Red Bull Studios, New York

Last week, Red Bull Music Academy’s New York festival hosted a round table discussion with four hugely respected beatmakers.

Che Pope, 9th Wonder, Just Blaze and Khyrsis have collectively produced records for rap royalty such as Kanye West, Jay Z, Ludacris, Blackstreet, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Destiny’s Child, Big Sean, Sean Price, Lauryn Hill, the Fugees and Erykah Baduh.

Across two hours of chatter, the frank and enlightening discussion covered all topics from securing yourself against rogue artists who owe you money and don’t pay up (watch the lecture when it become available for an insight into exactly who is “whose funny with the money”) to production inspiration that featured enough enthusiasm to make anyone want to buy an MPC.

The art of sampling was – of course – a major topic, with each producer showcasing a sample they’d created from an original record and explaining how they’d flipped it to create something unique. Equally, clearing samples and the difficulty in doing this was a huge topic, with techniques from begging to showing up at someone’s house with a bag of money in order get clearance all discussed.

Wide-eyed wannabe producers everywhere lapped this one up. Check out the gallery below and look out for the discussion when it goes live in the coming weeks.