Hiphop / rap chord progressions

InnocentM

New member
Hey. I've just starting writing some beats but I'm finding that most of the time, the only chord progression that fits is Cm, G# then back to Cm again, assuming the song is in Cm.

I guess all songs should be unique but are there any standard rap chord progressions that I'm missing out on? Cheers :)
 
ima give you a straight answer.

there arent any "hip hop" chord progressions.

Really.

Because hip hop came out of other forms of music, its almost uniquely derivative. Everything that exists in hip hop (for the most part) existed somewhere else.

that said, there are some good funk progressions that have been used a lot, but i dont know them. lol

tell me if im wrong....
 
InnocentM said:
Hey. I've just starting writing some beats but I'm finding that most of the time, the only chord progression that fits is Cm, G# then back to Cm again, assuming the song is in Cm.

Hip hop is like most urban music. The progressions are simple. In the key of Cmin, Cmin->Gmin would be a i-v (1-5) progression which is very common. Sticking with Cmin progressions, i-V (c-G7), i-iv (c-f), i-iv-V (c-f-G7), ii-V-i (d-G7-c), i-VI-iv-V (c-Ab-f-G7), and i-VI-ii-V (c-Ab-d-G7) are all pretty common.

Note: The ii chords are diminished (root - minor 3rd - minor 5th).

I guess all songs should be unique but are there any standard rap chord progressions that I'm missing out on? Cheers :)
You'd be surprised how similar a lot of songs from the same genre are. Just in diferent keys.

Standard? Well, hip hop took a lot from funk music. Try any of the above. They should sound familiar.
 
in my opinion,.bump the norm.and put down the tunes as they come to you in the key that they come to you.regardless of the genre peace
 
tungtung couldn't be any more right, a lot of cats out there are starvin because they wanna sound industry, or want the industry sound. There is no such thing as industry. I've seen a track consisting of drums and a bassline and not a hint of chords leads, melodies, progressions or any of that stuff take people to the top, so whatever comes to your head can very well be industry. I'm not a music guru or anything, but the other cat is also right, there is more sampling done today than creative process itself so do yo thing man.
 
Sporence said:
tungtung couldn't be any more right, a lot of cats out there are starvin because they wanna sound industry, or want the industry sound. There is no such thing as industry. I've seen a track consisting of drums and a bassline and not a hint of chords leads, melodies, progressions or any of that stuff take people to the top, so whatever comes to your head can very well be industry...
A bassline can form the progression all by itself. Chords are not necessary. Obviously, I don't know what track you're referring to, but if it had vocals, they were the lead. So, this track you're referring to did have at least one, if not more of "that stuff".

I'm not suggesting conforming to anything, but there are certain elements of a song that place it in a genre. So, If you want to make music in a particular genre, it helps to know how to create the sound.

InnocentM didn't ask how to sound like the rest of the industy, he asked about an element of hip hop.
 
im so dumb when it comes to all the chord names

i just know them by where i put my fingers lol


therefore i am useless to this conversation
 
Ok Bezo we appreciate your concern for the young man, we were all giving him tips on the same issue. However a big issue with upcoming producers is whether or not they sound like whats hot and new, when they might have it sittin in their studio. You were a little more elaborate with your answer but a tip here and there, whether its dead on or small little pointers helps. You ended your post in a matter of fact type manner. And I'm not a genius at this stuff but I'd just like the young man to know that all hiphop hits are not heavily embedded with chords and progressions and a particular type of anything. It can sometimes depend on the way the artist carry the beat. I'm lettin him know from this end that while it is a very intricate part of any musical genre and not just rap, that he shouldn't get caught up on a certain thing, just to find his nitch, which is a lot more important the f*ckin standard, I'd rather be the best at what I know than blend in with the standard. I apologize for my humble, meager, inputs. Oh yeah dude, nothin is standard any where, you have generic, and creative, you have people that sound like the previous 200 top charters, and people who bring a completely different look. Oh and as per your comment about certain elements
of a song that place it in a genre, maybe 20 years ago, but not today. You have country singers doin songs with hiphop stars, pop singers rappin, heavy metal and rock heavily integrated with hiphop. THE STANDARD CAN BE WHATEVER OLE BOY PUT OUT TOMMOROW so please dude relax. Take One. And you were as vague as everyone else, I didn't see any notes or chords.
 
My apologies Bezo you did give some examples, and double my apologies if you were not bein an arrogant, pompous, little prick. I was offering some advice and while not being a direct answer it could've answer a bigger queston and possbly avoided an even bigger problem. You did try to help and I see that, but we're all here to help, and while I don't have 400 plus posts on here, I do know that lil small things tend to be the biggest problems. So try to be a little easier on other peoples post.
 
Yeah dude I apologized already, if ole dude was in fact tryin to get me to stick to the issue. The way he ended his posts just seemed a little fragrant thats it, his point was already served and the very last part of it seemed over the top. If I blew it out of proportion I did and do apologize. There are people who like to come here and flaunt 100 years of music theory and try to make other peoples opinions seem miniscule. Thats all it was. No ones gettin emotional man Relax.
 
for all you that wanna know about chords go to any music store and pic up the chord dictionary, it shows you all the chords.
 
Thanks Bezo, great help! I can appreciate the point that sticking to certain chords when writing music may always point my music in a certain direction but thats really what I want.

My music (if a bit rarely) is played for a young audience into popular RnB and Crunk etc. I want to get people on the dancefloor and having fun while listening to my music. Thats what I want to achieve.

Any songs that don't need or fit certain chords won't have them. Even if a chord pattern can be identified, I don't need to play it though the song. I can use the intervals to create a melody or arpeggiate them to create a bassline for example.

It's interesting to see what sounds and moods you can create whilst sticking to certain rules.

As much as I put my own quite unique mark on songs, I feel that you cannot disregard genre when appealing to a certain audience.

I realise that I'm not hardcore or old-school but I'm doing what I like doing, regardless of the 'industry'. Many thanks for the helpful input everyone!
 
Last edited:
ive found that alotta hip hop stuff is in the key of E or D sometimes G but of course im not a true musician..but i did stay at a holiday in express last night :)
 
Cm is my favorite key to work in. I find that my fingers just fall into place in that key most times. There are lots of chord progressions to use but, more often than not, I'll end up using no chord progressions and just allowing the bassline to play a melody in the Cm blues scale.
 
Back
Top