Top 10 Rap Songs That Revolutionized Pop Culture

There are so many rap songs in pop culture that are praised for their beats. How many songs have hyped you up, had you waiting for the beat drop, and just livened the room? 

In the last decade, rap music has revolutionized its production, borrowing from many genres including trap, grime, drill, and more. 

Here are 10 rap songs (in no order) that we think embodied this all!

1. “March Madness”- Future

There is no denying that this song blew the charts back in the summer of 2015. The song quickly became a popular hit, played by famous athletes, parties, clubs, and even college basketball games as noted in a Billboard article by Patrick Lyons in the billboard.

 Even more, “March Madness” is also not just another empty pop song.

 If you listen to the lyrics, you will see the deeper meaning there is to the song, with lines referring to the unfortunate recent police shootings at the time. 

What’s so amazing about the success of this song is the fact that it was not even promoted, or even sold as it was part of a mixtape. This was the beginning of the streaming and digital era where artists just released their music and let social media do their marketing which actually made “March Madness” even bigger! It was a shift in pop culture that is truly timeless. 

 March madness- Future

Producer- Tarentino 

2. “212”- Azealia Banks

Azealia Banks’ song “212” was a refreshing addition to the rap game with her flawless rapping over an upbeat house beat instrumental. This song is so catchy and unique, it was constantly played on the radio at the time. 

Although she may be controversial, there is no denying her talent. Many people stand by the belief that the song remains instrumental to pop culture and was even added to Billboards “Top 100 influential rap songs of the last decade!”. 

What makes “212” is the unforgettable hook “this sh*t been mine, mine”, fused together with the futuristic beat made by producers Luncine and Jacques Greene.

 An article in the billboard emphasizes how the song was truly one of a kind with its seamless mix of the genre’s hip hop and electro house.

 Not to mention, the outrageously simple, yet creative black and white music video that went viral along with the song. Watch the music video below to understand what we’re talking about!

Producer- Lazy Jay

3. “Trap Queen”- Fetty Wap

How would a song like this not get big? Fetty Wap’s lovely melodic vocals, blasting trap beat, and lyrics confessing his love for his “trap queen”, what more can you ask for?! It is no surprise that this song was THE song of the summer. Fetty Wap made hit after hit in 2015-15, but when the world needed him most… vanished!

If you think about it, this song defied many of the rules rap artists follow to become popular. No wonder it was so big and resonated with so many listeners around the world.  It can be argued that the song romanticizes this difficult lifestyle but when you listen carefully it is clear it is pretty self-aware as discussed in vox.  Listen to the song in the link below for a major throwback!

Producer: Tony Fadd

4. “Alright”- Kendrick Lamar

On the complete opposite side of rap, comes the ANTHEM of a song called “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar. This song reflects  Black American trauma, resilience, as well as strength with the reassuring chant of the words “We gon’ be alright” over and over again. If you want to learn more in-depth about what this song means to Black Americans, check out this article by National Public Radio.

Personally, anytime I listen to this song I am put into a great mood with the optimistic lyrics and beat. The song is produced by Pharrell and if you listen closely, in the beginning, you can hear Pharrell's signature 4 beat start! In addition, Kendrick’s flow is just out of this world, spitting out verse after verse of meaningful lyrics and rhymes. 

This is definitely a song that will stand the test of time and become one of those essential classics that will be passed down generations!

Producer: Pharell, Sounwave

5. “Sicko Mode”- Drake and Travis Scott

Now, let us move a little bit closer to the present with Drake and Travis Scott’s recent 2018 hit, “Sicko Mode”. There is almost no way you haven’t heard of the song with the way it was replayed on the radio and viral on social media. There is no doubt that “Sicko Mode” was anything but the hit song of the summer.

What’s amazing about the song is how it actually has 4 beats that were made with a team of producers including Hit-Boy, Tay Keith, Cue Beats, and more (Flypaper). Looking at an article by Flypaper, I was truly shocked at how intricate the production that this amazing instrumental involved. From sampling a dubstep track, an ominous vibe made with minimal piano, a warped synth bass line, it was truly overwhelming to read! 

Rap production has revolutionized creativity behind rap beats, and sometimes outshines rapping/lyric performance! If you want to learn more about beat production, check out Jony Studios. 

6. “Bodack Yellow”- Cardi B

Cardi B’s song “Bodack Yellow” was a hit that constantly played on the radio and was the debut that made her career. “Bodack Yellow” was so popular, it literally made history as the longest a solo women had a rap song running in the charts since Lauryn Hill’s song “Doo Woop” 22 years ago (soundonsound)! 

What’s unique about the song is how minimal the production involved was.  

It was simple, a memorizing flow borrowed from Kodak black’s “No Flockin”, combined with Cardi’s B’s vocal charisma and strong beat produced by Fight club Studios. Personally, what makes the song for me is the amplifying bass of the beat which further emphasizes the power in her lyrics. 

Producer(s); J. White Did it, Laquan Green

7. “Mercy”- Kanye West ft. Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz

This song no doubt changed paradigms in not only hip hop but in pop culture in general. In “Mercy”,  4 strong rappers sort of competing with each other verse after verse, each able to hold it out on their own. 

Just recently a debate started among hip-hop artists on who they think had the best verse, 8 years after the song was released after 2chainz brought it back up. Obviously, every artist gave their all and each gave us all strong (and funny) lines like 2 Chainz line “coupe the colour of mayonnaise” (complex).  

Take a listen to the song and comment who you think had the best verse?

Producers: Mike Dean, Mike Will Made it, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke 

8. “If you know you know”- Pusha T

It may be too soon to say, but “If you know you know” by Daytona might go down as a classic with the way it tastefully went back to the roots of hip hop. Not only is the song a bass-heavy banger, but the lyrics of the song paints a story that goes in-depth on the complex experiences that come with being in the drug-dealing world (Flypaper). 

The track borrows many of the factors that everyone loved from Kanye West’s classic “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”. The lyrics of the song are strong, the bass amplifies perfectly in speakers combined with a beat that shows nothing but passion(flypaper). 

Producer: Kanye West 

9. “Day and Night”- Kid Cudi

Back when MTV music was THE most important platform for music, I remember first hearing this song on the top 10 list and falling in love with it. The song truly planted the seeds for a shift in popular hip hop artists at the time and is still influential to this day.

Not to mention the music video that perfectly fit with the vibe of the song with the neat animation transitions that helped bring Kid Kudi’s vision into reality. 

The beat of the song had a certain magic to it that is so recognizable and unique. 

 Kid Cudi poured his emotions on the song and it eventually became a voice for youth making their way through the world and going through the same thing.

Producer: Dot da genius 

10. “ Heartless”- Kanye West

It is clear Kanye West’s whole 808 album was extremely influential to hip hop artists to this day. It was a blueprint to many popular artists to this day such as Drake, Kid Cudi, Travis Scott, Future, and more. “Heartless” remains a nostalgic banger for many hip hop listeners and was an outlet for the emotional vulnerability which was new to rap at the time (Pitchfork). 

The song included an innovative auto-tune on his vocals which was really just an extension of the song’s beautiful 808s beat. ”Heartless” included many instruments that were unfamiliar in rap songs such as pianos, gospel, ad-libs with production that made it all sound unworldly. Read more about how this album substantially changed hip hop on PitchFork. 

Producer- Kanye West, No I.D

Conclusion

It is amazing to take the time and look back at the hip hop industry and see how many innovative and unique songs revolutionized pop culture around the world! The genre is truly more diverse than it is made out to be and is just going to keep on growing. 

What were your favourite songs listed, and is there any song mentioned that you don’t agree with? Comment below!

By Itman Hassan

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If you need further help creating your own music, we offer audio production services that will help you elevate your sound and bring your song to life!

We look forward to being a part of your success.

Contact us here to get started.

Andrew Scheps Mixing Tips

Grammy-winning mix engineer Andrew Scheps, is one of the biggest recording and audio engineers in the industry today. Andrew has a background playing the trumpet and completed a Recording Engineering Degree at the University of Miami.

His career began interning at two studios in New York and California, before becoming a synclavier specialist working on the road with big acts like Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder and it only went up from there.

Moving to LA in 2001 he began working closely with another incredible producer Rick Rubin (stay tuned for another Industry Legend Spotlight Blog) where he made news mixing the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s album entirely in analogue.

Since then he has worked with a star-studded list of artists including Adele, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, U2, Iggy Pop and more! 

Since then Andrew Scheps again ruffled industry feathers by going the opposite direction and making the decision to mix entirely “in the box”, that is, without any analogue gear, entirely on a computer. Despite such a drastic change, Andrew still maintains the top quality sound and music philosophy that got him success originally. 

To be such an incredible and experienced engineer and still being willing to share his insights is really inspiring to us at Jony Studios, and it is our pleasure to share some of our favourite tips he’s shared over the years. 

*With all mixing tips, there is no one size fits all. These recommendations come from one of the best mixing engineers working with some of the best musicians and recording engineers therefore if your samples don’t work quite as well don’t worry! Using your own ears to find the sound that YOU love is much more important than copying a legend exactly. Even Andrew Scheps won’t have the exact same settings or plugins on any two projects* 

Vocal Mixing

Vocal mixing can be one of the most intimidating aspects of a new song. Regardless of if it is your voice, a friend or a client, the vocals are (almost) always front and centre in the mix, and you just know they have to be perfect. 

Just getting your vocals to cut through and be in front is the first step, and Andrew Scheps, known for using a lot of parallel processing in his work, has just the ticket. This tip features only techniques “in the box” so it’s very easy to recreate at home even if you’re just starting out. 

The first chain is very simple: 

First

Cut low end at around 100hz with a very wide shelf cut of less the 3.0db and boost the high end at around 8khz of around 3.0db

Second

Heavily compress the high end with a threshold around -36.0db above 1khz with a soft knee and ratio around 4.0/1. Your attack and release should be quite high as well, around 10ms and 120ms respectively

Third

Boost the low end with another eq at 100hz at around 2.5db and cut a little top end at 10khz, around 1.5db

With this technique, a vocal can cut through even the more dense mixes with clarity. Using just the first two steps in the chain, you are essentially compressing just the high and mid of the vocal chain. These areas greatly affect the presence and comprehensibility but also add in a lot of air, or harshness. In order to level the vocal out again and remove the harshness while maintaining clarity, the last step of the vocal chain eq’s a slight low pass, low boost filter leaving you with a hyper-compressed but pleasant and stable vocal. 

Bass Mixing

As always, the first step to getting a guitar/bass tone that you like is making a great sample. Recording and playing a great take is essential, there is a lot you can do while mixing, but fixing a poor sample will always turn out worse than polishing a great one. 

Again, Scheps is a big fan of parallel processing to produce the sound he wants. In the case of an aggressive and fast bass, it is a common misconception that heavy distortion is what brings the energy. Scheps argues that the attack, or actual sound of the physical strings (in a recording) provides much more character, rhythm and energy. If you’re looking for the feeling that bands like Green Day get with their punk bass, try this parallel processing technique. 

First

The first chain is a simple eq boosting the mids by 5-7dbs around 1.75khz

Second

The next independent chains are where the distortion really comes in (you didn’t think we forgot about it did you?). Using several different amps, or characters also help to fill out the booming low end of a good bass section, therefore layering these should be the next step. 

Third

Finally, all three should be fed through a final processing chain, first drive some of the low end with a multiband compressor. Follow that with another multiband compressor, this time slightly leveling the whole frequency range, and finally top it off with an eq bringing up some more low end at around 700hz boosting around 3.0db

Guitar Mixing

Guitar’s are also unique in that they are often a focus of a track alongside the vocal. Especially in the case of rock or metal, a heavy distorted power chord or triad can often fight with the vocal for space in a mix, another difficult challenge for any mixing engineer. 

For Andrew Scheps, compressing and eq are also essential, but the final solution in some cases is panning. 

To start, it’s important to remember that certain plugins, or analogue gear for that matter, are meant to be used around a certain frequency. There are a very large amount of vocal processing plugins including enhancers, compressors and eqs. For the exact same reason why your guitars and vocals might clash, those same plugins might work just as well on guitar! Guitars occupy a very similar frequency space to vocals therefore some of the vocal processing tips gone over earlier can also work here!

Another thing to remember is that guitars inherently are an extremely resonant instrument. Here more than ever it is essential to get a great take because trying to take out too much fuzzy distortion during the mixing process can be difficult when so many other clean frequencies and the sound of the pick are up there as well.

Parallel compression can again really help mixing guitars without changing their sound too much and there really isn’t any single chain or tip here. 

First

Boosting some low end around 600hz slightly can really bring the tone of a guitar to life, but again be sure not to get too heavy with this as it can significantly change the energy of a take.

Second

Using very minimal parallel compression next is necessary in some cases to level the sound again but again, too much will be very detrimental. As stated regarding bass, the attack of an instrument is very responsible for the energy groove or aggression (depending on what you’re going for) so a flat guitar part can just feel lifeless. 

Once you have all this down with a solid take and the energy you want it’s time to position it in the mix. Especially with a busy or heavily distorted guitar part you might again notice the guitar and vocals fighting with each-other. While more eqing can help, Andrew Scheps has also come up with a unique solution. 

You guessed it, panning. An unbalanced mix is far from pleasant but by panning the guitar part, or other mid range heavy element, you leave more room for the star of the show, the vocals to shine through. Using this technique is very tricky and should only be used when absolutely necessary however using some reverb panned to the opposite side will greatly help keep imbalances to a minimum. Try panning other elements including backing vocals opposite the main guitar part as well to make sure the mix has a perfect balance at the end of the day. 

How to prepare for a session

Preparation is another one of those things that most professionals would just say takes practice. Getting ready for your first, fifth or even 100th recording session can always be stressful. 

Take it from the words of Andrew Scheps himself from an interview with Your Audio Solutions 

“Preparation.

You can never do enough preparation.

You need to have everything in your head and written down. For example, which microphones to use, placements, which preamps to use and where to put them all so you can get to the vocals really easily.

Where to put the musicians and one of the most important things, their headphones. How are they going to hear and see each other because that is the biggest thing to get a good recording - making the band feel comfortable. If they can’t hear what’s going on they can’t play. Every single aspect of that has to be right. 

Show up early, be completely ready to go, so if someone walks in and sits down by the drum kit you are ready to hit record.

You can’t decide everything in advance because the session goes how the session goes. But it’s good to have planned out as much as possible beforehand so you can react to the chaos and still be able to record. No matter what changes. For example, if they decide to record the drums in the control room, you can do that and make it work because you have everything under control. “

Conclusion

By taking just a few minutes to hear Andrew Scheps speak about his craft it is so clear just how passionate he is. It is that kind of energy that greatly inspires us at Jony Studios, and I hope it inspires you too. All these tips and many more are available on the internet through countless interviews, videos and online courses, mostly for free! We would like to thank Andrew Scheps for his great contribution to the industry, not least of which through the sharing of his expertise but also through his work on some of the most famous, and well-loved albums in the past 20 years. 

If you are interested in hearing more music, mixing, and marketing tips be sure to keep up to date with us on social media and keep checking our website for more blogs like this. In addition, check out our services page for more information on what we can do for your music career. 

- By Erik Steiner

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If you need further help creating your own music, we offer music production services that will help you elevate your sound and bring your song to life!

We look forward to being a part of your success.

Contact us here to get started.

7 Mixing Tips By Award-Winning Engineer Miles Walker

Miles Walker (@mixedbymiles) is a Grammy-winning, multi-platinum record selling sound engineer who has been a staple of the music industry ever since 2003. That year he graduated Berklee and began his career by moving to Tennessee to work with Music Row Records and quickly found a calling in pop music.

He found himself surrounded by the vibrant hip-hop R&B and pop scene and moved to Atlanta where he began to work at the famous Patchwerk Studios. Already music industry veterans like Bryan Michael Cox, David Banner and Leslie Brathwaite began to take notice, but soon he transitioned to another studio to work for Usher at Ush records.

By this point, his fate was sealed and countless massive artists and other industry professionals were inspired by his hard work including Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Rhianna, Katy Perry and Wiz Khalifa. In 2010 Miles won his first Grammy for Beyonce’s “I am… Sasha Fierce” and in the following years, he would win 2 more.

Lately, Miles has been generously offering some of his golden mixing wisdom to the people of Instagram and we here at Jony Studios have been incredibly inspired. From inside tips to realities of the music industry, Miles Walker has given us an insight into what it takes to be an award-winning sound engineer. 

Here are some of our favourite #TuesdayTips, from the past few weeks in the words of Miles himself:

Project Preparation

“As a mix engineer, you have to honour whatever decisions the artist might have made before the record makes it to you. Mixing decisions start getting made early in the process—your job is to work with them, not against them.”

“Although file prep isn’t glamorous, and if we’re being honest, this is probably about 50% of the work of mixing. And it happens before you even lay a single finger on a fader.

For me, here are a couple of rules for file prep and some tips to make it easier for the entire crew:

1. I want the exact session that the rough mix came from:

   This is so I can have all the choices from the mix they sent over. Many times I’ll get a rough mix and it won’t match the session. This is tough because I don’t know the decisions that were made to take something out. To me, stems limit creativity. That’s why I always want the session.

2. I want to meet you in the space where you were creative:

   I don’t ever want a client to have to move their session over to PT or something else. I’m happy to do that. I’ll work that into my process–I never want someone to have to work theirs into mine.

3. Please send me the files zipped up from a service that DOES NOT require an account

   If you’re going to send the files this way, then please send your mixer a zip via a link. My favourite is WeTransfer and I can’t tell you how much I love them. I’ve had problems with corruption with many other services, but not them.

   It’s free, secure, and if you have a pro account you can send something up to 20gb. The best part is the fact that you get an email confirmation when I download it. You can see I’ve downloaded it, which means I’m about to start on it, which means that you can move to the most important step…

4. Communicate!

   After you’ve sent everything over, be in communication with your engineer. Don’t just send a link and then go radio silent. After you pass along the files, follow up to make sure that it’s everything that's needed.

   Delaying the start delays the finish. This saves everyone time, and time is money. We can fix small things quickly, so I can get back to mixing and you can get back to creating.

Keeping everyone happy

“Producers, mix engineers, recording engineers–we’re all stewards of the creative process. Meaning we help move that process along by filling crucial supporting roles to the artists. And if you believe your boy Plato, art is imitation. So at one point or another, each of us has been asked to utilize methods, techniques and styles from other artists.

For mixers, that most often comes in the form of a reference track. Artists will send you a list of tracks that they like something about. It could be the sound of a drum, the stereo separation or a track or something else.

It’s the same thing as asking a recording engineer to help your guitar sound like David Gilmour’s solo on Pink Floyd’s “Time” or maybe to get the bass tone that James Jamerson laid down on What’s Going On.

So when do those come in to play?

For me, I don’t even listen to them until I’ve gone through my first pass at the mix. When I’m building the essence of the song up, I am working with that specific performance. As I said, I’m picking the winners with the magic they created. And just like I don’t listen to an individual track when I’m setting up the session, I don’t listen to reference materials either. Even if I’m familiar with the song or the artist, I’ll try and keep it from influencing my first mix.

Now after that? Absolutely. We can definitely talk about reference tracks. But for me, I use them as a communication tool to help decode what the artist wants versus a template to try and copy.”

“Whenever I get the files for a mix, I do everything in my power to NOT listen to the files. I’ll usually have my amazing assistant @jumperatl set them up. It’s on purpose. I don’t want to hear the parts, I want to hear the song. Before I had the luxury of having an assistant, I would set them up myself (obviously.) But I would do it at the very end of the day when I’m burnt out.

Why?

Because by turning the process into something strictly mechanical, I’m able to tune it out (so to speak) & keep my ears fresh to hear the WHOLE song the next day. And that’s what I ultimately want to do. Hearing each part out of context could cloud my judgement as a mixer, & I think my judgement is one of the things people use me for.

When you as a mixer (or even as a listener) hear something the first time, you INSTANTLY react to it. "That’s a cool bass line, the vocal hook is good here, the drums lock in nicely"–you’re instantly making these notes, whether you want to or not. After my session is set up, I listen to the ruff mix. I make these mental notes, assigning a level of importance to each element–drums, vox, synth, etc.

And then I follow my most important rule–you have to pick one winner for each part. And like the Highlander, THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE. And the mix needs to reflect that.

That’s not to say there can’t be a different winner in each section of the song. And look, you can have runners up–they can share the podium. But there can only be one winner. And that’s what I think about when I’m listening to it the first time. Because that’s how fans listen to it–something hits them. And what hits me is what I’m going to mix. I want to pick the winners from the magic they made.

Of course, artists and producers can & will disagree. But one of the reasons you hire a mixer is because you’re too close to it. This outside perspective is valuable.”

Presentation

“You’ve put all this work into a mix, and it’s time to send it back. How do you present it?

Well, there are a couple of things that I’ve learned over the years. The most important thing is this: conveying your excitement about the work you did. Bottom line? If you can’t be excited about what you’re doing, nobody else is going to be. If you can show your excitement and point out what you did to highlight those moments to people will be more receptive. So how do you do that?

Three is the magic number.

Like we talked about earlier on, you have to pick a winner for each section of the song. This is similar. Pick your three favourite moments and then talk about what you did to highlight those. Part of mixing a track is changing what they have. And for artists, these are very personal things.

If you change just to change, it comes across as you messing it up. But if you tell them what you were excited about and what you did to highlight that excitement, they’ll understand that. You liked the drums so you lifted them up in the chorus. You thought that vocal melody was AMAZING so you made sure it stood out.

And they’ll agree, or disagree. But like I’ve said over and over, they come to us for an opinion. So be confident in what you chose. Because if you don’t believe in it, why should they?”

Finishing the mix isn’t the end of your day

“If you’re gonna start, you need to be committed. But that’s not enough. If you’re going to finish, you’re gonna need consistency. Keep growing, stay hungry, be focused, and outwork everyone else around you.”

“There’s always this perception that when you’re a musician or a creative, that’s all you’re doing. You’re writing music, making beats, mixing records. And while this is true, the part that you don’t see a lot (especially on social media) is just how much of the grind is spent on your business.

Taxes, bills, marketing, business planning, accounting are just as paramount as being good at your craft. I once saw an interview with a brewery owner who talked about how everyone thought he had the best job–dreaming up beers, tasting them and seeing them make it to stores and bars. He said that way over half of his job is chemistry and cleaning, and less than 10% was all the “glamorous” stuff.”

Conclusion

All these great mix tips and more can be found on Miles’ Instagram including some incredible mixing memes. Jonathan the owner of Jony Studios is a big fan of Miles and highly recommends him! You can work with Miles Walker on your project by filling out the contact form on his website here.

There are tons of great audio engineers in the music industry today, who are some of the mixing and mastering pros that inspire you in your music? Let us know in the comments below!

- By Erik Steiner