I'd start off with a good DAW ( Fl Studio, Ableton, Reason, Ect). Then get some good drum samples and VSTs. Also i'd invest in some studio monitors or a headset to get you started so you can actually hear the flat sound of what you're making
If you are going to stick with it long term, make sure to invest in some good monitors. I went cheap and regretted it later , especially when you start getting more into mixing and mastering.
everyone else is covering hardware so i will post one thing that helped me in the beginning. one piece of paper that acted as a mixdown GUIDELINE (notrule) that speaks volumes. google search this under images: A CLUB TRACKS FREQUENCY MAP.