The Same Formula over and over Again by by Jonathan Daniel

I hear it every day. Just hook me up with a beat with three verses 16 bars each, and two hooks, eight bars each. This is the standard formula used by three fourths of hip-hop producers today. For the most part, this is not a bad thing. But in some situations, it can be problematic.
One of the pros to this formula is that it makes it easy for producers and artists to match lyrics with beats. If an artist is purchasing premade beats from a producer, he usually expects the beats to be broken down using this formula and composes their song accordingly. This helps business transactions flow faster, and provides a level of comfort for the artist and producer.

This brings me to the con. Just today, I listened to a hip-hop album by an artist whose name I won't mention, and for the most part I was impressed. However, one issue that was hard to get past on the album was the fact that every single song on the CD used this very formula. Every song started with an eight bar intro, three verses, 16 bars each, three hooks, 18 bars each, and every song ended with the music fading out.

While the production was very impressive, this formula stood out like a 747 in a grocery store parking lot. I must admit that I am guilty of this too. Probably three fourths of my beats use this formula, and also three fourths of my songs. Today I am issuing a challenge to me as well as other producers and artists to be more creative and venture beyond this monotonous formula. A few skits and interludes on a CD are not enough to make up for this laziness.

The hooks on some rap songs even sound like the first eight bars of a verse with a little overdubbing and adlibs. Sometimes it is best for the listener not to know exactly when a song is going to change. Come on, people, let's surprise our listeners. There are dozens of ways to do this, but you must experiment and see what is best for you. Let's not get so caught up in our deadlines and determination to expose our craft to the point that we end up with what I like to call an assembly line song.

I am talking to three fourths of producers in the industry including myself not to be putting anyone down but to motivate us all to take responsibility for the shortcuts that put a damper on our creativity. I love music, and I love to expose it to the world, but if I discipline myself just a little bit more, maybe I can satisfy those with a thirst for a break from the norm. Let's be more inventive and unpredictable.