Beats

Trap beats to record over

The seven instrumentals from the Empty Streets album: dark, heavy and slow, 71 to 84 BPM. More beats are added as they are finished.

7 of 7 tracks

Walker

Science of Defiance
83 BPMTrap / Hip hop· Dark· Shadowy
Listen

Urban Dungeon

Science of Defiance
84 BPMTrap / Hip hop· Dark· Sinister
Listen

The Set Up

Science of Defiance
74 BPMTrap / Hip hop· Dark· Tense
Listen

Empty Streets

Science of Defiance
71 BPMTrap / Hip hop· Dark· Desolate
Listen

Death Trap

Science of Defiance
78 BPMTrap / Hip hop· Dark· Menacing
Listen

Crazy 8s

Science of Defiance
71 BPMTrap / Hip hop· Dark· Gritty
Listen

A Trap Like This

Science of Defiance
74 BPMTrap / Hip hop· Dark· Gritty
Listen

Licence tiers

MP3 lease

CA$34.99

Record over it and release it. MP3 file, one project, up to 50,000 streams. Non-exclusive.

WAV lease

CA$54.99

High-quality WAV mix. One project, up to 250,000 streams. Non-exclusive.

WAV and stems

CA$99.99

WAV mix plus separated stems for your own mix. One project, up to 250,000 streams. Non-exclusive. Stems are sent within 48 hours.

Unlimited

CA$199.99

WAV and stems. Unlimited streams, one commercial release, performance rights split to be agreed. Non-exclusive.

Exclusive

FromCA$424.99

Taken off the store after sale. Priced per beat. Tracks already on streaming need a separate plan; ask first.

All prices are in Canadian dollars (CAD) before any applicable tax. One licence covers one track and one project.

The machine behind the beats

The Roland TR-808

A drum machine that was a commercial failure and became the sound of modern music. I own one, and it is a main feature of these beats.

Roland launched the TR-808 Rhythm Composer in 1980 at about US$1,195. Instead of playing back recorded drum samples, it built every sound from analog circuits, and many drummers and producers at the time dismissed it as thin and unrealistic next to sampled machines.

Fewer than 12,000 were sold before Roland stopped making it in 1983. Then the second-hand market changed everything: used 808s sold for under US$100, and young producers in hip hop, electro, house and techno found that its boomy, long-decay bass drum, snappy snare, cowbell and handclap could carry a whole record.

Yellow Magic Orchestra used it in Japan in 1980 and 1981. In 1982 it was all over Marvin Gaye's “Sexual Healing” and Afrika Bambaataa's “Planet Rock.” Hip hop, Miami bass and trap were then built around it. Kanye West made an entire album, 808s & Heartbreak, in 2008 around the sound. Roland brought the design back in 2017 with the compact TR-08.

Mine is on the albums Empty Streets and Deep in the Valley of Lost Souls, and it is a main voice in the beats you can license on this page.

SOURCES: Wikipedia · Smithsonian Magazine

Roland TR-808, studio
Roland TR-808, studio
Where the beats are made
Where the beats are made