Rappers Eminem and Royce da 5’9″ reunite as Bad Meets Evil to release Hell: The Sequel rap album. The artists got together again to “make being lyrical cool again.” Royce da 5’9″ has nothing against the southern influence on rap beats, but he and Eminem want to bring the genre’s lyrical edge back to the mainstream rap hits. In an interview earlier this month, Royce and Peter Parker said that rap had gone through a “non-lyrical phase” and the album is meant to move hip-hop forward.

Album Debuted On June 14

The album is a wide-ranging collaboration, but one thing it isn’t missing is lyrics. Currently the most popular song on the 11-track set is Lighters, featuring a truly remarkable, nearly non-stop stream of profanity from Eminem offset by the more mellow music of Bruno Mars. Another track, Fast Lane, is also receiving a lot of popular interest.

Eminem takes aim at Lady Gaga in one line from “Kiss,” saying “Tell Lady Gaga she can quit her job at the post office/She’s still a male lady.” He also gets in a jab at Justin Bieber, though Eminem says it’s all in fun. In fact, there isn’t a radio-ready song on Hell: The Sequel, and that’s just how the producers want it. In addition to featuring Bruno Mars, the album also features tracks with Mike Epps and Slaughterhouse. Otherwise, listeners are in for fast-paced rap beats and old-style hardcore lyrics. Bad Meets Evil is expected to top the Billboard charts and already occupies the number one album spot on iTunes.

If you’re interested in making your own rap beats, or pitching in to make today’s rap a little more lyrical, try the number one beat-making software, Sonic Producer. Sonic Producer is filled with an awesome selection of royalty-free rap beats that you can use in any way you want. Record your beats using the built-in 16-channel mixer and export your beats to MP3. Make your own mixtapes, share your beats with your friends, or develop your own musical style with the largest, royalty-free beat catalog available.

Sonic Producer is available for both the Macintosh and PC platforms and can help you get your rap career started. Even if you don’t want a career in music, but just want to make your own rap beats, there’s no better tool to have than Sonic Producer, if you want studio-quality recordings without the studio price tag.

Photo Credit: Scott Kinmartin, via Flickr

There’s a great feature article in Northwest Asian Weekly about a Seattle-based rap duo that’s making a name for itself, complete with self-produced music. Saturday Morning Cartoon features the rap beats – mostly improvised – of John Alvis and Max Youn.

Focus On Hip-Hop

First off, both of these guys have day jobs. They self-produce their rap beats because it’s what they like to do. They’re playing in small clubs around Seattle right now and put on 25 live performances last year, but they’ve still had enough time to put together their first 19-track album, Cereal Box Superheroes. They’ve also put together a collection of mixtapes, which showcase their improvisational style.

They don’t have a major label – or even a minor one – backing them up. They sell their music right from their Web site. If you’re thinking that you can do this, you’re right.

Self-produced music is a growing segment of the music marketplace. Individual musicians and groups avoid the whole music label conundrum simply by eliminating the label altogether. You can produce your own rap beats, hip hop music or whatever genre you like using tools that are readily available.

Sonic Producer is one great tool you should know about if you’re interested in producing your own music. With Sonic Producer, which is available for both the Mac and PC, you can record your own songs, use any of the thousands of royalty-free samples in your music and make your own mixtapes or albums.

You’ll get a professional sounding recording on a 16-track software mixer. If you’re new to the music production scene, Sonic Producer also comes with great video tutorials to help you learn how to use the software and put together great rap beats!

Don’t wait to be discovered to start your musical career. With Sonic Producer, you can self-produce your own music and begin building your brand. Sonic Producer enables you to export your music to popular music file formats. You can share your beats easily with friends and fans, make your music available online or even sell your songs through iTunes or another delivery site.

You don’t need to buy any additional mixing equipment. Use the recording equipment you have on hand, or get yourself set up with a basic setup. Sonic Producer will give you great sounding recordings and a huge sample library to start out with. There’s nothing quite like it on the market. If you’re ready to start self-producing your own music, download your copy of Sonic Producer and make music today!

Photo Credit: aussiegall, via Flickr