Confused about my style of beats

SORRI DENTE

SORRI DENTE

New member
I know title is weird but anyway.
I 've been producing hip hop beats for 2 years now and I've made some solid beats. My problem is that I still haven't found what I want to make. I mean I might make a Joey Badass type beat and the next day an illmind type beat and the list goes on.
However most producers I admire have a certain style (lets say dre, primo, marco polo etc) so that when u hear the beat u know it's his beat even if u haven't read it.
So how many years did it take you to be sure of what you want to produce?
 
Great question! Keep in mind is that everything is a remix of everything. So, when you make a "Joey Badass" type beat you are actually making a Sorri Dente beat with Joey Badass influences. Same thing with your "!llmind" beat.

On another note, your style will predominately be influenced by what your preferences are in regards sound selection/design and mixing. For example, Lil Jon uses the same synth on every beat. Dr. Dre uses piano and strings on every beat. J Dilla highpassed his hi-hats way up the spectrum on nearly every beat. You will also have a hard time finding a Timbaland beat without some kind of African drums in it.

To find your signature sound, try to limit your options to a small number (you pick whatever that number is) of instruments, drum samples and patches that speak to you and master them (not master engineering, but get ready good at using them to the best of your ability). Then mix these elements to your taste. Your preferences will change over time, but you have to start somewhere.

You are only 2 years deep, so you got a lot of room to find that sound. It took Dr. Dre many years to sound like Dr. Dre. Go listen to the original Chronic then Listen to 2001. Big difference.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion. I would like to see what others have to say. Hope this helps or at least makes you see things a little different.
 
I still ask myself that question, but i just make the type of beats i feel like making. I prefer sampling, making that soulful boom bap, kind of like 9th Wonder. But then, one day i just may feel like making a trap beat, which is completely opposite sound, or i would just start composing some melodies and go from there. I understand what you mean and it really is great to have your own style of beats that people will recognize you for, especially for marketing yourself. It would be easier for you to target certain type of rappers and it would also make it easier for them to find you, i guess. However, i say don't think about it that much because you will only block your creativity. If you can do beats of many different styles than do it. You will be able to work with more artists and create more great opportunities for yourself.
 
I've been producing for a similar amount of time to you, maybe longer and I don't know if my music has a specific signature style but people have told me that most of the time they can tell if it's my beat. I think the key is to not think about it too much. You might already have your own style but just don't realise it yourself.
For example; I've been told I use shakers a lot and I didn't even notice until someone pointed it out to me and that's probably the same for other aspects of my beats. Though it's not just small things like that, a lot of it will have to do with the type of samples you choose to flip, the way you flip them, the scales you choose to work in, the chords you use etc.

So what I'm saying is I don't think you can willingly create your own style, it just kinda happens. It's just about getting creative and making whatever happens, taking influence from others but trying not to copy.
 
I feel similar. Tried to copy kanye and dilla so many times but it always ends up like some offbeat tribal mess whether slow or fast, lol.
 
Personally I would say just make whatever you feel like making, and don't let any thoughts of "I should lean towards this style for the sake of consistency" influence what you do. That's my own opinion, though.
 
Thanks everyone for the detailed answers!

I guess it's too soon to worry about it right now...I will keep making beats that I feel I wanna make and leave everything else aside...anyway thanks
 
What you're currently doing is (whether subconsciously or not) actually quite a shrewd move. It enables you to work with MCs across the genre but also allows them to experiment with other styles when working with you... It's something you can market.
I'm set on BoomBap... I don't get anywhere near as hyped if I make anything else but that definitely limits the MCs I can work with successfully...
Working the way you do... That limitation isn't an issue... Run with it.
 
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The most interesting music - in my experience - tends to come from people who have the widest range of influences/least amount of self-categorizing. Let others do the genre-fying if they feel the need to & just do what you feel like doing.
 
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