With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we've perused the BeatStars catalogue to find the best beats for rappers with romantic intentions this February 14th.
BeatStars is a massive online marketplace where artists can buy beats and producers can sell them. The store's biggest claim to fame is probably Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road", which used a track bought for $30 on the platform.
When producers upload tracks, they can tag them with anything. Common uses are artist names and genres, but with so few user-generated tags, the vast catalogue of excellent beats can be tough to navigate. With Musiio's AI tagging tech, we were able to search by mood – in this case, "Romantic".
Here's the playlist.
1. ricci - "my story"
Prolific New Zealand producer Ricci has already amassed over a million streams on BeatStars and is RIAA gold-certified for providing beats on New York rapper/singer Lil Tjay’s 2021 album Destined 2 Win.
Their impressive 339 tracks on BeatStars show an incredible drive and snowballing success is testament to an extreme work ethic. For rappers and singers looking for romantic beats, Ricci has the credentials and track prices start at $30.
2. luving2feel - "6AM"
There’s very little information available about this mysterious duo – not even where they come from – just that they’re a “multi-platinum producer duo”. We wouldn’t doubt it. Their beats sound expensive but without the price tag.
The track “6AM” is a collaboration with German producer consent2k whose credits include soul-trap trailblazer Rod Wave and more, proving that production excellence can be found for less than you may think.
3. eeryskies - "Been A While"
Maryland producer eeryskies is a Beats4Love donor, so every sale through BeatStars contributes to good causes around the world. He also has his own podcast and has almost a million track plays on the platform.
We love his laid-back production style and “Been A While” delivers exactly the right mood with lazy guitar, electric piano and a simple, driving beat. A great choice for nuanced sung/spoken lyrical delivery with just enough space around the guitar hooks to make musical sense.
4. JpBeatz - "Love me"
Swedish production duo JpBeatz has over 40,000 followers on YouTube for their beats. They’re also prolific creators, with over 500 tracks on BeatStars with tracks inspired by Roddy Richh, Polo G, Pop Smoke, Drake and more.
Their business model allows anyone to use their beats for free with credit. But by buying a license on BeatStars, performers can affordably avoid takedown claims.
5. Steven Singe - "ORIGAMI"
Colombian producer Steven Singe is another hard-working producer who’s finding success via BeatStars. Singe has already provided beats for Dalex, and Puerto Rican reggaeton singer J Alvarez, and he even runs a virtual music production camp.
Singe has tagged the track with ‘Bad Bunny’ and ‘Jhay Cortez’ but we found it using our mood classifiers which are added behind the scenes to help artists navigate by mood and more.
6. RalphTiller - "Ocean Drive"
Tennessee based producer RalphTiller specialises in Soul, RnB and Trap-soul – all genres that could be useful to a lyrical Montague or Capulet. “Ocean Drive” caught our ear when searching for romantic tracks with its soulful guitar progression, warbling solo synths and snappy snare, bringing a 90s RnB vibe with a more modern production edge.
7. kayro - "Feelings"
The secretive kayro has relatively few tracks on BeatStars but they demonstrate virtuosity and musical thought. We love to see it. This is RnB meets soul with slick production, smart sampling and drums that punch and snap just right.
The fact that kayro is based in Tunisia is a beautiful example of geography not limiting artists. And being able to search by mood, allows high-quality tracks like those made by kayro’s to sit alongside more established producers.
8. Prod IMMORTAL - "QUESTIONS"
Anti-pop production duo IMMORTAL bring a different flavour entirely to our track round-up. Hailing from Perth, Australia, they make tracks inspired by Aries, Brakence and more leftfield artists. They even create and sell Sound Kits on BeatStars for other producers to use.
“QUESTIONS” is an upbeat slice of sunshine with intricate production, ear candy aplenty and just the right mood for optimistic lyrical overlays.
9. magictrio - "YOU CAN’T KILL ME"
This dark beat with trap hi-hats, eerie piano and formant-shifted vocal hooks might be better suited to a heartbreak track – something that’s equally useful at this time of year. Algerian producer magictrio’s brooding bass gives this track a depth that is the perfect complement to a machine gun lyrical style. Someone, please make this beat huge ASAP.
10. Midas - "Cut Ties"
New York producer Midas ends our list on an energetic note. A clean electric guitar lick takes us into head-bopping territory. Tight production, just the right amount of crunch in the drums and tasteful percussion programming typifies the producer’s style. Like JpBeatz earlier in the list, Midas let artists use his beats on YouTube but only for non-profit use. And it’s through BeatStars that he monetises if an artist plans to release a track.
To find out how you can integrate Musiio’s AI tagging into your catalogue, reach out to us on Twitter, LinkedIn or email on sales@musiio.com.
