Cloud Rap Haze drum pattern
A sparse two-bar cloud-rap groove: few kicks, a soft wide backbeat, hushed hats and open hats that smear into the reverb-heavy space. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 74 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Cloud Rap Haze
Count it as: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar sparse 16th-note pocket).
The Cloud Rap Haze pattern, hit by hit
Each character is one step of the grid and each group is one beat. X is an accented hit, x a normal hit, o a quiet or ghost note and - a rest.
| Voice | Bar 1 | Bar 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | X--- ---- --x- ---- | X--- ---x --x- -x-- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Closed hat | o-o- o-o- o-o- o--- | o-o- o--- o-o- o-oo |
| Open hat | ---- ---- ---- --x- | ---- --x- ---- ---- |
Tempo and feel
Floating and hazy. Leave the space empty; the groove works because so little happens and the open hats hang in the air. The default tempo is 74 BPM. It plays with 55% swing by default; move the Swing control toward 50% to hear it straight. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Cloud Rap Haze
Play only 1 and the backbeat until the space feels comfortable. Add the hushed eighth hats. Let the open hats ring into the next beat.
Variations to try next
Remove every kick except beat 1. Replace the open hats with ride. Double the bar-two hat pickup into a small roll.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include A$AP Rocky - Peso and Lil B - I'm God. This is a style study written for practice, not a transcription of any one recording.