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Here’s how to make a classic trap song in just 3 minutes

Don’t forget the thicc 808s.

Photo of Bryan Rolli

Bryan Rolli

Today's rap in 3 minutes

Have you ever tried to search a Migos song that your friend insisted Gucci Mane recorded, only for you both to figure out it’s actually a Future track? Don’t feel bad. Trap songs regularly employ similar production quirks that cause them to blend into one another if you’re not listening closely. YouTuber AcesToAces mines those similarities for his new video, “TODAY’S RAP MUSIC IN 3 MINUTES.”

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Right off the bat, AcesToAces admits that his latest in a series of three-minute how-to videos isn’t supposed to actually teach anything. Still, his technique is spot-on. Apparently, all you have to do is set your tempo to 133 beats per minute; add a half-speed beat; throw in some snares, kicks, and “thicc 808s”; bump up the distortion; drown the whole thing in reverb; and voila—you’re a viral SoundCloud rapper.

Of course, nobody is actually suggesting that rap songs are so easy to make, but AcesToAces makes a solid approximation. He even wrote some bars, bragging about “diamonds on my ring” (“you have like one ring for some reason”); “coke on the side” (“you know, like actual Coca-Cola”); and “lean on the side of my nuts” (“Dude, how do you even get in that situation?”). He throws in some “yuh yuh’s,” “pew pew pews,” and a “skrrrrt,” overlays a Naruto fight video, and the track is good to go.

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“I took a 3 month+ break from YouTube because idk, I just wasn’t feeling it anymore, like I lost all motivation to make videos, even music at times,” AcesToAces wrote in the comments. “I felt like no one wanted to watch my videos anymore so I’ve been posting filler videos on my 2nd channel.” But considering his latest upload has already amassed 274,000 views in a day, it’s obvious that people still want to learn how to make sick beats in three minutes.

 
The Daily Dot