Need Help mixing Hip-Hop/Top 40

[hunger]

I just can't quite get it right and its driving me insane right now.

Been beat gridding per Ean's guide [excellent help btw], as well as taking tips from others on hip hop/top 40...Been reading as much as I can here and on other sites...

One thing that I was reading which is what hangs me up, when transitioning, the new song tends to have lyrics and so does the old one so when I transition I get lyric's overlapping sometimes. Some tracks work to lower the mid's some don't, but either way I seem to always run into this problem.

How are you Dj's overcoming this?

Help pls

[JesC]

You have to find the 12" cuts or extended mixes, Funkymix has good intro/outro plus break. Or you can play around with the loop feat to make your own remix on the fly.

I've seen that alot of dj's that spin hip hop they usually mix off the snare, not the 1st kick drum.

[Chilly]

You're not going to effectively beat mix 95% of the Top 40 songs with the 'radio edit'...scratch dj's can get away with it by scratching and cutting when they want to bring the next song in. It's an art.

+1 to JesC.

[Bodega Brad]

Hip-Hop is no where as easy to mix as dance music. Like Chilly said, it's an art. The most important thing is that you MUST know your music. Period. Knowing your music will help you decide when you can mix a song in and how.(obviously) Hip-hop songs don't follow the same "format", beat-wise, as most dance tracks. There are vocals and fades all over the place. Some may even need to be brought in on an off beat to make it match with the vocal drop. Along with JesC, I like Funkymix, but also use these guys alot: http://www.strictlyhits.com/
You can also utilize your loop functions and loop the intro or outro of the song to get enough beats to mix. I agree with Chilly, that not every song, of this type, will be able to be blended. Combinations of scratches, blends, effects and drops will keep them moving.

[DvlsAdvct]

Moved this to the General Discussion forum. I think you'll get more advice here than in the Mixes forum.

[JesC]

Just check out the site strictlyhits...good lord $3.49/per track!

I've been spinning hip hop for sometime, I really dont like mixing off of the snare/clap. I go off of the kick drum, but you have to make sure that you have the beatgrids set just right, or not your gonna be riding the pitch fader all night, and you will trainwreck very easily. But as B_Brad said it, know your music!

[JesC]

Moved this to the General Discussion forum. I think you'll get more advice here than in the Mixes forum.

Hehe, sorry I missed that Mr Devil

[Bodega Brad]

Damn...I don't remember them being that much. Yeah...they are a bit pricey, but they're not the original tracks. A lot of the loop/production work is done for you. They put a beat intro before and after the song for easy mixing. They also give away free downloads every week. I used to get the records free at the radio station and used them all the time, but won't pay that much for a song. jeez...my bad.
At least you can get some possible ideas for your mixes...hehehe.

[JesC]

I hear you, Ill pay for the Funkymix, but they usually only have 2 or 3 good tracks, and by the time they come out with the cd, damn songs have been burned atleast here in l.a., by the Power106 dj's and the rest of the cats. I still remember when I got Kid Cudi - Day N Night (Crookers Mix) its sat on my HD for almost 6 months before I played it live. Now the song is burned here in l.a.,

I need new music, when it comes to hip pop/top 40 remixes!

[hunger]

Hey Thanks for all the tips everyone, to save some posting i'll aggregate them all here...

Sorry about that dvl's wasn't sure if i wanted to drop it in mixes or general.

re: the 12" and mixes I was wondering how Dj's were doing it with some tracks I found a couple sites last night that do 8 bar intro's, need to snag those for sure.

I'll tinker around with mixing off snares and kick drums, my looping foo is still weak but I think its like everyone is saying need more mixes with longer intro/outro's...

Jesc, I hear ya, I need some new music too these radio edits are burning me I think..

Thanks for the tips guys, now to go find a site with tracks reasonably priced.