Hardcore Boom Bap drum pattern
A grim two-bar East Coast groove: a snare cracked hard on 2 and 4, a kick that doubles on the and-a of 3, and sparse broken hats that leave the loop cold. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 88 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Hardcore 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 Hardcore 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--- ---- --Xx ---- | X--x ---- --X- -x-- |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Closed hat | x-o- --o- x-o- --o- | x--- x-o- x--- x-oo |
Tempo and feel
Hard and minimal. Every snare is the same heavy crack, and the gaps in the hats are as important as the notes. The default tempo is 88 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 Hardcore Boom Bap
Play kick and snare only and keep every snare equally loud. Add the and-a double on beat 3. Add the broken hats without filling the gaps.
Variations to try next
Fill the hats back to plain eighths. Move the bar-two kick on the a of 1 to the and of 1. Add a ghost note on the a of 2.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Mobb Deep - Shook Ones, Pt. II and Wu-Tang Clan - C.R.E.A.M.. This is a style study written for practice, not a transcription of any one recording.