- Recently, we've had a
bunch of community members
asking us for some hip-hop DJing tips.
Now, traditional hip-hop Djing
has its difference in style
from many other genres.
At times,
it can be smooth beat mixing
like many other genres.
But at other times,
it can sound abrupt
in an attempt to get a
reaction from the crowd.
So in this video,
I'd like to go over three
techniques that I think
that every hip-hop DJ
should be familiar with
and are pretty easy to start
working into your hip-hop sets.
So if you enjoy tips and tricks
videos just like this one,
make sure you subscribe to this channel.
And now,
let's get into three techniques
that every hip-hop DJ should know.
sometimes also known as slam mixing.
This technique is a great way
to drop a popular or recognisable song
or to change tempos quickly.
This is done by mixing in a
song you want to play next
by playing the song from a specific point,
usually the beginning of a
verse or a memorable line,
while mixing out of the
previous song quickly.
This is usually done with a crossfader
rapidly cutting back and forth
from one side to the other.
Timing is very important
with this technique,
so it may take a little bit of practice
to get this one right.
Now, make sure you that
you mix out of the song
at the end of the bar or measure,
then bringing the next song
right at the beginning of the next bar.
It may take some time to get down,
but is one of the best
ways to mix in a song
that you know the crowd wants to hear.
So for this example,
I'll have a track playing on deck two,
then on deck one,
I'll have a song ready that
I'll drop in on the one
using the crossfader.
And I'll actually show you two techniques,
one using the platter in vinyl mode
to drop it in on the one,
and then I'll also show
you an easier method
using the cue points on your controller.
So here we go.
♪ Why you wanna go and
do that, love, huh ♪
♪ Why you wanna go and do
that and do that, huh ♪
♪ Why you wanna go and
do that, love, huh ♪
♪ Why you wanna go and do
that and do that and do that ♪
(hip-hop music)
- [Marc] Again, I had this song playing,
and at the end of that
last bar of that chorus,
or hook,
I went ahead and moved the crossfader
from this deck to the other side
and then just released the song
right at the beginning of that next bar.
So now,
let me show how to do that
using the cue points on your controller.
♪ Why you wanna go and
do that, love, huh ♪
- [Marc] You may have noticed
that I'm re-cueing the
song over and over again
by repeatedly tapping the
hot cue performance pad.
Now, this is done to get the
hang of the proper timing
to drop that song right on top.
Now, some keys to this is
that you'll wanna make sure
that when this song is playing,
your crossfader's all the
way to the other side,
cutting off this track
from playing at all.
Then when you're ready to go ahead
and release the song the song on the one,
you quickly move it over to
cut this one off from playing,
and it's just this one
playing from that exact point
that you wanted to hear that song from.
on CDJs or on any DJ software,
DJs had to have two copies of
their tracks on vinyl or CD
and manually rewind or re-cue
the track over and over.
Originally, this was done
in the early days of hip-hop
to extend the best parts of a track,
often what is called the break.
Now, a more modern use of this technique
is to repeat the most
memorable lines of a song
or an instrumental section of the song.
To extend the break,
you will need to load the
same song onto both decks
with the first deck playing like normal
and the second one ready to play
at the part of the song
you'd like to extend.
Then once the part you'd like
to repeat on the first deck
is coming to an end,
start teasing the beginning
of that same section
on the second deck.
Now, this is done by
letting the first half,
or one beat,
play.
This is done as a way
to let the crowd know
that you're doing something
live and to let them know
that part of the song that
they love is getting repeated.
Now, you could use the looping feature
on your hardware or DJ
software to repeat the section,
but you won't be able to tease the section
being repeated to the crowd.
Now, this teasing aspect of the technique
calls back to the days of turntables
and old skool hip-hop DJing.
By teasing the track,
you add a human feel and
your audience will know
that you're not just up
there pressing buttons.
Now, you can repeat a section like this
as many times as you'd like,
but this is usually
done two or four times.
You do not want to extend
a part too many times,
as it can get a bit too repetitive.
So in this example,
again, I have the same
track loaded to both decks.
Now I'll go ahead and have
the track playing in deck two
and I want to repeat the
first two bars of this song,
so I'll have this playing
and once it gets close to
the end of the second bar,
I'll start teasing the
beginning of that same section
in deck one.
Then once it gets to the
end of that second bar,
I'll go ahead and release this one
and repeat that same section
and then go back and forth a couple times
to show you exactly what
extending the break is about.
(hip-hop music)
Again, this same technique can
be done using the cue points,
as well.
So let me go ahead and show you that.
(hip-hop music)
The chase technique is a way
to add a little bit of
personality to your mixes.
This technique is kind of like
hitting a loop roll over and over again,
doubling up sections
of a song as it plays.
This is normally done over
instrumental sections of songs
or over a chorus of a song.
To do the chase technique,
again, you'll need to load
the same song to both decks.
Then make sure that the songs
are playing at the same tempo
and are playing from the same point.
Now, here's a tip.
If your DJ software or hardware
has an instant double feature,
use it to speed up this process.
Once you have the two
songs playing together,
you will then need to
offset one of the decks
by either half a beat
or a quarter of a beat.
Then quickly move the
crossfader back and forth
with the same timing that
you offset the songs by.
So if you offset the songs by half a beat,
then move the crossfader back
and forth every half beat,
and the same kind of idea if
you're using a quarter beat.
So for this example,
I'll have the song playing in deck two,
then load the song from the
same point using instant doubles
and then offset it a little
bit by using the jog wheel.
(hip-hop music)
♪ I know I can ♪
♪ Be what I wanna be ♪
♪ If I work at it ♪
♪ I work hard at it ♪
♪ The way I wanna be ♪
♪ Be, be, ♪
♪ Boys and girls, ♪
♪ Listen up ♪
- [Marc] So in that example,
I offset it by a half beat.
Now let me show you what
a quarter beat offset
would sound like.
(hip-hop music)
♪ I know I can ♪
♪ Be what I wanna be ♪
♪ If I work hard at it ♪
♪ I'll be where I wanna be ♪
♪ I know I can ♪
♪ Be what I wanna be ♪
♪ If I work hard at it ♪
♪ I'll be where I wanna be, be ♪
- This technique is probably
my favourite out of the three
as it allows for some
really cool creativity
because you can change the offset
from a half beat to a quarter beat
and back and forth on the fly.
It just takes a little bit of practice.
But once you get it down,
it can sound really cool
and add that little bit of
spice to your hip-hop sets.
they are important to know
and what many hip-hop crowds
have come to expect to hear.
So wrap your head around each of these
and start incorporating
them into your hip-hop sets.
And when you do,
record the results and
let us know how it goes.
And if you're interested in
more tips and tricks videos
just like this one,
make sure you subscribe to this channel.
Now get good,
get out there and make the moments.
(instrumental hip-hop)
