Updated 30 Oct 2026
Kendrick Lamar does not sit in one lane, so a kendrick lamar type beat is really a family of sounds: West Coast and G-funk, dusty boom bap, and jazzy, sample-flipped soul that leans experimental. What ties them together is live, human feeling production. The drums breathe instead of sitting locked to the grid, the melodies come from Rhodes pianos, jazz samples and real instruments rather than clean preset leads, and the whole thing sounds a little vintage and a little dirty on purpose. The producers behind his records lean on an old 90s formula, a jazz or soul record plus a drum break, then add one small modern twist that keeps it fresh. Get the sample warm and forward, keep the drums loose and real, and leave space for a rapper to tell a story. Here is how the sound is built, step by step.
You do not need a finished beat to start. The Kendrick Lamar loops sit in step 1 and again at the bottom, ready to play.
Tempo is a choice, not a rule. Across the tutorials, two classic West Coast and boom bap builds land at 90 and 100 BPM, one jazzy Section 80 style beat runs as slow as 60 BPM, and one drives off a hi-hat loop at 170 BPM that still feels like 85 in half time. Start around 85 to 100 for the reflective, head nod feel most people mean by a Kendrick beat, and only push faster when you want a busier, more modern energy.
The key is minor and jazzy. One tutorial builds straight in B minor, and the common move for that West Coast color is to pick a minor scale, play a chord, jump to the third degree of the scale, then copy the chord up an octave for width. Turn on a scale highlight so your notes stay in key, and remember the mood here comes from the sample and the voicings, not from fast harmonic movement.
Most of these beats start from a sample, and the classic recipe is the 90s formula, a jazz or soul record from the 60s or 70s combined with a separate drum break. One tutorial points out that Kendrick's producers on Section 80 kept this skeleton but added a twist, sometimes pulling the sample from the 2000s instead so it sounds cleaner and more modern, sometimes flipping which element dominates. You can dig for a funk or soul loop, or build your own sample from scratch with an electric piano, flute, strings, organ and a violin line from Splice, then resample it.
The twist that makes it sound like Section 80 rather than a generic 90s beat is how you treat the sample. Instead of shrinking it into a thin mono background, push it to the front with saturation and EQ and widen it, then let the drums sit smaller behind it. To flip a sample into something new, consolidate your parts to audio and chop them in a tool like Fruity Slicer, pull the attack and decay up a touch so you do not hear pops, and rearrange the pieces. Cut the low end off the melody bus and age it with a little vinyl so it reads as warm and old.
Keep the harmony simple and let the voicings do the work. A classic West Coast move is to play a chord in a minor scale, move up to the third degree of the scale, and copy the chord up an octave so it sounds bigger and brighter. Strum the notes slightly instead of hitting them all at once, add a stereo shaper for width and a touch of reverb, and you already have the bones of a Kendrick style chord bed.
Melodies here lean on repetition and working inside a small pocket of notes. Producers trace over notes that are already in the chord so new lines are guaranteed to fit, then add tension by placing a note just outside the obvious choice at the end of a phrase. A counter melody should mostly play notes from the chords, with one or two tension notes for drama. Pick a home base note that keeps coming back and anchors the whole loop, so the progression feels intentional even when it is only a few chords.
Real and real-sounding instruments are the heart of it. Reach for Rhodes and electric pianos, the LA Rhodes and cinematic grand pianos from Keyscape show up constantly, plus warm bank sounds, acoustic guitars and guitar licks, flutes, strings and organs. A sign or siren style lead stripped of its mono and reverb can double as a soft pad in the background. For a West Coast lead, a slightly unusual sound like Auntie Pop sits right, and Omnisphere brass or an old Roland synth brass adds a cinematic edge.
Texture comes from layering quiet details around the main parts. Add a dark vocal texture or an ambient pad to beef up a thin sample, a reverse vocal from a pack like Cymatics buried under reverb and delay, or a GrossBeat reverse on the whole melody for movement. Keep these low in the mix so they add atmosphere without crowding the sample. The goal is a soundscape that feels lived in and slightly melancholic, not a stack of loud synths.
Drums should feel human, not quantized. Tutorials record the groove in by hand, then nudge the snares slightly off the grid for swing and randomize the velocities so no two hits land with the same force. Kendrick leans on real-sounding drums, so many producers start from a hi-hat loop or a real drum kit because live hats are almost impossible to fake, then layer and double the snares and kicks for a bigger body. Add West Coast perks, snaps and an open hat for bounce and variation.
The 90s influence shows in how present the drums can be, with blaring hi-hats up front, layered snares and kicks and a little compression to make them hit harder. But the Section 80 twist is often the opposite, shrinking the drums by pitching them down, EQing out the bright frequencies and shortening each note so the sample stays the star. Route all your drums to one bus and add a touch of room reverb so they sound live and sit together, and chase a feel rather than a perfect pattern.
Bass usually follows the chords in a simple, musical line. A common choice is an upright or acoustic bass one-shot, played low on the fourth octave so it sounds deep, following the root notes of the progression so it locks with the kick. Keep it understated, because in this sound the bass supports the groove rather than showing off, and a slight sidechain to the kick gives it a gentle pumping movement.
When you want more low end weight, layer a real bass with an 808. Strip the low end off the real bass so the 808 owns the sub, and watch the written notes, since a very low 808 like A can boom too hard and you may need to move it up to C. Reset the pan to center, keep the pattern basic, and let the body of the 808 carry the weight rather than busy runs.
The whole vibe leans vintage and slightly dirty. On the sample, saturation and EQ push it to the front, a stereo widener opens it up, and an RC-20 style plugin adds vinyl crackle and a wobbly lo-fi character that reads as sampled and old. Cutting the low end and some highs off the busy parts makes room so the mix does not turn to mush, and a mono touch on a sample can make it feel smaller and more vintage when that is what the section needs.
Balance is about space, not loudness. Pan each instrument so everything has its own spot, pull atmospheric and vocal layers low so they sit under the sample, and lean on reverb to glue the drums and keys into one room. Keep a home base of warmth, a little saturation and vinyl noise, rather than a bright modern master, because the feeling you are after is a dusty, soulful record a rapper can sink into.
Once the sample, the loose drums and the warm low end sit together, the hardest part of the sound is done. The part that eats the most time is that jazzy, in key chord progression on a Rhodes or piano, so instead of fighting the piano roll you can grab a free hand-played loop in exactly this soulful West Coast lane, drop it straight into your session, and build the drums, bass and vinyl texture around a progression that was actually performed.
Every loop on ndacompany.de is hand-played by real producers, free to download and never AI generated, so you can audition ideas fast and keep the ones that spark something. There is no login wall to hear them, and a free account simply lets you save your favorite loops and come back whenever inspiration hits, so your next kendrick lamar type beat starts with a real idea instead of a blank arrangement.
Pick a loop and drag it into your DAW. 808 under it, clap on top, your first Kendrick Lamar beat is running.
All Kendrick Lamar loopsTempo, key and mood of the Kendrick Lamar loops, straight from our catalog.
| Loop | BPM | Key | Vibe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buzz | 140 | Cmin | Dark |
| Kolibri | 140 | Amin | Ambient, Sad, Vintage |
| Cuir | 136 | F#min | Ambient, Beautiful, Sad, Vintage |
| Stash | 130 | Bmin | Dark, Vintage |
| Green Paper | 125 | D#min | Ambient, Dark |
It varies with the mood. Tutorials land at 90 and 100 BPM for the classic West Coast and boom bap feel, drop as slow as 60 BPM for a jazzy Section 80 style beat, and go up to 170 BPM over a hi-hat loop that feels like 85 in half time. Start around 85 to 100 for the reflective head nod sound.
Minor and jazzy. One tutorial builds in B minor, and the usual West Coast move is to play a minor chord, jump to the third degree of the scale and copy the chord up an octave. Use a scale lock and let the sample and voicings carry the mood.
A jazz or soul sample flipped with the 90s formula, a drum break plus that sample, then one small modern twist. Real-sounding, slightly loose drums, Rhodes and piano chords, warm vintage texture and plenty of space for a rapper to tell a story.
Dig for a funk or soul record, or build one from an electric piano, flute, strings, organ and a violin from Splice, then resample it. Push it to the front with saturation and EQ, widen it, chop it in Fruity Slicer, and age it with vinyl crackle.
Real-sounding boom bap drums played loosely, with snares nudged off the grid, randomized velocities, layered and doubled snares and kicks, West Coast perks and snaps, and a touch of room reverb on a drum bus. Pitch them down and shorten the notes to keep the sample in front.
You can download free hand-played loops in this soulful West Coast lane on ndacompany.de and build your beat around them. The loops are never AI generated, there is no login to listen, and a free account just lets you save your favorites and return anytime.
They are not royalty-free. Free in your own beats; a 50/50 publishing split with NDA Company applies to every commercial release. License Terms
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