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Boom Bap loops to build on

Swung drums, crate-dug samples and nothing quantised too tightly. The style that still sounds best with a rapper on it.

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1 loopmatching your filters
StylesOld SchoolEast CoastWest CoastUndergroundConscious
MoodChillDarkMotivational
TempoUsually 84–98 BPMBPM by genre guide →
GuideHow to make boom bap beats: drums, swing and chopping →
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Producers working in Boom Bap1

  • vorxshade

    vorxshadeVerified producer

    Hip-Hop · Boom Bap · Old School

    Loops
    17
    Collab
    1
    Replies
    New

What Boom Bap loops usually bring

Boom bap loops are built around the sound of sampled records: dusty keys, soul and jazz phrases, a walking bass line or a guitar figure, often with vinyl texture and a filter on top. The name comes from the drums, a heavy kick and a cracking snare, and the loop is usually made to sit under exactly that.

Tempo sits between about 84 and 98 BPM, with 90 the classic head-nod. The drums are swung rather than locked to the grid, so a boom bap loop quantised too tightly can feel stiff. Loops tend to be two or four bars, made to repeat for a whole verse without wearing out.

Collaborating on Boom Bap loops

Boom bap has a long habit of one producer's loop becoming another producer's chop: the collaborator slices the loop, rearranges it and pitches it until it sounds quite different from what was uploaded. That is still the loop maker's work underneath, and the credit should say so however far it has been flipped.

On ColabLoop, you ask the loop's owner to build on it, and if they accept, a private room opens with the full WAV to take into your own DAW. When the beat is released, both of you attest that the owner is on the split. ColabLoop records those attestations; registering the split with a PRO or distributor is still yours to do.

Boom Bap questions

What BPM is Boom Bap?
Boom Bap usually sits between 84 and 98 BPM. Swung drums; 90 is the classic head-nod. These are conventions, not rules, and nothing on ColabLoop restricts the tempo of Boom Bap loops.
What makes a loop boom bap?
Mostly what it is made to sit under: a hard, swung kick and snare at around 90 BPM. Sample-style textures, soul and jazz chords and a little dust on the sound are common, but the groove is the defining part.
Can I chop a boom bap loop?
Chopping is how boom bap has always worked. Once the loop's owner accepts your request, the full WAV is yours to build on in your own DAW, and however far the flip goes, the owner stays on the split.

Related genres

Old SchoolEast CoastHip-HopLo-Fi