Styling Divine 2: Beats By The Pound (Downloads!)

Mar 15, 2008

Styling Divine 2: Beats By The Pound (Downloads!) · by R.H.S.

Recently I informed our beloved readers and well-wishers that I was coordinating an effort to cultivate the talent of an up-and-coming emcee named Divine, with significant assistance from an up-and-coming producer named Verge. Verge uses an aging but still functional Akai MPC2000 and every piece of vinyl he can get his hands on (I’ve been donating CDs to the cause as well, purists be damned) to piece together and churn out the rugged but melodic boom-bap the heads still crave.

For some time Verge’s ability to review, edit, and store his beat was nearly paralyzed when the MPC’s internal zip drive (yes you read that correctly) died but we got on the case (consulted Amazon) and found an external drive with the necessary SCSI (“scuzzy”) storage interface. Now that the ol’ dusty but digital MPC, such as it, has been restored to its potential, Verge is in the process of sifting through his small library of 100mb Zip discs (remember when those things inspired awe?) and tweaking and rearranging the beats that Divine
and I have selected for possible use.

At first Divine and I had a few disagreements over which beats were most suitable. Verge’s range of sound is broad, with beats ranging from cheerful and bright to grimy and dank. Divine has a strong penchant for the hardcore ruggedness and at first protested my requests that he consider a more diversified approach to making songs. After a few phone conversations where right and exact science was dropped, Divine eventually came around, convinced less by my cold logic than by the fact that even Verge’s smoothest beats have that hard edge that is difficult to come by nowadays.

Smoov But Rugged ’95 Acura Integra interior

So Verge is something of an after-hours music factory (he’s also tinkering with a Korg Kaoss Pad 3 and my Roland MC-808 Sampling Groovebox to add even more sounds to the mix) and new grooves are coming down the pike. Every so often I stop by Verge’s crib and collect a CD-R’s worth of beats, pick out the ones that are the most promising and email them to Divine with a few suggestions for songwriting. In the near future Verge will have more regular computer access and the process will be made even easier, but for now this works fine.

We’re interested in hearing some feedback from the internets so I’ve decided to post some snippets of the beats we’re currently working with. These are 30-second (give or take) 82kbps mp3s and are adequate for giving you an idea of what we’re working with. Out of laziness I used a freebie ringtone editing program that leaves a voicestamp of some kind on the end of each one but if you love these mp3s and you’re crafty I’m sure you can make them into serviceable ringtones with minimal effort. Click on the song titles to preview and download.

1. “Boxcutter” – Perhaps exemplifies smooth-yet-rugged the best, I’m thinking a song about breaking boundaries on different levels, hence, cutting boxes …

2. “Dreamt” – Seems perfectly geared towards exploring themes of the future, of a world to come, on the utopian side …

3. “Guns Out” – Super-sinister.

4. Real Shit – This will definitely be a discussion of Heaven and Hell and the like …

5. “The Jungle” – More sinister sounds, something militaristic about this joint…

6. “Tough Break” Name says it all, sonically and probably thematically…

7. “Walk Out” – Another smoother joint, adaptable to a variety of themes…

Let us know what you think! I am fairly certain that all of these can be fleshed out into complete songs (keep in mind that some of these beats have change-ups that weren’t captured in the snippets).

And for the love of God, if you can readily identify any of our sample sources, keep quiet for now, okay?

Comments for "Styling Divine 2: Beats By The Pound (Downloads!)"

i was feelin all the beats, except for boxcutter, that track didnt do anything for me. keep up the good work. lets get snippets of the rhymes now. ha

— cocotaso Mar 15, 10:00 PM
Cocotaso – thanks for the feedback. We’ll get some rhymes up soon.

— R.H.S. Mar 15, 10:17 PM
Don’t do this. Just make some music, please.

— dante severe Mar 16, 01:15 AM
The Jungle needs Jeru, or is that vice versa?

— sankofa Mar 16, 10:39 AM
....they ok, really jazzy jazzy but his name aint jeff, maybe ill like em more when they have vocals.. peace

— damian Mar 16, 07:22 PM
i’m fuckin with “the jungle,” and, “walk out,” the most…

i would soooo go in on, “walk out,” (Pause)

— edgar c. Mar 16, 09:09 PM
think back to STRESS by organzied konfusion to become inspired by raw beats: rap that’s is jazzy with an emotional punch.
GUNSOUT – drums need more pop than sloth
WALK OUT – kanye doom?
TUFF BREAKE – add walking bassline, organ thing and extra noises don’t strengthen
REAL SHIT – screwed version of commsense’s reminding me of Sef(rip) ...not a good look (imo)
DREAMT – i hear atliens organized noize (yay). i object to the vocal piece
BOXCUTTER – when making beats on the mpc you can have a dope beginning..then copy..then add some shit on top for the nex sequence and ride with it because it fits…but it may be rather unspirited. a few of these can benefit from further trials, see what other source material goes.

you have my encouragement.

p.s.
remember WHAT on low end theory? that jump in tempo and tone does wonders for a long player. Tempo and textures may be too samey.

— Thigh Highs Mar 16, 11:29 PM
Thigh Highs – thanks for listening and offering honest critique and suggestions of substance, much appreciated.

— R.H.S. Mar 17, 12:33 AM
very madlib esque. theyre pretty experimental…
dreamt and gunsout are probably the best. ghostface

— Mo Mar 17, 05:48 PM
That’s the post i was waiting for. i was surprised by the quality of the beats, they don’t sound amateurish but like raw tracks that need some diddy-esque fleshing out (pause: no shiny suits, just turning a phrase.)

dreamt/guns out/walk out are all nice. the jungle sounds like it’ll be a good test of divine as an MC and what he’s all about – it’s melodic but basic enough that he can take it anywhere he wants. my favourite of them all, i think.

agree with thigh highs that they tend to be of a similar tempo, and have a trippy underground vibe. not that they’re derivative, but rather a bit similar to each other. maybe for the next few beats, just go in the total opposite direction and see what comes out?

a suggestion while you’re crafting and perfecting your songs: if divine wants to show what he’s about, how about taking a beat off donuts, looping it and giving us a demonstration of his lyrics and flow?

all great stuff, look forward to the next update.

— London Mar 22, 02:33 PM
cocotaso,sankofa,edgar c.,Thigh Highs,Mo,London: Good lookin on all the feedback.It’s hard to really judge a beat from only hearing snippets,unless its really fkn garbage.Alot of those beats got change-ups,like ‘gunz out’ is only the hook thats posted. But,shiiit,thanks for listening.I always welcome constructive criticism.I been out of commission for over a year,so stay tuned,plenty of heat on the way

— VERGE Mar 26, 08:20 PM
oh yeah..damien: everybody is influenced by somebody or something. But,honestly,i never imitate my predecessors. My style is my style.“jazzy but he ain’t jeff”? I don’t get that way of thinking.But …thanks for commenting

— VERGE Mar 26, 08:31 PM
London, we’ll definitely get Divine on some known instrumentals ASAP.

— R.H.S. Mar 26, 09:19 PM
Yo i also make beats… just wondering if i can get in on this… i wont even charge…

— HighSociety Apr 5, 07:55 PM
M1vXFS hi! hooli?

— hoolio Feb 10, 07:34 AM