DJing Discussion

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Mixing Hip-Hop/Rap

Blackdevil77 6:33 PM - 2 December, 2011
I have two questions I need some input on. The first question is what's the best way to mix/transition from one hip hop song to another? I can beat match them, but some of the different patterns of beats just don't sound good together, even if the song is in the same key. I know cutting out the bass of one song usually helps a little. Also, hip hop tracks vary A LOT in bpm sometimes, anybody have any tips/tricks for transitioning from one hip hop song to another that has a very different bpm?

My second question is what different ways can you make a transition from one genre to the other? For example, from hip hop to a mainstream dance song that may be at like 130 bpm or so? Some songs have a break in the song that makes it easier, but many do not. Some don't even have a break in the lyrics. Its a bit of a challenge for me.
DJ Benny B NYC 6:43 PM - 2 December, 2011
1. it depends on the hip-hop songs you are playing. i genreally dont beatmatch hip-hop songs, I drop them or scratch them in. i think thats the best way. if the song has a long intro then you might have to account for that so you dont drop a long boring instrumental section.

Many people on here, and people not from ny, beatmatch everything so if you want to do that, then only play songs together that work together... For instance, dont play walk this way after valerie by amy winehouse, instead play last night by the strokes. They are at similar bpms but the drum patterns are completely different.

But for the millionth time, when playing hip hop it is often better to drop shit than blend it in or to have an 8 bar intro. If you want a big impact and your crowd to go OHHHH then try dropping that shit and not letting the songs play too long.


2. when you want to switch from one thing to another, like a genre that doesnt go together or from one bpm to another there are a lot of tricks, but just cutting the volume and dropping a banger always works great. I think power downs and spinbacks are kinda goofy nowadays and most transition tracks are shitty too. Dropping an acapella of a song at a different bpm usually sounds pretty good,
Blackdevil77 6:54 PM - 2 December, 2011
At the clubs I've been going to, that is mostly what I hear (scratching a new hip hop track into the previous). I need to practice more on this technique and scratching in general. I also heard something interesting at a club recently. The DJ was going from a bager to a hip hop song. For his transition, he slowed down the banger WITHOUT key lock so it sounded like a record slowly coming to a stop. Then when this track was at the same bpm as the hip hop track, he banged the hip hop track in.

But my scratches always sound cheesy and stupid, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Learning to mix was a walk in the park compared to scratching.
djpuma_gemini 7:01 PM - 2 December, 2011
The above what you mentioned is what Benny B mentioned as a power down.

You turn off the turntable and let the platter slow down naturally, keep the count going so you know where the 1 is and drop the next track on beat, or in this case as close to on beat as possible so the dance floor doesn't do some weird two step to get back on beat.

+1 about mixing everything with intros.

Nothing worse than hearing biggie hypnotize inst way before it comes in. It's best to find a point in your outgoing track and just drop it. .

I'm on the west and we mix everything (beatmatch) I rarely drop a track unless it's some hip hop banger or when doing some wordplay.
Blackdevil77 7:06 PM - 2 December, 2011
Okay cool, that's awesome I learned something lol. The CDJ 850's I have can do that with the turn of a dial. When the dial is turned and you pause the track, it slows down like a power down. These are all things I need to practice. Scratching being on the top of the list as most difficult for me.
dj_soo 10:18 PM - 2 December, 2011
learn musical phrasing and learn to count bars in relation to that phrasing. Even for slam mixing, it's better to do it on time, on-beat and on-phrase. For instance, if a song has a 1 bar intro drum, drop it on the 8th bar of the chorus of the previous song.
Blackdevil77 12:07 AM - 3 December, 2011
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learn musical phrasing and learn to count bars in relation to that phrasing. Even for slam mixing, it's better to do it on time, on-beat and on-phrase. For instance, if a song has a 1 bar intro drum, drop it on the 8th bar of the chorus of the previous song.


That's the stuff I know. I know how to count the beats in a bar, whether a song starts on 1 or not, which beat to bring the song in etc. It's just with the certain genre that even with all of this, when blended, they sometimes just don't sound good no matter what, even if in the same key
DJ Benny B NYC 12:56 AM - 3 December, 2011
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Quote:
learn musical phrasing and learn to count bars in relation to that phrasing. Even for slam mixing, it's better to do it on time, on-beat and on-phrase. For instance, if a song has a 1 bar intro drum, drop it on the 8th bar of the chorus of the previous song.


That's the stuff I know. I know how to count the beats in a bar, whether a song starts on 1 or not, which beat to bring the song in etc. It's just with the certain genre that even with all of this, when blended, they sometimes just don't sound good no matter what, even if in the same key


yeah so in this case you need to learn your songs and remember what types of drums they have and not mix clashing types... learning producers will help too. like a lot of neptunes shit has crazy drums that clash easily... or mixing out of doin it with that early snare...
RaySwift 1:57 AM - 3 December, 2011
I only mix hip hop and R&B. Looping and cue points where the vocals drop should be your best friends.

Stick to a BPM then work your way up. For example, start off with something around 75-80 and slowly work up the BPMs. dont go 80 BPM to 110-120. Thats just stupid.

Skratchin the track in every transition is a bad idea and is the reason why some djs bitch and moan about cats not knowing how to mix. A drop here and there is cool but you should be blending them in obviously.
Blackdevil77 2:33 AM - 3 December, 2011
That's a lot of the problem. A lot of times, Your left in the 80 bpm range, and the next group of tracks will be in the 130 bpm range. To transition from 80 to 130 is challenging. If the hip-hop track was 60 bpm (half the bpm) then it may work, but 80 to 130 is really challenging, and using tracks as a bridge to work your way up to 130 bpm would take a while
RaySwift 2:48 AM - 3 December, 2011
80-130 is impossible to blend. Its either bridge them together until you reach it to that BPM or you find transition tracks like this Lil Waynes "6 foot 7 foot" on the bottom of the list on the link.

www.fulltiltremix.com
Blackdevil77 3:11 AM - 3 December, 2011
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80-130 is impossible to blend. Its either bridge them together until you reach it to that BPM or you find transition tracks like this Lil Waynes "6 foot 7 foot" on the bottom of the list on the link.

www.fulltiltremix.com


I agree with your first sentence 1000% lmao. I wish there were more transition tracks. Another good transition track which is pretty new I noticed is "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)" by Will.i.am feat Mick Jagger. It starts I believe either in the 80's or 90's and goes up to about 120 something. I just with there were more tracks like this. There probably are, I just might not know about them.
RaySwift 3:28 AM - 3 December, 2011
Yea I mean if you know a little bit about producing, you can make your own and Ableton.
Blackdevil77 4:11 AM - 3 December, 2011
I don't know much, but am always eager to learn lol. Ableton looks awesome, I'd love to get that program one day.
sixxx 3:42 PM - 5 December, 2011
Quote:
I have two questions I need some input on. The first question is what's the best way to mix/transition from one hip hop song to another? I can beat match them, but some of the different patterns of beats just don't sound good together, even if the song is in the same key. I know cutting out the bass of one song usually helps a little. Also, hip hop tracks vary A LOT in bpm sometimes, anybody have any tips/tricks for transitioning from one hip hop song to another that has a very different bpm?


You basically need to know your songs. It's that easy. The more you know them, the better you'll understand what songs go together. Even if you don't know their key..... USE YOUR HEADPHONES. It's always best to hear on your headphones how the two songs you're mixing sound when you're mixing them. If they don't sound okay, replace the song. Try again.

Also, nothing wrong with dropping/slamming a song... just don't do it every single time. And, like it has been said, drop it on beat, etc.

Quote:

My second question is what different ways can you make a transition from one genre to the other? For example, from hip hop to a mainstream dance song that may be at like 130 bpm or so? Some songs have a break in the song that makes it easier, but many do not. Some don't even have a break in the lyrics. Its a bit of a challenge for me.


Again, KNOW YOUR SONGS....

All this will come with experience. The more you DJ and the more experience you gain, the easier it will get. I just did a Xmas party Saturday and I played all kinds of genres... and believe it or not, I actually mixed my way from latin music, to top 40, to rap, r&b, EDM, etc... yes, I dropped a few songs here and there but most of it was mixed. And, the crowd loved it.....
Blackdevil77 9:24 PM - 5 December, 2011
I have to listen critically listen to more of the hip/hop-R&B tracks. While I am familiar with a lot of them, I definitely need to learn them more. It's not so much I can't mix them because there are quite a few I have mixed and it sounded good, there's just a couple of songs that didn't seem to go with ANYTHING!
sixxx 9:41 PM - 5 December, 2011
Quote:
I have to listen critically listen to more of the hip/hop-R&B tracks. While I am familiar with a lot of them, I definitely need to learn them more. It's not so much I can't mix them because there are quite a few I have mixed and it sounded good, there's just a couple of songs that didn't seem to go with ANYTHING!


In that case, learn a bunch of ways to transition songs that don't mix.

Echo out (both via software, hardware or manually by hand)
kill the other song (cut power or instant stop)
etc....