How to Make Metro Boomin Type Beats

The Metro Boomin Sound

Metro Boomin's production (Future, 21 Savage, Travis Scott) is built on: • Dark, heavy 808 bass — long sustain, pitched to create basslines • Minimal but precise hi-hat patterns with signature triplet rolls • Half-time snare (beat 3 only) • Atmospheric pads and eerie melodies layered on top • Space — Metro uses silence as an instrument Tempo: 140-150 BPM. The standard is 140.

The 808 Pattern

Metro's 808s are sparse but heavy. They sustain for multiple steps:

Load a long, sustained 808 sample. Enable loop mode so it rings out between hits. Pitch the 808 down -2 to -5 semitones for that subterranean rumble. For the bassline, copy the 808 to 3-4 pads at different pitches. Sequence them to create a simple 2-3 note melody. Minor keys only — Metro almost exclusively works in minor.

Hi-Hat Programming

Metro's hi-hats are the blueprint for modern trap:

Now add the signature rolls. Select step 7, click Step, set ×3 (triplet) with ramp Down. Do the same on step 15. This creates the fill at the end of each half-bar. For the "Mask Off" style, add a ×4 roll on step 13 and ×3 on step 15 — the roll accelerates into the bar change. Keep swing at 50%. Metro's hats are dead straight — the precision IS the style.

Drums and Arrangement

One snare on beat 3. Layer a clap underneath for width. Use a sharp, digital-sounding snare — not warm or vintage. Kick: Let the 808 be the kick. Don't add a separate kick sample — Metro's 808 handles both bass and kick duties. Arrange using A/B blocks: Block A is your main pattern. Block B drops the hi-hats or adds an extra snare hit for variation. Set mode to AAAB for a pattern that changes every 4th bar.