Producing, mixing and mastering Hip Hop music is very different from any other style. The plugin/VST market is saturated as never before, so I’ve made of the Best Audio Plugins and VSTs for Hip Hop Music.
Best Plugin for Creating Hip Hop Sounds
Arturia Analog Lab
I’ve heard lots of producers discussing whether Omnisphere or Serum is the best synth plugin for creating Hip Hop sounds. While both of them are great, I find Arturia’s Analog Lab is much more flexible and quite cheaper.
According to Arturia, Analog Lab is “your go-to choice for inspiration, creativity, and performance. Over 6500 amazing presets, from over 30 classic keyboards, intuitive controls, and seamless integration“. Pretty amazing, right?
After using this plugin for a couple of years, I can tell you there’s no easiest way to get your ideas flowing. I usually use the filters to select the type of sound I’m looking for and then just browse through the presets until I find something I like. To be honest, I rarely tweak the presets, as they sound amazing and there’s a really huge variety.
Price: $199, but it’s very often on sale for $99 (it actually is right now). Also, if you buy any of their KeyLab series MIDI controllers, it’s included for free.
More info on Arturia Analog Lab product page.
Best Plugin for Mixing Hip Hop
Wavesfactory Trackspacer
The day I discovered this plugin, my life changed forever. It’s probably one of my favorite plugins of all time and it makes mixing so much easy (specially for kicks, 808s, and bass sounds). I really love it and it’s as easy to use as it gets.
According to Wavesfactory product description: “Trackspacer features an internal 32 band EQ that reacts to the incoming sidechain signal. It analyses the spectrum of the sidechain and applies a reversed EQ curve to another track. Trackspacer creates space for the primary track instantly.”
It’s definitely one of the Best Audio Plugins and VSTs for Hip Hop Music in 2020.
Here’s a short video so you can see it in action:
Price: $59 (yes, it’s that cheap! so do yourself a favour and buy it)
More info on Wavesfactory Trackspacer product page.
Best Plugin for Mastering Hip Hop
iZotope Ozone 9
This company has been experimenting with intelligent audio processing for several years already and they have quite a reputation. Ozone 9 is basically an AI mastering processor that can master your track within seconds and you may not even notice any difference with a professional studio mastering.
According to the product page, Ozone 9 was built based on a 17-year legacy, and brings balance to your music with the latest advances in machine learning for mastering audio.
Here you can see it in action:
Price: $129 for the Elements version, which is enough to get you started. It’s often on sale for $50 or sometimes even less.
More info on iZotope Ozone 9 product page.
Which are you favourite plugins and VSTS for Hip Hop Music? Do you have any other suggestions? Post them on the comments section.
And don’t forget to check my Emotional Hip Hop Instrumentals.
