Two totally different songs, two very different concepts on totally different ends of the thought spectrum. Both equally dope and are classics as far as hip hop songs are concerned, Bonita Applebum and Gin and Juice that is.

I wanted to try and paint this contrasting picture of how broad the range of styles are that you can consider when making hip hop beats, there really is room for anyone to get in where they fit in, literally!

So, where do you fall within the different subcultures of hip hop music production? Are you more of the backpack rap style cat like the late great J Dilla was, or are you more of a score writer for all the dope boys, like Zaytoven or Fatboi? In my opinion, it's awesome if you're able to create any kind of beat that comes to your mind, but I think that you will experience much greater success with making hip hop beats if you identify from the jump which lane it is that you want to create within.

And also, having an idea of what type of producer you would like to become will help you to focus upon what techniques you may be experiencing difficulty in, and what you need to focus your practicing efforts upon.

For instance, if you want to be a sample based producer, you might want to practice chopping up samples, and building a library of samples that are readily available for your use when Puffy and Kanye come a calling.

Or if you want to strictly be a compositional producer, meaning you will create every chord progression, melodic arrangement and drum sequence from scratch, you will need to focus on and practice playing the piano, so that you will be ready when Mary J. Blige needs her next single.

Now, if you're well versed in all of the above, you won't be able to get people to stop ringing your phone off the hook, looking for your beats. You will be a hot commodity man!

So in the name of ballin out, and stepping your game up, I cannot express to you how important it is that you stick to the script when making hip hop beats. And another thing, you don't have to make your beats in solitude, get out there and network with other producers, and frequent the hip hop beat forums like future producers and propellerheads.

By doing this, you will be able to learn techniques and tricks that you might not be aware of, and therefore, you will advance with making hip hop beats a lot quicker than you think! It's all in the game, and you're winning... Better beats ahead.