How to Make a Real Boston Richey Type Beat (+ Free Loops)

What BPM and key is a Real Boston Richey type beat?

Most loops run 140 to 159 BPM, with the bulk around 140 BPM. That is uptempo trap, but the Detroit-style bounce keeps it from feeling rushed.

The key is mostly minor, which carries the dark, detached mood. Take the key from your loop and put the 808 and the melody on the same root. A common working move is to build in minor, then pitch the finished melody down a few semitones at the very end for a colder tone.

How to make a Real Boston Richey 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▾

   Take a loop built on piano and strings in minor, 140 to 159 BPM. Grab one from the list right below that is dark and already moving before any drums. A piano lead with strings behind it fits his lane best.

   • ▶
     Monkeyball
     140 BPM · Bmin
     DarkHardSimple
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Maiskolben
     140 BPM · Bmin
     DarkHardSimple
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Selfish
     140 BPM · Cmin
     DarkEthnicVintage
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Skype
     140 BPM · Fmin
     Dark
     @ndacompany
     ↓
   • ▶
     Shaper
     140 BPM · D#min
     DarkHardPiano
     @ndacompany
     ↓
2. 2Lay the 808▾

   It is the foundation. On the root of the loop key, eight bars kept plain. Set it to cut itself so the notes cannot overlap and give it some saturation, then it pushes. His producers lean on Lex Luger style 808s, so pick a sub with body rather than a clean sine.
3. 3Hi-hats on top▾

   Start with a two-step and take single hats back out. The open hat drops into the gap. Keep the fast rolls for right before the changes so the Detroit bounce stays loose. A short reverse hat before the one, or a light phaser across the pattern, adds movement without filling the space.
4. 4Clap and kick▾

   A hard clap or snare on two and four, plus a second quieter layer panned to one side. Many of his beats use a snare instead of a clap because it hits harder and holds the dark aesthetic. The kick stays quiet under the 808 and shares the low end with it.
5. 5Shape the pitch▾

   Only once the drums sit. Render the melody out first so the preset sounds cannot drift, then move the whole group one or two semitones and keep the darkest position. Pull the 808 to the new root afterwards.
6. 6Arrange▾

   Less is more. Hook early, 16 bars, then a verse with one layer gone, then a bridge with a different sound. Leave gaps in the beat so his punchlines land clean. A reversed crash into each section works as a cheap riser.

Florida flows over a Detroit beat

What sets Richey apart is the mix: Florida slang and cadence over production with a Midwestern, Detroit feel. If you want the sound, the melody is where it lives, so build it dark and a little cinematic.

Detroit-style trap leans on swung hats and an 808 that moves, not a straight pattern. Give the 808 a few slides and let the hats breathe rather than running a constant roll. A trick a lot of his beats use is a short ghost note right before a roll, so the ear hears the roll coming and it lands harder.

His records like Help Me are piano driven, and his rhymes are tightly structured. Keep the beat uncluttered so the lyrics carry, one strong piano figure beats three competing melodies. On the piano itself pull the reverb back, widen it with a stereo tool and add a short delay, that is most of the processing it needs.

Which sounds do you actually need?

For the melody, piano, strings and choir are enough. Keep the piano dark and let the strings add weight behind it. Hold the strings on the root note and add one more an octave up at low velocity, so the tension sits there without the average listener noticing it. A choir built from two notes a semitone apart, both still in the scale, adds the same cold edge.

Bells are the other Detroit staple. A dark tubular bell that plays once every four bars, not on every 808, keeps it from sounding repetitive, and nudging it up a few semitones at one spot gives you variation for free.

A good extra move is to render a counter melody, reverse it and stretch it into a texture, then automate its panning from one side to the other so it drifts behind the beat. A chopped vocal with a touch of reverb and delay sits well in that same back layer, and automating half time to fade in turns one chop into a second melody.

The 808 carries the low end on its own. Keep it centred, cut itself plus saturation makes it push, and a couple of slides or a short roll give it the Detroit movement. If the sub and the 808 fight, automate the EQ so the sub ducks out while the 808 hits.

Clap and hi-hats hold the grid. A hard clap or snare on two and four, hats as a swung two-step with gaps for the open hat, and a snare roll that copies the 808 pattern so the two accent each other.

Pitch the sample up and down

The position of the loop is not fixed. One or two semitones change the whole mood. Render the melody out before you move it, since some presets drift when they replay.

Up the melody gets brighter and thinner, down it gets heavier and darker, which usually suits his cold tone. The key moves with it, so pull the 808 to the new root afterwards.

Common mistakes

A bright, happy melody. His lane is dark and detached, so keep the piano and strings on the cold side.

A straight, robotic 808 and hat pattern. The Detroit bounce comes from swing and slides, so loosen it up.

Filling every bar. The perc stacks and bells belong once every four or eight bars, not everywhere, so the artist keeps room to rap.

Only other type beats as a reference. Those are built to rap over, the originals are not. Listen to Public Housing or Richey Rich first.

Using the NDA Company loops

Every loop here is played by hand, no AI, and free as an mp3. Pick a dark piano and strings loop and build your Real Boston Richey beat on it.