Hip Hop

History and character

Origins

Hip hop was born in the Bronx (New York) in the early '70s as a neighborhood culture with four disciplines: DJing, MCing (rap), breaking and writing. DJ Kool Herc, at parties in 1973, isolated and extended the instrumental breaks of funk records using two copies of the same vinyl (the "merry-go-round"); Grandmaster Flash perfected the technique and Afrika Bambaataa with the Zulu Nation gave the movement a community dimension. Over the breaks, MCs began to rhyme. The first records arrived in 1979 (Sugarhill Gang, "Rapper's Delight"); in 1982 "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five brought social storytelling into rap. Spoken-word precursors: The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron; rhythmic precursors: James Brown, Jamaican toasting.

Evolution

In the '80s production moved to drum machines (Roland TR-808, Oberheim DMX) and samplers (E-mu SP-1200, Akai S950, then MPC60): the beat became a collage of fragments of soul, funk and jazz. Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Public Enemy (with the Bomb Squad), Eric B. & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions and Big Daddy Kane opened the golden age (roughly 1986–1994), in which lyrical complexity became central. Regional schools formed: East Coast (boom bap, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G.), West Coast (Los Angeles electro, N.W.A, then Dr. Dre's G-funk with "The Chronic," 1992), South (Miami bass, Geto Boys, OutKast, Three 6 Mafia, Cash Money and No Limit). In the 2000s the South took center stage: crunk, snap and above all Atlanta trap (T.I., Jeezy, Gucci Mane). From 2010 streaming and SoundCloud multiplied the subgenres: cloud rap, emo rap, plugg, rage, drill (Chicago → London → Brooklyn), while Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar brought auteur rap to the top of critical esteem.

Aesthetics

Hip hop puts groove and voice ahead of harmony: few chords in a loop, drums in the foreground, deep bass, flow as a rhythmic instrument. Sampling is both technique and quotation ("crate digging"), and producers are authors as much as rappers. Today it is the most listened-to genre in the United States and has national scenes everywhere (UK grime and drill, French rap, Italian rap and trap, K-hip hop, Latin trap), influencing pop, R&B, reggaeton and electronic music.

Scales and keys

In rap the "key" is often that of the sample or loop, and the rapped voice is not pitched: scales matter for the beat (sample, bass, bell and piano melodies, sung hooks). Here are the main scales, from the most used to the most specific.

Natural minor (Aeolian)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. Steps: W H W W H W W (2-1-2-2-1-2-2 semitones).
• Example in A: A B C D E F G.
• Characteristic notes: b3 (C) and b6 (F). The b6 is the melancholic color that separates Aeolian from Dorian.
• Diatonic chords: Am (i) – Bdim (ii°) – C (III) – Dm (iv) – Em (v) – F (VI) – G (VII); with sevenths Am7, Bm7b5, Cmaj7, Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7.
• Use: it is the basis of trap, drill, pop rap and a large part of dark loops. The i–VI–III–VII and i–VI–VII progressions have no leading tone and so never "close": perfect for 16-bar verses.
• Real example: most Metro Boomin trap beats and the dark piano loops of 2010s rap move in Aeolian; "C.R.E.A.M." by the Wu-Tang Clan (1993) builds its atmosphere on a minor soul sample.
• Common mistakes: putting a major V out of habit (it becomes harmonic minor and changes the color); using the b6 as a long note over the i in the low register, where it muddies with the fifth.

Dorian

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7. Steps: W H W W W H W (2-1-2-2-2-1-2).
• Example in D: D E F G A B C.
• Characteristic note: the major 6 (B), which makes the minor "warm," soulful, less tragic.
• Chords: Dm (i) – Em (ii) – F (III) – G (IV) – Am (v) – Bdim (vi°) – C (VII). The hallmark is the major IV (G, G7, G9, G13).
• Use: the i–IV vamp of sampled soul and funk, G-funk, jazz rap, neo soul. The bass often plays the root and the 6 as a passing note.
• Real example: the jazz vamps of A Tribe Called Quest ("Electric Relaxation," 1993) and G-funk loops on two chords like i9–IV9.
• Common mistakes: confusing Dorian with Aeolian when the sample plays the major 6 and the bass or melody play the b6: the B/Bb clash is clearly audible.

Minor pentatonic

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7. Steps: 3-2-2-3-2 semitones.
• Example in A: A C D E G.
• Character: no semitones, so no "wrong" notes over the minor loop; it is the scale of the riff and the sung hook.
• Use: bell and flute melodies in trap, funk bass lines, G-funk leads, scratches and sampled guitar riffs, pitched ad-libs.
• Real example: the G-funk "whine" synth leads improvise in minor pentatonic over the vamp.
• Common mistakes: using it for everything: after 16 bars it gets tiresome; vary it with the 2 or the b6 for color.

Blues scale

• Formula: 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7. Steps: 3-2-1-1-3-2.
• Example in A: A C D Eb E G.
• Characteristic note: the b5 (Eb), the "blue note," used as a chromatic passage between 4 and 5.
• Use: basses and riffs borrowed from funk, sampled guitar and horn phrases, soul sung hooks.
• Common mistakes: stopping on the b5 on a strong beat: it should be used as a passing tone.

Harmonic minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. Steps: 2-1-2-2-1-3-1.
• Example in C: C D Eb F G Ab B.
• Characteristic notes: the leading tone 7 (B) and the augmented second b6–7 (Ab–B), which sounds "Eastern," menacing, cinematic.
• Chords: Cm (i) – Ddim (ii°) – Eb+ (III+) – Fm (iv) – G (V) – Ab (VI) – Bdim (vii°); with sevenths CmMaj7, Dm7b5, Ebmaj7#5, Fm7, G7, Abmaj7, Bdim7.
• Use: epic trap (Lex Luger), UK and NY drill, "cinematic" piano and string melodies; the major V and the vii°7 are the engines of tension.
• Common mistakes: using harmonic minor also in ascending parts where the ear would want melodic minor (natural A): if the Ab–B leap sounds too "exotic," soften it.

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. Steps: 1-2-2-2-1-2-2.
• Example in E: E F G A B C D.
• Characteristic note: the b2 (F), a semitone above the tonic: the darkest gesture possible.
• Chords: Em (i) – F (bII) – G (bIII) – Am (iv) – Bdim (v°) – C (bVI) – Dm (bvii).
• Use: i–bII ostinatos of dark trap, drill, phonk and horrorcore; menacing bells and choirs.
• Common mistakes: staying on the bII too long, which becomes a new tonic (F Lydian).

Mixolydian and major

• Mixolydian 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 (in G: G A B C D E F), characteristic note the b7 (F) that gives the bVII chord: funk/P-Funk color, used in G-funk and crunk for "party" major stabs.
• Major (Ionian) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7: pop rap, sung hooks, bright gospel and soul samples (Kanye West in the 2000s, Chance the Rapper); I–vi–IV–V or IV–iii–ii–I progressions.

How to choose

If you are working on a sample, first find the tonic (Hz of the fundamental in the bass or with a tuner) and check the sixth and the third of the sample: they decide whether you are in Aeolian, Dorian or major. Then choose the 808 and melody notes within that scale.

Harmony

Harmonic function

Hip hop harmony is cyclical and non-teleological: a loop of 1–4 chords (or a 1–2 bar sample) repeats throughout the track, without the V–I cadence that "closes" the discourse. The tonal center is given by repetition and the bass, not by the dominant. Change is achieved by subtraction and addition (the sample drops out, a second layer comes in) more than by modulation.

Loops, pedals and borrowings

• Two-chord vamp: i–iv (Dm7–Gm7), Dorian i–IV (Dm9–G13), i–bVI (Am–F).
• Tonic pedal: the 808 or the bass stays on the tonic while the chords above change (Am, F/A, G/A): tension without losing the center.
• Modal borrowings: bVI and bVII in major (C–Ab–Bb), minor iv in major (C–Fm), Phrygian bII in minor.
• Chromatic descents: lines like i–i/b7–i/6–bVI (Am, Am/G, Am/F#, F) taken from '70s soul.
• Dissonant samples: cutting an original phrase halfway creates "impossible" chords (clusters, frozen passing harmony), part of the charm of boom bap.

Harmonic rhythm and density

One chord every 1 or 2 bars (at 90 BPM), or every 2–4 bars in trap at 140: rap needs space. Harmonic density rises in sung hooks and in genres close to R&B (trap soul, jazz rap), where m9, maj7, 11 and 13 chords are used.

Voicing

• Close chords of 3–4 notes in the C3–C5 register, above the bass: e.g. Dm9 played F A C E with D only in the 808.
• Shell voicings (1-7-3) for Rhodes and sampled jazz piano.
• In trap, chords are often arpeggiated or reduced to an octave bell melody; the pad holds only the triad.
• Avoid thirds in the register below C3: with the 808 they become mud.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Feel

The heart is the backbeat: snare or clap on 2 and 4 (at 70–100 BPM) or on 3 of each bar in the half-time feel (130–160 BPM). The kick is syncopated and dialogues with the bass; the hi-hats define the subgenre.

Swing and microtiming

• Boom bap, jazz rap, lo-fi: swing on the sixteenth notes around 54–62% (MPC: 54, 58, 62 are the historic presets; J Dilla's groove goes beyond the grid with unquantized hats and kick). Snare often 10–20 ms behind the beat: "laid back" feel.
• G-funk: light swing (52–56%), played rather than programmed.
• Trap, drill, rage, plugg: straight grid (0%); the variety lies in the hi-hats (1/32 rolls, 1/16 triplets) and in the shifting of 808s and counter-snares.
• Crunk and jersey club: straight, repetitive, dance-oriented.

Half time and double time

At 140 BPM the snare on 3 creates a perceived "70 BPM"; the sixteenth-note hats run at 140. This double reading allows the rapper to choose slow or doubled flows over the same beat.

Flow as rhythm

The rap voice is part of the rhythm section: accents on syncopations, triplets (the "Migos flow"), pauses, internal rhymes that fall on recurring positions. The beat must leave space in the frequencies and at the times where the voice accents (2–4 kHz and weak beats).

Drums

How the drums think

In hip hop the drums are the track: the harmonic loop is static, so movement is created by kick, snare and hi-hat. The basic rule: kick and bass draw the syncopation, snare fixed like a metronome, hi-hat and percussion give the subgenre.

Kick

• Classic rap (85–95): 1, then syncopations such as the "a" of 2 (step 8) and the "e" of 3 (step 11): pattern x......x..x..... The second bar changes one hit to avoid monotony.
• Trap (140): sparse, coinciding with the 808 or replaced by it (steps 1, 8, 11 or 1, 11).
• Crunk: double hit on 1 and 3 (steps 1, 3, 11, 13).
• Velocity: 110–127 on the main hit, 90–105 on the syncopations.

Snare and clap

• On 2 and 4 (steps 5 and 13) in mid-tempo rap; on 3 (step 9) in half time.
• Layering: snare + clap + snap, offset by 5–15 ms for a wider hit.
• Ghost notes at velocity 30–60 on the step before or after the backbeat (steps 4, 12, 16) in boom bap.
• In drill: syncopated counter-snares (steps 12, 15, 32) that change every bar.

Hi-hat and ride

• Boom bap: swung eighth notes, alternating velocity 100/70.
• Trap: eighth or sixteenth notes with 1/32 rolls and 1/16 triplets at the end of phrases, sometimes with pitch automation (+1/+12 semitones).
• Drill: 3-3-2 groups that sound like triplets.
• Plugg: very few hats, empty space.
• Open hat on the upbeat (step 15) to let the progression "breathe."

Percussion

Shaker, tambourine, rim, snap, 808 cowbell (phonk, Memphis), scratch as a percussive element, FX (reverse crash, gun cock in drill).

Interaction with bass and voice

Kick and bass must start together or alternate: if the 808 plays on step 1, the kick must not play a syncopation that "steps on" the tail of the 808. Under the vocal, elements are removed (open hat, perc) or the hat velocity is lowered by 3–6 dB.

Sections

• Intro: filtered drums (high-pass at 300–500 Hz) or absent, only sample and tag.
• Verse: basic pattern, simple hats.
• Hook: more layers (extra clap, open hat, perc), denser hats, crash on 1.
• Bridge / beat switch: change of pattern or of perceived tempo.
• Fill: drums stop for half a bar before the hook, triplet snare roll, reverse cymbal.

Choice of sounds

Sampled breaks (Funky Drummer, Impeach the President, Synthetic Substitution, Amen) for classic rap; TR-808 for the South and trap; snares tuned to the key (or at least not clashing, ±50 cents); short kick (150–300 ms) if there is a long 808.

Typical mistakes

• Hi-hats all at the same velocity: it sounds like a machine.
• 100% quantization even in boom bap.
• Kick and 808 out of phase alignment (cancellation in the sub).
• Too many elements in the 2–5 kHz register covering the vocal.

Bass

Three families

1. Sampled or filtered electric bass (boom bap, jazz rap): low-pass cut at 150–250 Hz from the original record, or a line played on upright/electric bass. It follows the kick on root and fifth.
2. Synth bass (G-funk, West Coast, crunk): Minimoog or similar, filtered saw/square wave, glide 60–120 ms, funk lines with chromatic passages.
3. 808 (trap, drill, plugg, phonk): long sine wave with an initial pitch envelope, tuned, serving as bass and kick at once; glide on octave jumps.

Relationship with the kick

• Interlocking: kick and bass on the same step with a short kick and the bass coming in 5–10 ms later; or alternating (bass in the gaps of the kick).
• Sidechain: 2–4 dB of reduction on the bass at each kick hit (attack 0–1 ms, release 60–120 ms) if they coexist.
• Tuning: the kick tuned to the root or the fifth of the track (F = 43.7 Hz, G = 49 Hz, A = 55 Hz).

Choice of notes

Root on strong beats, fifth and octave as variants, b7 and chromatic passing tones in funk, 808 slides from the root to the b3, 5 or the octave. On chord changes the bass changes first or anticipates by a sixteenth note.

Register

Fundamental between 35 and 80 Hz; perceivable harmonics at 100–250 Hz (needed for smartphones and laptops). The bass stays in mono.

Harmonic instruments

• Samples: jazz piano, Rhodes, vibraphone, soul strings and horns, wah guitars, gospel choirs. Often pitched, low-pass filtered (6–8 kHz) and high-pass filtered (100–200 Hz) to sound "off vinyl."
• Keyboards: Rhodes and Wurlitzer (jazz rap, neo soul), grand or upright piano (drill, boom bap), organ (gospel rap, crunk).
• Synths: warm pads (G-funk, cloud rap), bells and plucks (trap, plugg), distorted supersaws (rage), brass stabs (crunk, Lex Luger).
• Orchestral strings: epic trap and drill (pizzicatos, dark legatos).
• Guitars: clean electric or acoustic (emo rap, melodic trap), wah (G-funk).
• Register and voicing: between C3 and C5 for chords, C5–C7 for bells and melodies; voicings of 3–4 notes, never low thirds under the 808.

Melody and vocals

Rap voice

Main instrument: medium spoken register (male 100–200 Hz fundamental, presence at 2–5 kHz), flow on sixteenth notes and triplets, multisyllabic and internal rhymes. Meter matters as much as the words: the rapper chooses where to accent relative to kick and snare.

Hook

Sung, semi-sung or chanted by a group. Often 2–4 bars repeated; in trap with Auto-Tune (retune speed 0–20 ms), in boom bap with scratches of famous phrases, in G-funk sung by soul voices (Nate Dogg).

Doubles, ad-libs and backing vocals

• Doubles: unison doubling of the last words of each bar (or of the whole verse in energetic tracks), panned ±30–60.
• Ad-libs: interjections ("yeah," "skrrt," names) at −6/−10 dB relative to the lead vocal, panned, with delay or a telephone filter.
• Backing vocals: rarely true harmonized choirs; more often pitched soul vocal samples, choral textures or gang vocals in crunk.

Typical effects

Heavy compression, de-esser, light saturation, Auto-Tune (trap, emo rap), 1/4 or 1/8 delay on the tails, short reverb (plate 0.8–1.2 s) or none in "in-your-face" rap.

Instruments

• Turntables and mixer: breaks, scratches, cuts.
• Samplers: E-mu SP-1200 (12-bit, 26 kHz), Akai S950 and MPC60/3000/2000XL, Ensoniq ASR-10; today FL Studio, Ableton, Maschine.
• Drum machines: Roland TR-808 (kick, 808 bass, clap, cowbell), TR-909, Oberheim DMX, LinnDrum.
• Bass: electric, upright, Minimoog, 808.
• Keyboards: piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Hammond organ.
• Synths: monophonic leads, polyphonic pads, FM bells, supersaws.
• Strings, horns, flutes (sampled or orchestral).
• Guitars: electric and acoustic.
• Voice: rap, singing, backing vocals, talkbox (G-funk), Auto-Tune.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Stage-73 V — Rhodes for soul and jazz loops: The "sampled" sound par excellence: light tremolo (rate 3–5 Hz), moderate drive, then low-pass at 6–8 kHz and tape saturation. Register C3–C5.
• Mini V — Synth bass and lead with portamento: Saw or triangle, closed filter (cutoff ~300–600 Hz) with little resonance, glide 60–120 ms: covers the G-funk bass, the Dr. Dre-style "whine" lead and a sub under samples.
• Jup-8 V — Pads and stabs: Two saw oscillators detuned by 5–8 cents, attack 200–500 ms for warm pads; attack 0 and decay 200 ms for '80s and crunk stabs.
• DX7 V — FM bell for trap and plugg: Algorithms with a 1:3.5 or 1:7 ratio give metallic bells that cut through the mix even at low volume; decay 0.5–1.5 s.
• Emulator II V — Lo-fi sampler: The 8-bit path and analog filters replicate the grain of the SP-1200/S950: plays loops and orchestral stabs with vintage character.
• Piano V — Piano for boom bap and drill: Upright with distant mics for jazz chops; grand with low velocity and long reverb for drill.
• Augmented Voices — Choirs and vocal pads: Dark choral textures for trap and drill hooks; filter above 200 Hz so as not to step on the 808.
• Vocoder V — Simulated talkbox: Filtered saw carrier modulated by the voice: imitates Roger Troutman's talkbox in G-funk.

Song structure

Standard form

Arrangement

• The beat is a loop of 1–4 bars; movement comes from mutes and drops: the sample drops out on a punchline, the drums stop before the hook, the bass leaves in the first 2 bars of the verse.
• Every 4 or 8 bars an element is added or removed (open hat, perc, countermelody).
• Typical length: 3:30–4:30 for '90s rap; 2:00–3:00 for streaming-era trap and drill.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Voice and drums in front, big but controlled bass, sample or melody behind and "under" the voice. References: for classic rap "Illmatic" (Nas, 1994) and "The Chronic" (1992); for modern "DAMN." (Kendrick Lamar, 2017) and "ASTROWORLD" (Travis Scott, 2018). Typical balance relative to the voice (0 dB): kick −2/−4, snare −3/−5, bass/808 −2/−6 depending on the subgenre, sample −8/−12.

Kick

• EQ: high-pass at 25–30 Hz (24 dB/oct); body at 50–80 Hz (+2/+3 dB, Q 1.2) if there is no 808; cut at 250–400 Hz (−2/−4 dB, Q 2) to remove the "cardboard" sound; click at 3–5 kHz (+2 dB) to make it heard on small speakers.
• Compression: FET (1176 / Fruity Limiter in compressor mode) ratio 4:1, attack 10–30 ms to let the transient through, release 50–100 ms, 3–5 dB GR.
• Saturation: light tape or tube (Fruity Blood Overdrive, Soundtoys Decapitator mode A, drive 2–3).
• Space: no reverb; at most a very short room (0.3 s) in parallel at −20 dB in boom bap.
• Pan: center, mono.

Snare and clap

• EQ: high-pass at 80–120 Hz; body at 180–250 Hz (+2 dB); "boxy" cut at 400–600 Hz (−2/−3 dB); snap at 2–5 kHz; air at 8–10 kHz (shelf +2 dB).
• Compression: 4:1, attack 5–15 ms, release 80–120 ms, 3–6 dB GR; parallel (bus at 10:1, 10 dB GR, mixed in at −10 dB) for boom bap.
• Saturation/transient: transient shaper (+attack) or light clipper to make it cut through.
• Space: plate 1.0–1.6 s with pre-delay 10–20 ms, return filtered 300 Hz–8 kHz; gated reverb in 2000s crunk.
• Pan: center; layered claps slightly open (±10).

Hi-hat and percussion

• EQ: high-pass at 300–500 Hz; cut harshness at 6–8 kHz if they sound shrill (−2 dB, Q 3); high shelf for air.
• Compression: almost never; at most a limiter to level the rolls.
• Pan: hats slightly off-center (±10–20), perc ±30–60, shaker opposite the hats.
• Automation: velocity and volume (−3 dB under the verses, +2 dB in the hook), pitch on trap rolls.

Bass / 808

• EQ: high-pass at 25–30 Hz; fundamental 40–60 Hz; cut 200–300 Hz if it muddies with the kick; harmonics at 100–200 Hz (via saturation, not EQ).
• Compression: opto or slow VCA (ratio 3:1, attack 20–30 ms, release 100–200 ms) to level the notes; in trap often no compression, just a clipper.
• Saturation: Decapitator / Fruity Waveshaper / Saturn 2 for harmonics audible on a phone; blend the saturated signal with the clean one below 100 Hz.
• Mono: everything below 120 Hz in mono (Fruity Stereo Shaper / Ozone Imager).
• Sidechain: 2–4 dB from the kick if they coexist.

Samples, synths, pads, melodies

• EQ: high-pass at 120–200 Hz (the 808 handles the bass); cut at 2–4 kHz (−2/−3 dB, Q 1.5) to leave room for the voice, or dynamic EQ sidechained from the vocal (Pro-Q 3: −3 dB at 2.5 kHz when the voice sings).
• Compression: light or none (samples are already compressed).
• Saturation: tape, light bitcrusher (12-bit, SP-1200 style), wow/flutter (RC-20, SketchCassette) in lo-fi.
• Space: long hall or plate (2–3 s) on trap melodies, filtered below 300 Hz; dotted 1/8 delay on the bells.
• Stereo: wide (pads and choirs up to ±100), bells and piano moderate.

Lead vocal

• Chain: corrective EQ → de-esser → compressor 1 → saturation → compressor 2 → tonal EQ → Auto-Tune (if needed, before the compressors) → sends.
• EQ: high-pass 80–100 Hz (male) or 120 Hz (female); mud cut 200–300 Hz (−2/−3 dB); nasal cut 800 Hz–1 kHz if needed; presence 3–5 kHz (+2/+3 dB); air 10–12 kHz (+2 dB shelf).
• Compression: 1176 (slow-to-medium attack, fast release, 4:1, 4–7 dB GR) then LA-2A (3–4 dB GR) to level; total 6–10 dB.
• De-esser: 5–8 kHz, 3–6 dB of reduction on the S's.
• Saturation: light (Decapitator mix 15–25%, Saturn 2 tape) for presence.
• Space: dry rap with a filtered 1/4 delay (HP 300 Hz, LP 4 kHz, feedback 15–25%, −18 dB) and a short plate (0.8–1.2 s, pre-delay 20–40 ms, −20 dB).
• Automation: word-by-word level (clip gain), delay throws on the last words of the bars.

Doubles, ad-libs and backing vocals

• Doubles: −6/−9 dB relative to the lead, pan ±40–70, more compressed, higher high-pass (150 Hz), more aggressive de-esser.
• Ad-libs: −8/−12 dB, alternating pan, telephone filters (HP 500 Hz / LP 3 kHz), 1/8 ping-pong delay, longer reverb.
• Backing vocals and vocal samples: wide, high-pass 200 Hz, hall reverb 2–3 s.

FX

Risers, reverse crashes, producer tags: high-pass 200 Hz, volume automation, never louder than the voice.

Buses and groups

• Drum bus: SSL G-bus (ratio 4:1, attack 10–30 ms, auto release, 2–3 dB GR) + tape saturation + clipper (Kclip, StandardCLIP) for 1–2 dB of peaks.
• Music bus (samples and synths): Glue compressor 2:1, 1–2 dB.
• Vocal bus: light compression 1–2 dB, saturation, final EQ.

Sidechain

Kick → 808/bass (2–4 dB); voice → music bus (1–3 dB with a slow compressor or dynamic EQ at 1–4 kHz); kick → long pads in dense sections.

Master

• Chain: light corrective EQ → bus compressor (1–2 dB) → saturation/clipper → limiter (Pro-L 2, Ozone Maximizer).
• Target: classic rap −10/−8 LUFS integrated (short-term in the hook −8/−7); trap, drill, rage −8/−6 (up to −5 in extreme cases). True peak −1 dBTP (−0.3 for "competitive" masters, but with the risk of distortion in encoding).
• Dynamics: PLR (peak-to-loudness) 8–10 dB in classic rap, 6–8 in trap.

Common mistakes

• 808 sub and kick in phase conflict (check with a correlation meter and by inverting polarity).
• Voice too low to "let the beat breathe": in hip hop the voice rules.
• Long reverbs on the rap voice that push the rapper back.
• Shrill hi-hats at 6–8 kHz that fatigue on headphones.
• Excessive loudness with audible clipping on the bass.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Nas — N.Y. State of Mind (1994): dusty drums, dry voice.
• Dr. Dre — Still D.R.E. (1999): cleanness and weight of the bass.
• Kendrick Lamar — HUMBLE. (2017): in-your-face voice, enormous 808, minimal arrangement.
• Travis Scott — SICKO MODE (2018): processed vocals, beat switch.
• J. Cole — No Role Modelz (2014): balance between soft sample and voice.

Reference listening

• Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five — The Message (1982)
• Run-DMC — It's Tricky (1986)
• Public Enemy — Fight the Power (1989)
• Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Doggy Dogg — Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang (1992)
• Wu-Tang Clan — C.R.E.A.M. (1993)
• Nas — N.Y. State of Mind (1994)
• OutKast — Ms. Jackson (2000)
• Kanye West — Through the Wire (2003)
• Kendrick Lamar — HUMBLE. (2017)
• Travis Scott — SICKO MODE (2018)