The BeatTips Manual: The Art of Beatmaking, the Hip Hop/Rap Music Tradition, and the Common Composer

The most interesting part of the book is the section on the "South Bronx Disaster" in which Said sets the context for the beginnings of rap and makes me want to read "A Plague Upon Your Houses" which he refers to in his book. The interviews are interesting as well. The book is wordy and repetitive and needs a good editor to prune and streamline the book, which feels padded to justify the high price tag. The book appears to be a self published labor of love, but that isn't enough to make a book useful.If you're considering purchasing this book to as a technical manual to learn how to make beats, chop and process samples, this book won't be much help. Videos or manuals for your specific piece of gear will do this.If you want to learn about samplers and drum machines Vintagesynthexplorer's website will have much more useful information: photos, technical data, famous users and links to sound and video.If you want to learn how to make beats by reading s book "The Breakbeat Bible" will be much more hands on useful.The technical side of beat making is vague and abstract as described in the book. There aren't illustrations or photos and no step by step explanations of how to use the gear.The bottom line is I don't see someone learning how to make beats from reading this book due to the lack of specifics and details. I already know how to do this and just skimmed over the book, which frankly most people will fond boring and unhelpful.

I'm currently in the second section of this book and so far I love it! I read it every day on the train. The information in the first section alone about the history of djing and beatmaking makes this book worth the purchase. Section 2 works better if you're actually using some form of EMPI/groove box/production software as you read to help conceptualize what the author is talking about. Overall it's a well researched book that any hip hop scholar should have in their library.

Halfway through this book and already making beats better than I could have hoped for. Couldn't wait to review it. This is more than just a beat making tutorial book. This teaches you how to feel your own music and project the passion of the hip-hop mentality into your work. In other words, it prevents you from throwing a bunch of instruments together and encourages you to inject meaning and purpose into the rhythm itself, therefore creating a track that is alive rather than robotic and lifeless with no passion. Anyone can make beats, few can create hip-hop art. This book puts you on the path to artistry. What kind of producer do you want to be??

Seems like this guy wrote this for a doctoral thesis or something. The language is tough, theres plenty of research, and history to go along with it; but if you can tough it out theres some gems inside. Plus theres a whole section in the back with interviews with some pioneering producers.

Reading this book is brutal. There is some good information in it, but in general it is so verbose that I can't bring myself to read it for more than five minutes or so. It is in serious need of an editor, who I'm sure could shave 100 pages off of it. I say only some good information, but I may not be the target audience for this book. I have been a producer, DJ, and rapper for just about 30 years, so it may be more beneficial to folks newer to the game.

Nice manual on a subject where few exist, especially at the depth that this one goes into. Very happy with this purchase.

I like the writing the books style adds to the content

I purchased the" BeatTips Manual" and "The Art Of Sampling" by PDF download.And months later I just recently ordered both books on paperback. Beat Tips Manual is hands down thus far tbe most resourceful and written book of its kind.

This book is a really honest look into the mindset of established Beatmakers who are masters at their craft. I certainly found it very informative and Amir does a great job of expounding on the historical aspects of this style of music making. Hip hop for connoisseurs is my description of this style of instrumental hip hop. This book also breaks down the technical aspects of the beat (which here means the entire track or tune, not just the drums as in generic music lingo), and everything from how a Beatmaker would use the quantize setting on an MPC or the thought process of using software and hardware in tandem to create a piece of art is very well written. This is the aspect of timelessness which is great because it does not apply to only a particular kind of gear, but in general can be applied to any kind of setup regardless.The interview section is really good and highlights some important matters for a Beatmaker.Not much of music theory is covered here, but then I realize this is not a jazz course, its a Beatmakers guidebook and does that part exceptionally well. Music theory books are dime a dozen, even with good ones, but the topic of Beatmaking is scant when it comes to academic approaches. This book sort of levels the playing field in its authenticity and mindset approach. He also strongly (the writer) advocates knowing about tradition and the various periods or epochs of hip hop, which is confirming the fact that he wants the legacy to be recognized for what it is and not cater to the "currently selling" outfits just to make a quick buck. I am on the lookout for such kind of tomes, written to just make off the fans enthusiasm. The BeatTips Manual, is a gritty look at the ins and outs of Beatmaking from someone who lives it and does it everyday.Highly recommended.

Great jump off point for starting beatmakers. Could have used a little more editing, but overall highly recommend.

The book gives a great overview about the history of hip-hop and about beatmaking. Every beatmaker should read it to understand the culture and traditions of beatmaking. There are a lot of technical information and advices about making drums and the use of samples and so on. It is also very useful because you get a certain vocabulary to talk about making beats. That makes it easier to talk with other beatmakers about certain topics. It is easy to read even for a foreign-language person.