The writing process, the way I go about it is I do whatever the beat feels like, whatever the beat is telling me to do. Usually when the beat comes on, I think of a hook or the subject I want to rap about almost instantly. Within four, eight bars of it playing I'm just like, 'Oh, OK. This is what I wanna do'.
Some MCs don't take the time to take a beat home or just vibe with it and just figure out, 'How do I attack this track?'
Sometimes I go in and try to write beats, but I just trash 'em, and then the next time I go in, I'll make like six beats - six legit, nice beats. I'm really particular with how it needs to sound.
My actual writing process? I have to just love the beat before I even write on it. I can't force myself to write to a beat that I'm not immediately loving.
For me, honest critique is not all about your feelings and your ear. Honest critique is sitting down with an album that you may not put on in your spare time, and really digging into that album, so you can talk about the beat selection.
Every now and then there might be a beat someone turned down that I have as an unused beat. But everything that predominantly matches the artist in my 30 years of doing this, it was me walking in and sitting there with no drums, no samples, no nothing, and making a beat on the spot.
I really didn't even pick producers. I just picked beats, except for Dre - he's the only producer I knew I wanted to work with.
People will go through 50 beats from a producer and pick the best ones, go make a song on that beat. That's cool, but someone coming to me and hearing what I've been working on, picking out pieces of all of that, and then adding some of their own ideas is way more exciting.
I don't really care what type of beat it is. As long as it appeals to my ear, I'm gonna do a song to it.
A lot of people just send me beats, and I pick the ones I like. See, once I said I was doing my album - because I know everybody and they mama - everybody just got in touch with me.
Sometimes you might get inspired by something, write about it, then later that lyrics sounds better on another beat. That's happened a few times. Like 'Dance Wiv Me' - those lyrics didn't start on that beat.
People don't understand how long it really takes to find beats. Sometimes they're not all the way there, but it's elements in them I love. Then I get to take them to get chopped up. Ye got to cook over a few of them.
With Mobb Deep, we have to agree on things. We have to agree that we want to use that beat or agree on the type of song we want to do.
I don't have a hand in a lot of my own beats. I like all types of music and all types of beats though.
I really hate when I do a great song with great lyrics but my voice just don't fit because of the type of beat I picked.
I just like a beat that grabs me. And then I'll come up with a concept after. I like to take my time with music.
'Gorgeous' was one of those records that, as soon as I heard the beat, I was like, 'Man, this is the one. This is that 'This Can't Be Life' Kanye beat.'
I met Kendrick, and we were in the studio. He picked a bunch of beats out; that was great. He's a great guy - we vibed out for the day.
I don't wanna forget the fact that I wanna be one of the best rappers. I feel like some of the best rappers ever - 2Pac, namely, one of them - could take sub-par beats or average beats and turn them into incredible songs.
Future's the guy, like, where, if I send him some beats while he on the road, and there's a pack of beats that he really like, if there's a new vibe or new wave, he's like, 'Man, keep feeding me more. Feed me more of this every day.'
I don't want to rap about my car. How generic is that? Be creative.
Being a good rapper is hard to do. I'm a good Rapaport, but that's about it.
I don't shop beats. That was never my method coming up. I think it's very strange to have a CD of 30 or 40 beats and then just pick one.
Just knowing how to rap doesn't necessarily mean that you're a good songwriter.
If I'm spending more than 15 minutes on a beat, I'm not feeling it.
