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From my understanding, lots of producers who are producing 'dubstep' nowadays come from a hip-hop background.
Well my question to those who have is, what does it take to become a hip-hop producer?
I would just like to know the basics such as bpm, what kinds of kicks are standard or you prefer(808's, 909's, etc..), and what is the structure of a proper hip-hop tune?

As a aspiring producer I would like to know all sides and genre's a producer can learn!
Cheers

no set bpm, anywhere between 80 and 110 i'd say, 808s are used in hiphop a lot. and something along the lines of intro - chorus - verse 1 - chorus verse 2 - bridge - chorus x2 - outro

Depends on what kinda hiphop you want to make.
If you're going for the 'oldschool' vibe you want to chop up breaks for drums (or get drumpacks with sampled drums) instead of going for electronic drums.
Listen to old funk/soul/jazz records to find samples your like or a vibe you like and just go from there.
Remember that hiphop is all about flow, so in my opnion the most important thing is to create a groove with your drums and instruments so that you can already hear yourself rapping to the beat. Also don't be afraid of repetitiveness, but that's personal

Also keep in mind most rappers write their lyrics 16 bars a verse.

i always freestyle along when i make hiphop beats to make sure its flowing well

I dunno, different tempo. Less use of midrange basslines. More swingy and laid back.

I tend to stick at 90-93 BPM. Sampled drums off of old rock, jazz, sould records or whatever. Listen to some J Dilla

808s = instant hiphop
Snare rolls/fills all over the place. 8 bar loops on repeat all day lol\
Stack/layer drum hits still.
Clean Sine wave subs, maybe a little grit but not brostep processing here.
alot of newer stuff seems to be two different beats that jsut get juggled back and forth for verse/chorus iterations.

see sig
or
Soundcloud

i like combining elements from other genres into my hip hop though

i'm feelin the trap beats lately, got a few with a dubstep influence i'd like to get some feedback on soon. but gonna sit on 'em til my boy TRB does his thing in the booth, we;re trying to put together a mixtape as a duo. those beats imo work best at 75-80 bpm
I think some of the best sample-based midtempo gritty hip hop is by the RZA of Wu Tang
But he sometimes kinda ignored structure, he'd do a quirky intro with samples, introduce a backbeat, drop it out, reintroduce the sample, then bust into the full beat hard as fuck and they'd rap for as long as they felt, trade bars, and come in with a gully ass hook haha

But basically its usually a shorter intro than dance beats, with a bit of chatter, into a hook or verse. usually 16's or 24's sometimes 32's and back into the hook. sometimes a bridge is introduced.

Sorry to spam ya, but if you want to peep the tune in my sig. I know i'm a lousy singer, but I am proud of the songwriting and the structure of that tune. And i like the beat.
It goes -- intro, Hook, Verse 1, Hook, Verse 2, Bridge, outro

Know your records.

Learn how to chop breaks and freak samples.

that and learn how to work off the quantization grid

Fuckin Trap all day ******

blinx wrote:808s = instant hiphop
Snare rolls/fills all over the place. 8 bar loops on repeat all day lol\

This doesn't sound like the HipHop I know.

yeah and the trap thing has gotten really tired imo, though that has more to do with most of the lyrics. They're straight up idiotic some times (gucci maine, waka flaka, other forgettable nothingness rappers)
and every track is about getting on, getting paid, and treating hoes like shit.

I mean there's bunch of them out there, how can they ALL be making more money than one another and be so ON, when all i've ever heard is one song that aired for a month and disappeared
they're more likely struggling to make ends meet on their McMansion mortgages.

I like trap because of the bass. Like this: (Youtube may have ruined the quality so I suggest downloading it from the description. It hits LOW).

This is more of the school I come from. Get blazed, listen to and chop up records. I am a beast.

and the school i come from
and also the same as mks

Thanks for all the reply's so far! Keep em coming!

deadly habit wrote:
and the school i come from
and also the same as mks

HOLY I have never heard of EL-P before!
Here's one I can't stop playing now!

El-P is a don as well as company flow