Hip Hop Beat Journals

Good Karma

2009-01-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, sorry i haven't blogged in a minute but nothing has really got me hyped up lately. Until last week when I heard that Mikkey Halsted has a new video called Karma. One of my homies from way back, Noah Banks, directed the video. i'm not sure who produced this, most likely NO I.D.
Any how, this beat is crazy, reminds me of the 2 Words beat by Kanye West off the College Dropout album. I'm kind of like a beat nerd, I want to say the sample from Karma is from The Meters...i'm not sure but the music sounds similar to the Hand Clapping song but maybe thats just me. Anyway it'll be fun digging to find this sample. So back to the track, why did Mikkey go so hard on it. I hope this is going to be on Chicago: The Photo Album. If it is, the album already has like 4 certified classics (I've heard 4 tracks so far that might be on the album by the way).

It's funny because Mikkey looks like he's about to take this thing over and Chicago is going to have to crown the uncrowned king. They say whatever is done in the dark will eventually come to light, it really looks like he is going to get the last laugh soon enough. Keep going Mikkey.

Speaking of hot beats, i'm sure we have all heard Robocop from Kanye's 808s and Heartbreak album. Beatwise, I think the album is super creative and tight, don't know about the singing because of all the auto-tune. Every man has his own way of doing things but I think he could have spit verses instead of singing on some songs. Turn around put some firey lyrics on the drum beat to Robocop and it'll be a sure fire hip hop classic. Say you Will off of the 808s album is a jammy too. What else is on my tiny brain...oh yea

Brooklyn we go hard! Kanye is putting out some really dope beats while he was doing his thing in Hawaii. People need to also understand if you are going to produce you have to listen to all music. I remember my brother Wood came home from his first semester at school bumping some Red Hot Chilli Peppers (can you even bump this? let's just say he was playing it loud). Me and Due ridiculed him tough on some get out the hood foolishness. Years later when he saw i was producing he said, you have to listen to everything because music is music. The dopest producers in hip hop have the craziest music libraries. Dr. Dre has to be on some wild stuff to find the sample to Bad Intentions. Same thing if you have ever heard the original to Big Pimpin. But its all diggin in the crates so to speak. Kanye lately has been diggin in the hipsters. M.I.A-Paper Planes joint, now the Santagold joint, Santagold has been climbing up since '05 ish but nobody well, not many on the hip hop scene know of her like that. But the Brooklyn joint features her and uses a song she has called Shove it
I'm out, until the next beat gets me going...

Whos on the beat

2008-11-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

Is Ne Yo's Miss Independent an R&B version of Flashy Lights or what? I like it a lot though. And my favorite joint right now is John Legend and Andre 3000 with Green Light. That's a jammy. Chris Brown's Forever is tight too, but it sounds a lot like Please don't stop the music from young Rihana...maybe its just me.

Flip side, I dont know man Scott Storch isn't doing it for me lately... the new 50 Cent jump off called Get Up is deso but not like 50's other club bangers. By the way; house music is back in full swing just about.

Stay tuned...

Uncrowned King

2008-09-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

I was at the release of Mikkey Halsted's mixtape Uncrowned King last night; listen the kid is back! The tape is dope opening with a joint called My Life using Jay-Z's Lost Ones beat...the vididness of the lyrics over the Dre beat is so cold and got you feelin like you grew up right there with him. Last night he performed a joint off the Chicago Photo Album which will be his debute LP i believe, I don't know the title of the song but he rocked two verses and Ms Criss jumped off the last verse, its crazy. I think he said NO I.D. produced in Hawaii with Kanye i'm not sure, but it is crazy sick. I think its called Fresh or something...madness. yes sir...oh yea, watch out for the joint Churches too.

Live shows

2008-07-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

Aight so last night I went out to see Shala aka Naija Boy...the show was dope. I heard his tracks on myspace the day before and really felt like whoever is producing him, is putting in crazy work because the sounds were banging. When I gets to the show, he also has a bass player, drummer and DJ playing with him. The played along with the tracks, it was cold. He also had a really hot background singer I think her name was Dacia. She was dope and the concept of the show really got me hyped. The band that was on before Shala was called Hey Champ; they were playing some electro dance stuff that was tooooooo sick. And this brought me back to what (Chicago) hip hop is and should be. Good music, fun times, lots of dancing without degrading ourself or our sisters.

On a down note, I missed DJ Falcon of Daft Crew spinning at Debonair Social Club last night....ahhh i'm gonna hate myself in the morning....wait, it is the morning I still love me. Big ups to Amunbeatz!!!!!!

DJ GQ

Chicago Music Producers

2008-07-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Chicago, nested along the great lake Michigan has one of the strongest musical histories that can compete with any city.

Until Kanye West, Chicago hasn't really received any notoriety for its musical producers. Which is a shame because Chicago is the home of Mike Dunn, Glen Underground and the Strickly Jazz Unit, Fast Eddie, the Molemen, NO I.D., 1120, and countless others who have laid some of the most classic house and hip hop tracks down. Needless to say, there is some difficulty being a music producer from Chicago.

For many of us, there are a variety of musical influences in our lives that shape what we like and create today. However, it is hard to be from Chicago and not listen to House music. I remember days of listening to WBMX and the crazy mixes although I cannot claim to be a House head because I was the kid that was listening to every single music that was out there. From what i'm told and hear from big name producers that is key to becoming a successful producer. Here are a few tips from me:

1. Listen to everything-some of your favorite tracks of all time are samples by artist nobody probably remembers let alone even know of. Example, how many people are well aquainted with the artist Kanye sampled in Jesus Walks? What about Xplosive by Dr. Dre?
2. Know your industry: crowd or target audience/know what's popular
3. Learn to DJ-This is important because it will help you find grooves and stuff that works musically. Also its important for your timing, and what sounds you use. You can have the best and most rare sample ever but if you have the sounds of a Casio from 1988 you probably won't go far.
4. Be you: get inspired but don't bite! Its perfectly fine to throw on some J Dilla, Rza, Dr. Dre or who ever to get you inspired to make music but don't get to the point where you just steal their ideas and steal their style. It always suprises me as dissappointing as it may be, when I hear a track on the radio that i've sampled before; it just lets me know to continue to do what I do and when my platform presents itself, i'll be ready.
5. Learn an instrument or at least how to read music. Obvious reasons...
6. Update your equipment when you grow out of your old equipment.

Question of the day; who's making hotter music in Chicago; north side, south side or the west side?