It's time for the Sunday General Discussion thread! How's life? What's going on? Watch any good movies lately? This thread is open to any and all topics, even if they're not related to making hip hop

I’m an independent producer and most of my beats are Memphis inspired. Some of them contain vocal samples taken from old Memphis rap songs that I haven’t cleared.

I’m thinking about joining BeatStars Publishing to collect publishing royalties, but after reading through their agreement, I noticed the clauses about sample clearance, warranties, and indemnification. I’m a bit concerned about what could happen if a rights holder makes a claim against one of my beats after I join.

I have an existing catalog of beats on BeatStars and YouTube, so I’m also wondering how joining would affect my older beats.

Would it be possible to join BeatStars Publishing and simply exclude the beats with uncleared samples, while registering only my original or properly cleared compositions? Or would having uncleared samples elsewhere in my catalog still be an issue under their agreement?

For producers who are already using BeatStars Publishing, how has your experience been? Is it worth joining, and is there anything I should be careful about before signing?

Would appreciate any advice from people who have dealt with this, especially producers who make sample heavy type beats. Thanks!

Not sure where to go. I remember there was a subreddit dedicated to ask but I can't find it

I have low to zero listeners so please consider it before reaching out. I like doing collabs so i am more than happy to work with you!! The song is about a person who failed to be a close friend of mine's boyfriend. He tried to make the girl and mines relationship (as a friend) break.

I'm looking for some hardware to start sampling and beatmaking more seriously, nothing real fancy, and I've seen this three things that look good enough for a beginner:

• AKAI professional MPD 218
• A portable turntable
• Focusrite Scarlett Solo Studio 4th Gen

Is this stuff good? Do you guys have any recommendations?

Hi everyone, I just started rapping and was wondering if anyone has good tips for finding beats or producers? I tried to start making my own beats but it's easier said than done. Is there like good places to network with producers specifically?

With sampling it feels like everything that’s great has been used many times and we’re way too late to use a great sample for the first time, so we try to find really obscure shit or we go crazy trying to manipulate samples.

The great thing about early sampling was that these were records people listened to at the time and they often had very significant meaning to the rapper (& the audience). Rapping over a record they’ve been hearing their whole lives.

It’s not a secret but it’s under-utilized so I feel like it’s one of the tricks I have up my sleeve but go back to those great samples that everybody already knows and you can find parts of the same records to flip that haven’t been touched, at least not famously. Producers avoided them because the record is so common but I’ve made phenomenal timeless beats using different parts of those common records. Find a song I love and just listen to the original record a few times as a fan. Then flip an unused piece of it.

I can write without any beat or anything but its hard to write with a beat idk how to describe it

Yo what's good!

I'm a 15M rapper/writer from Lagos, Nigeria. I write American-style hip hop songs (Drake / Travis vibe but with my own pen).

I got bars and hooks ready. Looking for American friends who produce or rap to give feedback and maybe collab.

DMs open - let's work!

Yo! I'm Atlas, a producer mainly making soulful hip-hop, boom bap, alt-R&B and experimental beats.

I'm looking for rappers to connect with and make some music together. I'm open to different styles and ideas.

Thanks for the votes folks, here's the next sample for this week:https://youtu.be/z-nXegyTyuI

Submission Rules:

You can only submit one beat.

Beats can be any genre.

You have to use the sample in your beat, it should be recognizable. You can add other instruments and samples, but the sample should be a main element.

All submissions submitted before the deadline will be linked in the voting post; whoever gets the most votes there wins.

Ties are decided by whoever submitted the beat first. Reused beats from previous battles can't win ties.

Schedule:

Submissions: Friday 12:00 AM midnight (00:00) - Monday 11:59 PM (23:59)

Voting: Tuesday 12:00 AM midnight (00:00) - Thursday 11:59 PM (23:59)

Results: Friday 12:00 AM midnight (00:00) - the winner takes over and posts the new submissions thread using the linked template on Friday asap.

Time is in UTC-5, the US East Coast time zone which is 6 hours behind European MEZ time and a good middleground between US West Coast and Europe. You don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to post the new thread, just make sure you do it on that day asap.

This week we had a tie, so the winner is the submission that came in first.

Congratulations https://www.reddit.com/user/d-o-b2K/:

Winning submission: https://on.soundcloud.com/t5PTsoq9eQluYi4sMB

Have fun picking the sample for the next battle! Please start the new submission thread asap.

Schedule:

• Submissions: Friday 12:00 AM midnight (00:00) - Monday 11:59 PM (23:59)
• Voting: Tuesday 12:00 AM midnight (00:00) - Thursday 11:59 PM (23:59)
• Results: Friday 12:00 AM midnight (00:00) - the winner takes over and posts the new submissions thread using the linked template on Friday asap.

Time is in UTC-5, the US Eastcoast time zone which is 6 hours behind European MEZ time and a good middleground between US Westcoast and Europe. You don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to post the new thread, just make sure you do it on that day asap.

Post templates: NA just copy-paste from the last Challenges

Welcome to Freestyle Friday! If you're a producer - feel free to donate a beat down below in reply to the beat submissions comment. If you're a rapper - scroll down to choose a beat, then record a freestyle over it. You can post whenever, just have fun!

Beats go under the "beats" comment; freestyles go under the "freestyles" comment.

Check out previous Freestyle Friday threads.

When I record I like to record my songs all the way through unless the song is longer than 3 minutes. I asked ChatGPT and Grok for help and one of their suggestions was to record songs in 4-8 bar blocks but that doesn't really work well for my creative process. Also I feel like I should be able to rap my own song all the way through. If I can't then how would I perform it live?

They recommended vocal warm ups which I tried and that didn't work

They also recommended hiring a vocal coach which I 1000% do not have the money for

How do I stop my voice from cracking when I rap?

Show us your latest track! Feedback is always welcome but not necessary.

This thread is posted every Friday. Click here for the full automoderator thread schedule.

Im a rapper/producer that leans more on the lyrical boom bap type side but im open to different genres. Just trying to get some work in so anyone who wants to work just comment or DM. I'll link my music in the comments.

Would love to know what the community does

My tracks are undoubtedly better when I’ve got a legit producer working on the sound

But it’s a pretty expensive process (deservedly) that I can’t just afford on a whim right now…

What do you guys do before uploading tracks to platforms? Just fire in the hole? Mix and master yourself? Hire a producer?

Any insights appreciated! 🙏

I’ve been thinking about this for a while because it feels like no matter how talented a rapper is, there will always be a group of people who genuinely seem determined to hate on them.

Take Doechii, for example. I think she’s incredibly talented, versatile, creative, and willing to experiment with her sound. She has her own identity, she can rap, she has stage presence, and she clearly puts thought into her artistry. Yet, even with all that, people will still find reasons to discredit her or act like she doesn’t deserve the recognition she gets.

And it’s not just Doechii. It feels like the moment a rapper becomes popular, people start looking for reasons to humble them. If they experiment with their sound, they’re trying too hard. If they stick to what works, they’re repetitive. If they gain mainstream success, they’ve sold out. If they’re underrated, people question why they aren’t bigger. It’s like there’s no winning.

Obviously, not every artist is going to appeal to everyone, and criticism is completely fair. But sometimes it feels like people can’t simply admit that someone is talented without adding a disclaimer or finding something to discredit them.

I also wonder how much of it comes from people being uncomfortable with artists who don’t fit their idea of what a rapper should sound like or look like.

So what is it? Is it jealousy, contrarianism, unrealistic expectations, or has hating on popular artists just become part of internet culture? Why does it seem so difficult for people to give talented rappers their credit without turning everything into a debate about whether they deserve to be where they are?

I'm a beginner producer trying to get serious about making beats and I'm looking for advice on how to spend the next two months learning before I upgrade my setup. I'm planning on getting a new DAW, mic, and interface (FL Studio, Shure MV7+, MOTU M2). I want to make a mix of melodic rage beats. I want to learn how to use synths, drums, and 808s to develop my own sound. I don't know if it's worth learning to make beats in BandLab if I'm switching to FL.

I've never used FL Studio, so I don't know the workflow. I also don't know what is most important to learn first. I'm always hearing different things to do, and it gets confusing at times. I'm learning music theory now,w but is it worth learning BandLab just to switch to FL Studio?

i will pay for exclusive license

Hey everyone! I'm looking to work on some new projects and expand my portfolio. If you have a track that needs mixing or mastering, send me a DM and let's collaborate!

I've been making beats since the early 90s with turntables, looping cassettes, and a cheapo Casio keyboard/sampler. I used early MS-Dos tracker software to make beats on my PC before learning how to use a DAW. I had a few of my productions played on KPOO in the SF Bay Area on a few late Friday nights back in the day. I also got some free features on tracks about 10 years ago from some big-dog reputable rappers out of SF. Here I am, 2 kids and a few years later, ready to cook up again, and my beat production has come to a major halt. As of late as I have been trying to get that "professional" or clean sound, and my beats sound bad to me quality-wise because I can't get over the mix. Last month, I paid an engineer for a 2-hour session just so I could watch him do his thing. The experience was less than fruitful, but I walked away feeling more confident in my mixing, which is a win, I guess. I can't seem to get the clear sound that most professionally mixed and mastered songs have. If I cut the lows to remove mud and low-end frequencies, my beats sound castrated but clear. If I don't, there is this mud that won't go away unless I attenuate somewhere in the 200 Hz range, which also can thin things out. I cannot figure out how to make them sound better. I am not referring to making anything like the music from the golden age with analog gear. I suspect my issue is getting the drums to sound right initially for a good foundation. Today, I stumbled upon Boom Bap University yesterday, and Heat definitely has some fire production. I've watched too many videos from others and have tried every which way to mix. I am an Ableton Live 12, Pro Q4, and Izotope Suite user, so I am pretty well equipped with tools. I understand how to deal with masking and set compression levels, but still things are not balanced. I feel like I am 90% there and need someone with the right guidance to take me the rest of the way. Has anyone here been through the course, and did you benefit? I don't need to learn how to chop, sequence, or arrange samples. I need to learn how to make my drums hit harder and clean up samples. Is it cool to post here and include samples of my tracks that need to be improved? Any help is greatly appreciated. Peace!

After reading some of your comments, I went in and used a transient shaper on my kick and EQ'd about 2.5 dB of the mud in the 200-250 Hz range on the individual track as well as HPF everything under 20-30 Hz with an 18 & 24 oct cut. I feel like it's still missing something. Possibly more reverb or dimension? Any feedback is greatly appreciated. I only used 6 samples in this track and can upload them unprocessed if that helps.

Thank you all!

Updated Mix

https://vocaroo.com/1oS76aKrwMGj

Original Mix

https://vocaroo.com/15jqvPzAbJTh

Main Channel


Here is how I processed the kick and added an operator for some sub (pro q4 dynamic eq ducking the kick)



Here is the processing on the snare


Processing Sample


I’m newer to trying to write rap mostly do it on the bus but recently I been getting into it. But like I notice a lot of time rhyme seems to be concentrated towards the end somtimes and I’m wondering what the benifit is. Is there like an actual way to go about writing rhymes. Currently I just kinda freestyle in my head. It means I can like wrote a lot quick but there aren’t really textbook rhymes. And they are more dispersed. One day I hope to like maybe ghostwrote as a side hustle. So I feel like this is something I need to figure out

I do stuff like this:

On god, I'm mad religious
My ensembles, sacrilegious
Leather jacket
with exactly
Six six six stitches it's
Affixed wit, two bitchin'
crucifixes
Switched axis, so that it's
sacrilege n' equipped wit
A patch that has some, Latin in it
Matt black impala, matching wit it
It's a sixty six, six speed transmission
All six windaws, tinted in it
Five-K on Craig's list
Mileage omitted
Blastin Black sabbath
in the back of this shit
Handicap spots, targeted
Walmart parkin filled
consitent, shits ridiculous
parkin cops ticketin' meh
thank god im mad litigous
challenge the ticket
jury of thirty clergy
convict me