Why SIMPLE Beats Land MAJOR Placements

This is why i feel its better to work directly with artists and create together in the room

Honestly I've taken the Tyler, The Creator approach when it comes to my own music, I'll add what I want in my music cause i know what world i want to create in my own music. But when it comes to working with artists i take myself out of the equation to best help the artist with what they want to create.

Simple beats are good for two reasons: 1. Gives the lyrics more space to shine 2. If you have one particularly catchy element in the beat, like a drum loop, riff or melody, it stands out more when production is simple (think that beat Pharrell did for Clipse that we all did on the desk back in the day)

Sound selection is key!! The beat doesn't always need all the sounds to make it a "hit." It's a feeling family. That feeling is what you always want to aim for. Otherwise beats become repetitive and boring.

I been saying keep it simple for YEARS!!! I've never tried to impress other producers. I just make my style of beats and stay in my lane.

If you study music with intention I think the concept of space for an artist clicks easier.

"It don't need more sounds. It needs you to make more sound decision making" 👏that's a mf bar if I ever did hear one

Top beatmakers have a guy like Mike Dean doing their mastering, and Mike Dean works with enough PC RAM to run SkyNet. 4 minutes beats is outta the question for me.

Rio's beat didn't take just 4 minutes. It was the cumulative effect of all the time he had spent honing his craft up till that point. Like he said, he wouldn't have been able to make the simple beats if not for the skillset established when going through his phase of complexity. Too often we focus on the end result and ignore the work it took for someone to get to that level. Jay-z may be able to come up with a verse in his head in record time but he'd been rapping for decades before his 1st album dropped. Anyway, great content as always 🙏🏿

Another dope episode. Simplicity & minimalism is making a comeback especially with Hip-Hop being 50 it’s like a renaissance. All those early, foundational records we all love are fundamentally simple at their core.

"the power of saying more, by saying less" - what a powerful statement bro 🔥

I’ve had that happen to me before too. The artist was writing while I was making the beat. He stopped it before I even added the bassline. He just wanted the sample with no drums. Sometimes, they hear it differently. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Bruh, this is exactly what I was experiencing. I was making simple beats normally and thought exactly what that 2nd guy said, now that I think about it, I was looking some movement like lyrics and I was choosing instruments like lyrics.. lol.. This was a deep one right here. Truth is, you know when a beat is done. Usually! Outstanding video. Makes you think..

This is exactly why everyone/everything sounds the same especially regarding “mainstream” music. Granted I come from a different era and grew up listening to groups like Frankie Beverly & Maze, Earth, Wind & Fire etc. No these are not “hip hop artists but these are artists that hip hop producers have sampled. I’m personally tired of the same 3 to 4 note melodies that cats brag about making in less than 10 minutes. None of this music is timeless and in a year most will have no replay value. I wonder if people think Sun Ra’s music is over-produced. I think producers should focus more on learning the art of arrangement because it makes a world of difference. But I’m an ole fogey, so there’s that lol.

Less is more is what I was taught early. So glad I follow that still.

Figuring out when to stop adding shit is so hard. Still learning this one

Producers hear the music and artist hear the words. We gotta learn to hear the words while we’re making the beats.

Yeah I like to build around the vocal

My quickest beats were original beats without samples, or with my favorite sampled drums. You make a melody and you go "hmm that's sounded alright". You add your favorite drums or any drum kit and you go "that's kind of aaight!"... A couple of sounds later and you have a little beat there. You never intended to make a beat but just wanted to see how that melody or bassline sounded.

Yeah that's probably one of the biggest drawbacks of the modern era bedroom at home producer man.... I remember the first I actually built a track with an artist or two and just the magic and completion that came from it. Most people dont have the opportunity to experience that because of how things are now. The process of creating things together helps develop the ear of NOT DOING TOO MUCH. Also years ago most hiphop was simple beats due to the limitation of the equipment used but it also placed more value in the artist or mc on the beat because when the beat is simple, people actually have space to listen to you and that is why the MC had to actually be saying something on the track lol.. you can't hide behind one of those beats 😂. I have to catch myself these days not getting caught up in DOING TO MUCH when I create alone. One of the most recent songs that I created without an artist was literally one of those "5 min beats" but it turned out dope! Simple beat, drums, chopped sample, filtered sample for the baseline, some drum fills and arrangement done... Left space for the group and that was that.