How to Produce Hip Hop Records

Series Summary

Hip-hop culture is based mainly on music and dance. Hip-hop has developed new styles and specific moves and techniques, but the cornerstone of the style is undoubtedly break dancing. Over time, that so-called old school way of dancing and participating in hip-hop culture has evolved into many different off-shoots. Funk dancing, popping and locking, jigging, freaking, krump, and hyphy are examples of types of hip-hop dance. Each style contains certain moves that distinguish it from other forms. Hip-hop is also a form of music heavily based on spoken-word poetry and rap. In this free video series on rap and hip-hop recording, Christian recording artist R.O.C. offers insight from his decade-long career to help newcomers start a record label, put down sweet rhymes and lyrics, and find a music contract. He gives would-be hip-hop stars ideas for becoming the next big thing and what to look for in a music producer. Viewers will get advice on recording a music video and other industry skills needed to get a career in gear.

Video Transcript

"Today I want to school you about how to produce a hip hop album. You know, when it comes to hip hop, hip hop has many different sounds, many different flavors, many different techniques that you can go out by as far as producing hip hop. Right now in this teenage days, hip hop has steady evolve into different sounds, different techniques and different methods. You got artists such as Eminem, you know, who use anything as variety and versatile as as Aerosmith songs who produce hip hop. You got artists like Kanye, rapping it up and doing things that bring vocals into it. See back then, before artists like Kanye such as you have, Run D.M.C., Grandmaster Flash and producing hip hops seriously compare to human beat box; a nice bass, bass drum, a couple high hats and a snare, that was it. But nowadays, the producers go hip hop albums, you got to have an ear for music and not just hip hop music but all music because hip hop is very versatile; so anything can be changed and transformed into hip hop. Making beats is a very big part of hip hop production. You know, you got to have beats that not just are so called hip hop but that an artist can relate to. As a producer, your job is to create the paper in which an artist can write and express whatever it is that he's feeling. He or she maybe feeling in order to get the ideas, that concept, their feeling of what they're portraying, they're trying to portray in a song. And that's one of the key things in being a hip hop producer, is to be able to make music that anyone can relate to, that anyone can vibe and feel for and you know, keep your ear open to many different sounds and you'll be a great producer."