What's up folks! I'm Carlo, the guy pictured on the right and the man behind MakeBeats101.com. I'm an independent hiphop artist and have been for the past decade or so and ventured into music production more recently.
I'm a Do-It-Yourself musician in every essence of the term. I first started getting interested in creating music while I was in high school and taught myself the fundamentals of home recording and music production.
I started out with Hip Hop eJay, Acid Pro 2.0, Cool Edit Pro and a cheap karaoke mic. Eventually, my skills improved and I was able to save up for better software and gear for my home studio — but I always made it a point to get the best possible quality that I could get for as little money as possible, and get a pro sound using budget equipment.
With everything I've learned over the years, I was able to express myself and create my own songs, and I only got better with time. Using self-taught marketing techniques, I've released a couple of independent albums and managed to cultivate a small but dedicated fan base for me as well as my group.
Why I Started This Site
At first, I only rapped on beats that were produced by my friends. Since I was focusing on honing my writing and recording skills, this was okay.
But it didn't take long before I wanted to create songs that were 100{206c1b12f9fb10c564014517a442150f86534154877a5459064c1087562b6d43} me, and while my friends are a talented bunch, the desire to be completely self-produced eventually took over.
But I was in for a shock when I first tried to make my own beats…
My beats absolutely sucked.
I'm not talking beats that were “ehhh” or weren't anything special. When I say they sucked, I mean they were wack as all hell.
They all sounded like something an 8-year old with absolutely no training whatsoever tried to put together on the first day of music class.
But fortunately, I didn't give up. I bought books, studied music theory, and most important of all, I practiced. A lot. I made hundreds of beats over the course of a year, and slowly (but surely) got better at my craft.
I wouldn't say I discovered the “secrets” to making beats (there really aren't any) but I certainly stumbled upon a method to the apparent madness.
Based on what I learned during this time, you can “shortcut” your way from complete beginner to a producer who can bang out hot beats on a regular basis.
And that's what I want to share with you here on Make Beats 101.
Peace out, and I hope you enjoy the site!
