Beat Maker Software - Getting Started in Beat Making

Iconic rap music artist Heavy D died unexpectedly on November 8 in Los Angeles. Heavy D, whose given name was Dwight Arrington Myers, collapsed as he was returning to his Beverly Hills home. He was rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died. Prior to his death, the rapper had complained of breathing problems and was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Unique Style Earned Heavy D A Place In Rap History

As Heavy D, Myers was among the most recognizable rap music acts of the 1980′s and 1990′s. His style was a mixture of reggae and swing, and his lyrics were free from profanity. Myers was the lead artist in the group Heavy D and The Boyz and first charted with their debut album, Living Large. The group recorded a total of five albums between 1987 and 1994, only the first two of which included Troy Dixon (Trouble T-Roy), who died following an accident in 1990. Eddie Ferrell (Eddie F) is the co-founder of Uptown Records, the label on which Heavy D and The Boyz released their albums.
After the fifth group album, Heavy D went on to a solo rap career, releasing four more albums, the last of which, Love Opus, debuted in 2011. Heavy D also performed live for the first time in 15 years at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in October. Myers demonstrated that rap music artists could succeed with unique styles and approaches to lyrics. While many of today’s rap music artists rely on the shock of foul language, Heavy D’s lyrics were always clean, yet engaging.
Myers also worked as the president and CEO of Uptown Records, and was instrumental in the development of Mary J. Blige. Myers also hired Diddy Combs early in his musical career. Uptown Records, renamed Uptown Entertainment folded after Myers left the organization to pursue acting opportunities.
In addition to his work as a music producer and recording artist, Myers also made guest appearances on several television series, an off-Broadway play, had a recurring role on Boston Public, and occasionally acted in motion pictures. His last appearance on the big screen was in “Tower Heist,” released in the US just four days before Myers’ death. Myers also provided the theme music for several television shows, including In Living Color and MADtv. He also made guest appearances for Michael and Janet Jackson, BB King, and appeared in the video for One More Chance by Notorious B.I.G.
Myers was nominated for Grammy awards in 1992, 1995, 1997, and most recently in 2009, and also received four nominations for Soul Train awards, winning Best Rap Album in both 1988 and 1990.

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There are rappers and then there are rappers. There seems to be no end to the ways in which rap music finds its way into the hearts, minds and cultures of the world. Rap music has played an important role in the “Arab Spring” protests in the Middle East, but its audience stretches farther than that. Rap music may have originated in the United States, but you’d be hard pressed to find a country or culture that hasn’t put its own spin on rap.

Where The Rappers Are

Rap music has an almost universal appeal, and it doesn’t seem to flinch, even in some pretty out-of-the-way places. Earlier this week, AP ran a story about Adil Omar, a Pakistani rapper who was discovered online by Cypress Hill as a 16-year-old creating self-produced music in his bedroom. Four years down the road, the enterprising rap artist’s music will be featured in a Pakistani movie, and his fan following is growing.

That’s hard to do in Pakistan, where Islamic fundamentalists have gone as far as to bomb stores in which Omar’s music is sold. You’ll also find rap music at the heart of the Arab Spring protests, largely because the music has the ability to reach a young audience.

The idea of self-publishing music was far-fetched even as little as 10 years ago. Today, you can find some excellent software tools to help you put together your own rap beats, make your own songs and get your own music published. What’s the interest in self-publishing music? For many musicians, the ability to get their music out is important.

Under the old scheme, a musician had to catch the attention of a music publisher in order to make music available to the people. The music publisher took the lion’s share of whatever was sold. In the process, they created a very unpopular system that not only screens new artists and prevents them from being heard, but they also took the artist’s ability to be compensated for his or her work.

Today, you can self-publish music using a computer and a great software package like Sonic Producer. With Sonic Producer, you’ll get a professional sounding mix and a full library of royalty-free samples you can use for anything you like. You can make your own music, experiment, develop your own sound or just goof around. You can also publish your own music, distribute your songs and get your message out to the world.

Download your copy of Sonic Producer today and start making your own music!

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A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center indicates that rap music may intentionally or unintentionally promote brand name alcohol to rap fans, many of whom have not yet reached the legal drinking age. Rap beats and lyrics often feature alcohol by brand name, but do not often focus on the consequences of overindulging.

Study May Prompt New Look At Rap

For the most part, the artists choose which brands to mention in their lyrics, but on occasion, the lyrics are the result of a promotional connection between the artist and the liquor company. The connection between rap music and alcohol sales is somewhat tenuous, but there are those who believe that rap beats have an impact on consumer behavior. In 2002, Busta Rhymes and P. Diddy released the rap single, “Pass the Courvoisier.” In 2003, the company’s sales shot up by nearly 19%.

According to the study, the most often mentioned brands were Patrón Téquila, Grey Goose Vodka, Hennessey Cognac and Cristal Champagne. The producers say that the music doesn’t constitute advertising because they have not solicited the mention of their products in the song.

In the United States, it’s illegal to target liquor advertising to persons under the age of 21, and the rap beats raise the question of what constitutes advertising. According to the study, listeners are exposed to brand-name “advertising” through rap music on average 34 times per day. The connection between rap music and alcohol is clear, and some artists have stepped in to use rap music as a brand-name promotional tool.

Critics point to Jay-Z’s acquisition of a majority share of Armadale Vodka, and Snoop Dogg’s commercial work for Landy Cognac. It’s not the first time a musician has mentioned alcohol in its songs, but some critics want to make sure that rap music does not become a surreptitious advertising vehicle for liquor advertisements directed toward minors, in much the same way that Joe Camel became a target for the anti-smoking lobby.

The study focused on rap music that landed on the Billboard Magazine’s Top 100 lists between 2005 and 2007. The researchers analyzed the lyrics from 793 songs and found that more than one in five rap songs mentioned alcohol. Of those that did, nearly one-fourth mentioned a specific brand name.

How big is the problem? In actual numbers, about 5% of all of the songs in the study mentioned alcohol by brand name. In terms of sheer numbers, the problem doesn’t appear to be all that significant, but simple numbers don’t account for the popularity of the song, and how much impact a few songs or a few artists can have on consumer behavior.

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If you want to show the world your stuff, KingIce.com has a contest on that you ought to know about. KingIce.com sells hip-hop jewelry and accessories, but they’re looking for some great, fresh rap beats. They’re offering a top prize of $1,000 in a contest you can find out more about on their website. If you’re looking to break into rap, or you’ve got some beats that the world should hear, put your best beats forward.

Sonic Producer Can Help

If you’re ready to make a statement in the rap world, Sonic Producer can help you get heard. Sonic Producer is a one-of-a-kind beatmaking software package that you don’t want to be without. Sonic Producer is with you all the way, whether you’re an experienced rap artist or just starting out. Sonic Producer has something for everyone.

Aside from its great features, like a 16-track built-in mixer, Sonic Producer comes with a full library of tutorial videos to show you not only how to use the program but also how to make the beats that people want to hear! It’s a great tool for beginners who want to stand out on the rap music scene.
Sonic Producer has everything you need. You don’t need to buy a lot of additional equipment or rent expensive studios to get professional sounding rap beats and recording capabilities. Sonic Producer is available for both the Mac and PC platforms, so you don’t have to buy more computer gear or miss out on such a great program!

Sonic Producer also comes with a large library of royalty-free samples that you can use with your raps. Royalty-free is the key when it comes to making rap beats. You can spend thousands of dollars licensing rap beats from other artists, but with Sonic Producer, you have a complete library available to you all the time and without having to pay additional fees to use them.

When you buy Sonic Producer, the video tutorial library and the library of samples are included in the price you pay for the software. The sample library alone may save thousands! Better still, you can do whatever you want with the beats – use them for your own personal sound, record them, sell them, distribute them or perform live using them. The sample library is yours!

Sonic Producer also lets you export your music to MP3 and distribute your sound around town. Sonic Producer is a stand-out product. Download your copy today!

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A growing debate among rap music industry observers centers around whether or not free mixtapes are the right way to go. The strategy involved in mixtapes, of course, is that you put out a mixtape with some great free rap beats and build a fan following. The free mixtapes are supposed to provide a boost when you release an album.

Mixtapes Now A Standard Strategy

Releasing free mixtapes may have been a novel strategy a few years ago, but today, they’re standard for the rap music industry. The question is, “Can rap music artists still build and retain fan followings without releasing mixtapes?” Some artists don’t question the strategy much; mixtapes are simply part of the business and a way to put out some music outside of a full album release. Others have deliberately maneuvered around mixtapes and major labels, and have still built a solid fan base.

So, are mixtapes strictly necessary? If you talk to artists like Lil Wayne or Drake, the answer is clear. They both release mixtapes religiously and they’re massively successful. If you talk to artists like Tech N9ne and Odd Future, they don’t release mixtapes and they’re arguably very successful, too.

Part of the answer depends upon how you define “success.” From a business perspective, success is measured in dull fashion, by counting product sales and performance revenues. From a critical perspective, success is harder to define. Do you put on a good show? Do you get a lot of airtime? Is your music standard on the club circuit?

Tech N9ne and other independent artists prove that releasing mixtapes isn’t necessary to build a fan base or keep fans interested. Mixtapes provide a great way to introduce a new artist. For established talent, mixtapes are a good outlet for music that’s stylistically good, but not good enough to be featured on an album. They can also be used to promote upcoming albums without a lot of effort.

Ultimately, the mixtape comes down to this: do you want to swing for the fences on every track, or is a base hit good enough? If you want to be a home run king, it’s best to consider each song’s potential as an album and make sure it’s as good as it can ever get. If you don’t want to work that hard, the mixtape is a good way to publish music that’s better than average and keep the fans interested, but you’ll still need to deliver on your album work.

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