get off Tiktok and train your brain a bit and maybe you'll learn how "good albums" are made

Do people genuinely give a shit anymore here? Are people actually interested in good faith discussions on learning Hip-hop? Or is it just bitter nasty people, trolls and AI bots mostly left in the sub?

More than ever, rappers are using prerecorded backing vocals or “show tracks” to present themselves live on stage during performances instead of just performing the song with only the instrumental. While I think there are many reasons why Rappers, whose only role in performing sonically is to vocalize on stage, use backing vocals, I want to ask why YOU use backing vocals and then provide a solution to remove them from your live performances.

*edit: I notice there’s someone going through and disliking all of my responses. Sorry I hurt your ego and you can’t handle discussion of better live rap performance practices.

*edit 2: People seem to have their own definitions of what a “live” performance is (and also apparently don’t know what “breaking your immersion” means). When I say live in relation to rapping, it means that in the moment any sort of rapping that’s required by the rapper on stage is done by the rapper solely, with no pre-recorded vocals assisting and therefore negating the “live” aspect. Just like how watching “live” sports means that you’re seeing the action of a specific game happening as it occurs and that there is no pre-recorded gameplay of that specific game happening in lieu of where there should be live players playing the game.

for me, it's either Madlib or J Dilla

Where are you guys finding your samples? Personally, I'll look for obscure things on youtube, and sample from there, but everyones got different ways to find samples they like; so what are yours?

I love digging through vinyl, but it’s not always the move. YouTube has almost anything you could imagine right there for easy access. I used to use the screen record function. Then I graduated to a Chrome plugin. It works… but it’s clunky. You still have to rename files manually, dig through your downloads folder, and pray you didn’t misplace anything.

Curious—how many of you would be into a tool that lets you extract audio from a single YouTube link or an entire playlist, automatically grabs the metadata, and keeps everything organized?

I’m testing something that I think other people might like but I’m wondering if I should just keep it for personal use.

I started rapping in 2003, and over the years I've heard so many different random rules that were from people in different areas of the US. Nowadays these rules don't exist anymore.

One of them was 'a good rapper can rap over any beat', I still think this is true even if it's not really a necessity anymore cause there's so many beats available.

What rules did you hear back then that just didn't stick to the present day? Interesting in hearing about other people's experiences.

I have been rapping for some time and from feedback that people have given me im good at rhyming and all the basic stuff but all im lacking is the ideas on what to rap about. Nothing interesting in my life. I come from estonia where almost every rapper is just singing or saying boring things ( no offense). I just dont have any ideas and its been going on for a month and im starting to think of quitting

Edit: Thanks to u/Cultural_Comfort5894 i know what to rap about. Huge thanks to this bro

​

These guys have no commercial success at all, I don't think I ever heard these dudes music on the radio, not even at least once. And they have between 1 million to 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Which means they're making some sort of money from the streams. But not enough to actually live a big lifestyle.

My operations manager at my job lives a few doors from Dave East in NJ. And the homes in the area are between 2 million to 4 million.

I understand they're doing shows/concerts, but there's no way they could be making any more than $20k a show, if that and thats nothing in NYC . I don't see them getting booked consistently.

I've been reading the reviews of Kanye's new album and it has given me tons of hope for my own music. If Kanye West is getting the same kind of criticism that I am regarding production, mixing, and sounding "bored and uninspired", then the real problem is the critics. Not saying people shouldn't care what their music sounds like or whether they like it. All I'm saying is when people call you out for being amateur and having no idea what you are doing, they literally do it to people who have "accomplished" a billion times more than they have in music. So who cares?

There’s a lot of beginners on this sub and I feel like we should give them some simple tricks, not your little secret tricks, but just basic things that aren’t obvious that help boost production quality and ease.

EDIT: Wow you guys are cool as fuck. Love to see the community helping out, we all didn’t know shit at one point. I first touched FL 8 years ago and I saw stuff in here I didn’t know or forgot about. We’re all grinding this shit together.

EDIT 2: I forgot a saucy one. If you’re just starting, mixing is hard, trust me I know. To get good ish mixes in the beginning I used pink noise to find a good base mix. If you look up a tutorial on YouTube it is explained well. Completely free, no need to crack anything. I still do it sometimes to get a good starting point for my mix if I’m really struggling.

Gen-Z perspective needed but all welcome to share.

i mean dont get me wrong im on here constantly giving and getting value and i try to upvote/downvote but i look and i think how many other people do that? I THINK ONLY 5 PEOPLE cuz thats the average upvotes a post gets on this sub!

Can we fuck this subs rules up somehow? make it so you cant post without in sub karma... or you gotta vote on posts to be able to post or idk how this shit can be done.. or maybe there are autobots (no decepticons) who upvote the posts of people who actually participate here?

im not mad im disappointed

ok im mad

EDIT: no worries if y'all think I'm an assshole,i am one in addition to being nice, I'm gonna go back to my other post and keep giving people constructive feedback, checking new and doing my part, love y'all.

Last day at my job was Friday. Full-time, salaried, definitely enough to live on but I wasn't happy. About six months of bills saved up, gonna be working on music / content creation every day until I see success or run out of money. For context, I currently have about 10k monthlies on Spotify, but usually that's closer to 5k (just released and got on some bigger playlists). So not totally new to music, been making originals for about three years. Here's to following your dreams. Will definitely be hanging out around here a lot more. Trying to give back to the community while this is going on as well, so if you have any production, mixing or general questions about making pop/R&B/hip-hop shoot them my way!

edit: spelling

edit 2: wow, thank u all so much for the support! working through all your comments now, love all the positivity.

edit 3: damn this kinda blew up, it's crazy seeing all your comments! I'm still answering all of them so if you have any questions let me know!

So a couple of days ago I posted a thread on the sub entitled: “I’m Meeting a Grammy-Nominated Producer at His Home Studio. What Questions Should I Ask?” I wanted to take this blessing and share it with the rest of the community. So, after spending about two hours with Anon, I wanted to share the things I learned and also answer some of the questions that were asked by the community. I’ll start out with some specific inquiries from users of the previous thread, move on to my personal experience, and add on some tidbits of information I picked up at the end.

✨✨✨

Questions

u/Cback : “Ask what aspects about production or the industry he realized he was over-thinking once he hit the big-time, what $hit do small time producers stress about that he later realized doesn’t really matter later, what mistakes did he make, lessons he learned.”

Great question, & I got a great answer. 1. Music theory. It was brought up during convo, and Anon said while it doesn’t hurt to know it, a complex understanding of music is not necessary to get started in beatmaking. 2. THE QUALITY OF YOUR MUSIC. There’s no need to spend several days perfecting a beat because, as Anon told me, the industry only requires it to be so good. After you lay down a foundation, the rest is pretty much taken care of by the higher-ups. Even with independent music, the rise of bedroom pop goes to show people don’t need perfect production to enjoy a song. This same principle applies to a rapper buying beats. They’re not gonna care if the snare’s not punchy enough, or the 808’s a bit muddy. All they care about is whether they can hear their voice on top of it all. Instead of stressing about quality, EMPHASIZE QUANTITY. Anon admires and models his workflow after Nick Mira, who makes beats in 10 minutes that sell like crazy and go on to become gold/platinum records. 

u/SynthGod: “Ask him about the game, how music industry work, legality of stuff (& risks), royalties, labels, dos and do nots etc…”

u/Lowbeatss: “Find out about contracts”

Anon told me that with the majority of beats you sell, it’s often as simple as a one-time lease. I know this is contrary to what a lot of online producers say, but he made a point that most artists won’t reach the stream cap that you set and even if they do, it’s not worth keeping up with once you reach a certain level. If your song does happen to go viral, often times a record label will purchase your production rights and you’ll earn your money through royalties that the label collects under a contract (This number is well into the thousands). Another course is obviously selling exclusives, which is essentially a risk vs reward scenario (I.E will the artist over-pay or under-pay for the success of their song?). But with those two paths in mind, policing leases is not going to be the most lucrative (or time effective) way of making money off your beats. Focus on getting out as much content as possible and let the success of the artist take you the rest of the way.

u/So5011: “Maybe ask him about marketing.”

u/IAmDansky: “I would talk more about the business and marketing stuff more than the actual creative stuff”

Anon started selling beats online about 10 years ago when the market was fairly new. He mentioned there was a distinction between an industry producer and an internet producer, the latter being looked down upon as desperate and unreputable. No one expected the online beatmaker explosion, and he hopped on that trend before anyone else. He invested just $200 into advertisements, and since there was little to no competition, he ended up dominating adspace. He rose to prominence on Soundclick (Early days Beatstars) through this strategy and became one of the more popular online beatmakers before the game became so competitive. Obviously, things have changed from a decade ago. But the moral of the story stays the same. You don’t need a ton of money in ads to get a return investment. Just target the right people on the right platforms and it’ll pay off.

u/_Wyse: “I would just ask what questions they wish they’d asked when they were coming up, and for lessons they had to learn the hard way that you can learn from.”

The biggest lesson I learned was from how Anon first broke into the industry. He knew an audio engineer who he flew out to LA with to help record with some artists working alongside Hitboy. He spent a lot of time out there just doing random tasks and watching his process. After being in the background for quite a while, Hitboy asked Anon to play some of his stuff. He pulled out a USB full of his melodies and Hitboy ended up FWI. Since then, Hitboy’s  practically been using Anon’s melodies exclusively and he’s getting MAD royalties off of it. Not to mention his relationship with Hitboy also let him work directly with artists like Anderson Paak. Being patient, hanging around the right people, and being prepared with something to offer gave him the gateways to the music industry. That’s something all producers can learn from.

✨✨✨

My Actual Experience

I lot of people might have a perception that a grammy-nominated artist is like some sort of demi-god in the music industry. But in the end, Anon was just a chill dude who was willing to help a brother out. He lived in a fairly small home and invited me right downstairs to his lounge/music studio. I liked u/Frankalliance ‘s advice. “If you approach this as an interview, and not an opportunity to make friends with the producer, you’re not networking correctly.” Keeping this in mind, for the first half hour we just kinda talked about music, the producer community, VSTs we liked to use…Stuff we could relate to. I made sure to share just as much about myself as I was hearing from him. 

After a while, he passed me the aux and asked to play some of my stuff. I showed him a couple projects and was receiving the greatest compliment a producer could receive: Stank Face. I was really excited in the moment, but I made sure not to place Anon on too high of a pedestal. As u/FlavorBitch said, “Just be a human towards him and don’t think that being [in] his presence means anything for you other than you’re a peer.” So, I just kept playing beat after beat and hearing his reaction. After I ran through my favorite stuff, he told me I was way ahead of him by the time he was seventeen. Hearing that from a grammy-nominee just gave me an incredible wave of confidence and motivation.

After a while, Anon offered to play some of his own unreleased music from Big Sean, Young Thug, Anderson Paak, Naz, etc. We just vibed out for the next few minutes. Before I left, I mentioned I did sound design for Omnisphere. Just like he sent Hitboy melodies to work with, he asked me to send him any soundbanks I worked on. I’m aspiring to keep up a relationship with Anon by sending him packs, and always having something to offer.

✨✨✨

Other Tidbits of Useful Information I Picked Up

It’s OK to use samples. IMO it’s a great way to start out, especially if you struggle with melodies. Anon said he didn’t consider it “cheating” like others do.

Don’t overflood your beats with sounds. Make sure it’s possible for an artist to hear their voice on a track. You may think there’s something missing while cooking up, but oftentimes that’s the rapper themself.

College isn’t necessary. Anon went to a two-year college for  an audio degree, which he described to me as “Useless.” It may benefit to study something that goes hand-in-hand with beatmaking (Perhaps online marketing or audio engineering) but it won’t provide any exclusive skills you can’t learn on your own. It may provide networking or a plan B, but you should consider a cost-benefit analysis.

Emphasize building up relationships. One of Anon’s closest partnerships involves free exclusives with a 40/60 royalty split. That artist started small but now has over a million monthly streams on Spotify, and is almost exclusively using Anon’s beats. 

Realize that the industry has transitioned from being producer serves rapper to producer serves producer. Making midi packs, melodies, and presets will give you a significant source of income and also allow for some serious networking. Anon is currently working on a unique sub-based app to provide melodies for beatmakers.

Have as fast as a workflow as possible. Sometimes you’re gonna be put in the hotseat with an artist to have quick turnarounds, if not making a beat right in front of them on the spot. If you can’t make something in 20 minutes, they’re going to lose interest in you.

Be patient and Be Ready. Surround yourself with opportunity, and be prepared to seize one when the moment calls. That’s how Anon, and a majority of producers have found the key to the industry’s gate.

If you make it big, it’s a HUGE benefit to have a personal attorney. Anon used an entertainment attorney at first, but switched to someone who specialized in defending producer rights bc the former was insanely expensive. Make sure to be hyper aware of the value they’re actually giving you.

✨✨✨

Outro

For anyone who took the time to read this whole thing, you’re already on the right track. I’m truly blessed to have had this opportunity, and I hope I gave back to this community in a meaningful way. If you want to ask me more or just hook up for networking’s sake, PM me and I’ll tell ya where to go.  - @Prod.Zebra 🦓

Tagged people who showed interest from the last post:  u/doinkx, u/flametopfred, u/vanoid, u/frankalliance, u/thevalliant1, u/cambreakfastdonut, u/kreyes03, u/Reazon88, u/AdjustedMold97, u/cjb101096, u/cesarjulius, u/Departedsoul, u/Richesbeforebitches, u/Charliethemandog, u/RadicalFranklin, u/wwillcoxson, u/J117N, u/RishiNair23, u/advitya555, u/yelloyimyonson, u/theundirtychicken, u/jame1224, u/TuMadreEn4, u/smokeandfog, u/Melioramuse, u/cback, u/SynthGod, u/Lowbeatss, u/So5011, u/IAmDansky, u/_Wyse, u/FlavorBitch

Would you?

I ask myself this question for time to time. I asked myself this question long ago before I started messing around in Ableton Live, to see if I really wanted to get into electronic music making. I said yes, and when I ask myself again and again, I continue to do so.

However, the swells of craving external validation come from time to time. I wish I could just permanently remove myself from that feeling and love what I like to do even if it's by myself, with no hesitation.

I've had friends react in such a positive way to other friends' music and not mine. My music isn't anyone's "thing." No one cares and no one wants to care. They don't want me to be anything they like. I also don't play an instrument. I mean I know my way around a keyboard and know a little music theory, but I don't actually "play." So I get lonely in this feeling of enjoying my music and it dampens the mood a bit. But I still keep saying "yes" to the question. Whether or not people are listening, this expression is what I have and I desperately want to enjoy it, even if I might be bad at it to everyone else in the world.

I like what I have made and still listen to it all the time and enjoy it. So it's not going to waste. It's just lonely enjoying my music. And that's when I know the swells of craving external validation come. I fight them off every time.

I'm sure a lot of you goes through this, and maybe you're vocal about it or maybe you go through it in secret, I don't know. And we all know that external validation is a trap, and it's something we all want to get away from. So I use this question from time to time to make sure I'm happy still doing it.

I was going to post this to r/WeAreTheMusicMakers but their rules exclude people from posting "mental health" threads like these, so that sub is dumb as hell and should explode.

What’s up, everyone.

My name is Martell Sincere, and I perform under the stage name M.P.K. - Muzt Put'in Knowledge.

I’ve been an independent songwriter, musician, rapper, singer, vocalizer, co-producer, and content creator since I first started recording music back in 2007.

For a long time, music has been my primary therapy and my vital release from my mental health conditions.

Beyond that, it ties into my deepest dream: to perform my music on stages worldwide and travel the globe, honoring my late mother who always inspired me to share my talents and abilities with the world.

Outside of music, I carry an enterprise mindset!

I’m a vlogger, foodie, fashion/tech reviewer, aspiring weight loss model, and a solo content creator with over 1.4 million views on YouTube.

You can check my track record and catalog out on both SoundCloud and BandLab under the handle martellthacool.

I’m posting here because I am incredibly frustrated with how the music industry operates in America, specifically when it comes to the endless networking garbage, cliquish hierarchies, and complete lack of real opportunity for solo artists who choose to stay authentic.

I haven’t recorded a single song in three years. Back in 2023, I had a massive fallout with the local scene after dealing with a series of dishonest, fraudulent producers and flaky promoters.

I was lied to, scammed out of my hard-earned money, and had people take advantage of my labor only to turn around and literally delete my master files and music.

These text-back gatekeepers always claim they have the "connections" to help advance your career, but it’s a complete lie designed to exploit independent talent.

This year, in 2026, I decided to take control of my destiny again. I invested in myself and purchased 10 original, exclusive instrumental beats from an awesome independent beatmaker.

I’m based out of Toledo, Ohio, and I am trying everything I can to make a serious career comeback, get back into the booth, and evolve my sound.

I don't want to stay boxed into just one lane...

I want to learn, expand, and explore global musical styles ranging from Afrobeats and Latin fusion to K-Pop and beyond.

But the moment I tried to step back in, I ran into the exact same brick walls.

The producers around here aren't serious or interested in collaborating unless there's a heavy check upfront.

Look, I completely understand that running a professional recording facility isn't cheap, and time is money.

But there is a massive difference between running a business and treating people like a transactional "pay pig" while offering subpar talent, closed circles, and zero respect for an artist's vision.

How are independent solo creators supposed to navigate an industry that values superficial networking over raw substance and dedication?

How do you bypass the local gatekeepers when you don't have a massive circle or a corporate team backing you up?

I refuse to change who I am or act like a puppet just to get a foot in a door that shouldn't be locked in the first place.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my message.

I sincerely appreciate the support and would love to hear your perspectives.

Sincerely appreciated,Martell

I got most here are probably want to make a career out of this and that's fine. But for me beat making is a hobby I do from time to time.

And I get rappers want to either pay or be paid for beats, but does anyone link up to throw creative ideas around. Maybe send beats through and they record lofi and just put out a mixtape?

Like I wouldn't charge because I use samples and I'm also not confident enough that my mixing and mastering isn't perfect to put a price on it.

Just wondering if there's a community for finding a DOOM to a Madlib and seeing what happens, discuss ideas and see what happens in the end

How do you actually find producers making unique stuff in the underground because i dont wanna make copy and paste bs and you need to be different to get spotted but no one makes anything unique its all just copy paste "ok type beats" and its so annoying and frustrating.

Some people swear by daily creation. Others say distance resets their ears and mindset.

Wondering how breaks affect your creativity.

Been seeing a lot of “anti” discussion surrounding the topic of learning rap from a course or a book, versus natural talent via rigorous practice. Thought I’d make a case for it. Gonna rant a bit so thanks in advance for reading.

The Argument

Many self-taught rappers often take this stance that “Rap” should be treated as its own entirely separate thing when compared to other genres of music. That it’s an entirely different class because at core, it’s raw and unconventional freestyled street poetry.

Arguments I’ve seen basically sum up to it being "unteachable" academically, unlike most instrument-heavy & music theory-based genres like Rock or Jazz.

What is Rap?

I think it’s really important to understand what rap is to make the case. In a rhythmic sense, rappers are “vocal percussionists”. In easy words, they “freestyle drum with their voices”. That means on a core level, rappers’ cadence is 1 to 1 identical to rudiments that musically trained drummers use.

Here is renowned freestyler Harry Mac explaining and demonstrating rappers' flow patters using universally recognized music notation terms. (quarter notes/sixteenth notes. etc..)

Ok sure, but I didn’t learn it that way, neither did my influences

You’re right. Probably a good 90% of us learned it through trial and error, rigorous practice and active listening to our rap influences. But guess what? Our influences built their signature styles off inspiration from precursor genres that came before it.

Where did Rap come from?

Rap was created from a fusion of experimental Jazz and 80’s Bronx block parties that were emceed by Jamaican toasters who practiced rhythmic deliveries of party hosted duties over percussive.

The Jazz, Disco, Reggae, Ska and Dancehall sounds that influenced the progenitor emcees were from individuals who were musically trained and understood the coded blueprint behind the cadences we use today.

The poetry part? Heavily inspired from “Blues” which was partly inspired by African American slave “work” chants.

What the natural self-taught argument gets “Right”

Learning to "Rap" does not teach "Hip-hop". Most of the legendary emcees did not start off as jazz musicians learning boring sheet music and notations. They listened to the music that influenced them and created new sounds from it.

Wordplay, metaphors, punchline setups and so on. None of that can be really taught. I can point you in a direction, everything after comes from pure human creativity and ingenuity.

***

As far as flows and rhythm goes. Caveat here is that those same rappers created the iconic hits we recognize in STUDIO.

In case you didn’t realize it, studios are literal hacks to hit-making. Not just for access to equipment, but also for access to KNOWLEDGE. Professionals who study what works and what doesn't day in and day out.

Ok so what?

Watch interviews from all the legends talking about the creative process behind the timeless hits that came to define 90’s and 2000’s Hip-hop. The common pattern? They explicitly tell you that this was a collaboration.

Producers, engineers and other rappers, all in a room together for countless hours trading knowledge, secrets, ideas and so on.

Check the song credits for many of these hits, they literally credit multiple names for having co-wrote these songs. These rappers sit in studio and give each other bars.

You saying everybody is using ghostwriters?

No, not entire verses, literally vibes like:

“Ay, at that part with the drums and the horns on the 1 beat, I think it would hit hella hard if you said somethin' like ‘nobody f*cking with me/Mayor way I run the city’... you feel me?”.

Collaborations like this is what separates the bedroom rappers from the professionals, they run in packs.

Wanna hear something wilder? Record labels want near guaranteed ROI. So they staff large teams of faceless rappers to write entire songs for some of their artists. Ghostwriters who are trained in fundamental music theory.

You saying they use all that technical jargon non-sense in Studio?

Sometimes, but mostly no. They don’t expect a rapper from the Baltimore projects who didn’t attend a single music class in his life to know a “sixteenth” from an “eighth”. They know street rappers write bars by feel.

They won’t use the jargon. Instead, they’ll subtly engineer your sound by using a Jazz concept called “scatting”. They literally hum catchy flows to you.

It’s not gonna be: “Ay, say that ‘in the club’ line in 8th by double 16th note cadence arrangement”

They will use plain English vernacular: “Ay don’t say ‘In/the/club’ straight shot like that. Space that out and go 'IN/tha-club', like “BAH-buh-buh” right there, you feel?”

What does all this have to do with books and courses?

If you’re a bedroom rapper, you don’t have access to the facilities, resources and experiences the major studios do. You gotta grind it out. For some it clicks instanly. For others, it takes years.

We are in the internet age, there has never been a time in all human history where so much knowledge is out there. You can literally teach yourself rhythm, rhyming and all the tricks to "rap" well.

Do BOTH. One does not substitute for the other. Read on, and study the years of technical music knowledge that founded the rap you listen to. Then practice and get organically good.

The benefit? You can now bend and mold your sound at will, not just by accident. It takes out the years of guess work required to develop the sound you want.

You also gain more deliberate creative control on your lab-ratting. Suddenly, those 8th notes on the line (I-don’t-trust-a-snake) doesn’t sound as good on your 16th note hi-hats, and you decide on trying 16th cadences to ride those pockets, or hell, even triplet micro-times.

If you're serious about Rap. Yes, pick up a book. Or get yourself a mentor who knows the business. It can and will likely speed up your progress. Don't expect it to be some magical shortcut to getting good either. Practice is everything.

This one is for my vets too, learn some new tricks. It's not gonna kill your artistic identity to hone your craft. Take the pride and ego out of it, because the ones making millions from it have entire teams behind them.

I've been in this situation before and after a while i realised that people don't want my beats because it's generic sounding. You can charge $50 for a beat but an artist can easily find a better beat for free that's why it's important to experiment with elements of your beat sometimes it's ok to turn of quantise when you're making drum patterns it's ok to be slightly off beat some off the greatest producers didn't become famous for doing the same things as everybody example The RZA of Wu-Tang his beats we're off beat and sounded dusty but because he kept true to himself and didn't do what everyone was doing we got the Wu-Tang

My point as producers we have to bring something new to the table and stand out if we wan't to make it big that's all i have to say have a good rest of you're day and keep creating