Golden-Era Boom Bap drum pattern
A two-bar mid-90s East Coast pocket: a kick pushed onto the and of 1, a fat late snare, soft ghost pickups and one open hat that exhales at the end of the phrase. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 93 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Golden-Era Boom Bap
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 swung 16th-note boom-bap pocket).
The Golden-Era Boom Bap 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- ---- -xX- ---x |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Ghost snare | ---- ---o ---- ---- | ---- ---o ---- -o-- |
| Closed hat | x-o- x-o- x-o- x-oo | x-o- x-o- x-o- x--- |
| Open hat | ---- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- --x- |
Tempo and feel
Heavy and patient. The kick leans forward, the snare sits a hair late, and the hats stay small enough that the head-nod comes from the kick and snare alone. The default tempo is 93 BPM. It plays with 56% 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 Golden-Era Boom Bap
Play only kick and snare until the and-of-1 kick feels like part of beat 1. Add the eighth-note hats at half the snare volume. Let the bar-two pickup kick and open hat lead back to the top without rushing.
Variations to try next
Drop the ghost notes for a drier loop. Close the open hat and keep the pickup kick. Move the bar-two kick on the e of 3 to the and of 3.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Gang Starr - Mass Appeal and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.). This is a style study written for practice, not a transcription of any one recording.