How to Make a Drake Type Beat (+ Free Loops)

What BPM and key is a Drake type beat?

Most beats run 120 to 140 BPM with half time drums, so at 140 it reads like 70. That half time feel is the heart of the OVO sound: the melody sits at full tempo, the drums at half, and the gap between them is where the mood lives.

The key is minor, A sharp minor, D minor and E minor come up most. The feeling is in the atmosphere, not in busy chords. Two or three held chords beat a progression.

How to make a Drake type beat in 6 steps

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

1. 1Pick a sample▾

   A moody piano, a choir pad or a soft synth in minor, 120 to 140 BPM. Take one of the loops right below that already has atmosphere before any drums.

   • ▶
     Like Wise
     120 BPM · Dmin
     AmbientChoirFloating
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Frame
     140 BPM · A#min
     AmbientChoirPad
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     New
     140 BPM · Cmin
     AmbientChoirChopped
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Grapes
     135 BPM · C#min
     AmbientPluggPop
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Gyle
     140 BPM · Emin
     AmbientChoirPop
     @ndacompany
     ↓
2. 2Lay the 808▾

   Clean and spaced, on the root notes, never distorted. It supports the mood, it does not drive the beat.
3. 3Hi-hats on top▾

   Understated, a loose two-step with real gaps. Build it by filling the two-step and then pulling most hits back out, and let a single reversed hat pull you into a change. In half time the hats can still move, but leave the space between hits open.
4. 4Clap and kick▾

   A soft clap or snap on two and four, a short kick under it. Keep the drums low in the mix, under the pad, not in front of it.
5. 5Shape the pitch▾

   Only once the drums sit. Move the loop a semitone or two and keep the moodiest position. Pull the 808 to the new root afterwards.
6. 6Arrange▾

   Less is more. Verse stripped back, chorus with the pad fuller, hook early. Let the reverb tail breathe into the gaps between sections.

The 40 and OVO bed

The OVO house sound, the one 40 shaped on Take Care, is built on subtraction. Minimal parts, ambient textures and a lot of reverb. The record sounds expensive because it is mostly empty.

Build the same way. One moody keyboard loop, played down an octave and thickened with a layer of strings, a long reverb, and resist filling the space. If you want a single ambient accent, run a soft pluck through a crystallizer with a low cut and keep it wet. The emptiness is not a gap to cover, it is the sound itself.

A Drake beat is built around a voice that sits low and close. Leave the middle of the mix open and keep the low end clear for the 808 so a vocal has room to slot in.

Which sounds do you actually need?

The bed is atmospheric: a moody piano, a choir pad or a soft synth. Reverb and space do as much work as the notes themselves.

The 808 is clean and spaced, never distorted. It sits under the mood, not in front of it.

Hats are understated with real gaps, and the drums stay low. The emptiness is the point, do not fill it.

Pitch the sample up and down

The position of the loop is not fixed. A few semitones change its whole character.

Up the piano gets lighter and thinner, down it gets fuller and darker. The key moves with it, so pull the 808 to the new root afterwards.

Common mistakes

Crowding every gap. The space and the atmosphere are the sound, leave them open.

Loud drums. They sit under the mood in half time, keep them low in the mix.

An overworked chord progression. Two or three moody chords with a long reverb do more than a busy melody ever will.

Using the NDA Company loops

Every loop here is played by hand, no AI, and free as an mp3. Grab a moody pad or piano loop and build your Drake beat on it.