Mainstream tracks so easy?

Cameron Thomas

Cameron Thomas

New member
I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this. I mainly produce underground sounding beats. I use alot of samples, dirty drums, gritty s**t you know? Well my upstairs neighbor raps. I was lucky enough to get an apartment under a dude who'd understand why I make so much noise in my second bedroom. He asked me to throw him a beat. He's more of a southern style rapper. Which isn't really my thing. What I'm charging for tracks now was well above his budget but he's my neighbor and it was worth it for me to throw him a track just cause he never complains about the music. I usually take around a few days to do a track. A day for production a day for sequencing and a day for mixing and mastering. I wanted to get his track out the way a.s.a.p. cause I had some artists coming in to record. His track took me around 2 hours to do start to finish and it sounds like lil Jon's sh*t on his best day. Dude loved it. So today I started messing around with more mainstream type beats and these tracks are ridculously easy. Why is that? I'm thinking about taking another alias and selling these tracks to make so money to fund my other projects. Kind of conflicting to me though because I don't really like supporting talentless artists but it would put me in a better position of power. Anyone else understand why these type of tracks are so easy?
 
music that isnt too complicated has mass appeal, hence it being mainstream. I'm sure a lot of producers feel the same way, Scott storch could probably lay down some way more complicated piano melodies and chords, but he limits himself to sell to the mainstream.
 
The Neptunes can bring thier skills up when they want,but they can make the simplest weakest beats I ever heard too.
Drop it like it's hot would have been laughed at if someone put a beat like that in a beat thread.
Weak drums,and almost no instrumentation at all.
They did a beat for clipse a while back that was all drums too.Some guys at another messege board that owned a triton said all the sounds for that song were in a single drum kit,and that they could easily replicate the track to a tee.
It's about money in comrecial hiphop.Not to say that good hiphop cannot be comercial,but alot of it is aimed at clubs,and trunks,not to be picked apart to get props from no names like us around here lol.
 
You guys are only talking about the techniques behind those tracks. After a few years of practice almost everybody with a little talent can do a good sounding beat. But nobody cares about it if the idea ain`t tight!!! You got to bring something new to make yourself a big name like the neptunes!
 
Buddha said:
Artists that do mainstream music are not necessarily talentless.
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you know anyone is open to the underground music game,but I always had this understanding that if its main streamed they're signed artist and must be good enough for airplay.






Dreaminginstereo
 
you make beats that sound like lil johns on his best day? you say your upstairs neighbor raps from the south but he aint really got no talent? you gave him a hook up on your normal rates? all that tell me is you still stay in apartment- some po ass apartments at that cause your neighbor cant even afford your cheap beats. and oh yeah the walls is thin too. you aint gotta lie to kick it cuz. houston nigga
 
Egopanic said:
You got to bring something new to make yourself a big name like the neptunes!
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Thats true. I remember when the neptunes said they were new and shopping beats, everyone told them their beats were weak cuz it was different from the mainstream at the time.
 
you make beats that sound like lil johns on his best day? you say your upstairs neighbor raps from the south but he aint really got no talent? you gave him a hook up on your normal rates? all that tell me is you still stay in apartment- some po ass apartments at that cause your neighbor cant even afford your cheap beats. and oh yeah the walls is thin too. you aint gotta lie to kick it cuz. houston nigga
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Wtf is your deal? Bad day? Yeah I live in an apartment and what the hell would I be lying about. Po ass apartments....lol Their aren't really any "po ass" apartments in Ann Arbor Michigan. I pay $1118 a month so they are pretty decent. I can get a mortgage for less but I move almost on a yearly basis. The upstairs neighbor can't afford my tracks because his wife works and he doesn't and last time I checked most apartments are no where near sound proof. You talkin all this sh*t but you probably still stay with mom's. Get off my d*ck B*tch =)
 
Hey nothing wrong with that. You're probably a little younger than I am too. Everyone's gotta start somewhere. I used to stay in a small studio apartment when I was 18 rent was like $400 but if I could have found something for $250 I would have jumped on it...lol Only way you are getting something for $250 a month in Michigan is if you move to Detroit and Detroit's not really my kinda city. I used to have a place on the East Side of Detroit. Real nice place and only $500 a month but the people in Detroit are kinda rigid. Just not my steez.
 
on the cool though i got a house off hwy 6 in houston, tx. its just me my wife and my two kids so miss me with that mamma shyt. and you aint gotta clean up your story for me though. i just read between the lines thats all.
 
Seriously I could care less about where you live, what you drive, the ammount of money you make or the jewels you wear. Let me guess you're a pretty big follower of mainstream rap music? I could live in a cardboard box. Give me an mpc and some headphones and the **** I'd make would still be bangin. You wanna brag? brag about something that has to do with production. Some kind of accomplishment and be able to back your **** up cause right now you sound to me like a weak wanna be producer who needs to boost his own ego due to lack of confidence. Oh and you got a house too...lol
 
Off topic...but...

$ 250...? $ 400...? You guys are lucky out there !! One bedroom studios will run you about $ 1100 + up here...and thats about average !
 
out of interest....if I was to get a flat (appartment) could i make a room soundproof to the point that its almost inaudible from outside the room?
Maybe thats a longshot..but how much would something close to what im saying cost?
 
Cameron Thomas said:
I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this. I mainly produce underground sounding beats. I use alot of samples, dirty drums, gritty s**t you know? Well my upstairs neighbor raps. I was lucky enough to get an apartment under a dude who'd understand why I make so much noise in my second bedroom. He asked me to throw him a beat. He's more of a southern style rapper. Which isn't really my thing. What I'm charging for tracks now was well above his budget but he's my neighbor and it was worth it for me to throw him a track just cause he never complains about the music. I usually take around a few days to do a track. A day for production a day for sequencing and a day for mixing and mastering. I wanted to get his track out the way a.s.a.p. cause I had some artists coming in to record. His track took me around 2 hours to do start to finish and it sounds like lil Jon's sh*t on his best day. Dude loved it. So today I started messing around with more mainstream type beats and these tracks are ridculously easy. Why is that? I'm thinking about taking another alias and selling these tracks to make so money to fund my other projects. Kind of conflicting to me though because I don't really like supporting talentless artists but it would put me in a better position of power. Anyone else understand why these type of tracks are so easy?
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Before i respond to this please explain to me what the difference is between a underground and mainstream beat? I thought a beat was a beat no matter what you used in it..
 
Well yeah I guess I'm somewhat stereotyping but I guess what I would consider to be a mainstream beat would be something that gets radio play. About soundproofing a flat or apartment. You can dampen sound but you'll never get it sound proof. Sound proofing is done from the floor up and you are talking alot of money to sound proof even a small room. It's expensive to even dampen the sound in a room if it is done right.
 
just because it gets play on the radio that don't mean that they are mainstream. i got beats playin on different local talent spots on the radio and i doubt that they go further than my city.. so that underground to me. you still need to have a way for people to hear your music..
 
MACKone said:
Off topic...but...

$ 250...? $ 400...? You guys are lucky out there !! One bedroom studios will run you about $ 1100 + up here...and thats about average !
Click to expand...

I feel your pain bro. $1500/mo. here. I work, eat, sleep and make beats.
 
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