Rap music has been around for a long time, and its appeal is cross-cultural. You can find musicians making rap beats throughout the world. Rap beats have inspired everything from revolutions to other musicians, and the possibilities are endless.

Get Started On Your Own Rap Beats

Everyone has a little music in them, and everyone certainly has a story to tell. Rap is the ideal medium because you don’t have to have a big music machine behind you in order to succeed in rap music today. You do need to have the right tools to get your music produced and a way to get your music out to the world.
If you have a computer, you have what you need to make your own rap beats. Sonic Producer is a rap music software package that can help you create your own unique rap beats. Better still, Sonic Producer has a built-in 16-track mixer that enables you to mix in multiple sources.
Sonic Producer doesn’t stop there. The package includes hundreds of royalty-free music samples you can include in your own beats. When you’re finished, you’re not required to pay royalties to anyone – you get the rights to use the samples when you purchase Sonic Producer.
Even better, if you’re new to the world of rap music, or don’t feel confident in your computer abilities, Sonic Producer also comes with a set of video tutorials that will show you how to put the beats together. Sonic Producer is also available for both the Mac and PC, so you don’t even have to switch computer platforms to get Sonic Producer!
You won’t find a better deal than Sonic Producer if you’re looking to self-produce your own rap beats. When you’ve mixed the beats together in the way you want, export your music to MP3 within the Sonic Producer program and you can distribute your music to friends, fans and the world. Keep your music to yourself, use it during performances, or sell it on iTunes – the choices are all yours.
Since the samples in Sonic Producer are all royalty-free, you get to keep all of the profit from your music as well. There has never been a better time to get into the world of self-produced music. Sonic Producer will deliver a studio-quality sound recording, professional mixing tools, royalty-free samples and exceptional tutorials to help you get your rap beats recorded and delivered! Download your copy of Sonic Producer today!

Photo Credit: Harry Sherman, via Flickr

Lil Wayne says Tha Carter IV is finished. The long-awaited next installment to his Tha Carter series was delayed, and delayed again noticeably by a little stretch at Riker’s Island. During his time away Weezy said he was working on new material, and as it turns out, he wasn’t kidding! Weezy issued some new rap beats on a mixtape Sorry 4 The Wait as an apology to his fans for making them wait so long for Tha Carter IV.

Mixtape Is Part Of The Plan

The new mixtape was released on Wednesday. Sorry 4 The Wait is stylistically similar to his 2009 creation No Ceilings and features 12 tracks along with rappers Lil B and Gudda Gudda. Each of the tracks on the mixtape plays off of music tracks released by other rappers, including Meek Mill, Gunplay, Prince Rick and Treal Lee, Kreayshawn, Drake, Miguel, Waka Flocka Flame, YC, Big Sean, Adele, Trae Tha Truth and Beyonce. Weezy said that he wanted to put his stamp on other musicians’ songs, as he did in No Ceilings.

Sorry 4 The Wait has received generally positive reviews, although some reviewers were clearly expecting more from Lil Wayne on this piece. Sorry 4 The Wait follows on I Am Not A Human Being, a full-length album released in 2010 while Lil Wayne was still in prison.

Tha Carter IV, following in what has become a tradition with Lil Wayne albums, has already missed two announced release dates in May and June of this year. An earlier album, Rebirth, also had trouble getting out of the gate. It was originally announced for release in April 2009 but did not hit the store shelves until February of 2010. Tha Carter III’s 2007 release was delayed until March 2008. Weezy confirmed, however that Tha Carter IV is completed and will be issued at the end of August.

He has also said in past interviews that Tha Carter IV is likely to be his last venture into the studio, citing family reasons and a desire to spend time with his four children. A critical success with Tha Carter IV, however, would leave the door open for other projects. It may also open the door to additional legal troubles. Lil Wayne, Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Weezy & Co., have all been sued in relation to unpaid royalties and production services related to Tha Carter III.

Photo Credit: Adrian Eden, via Flickr

There was a great Pop & Hiss blog post in the Los Angeles Times this week about a self- made rap artist named Sean Falyon. In the article, Falyon dispenses advice to aspiring rappers who want to make their own music and are willing to make their own names, too.

Promoting Your Own Music Is Hard Work

If you really want to see what the world of self-produced music is all about, take a minute to read what Falyon has to say. He’s worked hard to make a name for himself. That’s evident because just about every promoter in the rap music industry knows Sean Falyon.

Falyon is a big proponent of social networking and other tools that can help you get the word out about your music. You don’t need a promoter, and you don’t need a big machine, but if you don’t have the horsepower behind you, you will have to do a lot of work on your own. Falyon says that social networks like Facebook and Twitter are great for getting the word out about your rap beats. You also need to have your own Web site, which you keep updated with new beats and news about yourself, your appearances and your musical career.

Falyon also says that you need make some investments to make your music stand out. This could mean making your own videos and your own music recordings. Studio time is expensive, as any would-be rapper knows. You need to get the studio sound without having to spend the big bucks on studio equipment. And “studio” doesn’t just mean the recording studio. Today’s rap beats are accompanied by visuals, including videos and photos.

Get comfortable with making your own recordings. Sonic Producer is a great tool for this. Not only will you be able to make professional-quality recordings, you’ll also get an entire library of royalty-free samples that you can use with your sound. You can also find low-cost video cameras that put out some great pictures. Learn how to make your own videos and visuals, and you could get yourself noticed on your own Web site, YouTube and other visual media outlets.

I strongly encourage you to read the rest of the blog post. Falyon has a lot more to say and it’s great advice for someone who’s trying to make a name and still self-produce his (or her) own music. It also gives you an idea of what lies ahead for the truly dedicated musician. Falyon says his career isn’t where he wants it to be, but his approached to self-produced music has taken him far.

Photo Credit: Kraus Phade, via Flickr