Riq Roq studio tips

[Myrealname]

Studio Tips
Written by: Riq Roq

Alright, you’re a rapper or a singer who finally told yourself, "If I ain’t gonna invest in my own career why should anyone else?" You are so right! How could anyone take you serious without a professional sounding demo? You got the heat, but you gotta let them know. So you and your crew scrape up, book a session, and go to the studio to knock out them hits. You got flows, you got thunder. You shouldn’t have to worry about anything once you finally get to the lab..... But you do!

PREPARATION

One of the worst things an artist can do is come to the studio unprepared. Pre-production is the key to tight tracks! Know your music before you create it! Have a good game plan, visualize, and rehearse what you‘re about lay down, prior to stepping into the studio. This includes mapping out your songs from start to finish, from bars to hooks. Bring everything you’ll need, including samples, sound effects, all your music tracks labeled even if you have a beat sequenced on a disk bring the audio CD too. It doesn’t hurt to have extra shit in your car, but it does hurt to have that one thing you might need, left at home!

Write and know your raps ahead of time. The biggest waste of time is waiting on cats to write their raps in the studio. The lab is the place where you record your compositions; not create them. I know somebody’s gonna say, "What about Pac, he wrote live on the spot". Yes, I know he did, I’ve seen him do it many times. He created masterpieces in less then 30 minutes, but he had two luxuries in his favor, he was the best, and somebody else paid the bill!

{I was fortunate enough to be there when Pac wrote many hits "Brenda’s Got A Baby" was written on the toilet while Pac took a shit. I wasn’t in the bathroom but he showed me when he came out. "Unconditional Love" was recorded in less than 45 minutes. Johnny J was dropping the beat when me and Pac rolled up to the studio, Pac walked in and started bobbing his head and started writing the lyrics and just like that we were out the studio barely 45 minutes after showing up. I got that one on video.}
-Riq Roq

STUDIO KNOWLEDGE

It is very wise to have a basic understanding of a studio in general, but more specifically you should make it your job to know the in’s and out’s of the lab you work out of. Know what format your studio uses, i.e., ADATs, Hard Disks, Tape Reels, etc. If they use tape, is it ½ inch? or 2 ince? If it’s hard disk, do they save to Aiff files, Sound Designer II or .Wav? Does your studio have automation? How are these files stored? You may not want to think about these things but they are important if you want to be able to recall your songs with minimal time loss or if you want to take your songs to another studio to add something or mix it down.

Stock up on the right recording supplies, since you know what formats your studio is using, come prepared with extra disks just in case. At Hitworks we might need a re-writable CD or Zip to save your data file, a floppy to save your automation, or a Zip or floppy if you use the Triton or MPC-3000.
A little insight ahead of time will prevent disappointments later. Knowing all the in’s and outs of the studio you are working at is the job of the producer.

PRODUCER

Producer, now that’s the most misused word in rap. This is one of the important lessons, so grab this one. Lot’s of cat’s go to studios for years attempting to record songs, make beats, record songs, make beats, etc. Hours and hours of production, but little to show for it. After years they finally come up with an album, why? Because somewhere along the way, they acquired production skills. Through trial and error, they have learned to produce. Maybe even become producers.

A producer is not what you might think it is. A producer is a person who produces something, whether you had a pizza delivered to me or you hand flipped the dough and baked the shit yourself, if you got it to me, you are the producer. Now that I made that seemingly useless analogy let me go back. The cats that come in the studio and are successful are the one’s that are produced. This means someone was in charge and over saw the project from concept to CD. This person took the vision and made it happen. For some this comes easy, for some it takes a lot of hard work and concentration. This person can be anyone from the person who made the beat to the rapper or singer, to someone who isn’t even on the song. In some instances the producer is the artist or group such as DJ Quick or Missie Elliot and sometimes artist hire outside "ears" to get it done. Digital recorded D’Angelo’s debut album and D’Angelo initiated most of the song writing and musicianship, but the record company hired Raphael Saadiq to produce it, to put a vision together. A skilled engineer was hired (Digital), so it would come out to perfection. To build a house, you need the right materials, labor, and plan. To make a record you need a producer.

GOOD SONG OR GARBAGE?

You can hire the best producer or studio engineer, you can even be the tightest artist, but at the end of the day a tight song is a tight song and garbage is garbage. It starts with good writers, lyrically and musically.

( "When I recorded "I Get Around for Pac, Shock and I would move the faders to different positions on the board, but no matter what, wherever we put the mix the song sounded good. That song was born a hit. You can’t make a song a hit, it either is or it isn’t."}
-Digital-D
I don’t know, which songs you’ll decide are the ones, but I believe this, If they are born wack, they will probably stay wack.

[Myrealname]

BE AN ARTIST

This music game is built around fame & fortune, but don’t lose sight of the art. Music is an art form that the best perfect. These people make it look easy, these people are called "Artists". An artist makes people feel and relate to their situations through music. It’s not just about making tight ass songs, it’s about making songs that the people listening can feel. This is done for the most part with concept & style. The best songs are full of both! The same can be said about the best albums.

If you look at either of "The Chronic" albums you see Dre had a theme all the way through, and he had a style that went with it. If your going to rap or sing, you got’s to ask yourself "Who Am I?" "What is it that I’m doing different?" "Why will cat’s wanna pick my CD up"?
-Digital-D

Know this, Dr. Dre is well known for being a gangster from the streets, but when it come’s to taking care of business like recording, all B.S. aside, he is a musician. A musician who happens to be an artist!

TECHNOLOGY VERSES CREATIVITY

The latest equipment filled with the biggest bells and whistles can be both good and bad. It’s the modern day struggle to get the best shit or the latest upgrade or the phatest sound twist out there. Hell, nowadays they have computers and keyboards that can damn near fly! This technology ensures that if a person can dream it, they can produce it. That’s all good but here’s the problem with that. You can get caught up with all that tech shit and fuck around and lose sight of what the fuck it’s all for, and that’s the music! I have programs and keyboards that I have spent more time learning to make them work or make them compatible, then time spent using the damn things. Thank God for boards like the Triton, sometimes you just need to get in your own zone and make the music, forget about programming or a zillion different sounds.

STUDIO PITFALLS

Ok, now you are all prepared to go get down at the studio. You’ve prepared well so you’re thinking, it should be all gravy?......... Think again.

Studio time is becoming more affordable and more efficient, however studio time can add up; know your budget and your goal. Don’t try to drop four songs and never finish them. Plan to get it done on time.

Allow for technical difficulty, you never know if a computer will freeze or if an engineer might be able to spend a little time to adjust a piece of equipment that may make a difference in your project. Have your guest features show up on time. (That means early).

Decide if your recording session is to make music or to party. Although drinking and smoking are inherent to studio life, getting "fucked up" can "fuck up your session". You can party when you get that plaque on your wall!

"Triple Beam had a session scheduled and something happened to where they didn’t have everything in place to do the session. Digital decided to cancel the session and reschedule it. In the meantime some girls showed up and we decided to party. HK and BUBB started making a beat. Everyone grabbed rhythms (drink, smoke, drop), the girls started taking all the clothes off each other, we turned on the mic and the cameras and everybody started freestyling. The end result was an impromtu music video called "Bustin’ Nutz" (you can see it on "Hitworks: Behind the Scenes" DVD & Soundtrack - but you must be 18 or older!) This is the only time something productive came out of partying at the studio, at least musically.
-Riq Roq

REALISTIC GOALS

Remember to maintain realistic goals. Yeah we all know that to make it, you have to reach for the stars; and that success is measured by platinum plaques, and of course we know it’s all about getting that major record deal. The truth is you’re competition and you are like grains of sand on the beach. You’d have a better chance at winning the lottery than becoming the next J.Z. or J.D. J-lo. I ain’t trying to bust your bubble, we all have a shot. I just want to ensure this....

Make sure you have fun and create art along the way to accomplishing your goals.

Pieces, Riq

Riq Roq has recorded and released various independent rap records including 51.50 and Assassin and more recently SelfMade, The Ghetto Starz, and Explicit Fam. Riq was long time friend of Tupac Shakur and was his assistant at Death Row records. After being released from prison in 1994 Riq moved from the Bay to Sacramento and built Hitworks Production Facility. Riq recently finished his first film called "Make It Happin" in which he wrote, produced, and directed. The film & soundtrack features; B-Legit, Richie Rich, Suga Free, Mac Dre, Brotha Lynch, The Outlawz, Ghetto Romeo, GP, Triple Beam & more. Riq can be hit at "mailto:riqroq@hitworksgravy.com"

Digital-D is a platinum & gold awarded engineer. He’s recorded everyone from Pac, Raphael, Richie Rich, Lynch, Luniz, Digital Underground etc. He was Assistant Director as well as the Music Coordinator for the film, "Make It Happin." He is head engineer at Hitworks Production Facility in Sacramento. Digital can be hit at "mailto:digital@hitworksgravy.com"

Check out the studio website for more info. There you can listen to beats and albums and also preview our upcoming films and videos.

"WWW.HITWORKSGRAVY.COM"

[Don Seer]

dope.. where this come from?

[lbc213]

Yeah nice post

[D-Stress]

riq roq is dope.he produced for assassin and 51.50