9th Wonder “I Have To Do 30 Beats A Week”

Producer/university professor 9th Wonder discusses the importance of knowing cultural history, setting goals, commitment, and maintaining a consistent, elevated work ethic.

Notable Quotes:
“You kinda gotta know the history of something you want to be a part of.  Me I learned from Dilla and Madlib, who learned from Pete [Rock], who learned from James Brown, who learned from Duke Ellington.”

“I had this thing called 30 before Thursday.  I started on Monday and by Thursday I needed to have 30 beats, because I read in an article that Pete Rock did 25 beats a week.  So I’m saying I have to do 30 beats a week… I have to.”

[via Soul Culture]

1,691 thoughts on “9th Wonder “I Have To Do 30 Beats A Week””

    • LOL, very true.
      whether you pick a 9th beat from 2004 or 2008. not much changed i think.
      most producers have a certain sound though, cause its the sound they love.
      9th can start making a electronic beat but if that soul is his favorite sound he wont even listen afterwards to that electronic thing.

  1. The user who created the video has enabled password protection…why are people uploading vids and then making em private??? can’t understand it. like 9th said, share your knowledge. thanks to cratekings for always keeping me informed. keep doin`ya good work semantik.

  2. PLEAAAAASE GUY WHO RUNS THIS VIDEO LET ME WATCH IT!!! IM GONNA KILL MYSELF IF I DONT SEE THIS VIDEO I AM A 9th Wonder FIEND!!!!

  3. Respect to 9th, but I’d rather make 1 memorable beat in the whole month than make 29 forgettable beats in a week…

    • I think 9th made this “30 before Thursday” thing, when he started to make beats. He said in this video, that : “My goals WERE…”.

      In the beginning, everybody makes “hundreds of beats” in a short time, just to try things, try your skills, etc.

      Anyway, 9th Wonder is a very intelligent man.

  4. once a year, I do a beat a day for 100 days straight as a brain/ fingers on the keys exercise – not quite as much as homeboy is talking about, but all the same, hard to stick to (at least for me) –

    it’s hard for them to NOT start sounding the same, so I’ll make sure if I’m sampling shit, I’m buying a wide range out the crates – and if I’m playing it, I have to switch up the tempo and key it’s in all the time – switch instruments, all that

    but anyways, think what you will about 9th – he’s prob chillin in his studio right now while most of us are peeping this at work, so take that for whatever it’s worth – he can make 29 “whatever” beats and cats would still piss all over themselves to get them, so I don’t think he’s sweating it

    big ups to Semantik – homeboy is tireless in his search for fresh content…. it’s not his fault peeps post crappy links

  5. What some of you aren’t realizing is that in making 30 beats a week, you practice and grow your creativity.

    By putting yourself in the position for creativity more often, you create more opportunities for creativity to happen.

    Creativity can happen by chance.. he can mess up, he can make a crappy beat but in the process he’s learned something, or practiced a process.. making it that much easier to create on demand.

    Just a thought.

    check me out http://www.myspace.com/duyukid

    • true, if you do a lot of beats you can learn new things which you would apply in your next beats
      doing a descent beat becomes easier, you will learn how you can use samples more and more and which effects to apply to them till 1 day youve achieved the sound you’ve been looking for.

  6. Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. LEARN, MASTER AND ACHIEVE!!!

    Art is the expression of the self. The more complicated and restricted the method, the less the opportunity for expression of one’s original sense of freedom. Though they play an important role in the early stage, the techniques should not be too mechanical, complex or restrictive. If we cling blindly to them, we shall eventually become bound by their limitations. Remember, you are expressing the techniques and not doing the techniques

    -Bruce Lee

    I dunno why I though of this

  7. He said he made 30 beats a week, he never said he releases all of those beats, i’m sure he gets rid of a lot of them

  8. 30 beats a week??? That’s what’s up. Consistency keeps producers like him on top. Check out this quote I found… “Champions do everyday what losers do occasionally”. Words to live by in this business if u ask me. Peace!

  9. I kno this is an old video but its always cool to look back and watch it. mad inspirational haha plus 9th Wonder is the man

Comments are closed.