First off, I want to admit that whenever it comes to anything that has to do with a manual or how-to or a class on any of the aspects of hip hop….I’m always weary. I actually took a hip hop culture class back in my first round of college (don’t ask). The class was terrible and it was taught by this girl that was into riding motorcycles and had more tattoos than Kat Von Dee (sorry to pass judgement) but she knew NADA about hip hop. Most of the lessons were on Tupac, I kid you not. Long story short, I aced the class and learned nothing new. As a matter of fact, I ended up teaching the class more about hip hop than my teacher did. What’s the point of my mini memory lane flashback you ask? Well, I just wanted to give you some history of my interaction with anything taught when it comes to hip hop.

Then along comes Sa’id’s Beat Tips Manual. For those of you that know me, I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I’m pretty much a self taught genius when it comes to these beats and music. What could Sa’id possibly tell me about making a beat? Well, one chapter in and I was convinced. The book is written very intelligently and as well he attacked it from an angle that’s very important to begin with….the history. Before getting into the subject at hand, Sa’id strategically broke down the different musical movements in hip hop by years and who spearheaded said movements. After looking at Amir’s chart (yes, he included a comprehensive chart), you realize a lot about where hip hop has been, where it has gone, and you can even deduce why certain movements occurred when they did.

After being enlightened with the most accurate history of hip hop I’ve seen in a textbook, we get into beat making. Up until now I never thought someone could accurately speak on what goes into beat making and as well, he even discredits the lifelong argument that “sampling isn’t creative”. It made me proud to be a beat maker.

Being self taught, there are many things in my beat making process that I practiced not knowing why they work. Amir covers this in his book through explanation of what I would call “beat theory” and a technical breakdown of sampling. This book is not just for beatheads that have MPCs, this book applies to any beathead that samples. Whether you’re a newbie or 10 yrs deep into it (like myself), there is a lot this book has to offer as it gets your creativity flowing after a couple of hours. Trust me on this one.

BeatTips Website
BeatTips Book

It’s good to see MC’s get creative and expand upon their brand. Styles P is no stranger to story telling. If you follow the LOX, I’m sure you’re aware of his vivid/descriptive use of words to paint pictures in almost all of his rhymes. Styles will be releasing a fiction novel on Random House in June along with a mixtape to support it. Book summary below:

Jake Billings is usually cool under pressure, but when two stick-up kids rob his record store, Jake opens fire on them, landing him in prison. Five days in, he receives an anonymous letter telling him that his days are numbered. But before he can find out who’s behind the threats, Jake is stabbed and ends up in a coma.
When he wakes in a hospital bed two years later, things have changed: His prison sentence has been commuted, his girlfriend is fiercely independent, and his side piece has gotten out of the street life altogether. But one thing remains: Jake’s enemy still wants him dead and is powerful enough to track him down no matter where he hides.
On the run, and with rumors circulating about a powerful, phantomlike gang called the 300 Crew, Jake will need to rely on his mantra: Trust no one–not the law, not his girl, not the street cats he helped out years ago, not even his own blood.

Very dope…..gives me a few ideas actually. See below for a description of what this is actually all about:

From 1957 to 1965 photographer W. Eugene Smith made 1,740 reel-to-reel tape recordings (approx. 4000 hours) and nearly 40,000 photographs in a loft building in Manhattan’s wholesale flower district where hundreds of jazz musicians gathered after-hours and jammed. With Smith’s archival materials available for the first time, the Jazz Loft Project is dedicated to uncovering and preserving the stories behind this time and place in American cultural history.

Check out their website for more information.

• “You didn’t know your design firm was a personal public relations firm, too?“
• “It’s about being the CEO, CMO, CFO and CIO as well as the bookkeeper, accountant, tech guru, housekeeper and coffee maker. It’s imperative that you see yourself as the business and act accordingly, because you are the business.“
• “Most independent creatives chose the on-their-own route so they could perfect their craft, follow their ideals, and express their voice. Sure, ideals don’t pay the bills, but following ideals creates the high level of skill and professionalism that creates a sought-after product that, in the end, does pay bills-without selling your soul in the process.“
• “There’s no “free” in freelance.“

Even though I’m not a designer, I think most of the things in this book could apply to plan for world domination. *Muahahahahah<—that’s my evil laugh. Purchase links below:

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