Learn the foundation of a basic hip-hop track. The track is what most hip-hop musicians and rap artists call the instrumental beat. Most hip-hop songs use something like an eight-bar introduction, an eight-to-16-bar verse, followed by an eight-bar chorus, another eight-to-16-bar verse and eight-bar chorus, a two-to-eight-bar break, concluding in a verse, chorus or talk-out of eight to 16 bars.
Open the computer program or music device,you are using to create the beats. Open a new file. Most programs work the same. You can assign instruments to certain tracks. Anywhere from four to 32 tracks or more are generally available. Once you add an instrument, that sound will show as one of the tracks on screen.
Add the drum track first. This could be an 808 drum, kick drum or any other type of drum you prefer. Once the basic drum track is laid out, add other percussion instruments, such as snares and high-hats, as necessary. Work these into an eight-bar pattern that you can use to build the foundation of the track.
Add the bass line. There will be a selection of bass lines available in the software, or you can find a bass line to sample from another song. Once you add this track to the tracklist, the music line will show up underneath the first music line you have added.
Lock a groove line onto the track. This is the sound that makes the track sound unique. If you're using a drum machine or computer software, there is a fair chance that the drum beat you have selected has been used before. The groove is what gives you your own sound. Hip-hop music producers, such as Dr. Dre, have a very distinct sound that doesn't change with age.
Add the orchestration to your track if necessary. If you are creating a stripped-down track,there may not be any need for orchestration of any kind.
Copy the groove and the bass line into a 16-bar pattern. This will be easy, since you have already built the previous tracks on an eight-bar pattern.
Copy the first drum track and place it after the 16 bars of groove and bass line you just created. This is where the chorus would come in. Orchestration, or other elements, could also be added here to support the chorus.