The choices on the net for hip hop beats and rap instrumentals are staggering. With so many choices, how do you wade through all the beat sites to find the right instrumentals for your album or demo? What is clear to me is that just because the first 20 shops that pop up for the search term "rap beats" are on the page, does not mean these folks are good producers or engineers, or composers for that matter.

After finding some beats, listen to the quality of the song first. Is the song structured in a way that will work for you? Do they list song tempo in case you need to chop it up in computer DAW. Next, how's the over all production of their rap instrumentals? If it's distorted on your computer's speakers, even if you’re listening to the lo-fi version, the version you download is not going to be much better.

Are the hip hop beats royalty free, or are you prepared for possible legal headaches later on down the line? Royalty free hip hop beats are a great way to go, as a royalty free track won't cost you much dough up front. These beats are also referred to as non-exclusive beats.

Exclusive beats are a great option if you have the budget, as these types of hip hop instrumentals are more expensive, but you will have a fully produced track that no one else has. The producer or beats shop, may still own the copy-write so read the fine print. Sometime all the producer or beat shop will want is credit on your album ("track produced by blah, blah, blah.com") with you keeping all the profits of the sales of your record. Not a bad deal really. Keep in mind exclusive beats are anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.

What file format will the instrumentals be delivered on, mp3, wav? If mp3 is what you’re getting, is it a "CD quality" mp3? If you’re headed to the studio with your download, it might be better to have the file delivered as a 16 or 24bit wav. file as the sound quality can be better. If the lo-fi demo sounded good off the net, than ask the beat shop if they can send you a wav of the track the studio will more than likely prefer that. It may be a good idea to ask the studio to make a recommendation as to the file format

When starting out in the music biz, you need to be informed. I hope this info will empower you in making the right choices.