What could be the characteristics of the 90's rap flow?

Yo! What’s up everyone. I come to you today after a long week of analysis paralysis. I’ve spent hours chatting with chatgpt and going in and out of guitar center playing all of the keyboards and for the life of me I cannot choose.

The workflow I’m aiming for:

Live bass and keyboard into audio interface. Audio interface into mpc x Produce track there. Export to ableton to mix and send to my engineer for mastering.

I’ve been making the move from sample based to writing my own productions, essentially using the mpc as a looper and sequencer to do my arrangements.

I’ve played keys for quite some time and I’m tired of MIDI, I want a piece of hardware as I transition to a DAWless approach (aside from mixing), hence the ability to plug right into the mpc and not rely on VSTs for sounds.

I typically make boom bap, trap and some synth based experimental tracks with soul/jazz influence.

What keyboards do you recommend? Fantom? Juno? Modx? Astrolab (even though that’s technically vst)? Kross?

HELP ME. Don’t worry about budget I’ll just work overtime.

I've been producing for a bit using BandLab and GarageBand, but I haven't gotten to recoding yet. I just wanna know if there are better options for me to go to before I start recording. Thanks for the help!

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Tired of all this copy and paste rap now a days. Who’s got them real bars. Sending out free beats.

I want to incorporate live drums into my production, and while I can play on a kit, purchasing the kit, sound gear, and acoustic treatment isn't something I can afford. So I'm wondering which VSTs can get me good sounding drum breaks. Tympo was recommended to me, but I've heard about others such as EZdrummer and Addictive drums that also seem good so im not sure which is the best investment.

How to make melodies with more bounce

Hey guys,

I am a Maschine+ user and the one thing I struggle with is making melodies that make beats energetic and danceable. I am primarily trying to make trap beats in the style of Travis Scott and Metro.

When I lay out my drums, it sounds pretty energetic. But the second I try to layer on chord progressions or individual melody notes, the beat just takes on this slow moodiness and loses all its bounce. I don’t know if I am messing up something with the instrumentation or the rhythm, but I cannot get anything to sound bouncy.

I’ve tried watching YouTube tutorials, but they are almost all in FL studio and seem to be a lot of random mouse dragging with chords, with no real explanation of what they are trying to accomplish. If possible, I want to be able to work primarily on the device and on my midi keyboard, but achieve the same energy.

I think in general, I am a bit confused about a lot of things. what a chord progression really is, how it differs from a melody, do you need both, are they supposed to be different instruments, which creates the bounce, how should it interact with the drums, how do you create the bounce, etc, etc. And the more YouTube I watch, the more confused I end up.

Anyone else have this struggle? Any thoughts on what I may be missing?

just curious.

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Hello, this is my first time doing this. I have been thinking of making a mixtape/project with a specific sound in R&B. I am trying to go for a dark rnb sound. My friends and I are all music lovers and make music in different ways, I have been writing rough draft songs mostly for myself to make my own songs since I have been told I can sing pretty well (though I'm still new to it all). My friends produce beats but don't make the sound I'm looking for so I'm seeking for other producers who's willing to develop a project with me; and hopefully grow together if they have a similar vision as me. I'm aiming to go for an experimental dark rnb inspired by the sound of trip hop and dreampop with a bit of old school hiphop & rnb. As much as I love dark rnb from other smaller artists, a lot of it is inspired by trap/electronic while I want to try to use different genre samples to bring to this project. A major inspiration or blueprint that gave me this idea of creating a specific rnb is House Of Balloons by The Weeknd; his debut project, generally produced by Illangelo. If you are familiar with Trilogy, you would know the kind of sound I'm talking about that Illangelo made in the beginning of their career. I have written several songs and would be the vocalist, what I'm looking for is someone, a small producer who can see my vision and help develop it together.

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Repost from r/OCD, posting it here because it relates to making music (hip-hop). If anything written here sounds funny to you, that's cool, but laugh and move on. You don't understand my issues, there are things much deeper than this but this is one of them and I consider it pretty big since it's blocking me from my passion. My head is weird, but these are my thoughts and this is my reality, and no, I can't just shake it off on some normal person shit, but I do want to hear a rational persons response to this, or advice...

The worst thing about OCD is probably the fact that sometimes you agree with what it's saying or see sense in it. Idk if this is what I'm feeling right now, but this is pretty much how my mind works

So, over the years, I've made some music. 5 originals songs and 2 covers in 2020, I deleted all those songs, then I recorded another 2 covers in 2021, I deleted those too, and then 2022 I recorded 1 original song (that I considered my first official song) and I re-recorded all the covers I originally recorded in 2020 and 2021.I thought the 6 2022 recordings were never going to be deleted, but they were, again.

I want to start making music and start releasing it and progressing, but my mind won't let me. I'm trying to think how to write this cause I don't even know. Basically, I want to have all my past songs recorded. Which means I gotta re-record them all. 11 songs in total, 6 original songs and 5 covers, as stated earlier. The problem is however, if I do this, that's all I can do for the rest of the year. If I do this I can't record any new original songs in the year that the re-recordings were recorded in.

So, if I was to rerecord all those songs in 2025, that's all I could do for the rest of 2025, I couldn't make completely new songs in 2025. However, if I re-recorded everything in December 2024, I could go into the new year with every song I did in the past and therefore move on and make new songs in 2025.

So you might be like, "So why don't you re-record the songs in December, or even the days left in November?". Well, again OCD reasons that are hard to deal with it, that are not even music related (my room isn't cleaned, I have some unfinished stuff in my computer documents, I have to clean/factory reset my phone and laptop, I have to shave etc... Umm, idk if you noticed but none of those are related to music, yet still pose a problem to me because of my mind).

Then you might be asking, "Soo.. why can't you do both in 2025? Re-record all your past songs + make new songs." Well, that's the part. I don't know. I don't know what is the sense in that, but that's kinda the problem, because I don't really understand it, but I kinda agree with it, or see something in it, even if I don't want to. But I think it has to do something with the year of the recordings (duh) being associated with the recordings, meaning like if somebody was to ask me when was this song recorded, and the rerecorded songs and newly recorded songs would be in the same year, it would be wrong for whatever reason.

Does this make sense to anybody? Should I stick to this (lol)? How do I get rid of this? Can you talk me out of it, or help me somehow?

If you want to you can ask me any questions if something isn't clear.

Can you share some resources for learning to rap in Spanish? I’m native but have only done English)

Will everything from English work the same?

Hi all! I have one of my brothers for Christmas who has been creating some sick beats over the past year. He plays just about every instrument out there, but has some portable machine (??) he carries around to make the beats/songs. I’m looking to spend around $100 give or take, but am so clueless when it comes to this. Any gift ideas from people who also make beats?? Thank you!!!

Does anyone know how to do this with their voice or know a group they could record? I am looking to add a chant to a song around the artist similar to squabble up - kendrick lamar at 1 min 33 sec

If someone can get that sound and send it to me (I will send the song for reference and recording) I would greatly appreciate - I would be happy to pay whatever someone felt appropriate

Thanks! Would be royalty free for my use

For everyone here, I’ve got a question that’s been on my mind:

What does the process of making a great song look like to you? • Do you see it as laying down the perfect beat first, or does it start with a melody or lyric idea? • Are you drawing inspiration from visuals, life experiences, or even abstract feelings? • How do you balance creativity with technical aspects like mixing and mastering? • What’s your studio (or non-studio) process—sketching ideas on paper, jamming, or meticulously piecing things together?

Every artist’s process is different, but I’d love to hear how you visualize or approach creating something truly impactful. Whether you’re making songs for radio, personal projects, or just experimenting, let’s break down the look of greatness.

Drop your thoughts, tips, or even a quick story about your most memorable creative session. Let’s inspire each other!

Would you say it’s best for rappers to just make music their passionate about or should they focus on making some hits?

How do you know that a song is going to be a hit?

What makes a hit song?

Yo, I need someone to drop a hook on a west coast hip hop song i’m doin. I was thinkin we could make it some nate dogg type shit but whatever works best is fine.

Requirements are to just have a decent mic and someone who’s serious about music.

The Results for FTC 24 are in!!

Thank you to everyone who entered, there were some great submissions, loved listening to all your beats:}

The winner of FTC 24 is u/DirtPlayful277 with this beat, congratulations! where are we going - Prod. MilkyWayzz (made in 15 minutes lol)_3.mp3 - Google Drive

You get the prize of picking a sample and orchestrating the next FTC

Hi! I’m looking for hip hop that’s great at rhyming but has an optimistic message and isn’t just talking about sex drugs and money.

Common ass rant but that's all I wanted to say. I make one good beat every 3 months and then write gibberish and it sucks. It's like when I wanna write I have no beats to do so and when I finally have a beat I lose the ability to write.

I’ve made so many beats in the last 6 months and all I need to do is write lyrics and rap, which is difficult but I’m learning. I just wanted to know what encourages you to publish a song? I’m not sure why I’m so nervous to, because I know it isn’t the greatest and I will get some hate but I also know it’s pretty fricking good for my level.

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.

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

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Im a Boom Bap producer out of Australia and i'm looking to expand outside of my bubble. I work with some very talented MCs but Im wanting to spread my wings and build ma more international network.

IG: taco_bellinger

I've always felt like my rapping had been too similar to Em and Kendrick, but my friends tell me that it's not, and now I'm conflicted on whether it is. What can I do to tell if I am biting and how to stop?

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I’m a Midwest rapper from Naptown. And I’m looking for someone that might have a catalog I could peep. I’m more interested in 90s boom bap type beats Think like: Started something-DMX No AirPlay-LL Cool J A lot of songs from the High & the mighty🙏 Tical and Tical 2000-method man

Really I’m looking for someone mad creative with sampling, scratches and stuff like that. And I like dark sounding type stuff. I always try to make music but most beats I end up with sound to new. I want that feeling of hearing a song I know, but it sounds so different because it was flipped so tightly 🙏 idk if this makes sense but let’s talk and see if we can click🙏🙏

Any good or bad experiences?

Hi, even though Serato Sample handles syncing my sample to my project's tempo, it speeds up or slows down the sample. For example, if my project's at 140 BPM but my sample's at 90 BPM, it’ll speed it up. How can I fix/play around with that? Thanks.