How to Make a Burna Boy Type Beat (Afrobeats, Free Loops)

What BPM and key is a Burna Boy type beat?

Most beats run 95 to 115 BPM, the wider range given is 90 to 120. Producers who make these sit around 93, 99, 100 or 108, Afrobeats runs slower than trap on purpose and the space is the point.

The key is usually major, major seven with a minor seven in between, no diminished chords and no major to minor switch mid loop. Plenty of records sit in minor too, so if you work in A minor or F sharp minor keep the progression simple, a 1 6 3 7 kind of move, and let the groove do the lifting.

How to make a Burna Boy type beat in 6 steps

The loops in step 1 stream right here and the mp3 is free. Then work through the six steps.

Kel-P produced African Giant, On The Low and Pull Up and always starts from the drums, then plays the chords on top. Here it runs the other way round, because the loop is already there.

1. Pick a sample. Guitar or electric piano in major, 95 to 115 BPM, extended chords and a lot of room. Take a loop from the list below, one that does not sit glued to the grid. A smooth jazz keys preset from Analog Lab is a classic starting point, then double just the root notes with a guitar an octave up.

2. Play the bass, no 808. The bass follows the root of every chord with one or two passing notes, set to cut itself so it never overlaps. Length and legato carry it, not weight. Trilian, a sampled sub, or a Serum patch of two saw waves with the high frequencies rolled off all work, and a short glide into a note gives it that Afro feel.

3. Build the percussion. Start with a rim on a two step pattern, not on 2 and 4. Over it a shaker loop, two congas tuned a few cents apart, and a very quiet stick. Pull single hits off the grid, spread the velocity unevenly and add around 25 percent swing, that is where the bounce lives.

4. Add one heavy kick. A single deep kick with its own pattern that dodges the percussion, left unprocessed. Use an Afrobeats kit kick that already sounds loud and deep. It only moves to every quarter in the chorus, and a snare shows up there as a break.

5. Try the pitch. Only once percussion and bass sit. Transpose the loop into your key, in cents if you have to, with stretch on. If a loop is in A minor, its relative major is C, so it is often one step off your key. Then run the chord progression backwards once for a second idea.

6. Arrange it. Keep it open, less is more. Intro four to eight bars, verse eight, pre chorus eight, then the hook. Drums and chords run almost throughout, one element enters every four to eight bars. Hook early.

The Kel-P drum sound

The percussion bus is what decides whether this reads as Afrobeats or as a trap beat with congas dropped on it. Everything percussive goes on one bus with a touch of EQ and a lot of compression focused on the midrange.

Kel-P layers his snare out of several hits with a stick and a cajon quietly underneath, compressed as one group so they melt into a single sound. His tag It's Kel-P Vibes marks the records, but the real signature is that off grid swing.

The rim is the signature element. Layer two or three rims and percs, one with midrange, one glassy, one plasticky, and compress them until they land as one hit. Shave the top off anything that reads too sharp with a quick EQ so the rim sits in the vibe instead of poking out.

Log drums are creeping into Afrobeats and work well in the hook. Use them as a melodic percussion element that answers the bass rather than as a sub, and keep them to the chorus so the verses stay open.

Guitar, chords and the melody

Guitar or electric piano carry the chords, major seven and minor seven instead of plain triads. A soft jazz keys preset like the ones in Analog Lab sits the chords well, with a guitar doubling just the root notes on top. Fret noise an octave lower underneath is what makes a guitar read as played rather than programmed. Strum the chords slightly off the grid so nothing lands perfectly square.

When you layer a pad or a second keys under the chords, EQ out the low mids on one of them so they do not clash in frequency, and balance them in loudness so neither overshadows the other.

Keep the melodies dead simple. Even on pro records the lead is only a few notes, so an ambient pad, a pluck or a soft bell that just fills space beats a busy line every time. If the lead reads too bright, cut the high end or drive it a touch duller so it sits behind the vocal.

Keep the top open. The beat carries a vocal, so leave headroom for the lead and do not stack a second bright melody over the hook.

Arrangement in bars

One clean structure: intro 4 to 8 bars, verse 8, pre chorus 8, chorus 8, then verse two, pre chorus, chorus two, outro 4 to 8. Afro hooks often run long, 12 to 16 bars is normal, so do not force the chorus into 8 if it wants to breathe.

Keep the verses sparse and add one element every 4 or 8 bars. In the chorus the kick moves to quarters, the bass and log drum come in and even hats show up, that contrast is what opens the part up. Fills only at the section borders.

Use the same drum roll each time you move into the same kind of section, so the transitions feel familiar instead of random. That consistency is what makes a brand new beat feel like the listener already knows it.

Common mistakes

Packed too full. The beat carries the vocal, so the top has to stay open for the lead.

The same default preset. Almost everyone grabs the first electric piano in the list, so dig for a second sound.

Melodies going too crazy. Afro leads are simpler than you think, so resist the urge to impress and keep the notes minimal.

Building on before it grooves. After rim, shaker and bass the bounce has to be there already, otherwise no extra track saves it.

Using the NDA Company loops

Every loop here is played by hand, no AI, and free as an mp3. Drop one in, transpose it into your key with stretch on, then build the bass and percussion around it the way the steps above lay out.