Hip Hop Production

How many producers are too many?

Why are there so many hands involved in hip hop? Multiple writers and producers for every song, I mean look at the list of personnel on any modern hip hop record, it's absurd. Wouldn't the record stand to gain from not having 40 people involved making their inputs? Instrumentally speaking Hip Hop is at its infancy, it is nowhere near as sophisticated as other genres out there, where a lot of the time the song writing comes from 1 person and then you have the other band members playing the actual instruments. So why? It's not like a producer is the equivalent of a band member.

Look at Atrocity Exhibition, Bottomless Pit and Blonde, arguably some fan favorite hip hop albums from last year, then look at the creative input, fairly minimal all things considered. Is there actually mass appeal in having all of these names attached to a record? It just muddles the cohesion.

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=cilUKIu1OHQ
byethepeople.bandcamp.com/
twitter.com/NSFWRedditGif

>look at the list of personnel on any modern hip hop record

look at the list of personnel on any modern record**

ftfy

>Look at Atrocity Exhibition, Bottomless Pit and Blonde, arguably some fan favorite hip hop albums from last year,

blonde isn't hip hop
bottomless pit isn't hip hop
danny brown sure


>Why are there so many hands involved in hip hop?
because lots of money is involved in mainstream hip hop records and they hire the best in the business to make sure everything goes smoothly

I fucked up on Blonde, but Bottomless Pit is absolutely a hip hop record.

>because lots of money is involved in mainstream hip hop records and they hire the best in the business to make sure everything goes smoothly

Doesn't sound very artistic.

youtube.com/watch?v=cilUKIu1OHQ

here's some dubstep

>>Doesn't sound very artistic.
you realize without funding from rich families majority of art wouldn't be made right?

>Look at Atrocity Exhibition
ok... 2/3 of the songs produced by paul white, most of the songs that aren't features just say written by danny brown and paul white aka not an example of what you were talking about above

in fact now that i look closer at the track list, all the writing credits are either the person rapping on the song, the person who produced the song, or the musician who was sampled

Funding is not the same as a publisher telling the artist they need them to make the record a certain way that appeases them.

it is if you're a teenager who sees the industry in some really black and white money vs artistic integrity kind of way, which is what op sounds like

OP here and no I certainly don't view it that way, in fact my OP has nothing to do with artistic integrity whatsoever, more to do with maintaining cohesion, making a better album.

>not having the best writers and producers in the business to make the best album

Sounds like that is gonna stunt growth, no? Every album that gets big enters into the echo chamber of "the best" and they all get comfortable.

How much incredible music came from nobodies? Imagine if they had big names stepping into the studio to tell them how its done.

because record companies invest a lot of money on rap artists so they throw all kinds of resources on them to make sure they make a profit

it's only if you're in a truly independent label like Brainfeeder or the mainstream labels allows you to operate your own label like GBE can you gain more independence, that's why there's not as much input in albums by The Underachievers or Chief Keef

>How much incredible music came from nobodies? Imagine if they had big names stepping into the studio to tell them how its done.
ugh you're not understanding it. its all about supporting the artist dummy
if kendrick or kanye has writers block they hire ppl to unblock and connect the dots on rhymes they're stuck on.

if there's a sample or sound he wants the producers find a way to make it happen. samples aren't free buddy somebody has to pay for them.
its no different than sports teams like lebron for example.

>Sounds like that is gonna stunt growth, no?
no... why would it?
>Every album that gets big enters into the echo chamber of "the best" and they all get comfortable.
the fuck does that even mean? it's bad because people like it?
>How much incredible music came from nobodies?
lots, and lots still does but that's really neither here nor there
>Imagine if they had big names stepping into the studio to tell them how its done
then they'd probably progress a lot faster from having such good mentors. i still don't think you're really getting the creative process that you're talking about

echo chambers are known to stunt growth. I understand that Hip Hop is a very collaborative genre, but surely you understand why putting a bunch of "the best of the best" in the same room isn't a good idea.

Like any good auteur they have a very strong authoritative voice, putting 6 of these voices in the same room together is not gonna produce a song 6 times as good. Now obviously that doesn't mean these people can't cooperate and make something amazing together, but don't make it out to be some ideal.

>Like any good auteur they have a very strong authoritative voice, putting 6 of these voices in the same room together
you still don't get it, it's not like every writer/producer is contributing equally and all sharing creative control

No, I understand that. My point still stands.

no, it doesn't, because it directly contradicts your point

also something it seems like you don't understand. if you pitch even one line that's included in the final cut, you get a writer's credit

>reading comprehension

Who does this besides Kanye?

beyonce

talk to any professional songwriter, it's standard practice

Support your local artists then you fuck.

Listen to the bars on the block, hear the tapes from the rot, spit some feelings, stop waiving yo glock!

tldr; go to the Salvation Fucking Army, buy some cassettes, record over them with some bars, and pass that shit around the DMV, only person who made that shit was YOU, not 40 fucks who didn't do shit, YOU

Oh. Neat to know.

It is? Would that entitle you to a producer credit as well?

> it is nowhere near as sophisticated as other genres out there,

What you're seeing is the birth of a musical generation, sort of like rock in the 50s/60s. Yeah most of it will be shit cause everyone is still experimenting. You need to think further ahead. Hip hop is the next rock n roll and we'll be dealing with the runoff of it for the next 50 years

yes. you want that credit so you get paid for your contribution, no matter how small

this
>tfw no local hip hop scene

you do realize that the only way to reach the level where you're working with all those people is to put a fuck load of work in by yourself first, right?
it's probably the same rules for producing, yes

why is working hard a bad thing? this is why our generation sucks

Well you gotta make enough money before you can sell out. Realistically, you should only need one or two sound engineers and masters if you aren't doing it yourself.

why are you dumb enough to think that's why i said?
>born in le wrong generation XD

>why is working hard a bad thing?
lets see what you have made buddy

Make one, rap about the hip hop ghost town you live in

and what is your level of involvement in the industry/musical education, exactly? why do you feel qualified to be making all these statements?

>you do realize that the only way to reach the level where you're working with all those people is to put a fuck load of work in by yourself first, right?

you asked him if he was aware of the hard work required to make it when it seemed like he knew much more about the subject than you. this carries the implication that you must think it's too much work or not worth it

want to talk some shit? talk some shit on my 3 year old music byethepeople.bandcamp.com/

>your music
>its a cover duet
alright pal

look to the right you lazy fuck

>when it seemed like he knew much more about the subject than you
lol and what is your basis for that exactly? this guy seems anything but knowledgeable.
>this carries the implication that you must think it's too much work or not worth it
not really though... maybe if you're stupid and have to invent points that people didnt actually make to argue against, but certainly not based on anything that i actually said

wtf is this shit
nick cave voice trying to be sufjan stevens

>can't properly link to his own music
>NO ITS UR FAULT
lol

>this guy seems anything but knowledgeable.
what is your basis for this?
>not really though...
then why'd you feel the need to point it out? what is so bad about the massive amount of hard work it would take?

come on man i was actually trying to rip off the national

all i know is you need to work harder on who you're ripping off.

I've managed a small black/doom metal label for close to 4 years now (the musicians I've worked with either record themselves or take it to their own studios, I just get the CDs out there and sell), I've recorded music of my own since highschool, I talk to and know a lot of people who do the same. BUT I will admit that black metal is a whole different scene than hip hop, however, I do see a lot of people using the DAWs and mics that are so easily made available to them now at a low cost to produce outstanding hiphop, beats and non-beats. If you spent a week to learn a DAW, obtain a sample pack, and had a fair condenser mic you could get some good shit made.

>what is so bad about the massive amount of hard work it would take?
you tell me since you're the one who keeps bringing it up. the guy said HURR SO LAZY TO WORK WITH LOTS OF PEEPL, so i said that it takes a fuckload of work to even be able to have that option, meaning you couldnt get there by being lazy

why would you think he didnt know that??

i think what's what's made hip hop successful. the low cost and availability, that is. no one wants to spend 1k+ on decent guitars, amps, pedals, drums, etc anymore

jesus, can you read or not? try it again, it's all there
>If you spent a week to learn a DAW, obtain a sample pack, and had a fair condenser mic you could get some good shit made.
who are you saying hasn't done this? me? the artists who work with lots of other people? it's not accurate either way. artists who have worked to get to that level have no need to be so diy about it anymore, that doesn't make them lazy, it just means they're making use of the resources available to them

your point is wrong. kendrick is the auteur, as it is his album. he marshals the talent of other talented producers/writers/performers/etc in order to help him produce his vision. they do not tell him what to do, as this is a kendrick album, not thundercat or dr dre or whatever album.
what is hard to get here?

Why aren't we discussing the greatest producer of all time?

Well I'm not calling it lazy by not doing it, I guess it just speeds up the process and lets you mold your track into what you wanted it to sound like. It's like steak, if you taught yourself how to make some bomb steak, you're always going to prefer your cooking over others when it comes to steak, it doesn't mean don't let others cook it for you, but it just means you can do it yourself and you can treat yourself like a god when you do.

still not seeing where he said it was easy. he gave a plausible method to get started, which is far from being not knowledgeable

because the thread had to devolve into rocknroll doods assuming nobody knows how to be an independent musician but them

>a plausible method to get started
jesus lol what year do you think it is? that is far from a "plausible method to get started" in fucking 2017. that's what you're calling "knowledgeable"?

wut? im a "rocknroll dood" and it's never been easier to succeed as an independent rapper/hip hop producer. in contrast it is MUCH harder to make it as an independent rock artist

>if you taught yourself how to make some bomb steak, you're always going to prefer your cooking over others when it comes to steak
not unless you teach yourself to be the best there is at cooking a steak. the artists in this metaphor can afford to hire the world class steak chefs

let's a see plausible method then

you can get a decent guitar for $140 used now, you can get a fine amp used for $150, pedals, used between $25 and $80 and you're set. Highschool garage bands aren't appealing anymore, they would rather be indie or hiphop, There's those of us that do our bedroom band projects still, but we don't even care about making it big, if we're doing it we're doing it because it's what we love.

i dunno, maybe one that involves acknowledging the existence/usefulness of the internet?

which is why im talking about what makes hip hop successful, not whether you love your bedroom pop project or not

doesnt make his method any less plausible? plenty of people do that shit in big city scenes man i could rack up a week's worth listening of free mixtapes in a few hours in atlanta

But a working class chef still can't make Mom's Spagetti

I guess as a guitar/bass player I felt impulsive to talk about affordability. . . muh bad

even with used pawn shop equipment, all you need to get started as a hip producer is a pirated copy of fruity loops and maybe a cheap MIDI controller

you still need a band's worth of people even with all that cheap gear though, that's what's really made daw's/bedroom producers take off
>i could rack up a week's worth listening of free mixtapes in a few hours in atlanta
and how many of them would you actually give a shit about? you can just be a lot more focused on who you're targeting on the internet. especially more so than handing out fucking cassettes at the dmv lol

if we're gonna argue which is the better method, the internet obviously is. but even the biggest artists got big handing out their first mixtapes ie kendrick himself, chance

>even the biggest artists got big handing out their first mixtapes ie kendrick himself, chance
i dunno, i think that's the exception and not the rule, either that or they were doing it alongside a whole shitload of other promotional activity