How to Download Music for Hip Hop

In this day and age, downloading music is the norm. Between the peer-to-peer options and MP3 retail websites, you can find any hip hop album you want online.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Credit card or Paypal account

Choose How to Download Music

1. Download a peer-to-peer software program. There are many different kinds of software out there, so you may need to shop around. One of the most popular programs is Kazaa (see Resources below).

2. Open an account with an MP3 retail website. Websites will need credit card information. Some will not include a software download and some will.

3. Popular peer-to-peer software include Napster and iTunes (see Resources below).

Download Hip Hop Music

4. Find the search engine in whichever software or website you decided to use. Some search engines may specify search parameters like "artist," "song title" or "album title."

5. Type in the artist or song title of choice. Make sure to spell everything correctly. Hip hop music especially enjoys changing the spelling of words.

6. Try popular artists like Kanye West or Jay-Z. Those searches will have the most results. If you are looking for rare music or old hip hop, you may need to do some hunting.

7. Find the songs of the best file quality. Usually, the bigger the file is, the better quality the MP3 is.

8. Select the right version of the song you are looking for. Hip hop music has a tendency to release a lot of remakes and remixes.

9. Click on the song or album of choice. A retail website will have you confirm the cost of the download. Downloads will ask you to designate where you would like the music file to download to on your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• A better Internet connection will allow you to download more music at the same time and at a faster rate.
• With most peer-to-peer software, the more music you allow people to download from you, the more music you can download.
• For rare music, you will have a better chance finding songs you want using peer-to-peer software, but the MP3 files may not always be at the same quality as those the retail websites have to offer.
• If you download music via a peer-to-peer program and you do not own the CD, you are breaking the law. Understand copyright infringement penalties, as shared Internet communities often monitor for this.

Resources

• Peer-to-peer with Kazaa
• Legal downloads from Napster
• Buy music at iTunes