How long does it take?

Cleverwon

Paradigm P
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 74
Completely depends on the artist and how many takes they require. I hate anyone that takes more than a few takes per verse. It's like come on nigga, you knew you were comin to record. Be fucking prepared.

I will say this tho, chemistry can make magic happen. I only have this with Buku. A few times, it's been me and him in the lab.We'll think of a dope sample, i'll work on the beat from scratch while hes vibin to it and writing. We'll lay the entire thing down start to finish in a few hours. Listen to "The Rites" off the inglorious basterds album. Thats how that song went, including getting the singer on zero notice to shoot down and lay her part down.
 

Cleverwon

Paradigm P
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 74
if your shit ain't memorized, don't even come thru. of course this is for people that don't pay...cheap mf's.
Only time its ok is if its a night where the point was to vibe and get it done there. Like sometimes some emcees will come with half a verse. but its known beforehand, not just showing up unprepared.
 
honestly it can take anything from a couple hours to over a week. like clev said chemistry with the artist can make things happen very fast. one of the tracks on the forthcoming album was done from scratch in about 3 hrs. i havent included mixing time tho, that can take more than 3 hrs alone.
 

Step Soprano

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
As an engineer, please don't come with ur shit written as u are being charged the same hourly rate regardless.
 

God

Creator of the Universe
ill o.g.
Songs can be written a matter of minutes to hours. It all depends on the artist and the producer.

The best way to "control" the situation as a producer is to use the Max Martin style of production. Literally, create the hit song before the artist comes in and just have them rap over it, with pre-written choruses etc., written by you. If their lyrics suck, then you have a problem and you need to sit and coddle the artist.

Generally with a good artist, it is a seamless process. You can tell within the first 15 minutes or in a pre-production meeting if they have their shit together. If you need the money, you shouldn't care about pre-production meetings, but if you're serious, use pre-production meetings as a screening tool in order to see if the artist is in fact simply wasting your time and resources.

I've been stuck in projects because of failures to screen the artist properly. Never again will I run into the same mistakes.

Also, make sure to listen to your gut. You can generally feel a "rub" in your stomach if you and the artist aren't really clicking, but he/she is faking it because they want an "in" with you. That's why it's also usually good to party with the artist before, or have a couple drinks, just to see what they're really like. When they're drunk, they'll let their guard down and spew all types of crap. Then you'll see how conceited or humble the person is and how they really are.

Just a few tricks to help you out. But the process shouldn't take long if you have all your ducks in a row.
 

Krazyfingaz

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 2
anywhere from 2 hours to 2 weeks depending on where I am. if i'm with an artist and we are working from phase one meaning creating the beat to writing the song than that could to a day to a week depending on the vibe or chemistry. Solo maybe 2 weeks at the most.
 

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