hip hop transitions

[eggssell]

sources transitions advice remiunded me ive wanted to post up about hip hop mixing for a bit now.

i know jaytee posted up about it many moons ago but i cant be assed digging it and from memory the solutions was me posting the DJTT article on the pop song theory of chorus/ verse transitions. i also had this awesome article

http://www.djforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193930

but even though i understand all this theory i cant freaking put it into action. you really have to know how long your intros are, and do a lot more planning about when you can drop it in. but even knowing that i just cant seem to make it sound good. in an hour sesh i reckon i only like about 5 transitions i do.

i also realised in all the vid tutorials i have watched (roc raidas how to rock a party, z-trips from the 2nd disc of scratch and a few you tubes) they are mixing hip hop with minimal sounds (i.e. kick, hi hats, snares and bass line). but a lot of what i am trying to mix has melodies, so it doesnt seem as easy.

anywho. any hints or links to vids would be much appreciated.

[eggssell]

errr still struggling with this.

ive chopped and changed a setlist a few times now.

so hard. some songs intro arent i. beat or time with the song. just random sounds.

some songs have exactly eight beats then straight into the verse (these have been the easier ones to mix just start eight beats before chorus ends).

then some start with one half of the chorus. and unlike the advice to mattus of play the vocal over a musical part. most of the songs have no just musical part!!!

recorded for the first time cuz i was hitting a few. but listening back only half those i thought i hit sound okay. the rest sound so intrusive on the chorus.

[DJAdumbration]

eggssell, your last statement is so true - I've recorded a few sets and I think "yeah, nailed a few of those transitions". Then I play abck the recording and it sounds like a horrible mess. I may as well not have bothered at all!

But it's the best way to learn. As for hip hop transitions - can't help you I'm afraid. I'm still getting to grips with trance/house transitions. Best of luck.

[Whitt_wan]

You could try some Harmonic mixes which will really improve your sets when gradually mixing 2 tunes or a lot of hip hop songs drop out to just a beat which you could then mix another melody over. I just roll all the bass off of the old tune so it kind of leaves only the vocals which i lay the new track's beat under. Also a lot of hip hop dj's just cut up the first beat of the next track before doing a hard cross fade into it. For reference and some good ideas (though they're well difficult to reproduce) Check out DJ shadow and cut chemist's collaborations especially brainfreeze. Hope this is some help to you

[eggssell]

cheers man. i think shadow and cut chemist are a bit leet for me. forgot all about this thread. yeah man as above one of the probs was only two of the songs had any musical only parts so couldnt do the standard blend. cuz it was always gonna be vocal on vocal.

i eventually got this mix to 95% okay (still felt like vocals were almost about to smash) and thought id sleep on it then never went back to it. ha ha ha. i shoild try to find the 95 per center if i can.

oh and yeah it wasnt the harmonic thing that was making it sound bad, it was vocals clashing, or cuts sounding stupid because not really at a build or a breakdown or somewhere appropriate.

but yeah man cheers!!!