There are rules to the art of beat-making, (as in any art-form) and you should pay very close attention to what the old masters did and how they did it. RZA, Premo, Muggs, Madlib or whoever is your personal idol - they're all doing the same thing: They master the form! A true master does nothing but this.
Study the artists you really dig. Get a good ear for how and what they looped and sampled.
Try to get as close as you can. By doing this, you'll learn how to control your creativity
at your will.
Your repertoire will expand too. You'll also learn the basics in a more funny way, since you get more excited about the result, ["listen, I can play Hits from the Bong!! (lol)"] you also have a reference where you're at.
Of course you'll want to sound like yourself.
But, as paradox as it is: You get there, the more you know about the structures.
Good bands started covering other songs. Same thing with great composers.
From Haydn to Chopin to Ravel, they all could play Bach by heart.
They all knew their shit. This will be your mission too.
All this is based on my experience. And I'm still far away from the goal myself.
But with a little skill and some effort, you'll get there sooner than you think.
As they all say: Your style will pop out by itself. With this confidence, you should get to work right now
Oh, and this works for every genre. If you planned to make hiphop and you end up with EBM, why not?
).
