Group Discussion: Making an Album (with a rapper)

[DJJB]

I have been in a rut with the overall progress of an album I am currently working on, featuring one of my friends as the rapper. He is going to have one or two songs with random features but I'll be producing the whole album (we are tight, he wants me to do it all so its a "we did it" thing).

We have both been growing and expanding in our separate crafts, I've been more consistent and knowledgeable with 360 producing, and I've been teaching him a few things that help my process... and he has lyrically come a far way in the past few years. Where we are stuck in the mud is communication and unified expression.

I'll admit it my style is not very commercial or standard, so I've been stepping out of my comfort zone on this project. He (of course) wants a few young money style beats, a few "40" beats, and generally just "hot ass" tracks. I'm a lot more instrumental, experimental, beats with emotion type vibe... so its killin me making catchy/simple stuff.

My main question/dilemma is the fact that as a rapper he can't explain what he wants (very well) and as a producer I'm having trouble keeping it simple, and creating the sound he likes. Its hard to make bangers consistently and make it simple without sounding cheezy.

Quick Poll: In album projects do you sit in the studio with the rapper your working with and make beats on the spot for them? or do you have beats ready to go and let them pick out the gems?

WHAT IS YOUR WORK PROCESS?

Any tips on leaping out of my comfort zone and ending up with hot "radio ready" tracks?

 

[MrJames851]

when I first started coming to the studio I made beats in the studio but that stopped soon cause it cost enough of my money to get the artists in there that i needed them recording ... then in my 3rd & 4th years of college, I had an unofficial roommate who rapped & did a little production, that was prob one of my biggest development periods, getting to know what I liked & what he liked & working on music, not necessarily in his face all the time, sometimes we'd be listening to some songs, having a conversation, watching The Boondocks, etc. & I might start on a beat & he'll step out to smoke & come back and start something, or he'd bring in some of his beats & I'd remake them in a more practical way

as far as making commercial sounding stuff, I say just study the sound that he likes, try it out, & check it with him, it will come from repetition & just doing it over and over you'll start to pick it up & you'll prob bring your own feel to it