Complex Magazine | 5 Rules Every Aspiring Hip-Hop Producer Needs to Know

Ron Lawrence (left) and Jay-Z (right), 1997

Original Article/Full: http://www.complex.com/

Being a hip-hop producer these days seems almost as glamorous as being a rapper. Beatmakers like Zaytoven and London on da Track are signing big record deals, putting on new acts, and getting just as much fame as the artists they make beats for while spending more time in the studio doing what they love and avoiding grueling tours, video shoots, and promotional runs.

So how does an aspiring producer ascend to this plateau? If your goal is to be the next [insert producer tag here], there are several key principles that have proven tried and true to get you there. We talked to several established producers from different eras to get their take on making it in the music game, and broke down their thoughts into a few easy-to-understand guidelines. With help from these rules (and a little bit of luck), you too may soon hear your favorite rapper spitting over your beats.

At least for now, the system of learning how to become a hip-hop producer is decentralized. The music is young enough that, unlike jazz or classical music, there are no conservatories to teach young artists—though there are some fascinating early steps in that direction. Most of the learning has taken place one-on-one.

Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence is best known for his work as part of Bad Boy’s production collective known as the Hitmen. Working side-by-side with Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie (a.k.a. The Madd Rapper), Lawrence produced hits like “Hypnotize,” “Money, Power & Respect,” and “Where I’m From.”

But well before he was climbing the charts with Biggie and Black Rob, Lawrence lived in the same neighborhood—East Elmhurst, Queens—as Hurby “Luv Bug” Azor. Azor was a producer who made a name for himself in the 1980s by producing hits for Salt-N-Pepa, Kid ‘N Play, Dana Dane, and more. Lawrence and Azor had both been in rap groups locally growing up, so when the latter moved into the big time, Lawrence was right there to watch his rise.

“[Luv Bug] was my blueprint,” Lawrence remembers of his friend. “Because he was the closest to anyone who I knew who had made it, in that stature of being a record producer. So I had hands-on experience being around him and watching him work with artists who had made it gold and platinum.”

Initially, when Lawrence was hanging around during Luv Bug's sessions, he didn’t even want to be a producer. But after contributing some ideas to tracks like Salt-N-Pepa’s “I’ll Take Your Man” and seeing them become hits, he eventually caught the bug. While in college at Howard University, he composed his first beat for “Hyped on the Mic” and presented it to his friend.