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INDUSTRY TALK: Nikki ‘Nix’ McKnight is Blazing a Trail

Sep 30, 2013 by strat - Comments Off on INDUSTRY TALK: Nikki ‘Nix’ McKnight is Blazing a Trail

 

Nikki ‘Nix’ McKnight: Tearing up Beats and Shining Online & Onstage

Straight out of Columbus, Georgia, Nix Mcknight (@706Nix) is a force to be reckoned with. Spitting pure, uncut hip hop on every track Nix is sure to make a fan out of you and yours. Don’t try to put her in a box because of where she’s from though. Her sound is versatile and her lyrics are mature and thoughtful. Nix shows that female emcees can go back to that hardcore spittin’ and real life subject matter without having to rely on image alone. On top of that, being perhaps the first openly gay female emcee in the game makes no difference to her passion. All she’s about is making good music. Checkout the video above. The song is called ‘Special’, produced by yours truly Strat Carter and featuring Duce Revolver & Ty Ty. Lookout for her upcoming Mixtape ‘The McKnight Files’ which is set to drop in a couple of weeks. The tape features Nix’ s smoking hot bars over beats from amazing producers, including 3 joints by yours truly.

For more info on this artist checkout www.706nix.com

For more about rap beats, r&b beats or buying beats online hit me up here at stratcarter.com

The Power of Music

Sep 03, 2013 by strat - Comments Off on The Power of Music

Connecting Your Emotions to the Beats

This world would be a colourless and flavourless orb if music were to suddenly cease to exist. How would we even survive? I know I’m not alone when I hear a song come on and it takes me back to the emotions I had when I first heard it. Perhaps it specifically speaks to a situation you may have been in at the time or it reminds you of a loved one. In any number of ways, we relate to songs whether they are well written love songs, inspirational songs, or even just our favourite pop beats and rap beats. Take the JT song shown above as an example. If you have felt as though you were totally in love with someone, this song is gonna make you sit there and daydream. Maybe your even lucky enough to look over at that person next to you and smile while the song is playing.

Remember the Feeling you had when you First Heard certain Rap Beats?

To all the real hip hop heads who go apeshit at just the first chord of the beat to a classic hip hop track. I remember feeling the adrenaline flowing each time I’d hear the first 4 bars of T.R.O.Y (Pete Rock & C.L Smooth), Award Tour (ATCQ), C.R.E.A.M (Wu Tang), Gin & Juice (Snoop), Chief Rocka (Lords of the Underground)…..this list could go on forever so let me quit while I still have your attention. This should be an inspiration to all you songwriters and producers out there. Strive to put that emotion in your songs and your rap beats so that listeners and artists who buy beats online can feel that connection. Don’t just make tracks because you feel you have to. Allow the art and the music to flow from you via the highways of true inspiration and enthusiasm.

Make Your Rap Beats and Songs Bang!

Sep 02, 2013 by strat - Comments Off on Make Your Rap Beats and Songs Bang!

Bigger Rap Beats!

One of the most important things in the life of any musician/producer/artist in today’s music scene is the mix quality of his or her product. We all long for the crispness, loudness and warmth of the tracks released by major label artists, especially in Pop and Hip Hop. Producers such as myself have been able to make great strides in improving the mixes of the rap beats we provide for artists who buy beats online. This provides the artist with the opportunity to make songs which already have that big major label type sound. One of the main reasons we can provide this quality is the affordability of top notch technology in today’s audio software and hardware.

There is no great secret to top quality mixes in your songs/rap beats.

There is no sure fire formula for success in anything. In terms of mixing your songs, pop beats, rap beats, reggae tracks et al, if you are an independent artist doing it all in your home studio, there are tons of resources available online to help you understand the world of mixing e.g. http://therecordingrevolution.com/. There is a wide range of information on this site, but one of the things one needs to focus on is monitoring. You need to be able to have a clear and uncoloured output of your raw music so that you can make accurate mixing decisions i.e. being able to accurately determine whether your bass level is either too low or too high. Good studio monitors are practically everywhere but here I want to show you a new entry from KRK Systems. This company has fast become one of the most popular and reliable providers of affordable, high quality studio monitors and you can check out their latest product here.

Buy Beats with Quality Mixes and Make More Accessible songs

To those of you who buy beats online, the equation is simple: Better mixed beats can equal better mixed songs and better mixed songs are more easily accepted in today’s music industry. In an era where lyrical content is no longer much of a focus, one must recognize that the public is now focused on the ‘bigness’ of your sound and the emotion and power in your music. Be sure to buy beats that will enhance this part of your overall projects.