Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About Us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • Purdie on the Purdie shuffle
  • Type beats
  • 86000+ free music samples
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • Three-chord trick

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. News

Mr Pay Attention: 10 hip-hop beats that blew my mind

By James Russell
published 19 April 2018

The Christian Combs and Chris Brown producer gives us his top ten tunes and avails us of some production advice along the way

Listen up

Listen up

It’s abundantly clear that Mr Pay Attention is a busy man. “I’m in Miami right now working with XXXTentacion, and my phone’s ringing a lot. I’ve got OVO, I’ve got Ty Dolla Sign… but I don’t want to drop too many names!”

Also known as Shawn St Cyr, Mr Pay Attention cut his teeth in Atlanta, sleeping on Sonny Digital’s couch and watching a string of underground artists coming up. Now it’s his turn, thanks to his single Love You Better, with King Combs and Chris Brown.

“I actually met Christian Combs when I was in New York, and we worked on the record together. He knew Chris Brown, I knew Chris Brown as well. We were trying to see who could get to Chris first, and we kinda made a bet. He got to him first in the end!”

Click onto the next slide to dive into Mr Pay Attention’s top ten hip-hop beats, and to score some pro production advice along the way.

Keep your ears peeled for Mr Pay Attention’s first album, due out by the end of this year. Love You Better is out now.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
1. Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life

1. Jay-Z - Hard Knock Life

“For me, for these ten tracks, it’s not only about the production, it’s also about the producers behind the beats. These are in no particular order, but we’re gonna start with Hard Knock Life. It’s one of the songs that inspired me to become a producer.”

“I love the fact that they used the sample of Annie, that was genius to me. I love the hard-hitting drums - that’s hard to come by nowadays. These records were done back in the day when they were using analogue gear, and it gave them something special.”

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
2. Kanye West - Touch The Sky

2. Kanye West - Touch The Sky

“I love the cadence of this record - Kanye does a lot of off-tempo drum patterns, but when he raps on it, he makes it sound like it’s on-tempo. The way he raps on it makes everything gel together. His voice is the missing piece of the puzzle on this record, 100%.

“That’s the most important part of production: knowing that the voice is the last thing, and leaving enough space for the vocal. So, when producing a record, you should be able to hear the voice - hear how someone would attack the song, so you should leave that space, that gap or that frequency for that record.

“I’m a big fan of Kanye West. He’s sample-driven, and here he used a famous sample. I love the cadence and the rhythmatic approach he took on this record.”

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
3. The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize

3. The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize

“Hip-hop nowadays uses a lot of 808s, a lot of electronic drums, but what Puff did back in the day was genius: instead of using 808s, he would use a bass drum, or an actual bass guitar. 

“Hypnotize was bass-led and it was a bass guitar leading that record. He would use real instruments instead of using sampled instruments - the genuine authenticity and the musicality of that record is genius to me.

“There was a really sick bassline throughout the whole record that I think Puff ended up taking out. All the drums were live, the bass was live. I try to get that same kind of musicality in my own tracks, too - Love You Better is all live instruments.”

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
4. Timbaland - Say Something (ft. Drake)

4. Timbaland - Say Something (ft. Drake)

“I love Timbaland, he’s one of my favourite producers, and Timbaland’s signature is all about technicality in drums. But that record, right from the start, it’s infectious. The sound selection as well, very specifically with that song, and all the instruments that he uses.

“My name is Pay Attention for a reason: I dissect. I can actually listen to a song and be able to tell exactly what software, what VST, where he got the sound - everything. There was a lot of sound design in that record, I love the sound selection and I love the layering - the technicality of that song is amazing to me. Hats off to Timbaland for that.”

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
5. Jermaine Dupri - Money Ain’t A Thang (ft. Jay-Z)

5. Jermaine Dupri - Money Ain’t A Thang (ft. Jay-Z)

“It’s a real simple beat, but I think less is more in this case. I love the overall production of that record - being able to take maybe five or six sounds and turn them into a worldwide record.

“That’s the genius of being a producer. Production is all about knowing when to stop, and I like to compare music production to film production. A film producer may not be the one holding the camera, he may not be the one writing the script, but he has the genius to say, ‘OK, this is enough, this shot was perfect.’ Or ‘I want the script like this.’ So, a big part of being a producer is knowing when you need less and when you need more.”

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
6. Kanye West - Through The Wire

6. Kanye West - Through The Wire

“Through The Wire is genius - both production-wise and in the back-story behind it. Kanye West went through an accident, his jaw was wired shut, and he was able to take that negative and turn it into a positive within his production.

“Sometimes, producers go into the studio with their laptop and they’ll just randomly make a beat, but here’s Kanye West, who specifically knows exactly what he wants to do. He takes a sample of Chaka Khan, Through The Wire, samples it in a specific way, and makes a song about exactly what he’s going through at the time. There’s a genius in that.

“I love the production, I love the arrangement of that record. A lot of producers will take a sample, maybe a five-second sample and loop it over, or they’ll take a couple and loop them over, but Kanye West actually dissects each sample into little pieces and makes a whole other song out of it.”

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
7. T.I. - What You Know

7. T.I. - What You Know

“I’m a real musical type of producer, and I just love the musicality of this track. DJ Toomp produced that record. That melody line, the whole ‘sentence’ of the line is amazing to me - there’s a story in that whole melody line. 

“It’s one of those beats; even if T.I. didn’t do it - if he didn’t get the record and make it what it was - it’s still a hit record, still a hit beat. Anybody could’ve gotten on that record, because there’s a story and there’s an energy that comes into the atmosphere when you’re listening to that beat. 

“In layman’s terms, it’s a no-brainer record. It’s a hit, period.”

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
8. Kanye West - Champion

8. Kanye West - Champion

“I’m a fan of sampling - I love to sample myself - and here Kanye West takes the horns of another sample and turns it into a major, massive record. I love the fact that he was able to keep it major, and I love the fact he was able to dissect all those different sounds and then combine them into one record. 

“It’s a peculiar record as well; even the writing on that record’s genius to me. It’s a positive, positive, positive record if you actually dissect and listen to it from that standpoint, but production-wise, it’s a beautiful production altogether.”

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
9. Pharrell Williams - Marilyn Monroe

9. Pharrell Williams - Marilyn Monroe

“Pharrell is a genius at using seventh chords. Sometimes you may not understand the genius behind Pharrell because sometimes he may use just three or four sounds, and it’s just so simple, but there’s a lot that goes into those three or four sounds. 

“Musically, Pharrell knows how to be complex and simple at the same time. There’s a genius in that. It’s hard to know exactly what to do with four sounds or five sounds, and be musical at the same time, and make it catchy at the same time, and leave room for the vocals at the same time.

“That’s why Pharrell has a very distinct sound. Sometimes you hear a record and you know it’s Pharrell. Even if you go to a record like Happy, Pharrell is just Pharrell, and Pharrell has a very distinct sound, period.”

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
10. King Combs ft. Chris Brown - Love You Better

10. King Combs ft. Chris Brown - Love You Better

“If I were to step back and analyse my own record with an unbiased approach, I would say the musicality here is amazing as well. The genius of taking a sample from Case [1996’s Touch Me Tease Me], which was a huge sample back in the ‘90s within the urban community. As soon as that record comes on, anybody who knows about ‘90s music, anybody who knows about hip-hop, they know - it’s just a feeling we all share. 

“I think there’s a genius about being able to resurface a record from back in the day, and keeping it in its original form but making it for 2018. I sampled the record, sped up the record, but I also did a lot of things live - the bassline was recorded live, the snare was recorded live, and then run through a sampler. It’s an interpretation rather than a new version.”

Keep your ears peeled for Mr Pay Attention’s first album, due out by the end of this year. Love You Better is out now.

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
James Russell
Social Links Navigation
More about tech
studio

Show Us Your Studio #9: "I use Ableton and Maschine as glorified grooveboxes on steroids - it's endless fun and inspiration!"

Pulsar w495

Could this Neumann w495 emulation be the most useful free EQ plugin you download this year?

Latest
Nirvana In Utero cover

Nirvana session cellist Kera Schaley talks about playing on In Utero: "The funny thing about All Apologies is Steve kept trying to talk Kurt out of putting cello on it"

See more latest ►
Most Popular
“It makes it exciting and dangerous and fun”: Yngwie Malmsteen says he doesn’t need to rehearse anymore and explains why he mostly ignores the setlist

By Jonathan Horsley22 September 2023

9 tips for buying second-hand music gear without getting scammed

By Andy Jones22 September 2023

Pro Tools Sketch: industry-standard DAW gets Ableton Live-style clip launching and a free iPad app, but will it convince you to switch?

By Si Truss22 September 2023

Elon Musk allegedly turned up at the studio with a gun while Grimes was recording dialogue for Cyberpunk 2077: "The studio guys were sweating"

By Matt Mullen22 September 2023

Electro Harmonix unveils the 9 mini Pico effects pedals for its NYC DSP Series – with reworked old favourites and new designs

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

DAW not doing it for you? Cantor is a free “music playground” for looping, sampling and sound design

By Ben Rogerson21 September 2023

Watch bluegrass guitarist Ian Ly become the 2023 US National Flat-picking Champion

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

Audiomovers launches Off The Record interview series with first episode featuring Dire Straits producer Chuck Ainlay

By Matt Mullen21 September 2023

“I thought, ‘have I done something heinous?’”: James Blake reminds Brian Eno that he once accused him of using ‘the arsehole chord’ and demands to know what it actually is

By Ben Rogerson21 September 2023

The Vai, Bonamassa, Di Meola and Abasi-backed guitar virtuoso Matteo Mancuso dazzles again on new song Silk Road

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

DAACI is the AI-powered 'meta-composition' software that writes music like a human: "It's interpreting what comes from a composer’s brain, rather than trying to imitate something that’s already been made"

By Andy Price21 September 2023

  1. Positive Grid BIAS FX 2 with guitar neck
    1
    Positive Grid BIAS FX 2 review
  2. 2
    16 famous musicians who almost joined very famous bands
  3. 3
    Marty Friedman’s guitar teacher told him to take a bong hit every time he played an exercise correctly, but the ex-Megadeth guitarist has better advice for students
  4. 4
    “Right now I’d like to do a song, it’s a little thing by Howlin’ Wolf…”: Listen to Jimi Hendrix’s newly unearthed performance of Killing Floor at the Hollywood Bowl, 1967
  5. 5
    “He doesn’t do Zoom”: Mick Jagger reflects on how his songwriting partnership with Keith Richards has changed and discusses Paul McCartney’s bass playing on new Rolling Stones album Hackney Diamonds
  1. Ableton
    1
    10 things you didn't know Ableton Live could do
  2. 2
    Cindy Blackman Santana tackles the iconic In The Air Tonight drum fill as she joins Chris Stapleton and Snoop Dogg on a new version of the song for ESPN’s Monday Night Football
  3. 3
    “He doesn’t do Zoom”: Mick Jagger reflects on how his songwriting partnership with Keith Richards has changed and discusses Paul McCartney’s bass playing on new Rolling Stones album Hackney Diamonds
  4. 4
    9 time-saving plugins that will speed up your workflow in the studio
  5. 5
    “It makes it exciting and dangerous and fun”: Yngwie Malmsteen says he doesn’t need to rehearse anymore and explains why he mostly ignores the setlist

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.