By: Isaac Ziman

BUILDING BEATS WORKSHOP LEADER & MUSIC PRODUCER DJ RAY BLK HAS SOME TIPS TO CREATE A POP-SMOKE STYLE OF BEAT, USING THE FREE BROWSER-BASED MUSIC PRODUCTION PROGRAM SOUNDTRAP. YOU CAN ACCESS SOUNDTRAP ON YOUR LAPTOPS, PHONES, AND IPADS USING THE CHROME BROWSER.

Pop Smoke was a rapper from Canarsie, Brooklyn whose breakout single “Welcome to the Party” came out in April 2019. The song stood out for its usage of UK Drill production, which strongly influenced his sound throughout his catalogue. His other well-known hits include “Mpr”, “Flexin”, and “Dior”, and he has collaborated with artists such as Travis Scott, Quavo, and Gunna. RAY BLK created a UK Drill-style beat to commemorate his legacy and sound, as the rapper unfortunately passed away in early 2020.

First, he started out with creating the main melody for the beat. By navigating to the Keyboard tab, RAY selected the Zither instrument preset. For Drill music, it’s important to keep the melodies simple, as more complexity comes from an artist’s lyrics, sound effects, and ad-libs.

Next, let’s layer on our 808 Kick Drum. For Drill beats, the 808 usually slides, and in Soundtrap you can achieve a similar effect by selecting the “Gritty Long Sub” option for the kick drum - which drags out the notes. Now create your melody for the 808, and add it to the grid! Listen to how RAY BLK creates the sliding effect with a lot of movement on the kicks.

Next, let’s keep it moving by adding the Hi-Hat - responsible for getting the listener to follow, or head-nod along to the beat in Drill music. RAY BLK chose the Vanilla Hi-Hat, with the small pattern. You can see he programs the Hi-Hat for every two beats, creating a gritty-bounce feel.

Now let’s add our Snare to the drum loop. RAY BLK stuck with the Vanilla kit, choosing plan D. Create your snare pattern! Listen to your snare, 808, and Hi-Hat layers together to make sure they sound good.

To finish off the drum loop, let’s add an Open Hat. RAY BLK switched to the Old School kit, choosing Hat #1. 

Now listen to your drum loop & main melody layers together - we’ve got a great foundation to build from! 

Next, let’s start adding some additional layers to create more of a cinematic feeling to the beat. Start by adding some strings - which can be found in the instrument tab. Play around with different chord progressions for the secondary melody.

To finish off the melodic aspect of the beat, RAY BLK added a guitar instrument layer to the chorus, choosing the Delay Swell effect for some added energy.

Now we’ve finished both our melodies and drums! To finish off the beat, RAY BLK added some extra flavor by adding a Vox sample. For future reference - in Soundtrap, you are able to import your own samples (which he does here).

Now you’ve finished your Pop Smoke Type, UK Drill beat! Get creative playing around with different chord progressions, 808 basslines, snares, and vocal samples to make it your own. If you enjoyed this tutorial, stay tuned for future How-To videos from the Building Beats team!

Interested in the stems for this project? Good news, they’re available for free download!