How to Make NBA YoungBoy Type Beats: Guitar Melodies, 808s & Bounce

NBA YoungBoy type beats often combine two qualities that shouldn't necessarily work together as well as they do: emotional melody and aggressive rhythmic energy.

The musical foundation can be vulnerable, melancholic or reflective, while the drums and 808s bring considerably more movement and weight.

That's what makes this style different from simply putting trap drums underneath a sad guitar loop.

A strong YoungBoy-inspired beat needs the melody, bass and rhythm to interact.

The guitar creates the mood.

The 808 gives it movement.

The drums create urgency.

And the arrangement leaves enough room for a melodic rap vocal to become the centre of the record.

In this guide, we'll break down how to build that sound from the initial guitar idea through to the finished arrangement.

If you're new to guitar-led trap production generally, start with our broader guide:

How to Make Guitar Trap Beats: A Complete Producer's Guide

What Makes an NBA YoungBoy Type Beat?

There isn't one single YoungBoy sound.

Across different records, the production can move between emotional guitar-led trap, piano-driven beats, harder Southern-influenced production and more melodic material.

But the guitar-heavy side of the style often features:

• Melodic guitar riffs and chord progressions
• Minor-key harmony
• Repeating guitar arpeggios
• Piano and supporting melodic layers
• Vocal textures
• Heavy but mobile 808 patterns
• Punchy kicks
• Trap hi-hats with noticeable bounce
• Relatively open arrangements
• Clear space for melodic rap vocals

The important thing is the contrast.

The melody can sound emotional without making the whole production weak or sleepy.

Choosing the right source material matters too. Read our guide to the best guitar loops for trap and what a good pack should include.

That's where the rhythm section comes in.

1. Build a Guitar Melody With Movement

For this style, your guitar doesn't always need to behave like a static chord progression.

Try introducing more rhythmic movement.

An arpeggio, repeating picked pattern or short melodic riff can create forward momentum before you've even added drums.

For example, rather than:

Chord → wait → chord → wait

you could have the guitar continuously move between notes from those chords.

That gives the beat an internal pulse.

Good starting approaches include:

• Finger-picked minor chords
• Repeating electric guitar arpeggios
• Short two or three-note riffs
• Chord melodies
• Call-and-response guitar phrases
• A main guitar with a higher counter-melody

The idea doesn't need to be technically difficult.

It needs to be memorable and rhythmic.

2. Don't Quantise the Life Out of Live Guitar

One of the advantages of guitar is that it doesn't behave like perfectly programmed MIDI.

Small variations in timing, picking, fret noise and dynamics can make a repeated musical phrase feel considerably more alive.

Keep the performance controlled, but don't automatically force every transient onto the grid.

A slightly late note or softer pick attack might be exactly what gives the melody its character.

This becomes particularly powerful when the live guitar is placed against precisely programmed trap drums.

The difference between the two creates contrast.

3. Use Minor Keys — But Don't Stop There

Minor keys are an obvious starting point for emotional guitar trap.

But choosing a minor scale isn't enough by itself.

Pay attention to voicing.

The same three notes can feel completely different depending on:

• Which note sits on top
• Which octave each note occupies
• Whether notes are doubled
• Whether open strings are used
• Whether one note continues across a chord change

Try inversions rather than always playing every chord in root position.

You can also experiment with:

• Minor 7th chords
• Added 9ths
• Suspended notes
• Passing notes
• Single-note extensions above basic triads

You don't need to turn the progression into complicated harmony.

Small changes can provide enough tension to make a simple loop feel much more emotional.

4. Create a Strong Guitar Hook

A useful test is to mute everything except your main guitar.

Would you recognise the idea after hearing it three times?

If not, the melody may need a stronger identity.

Some producers respond to this by adding more notes.

Often, the opposite works better.

Try reducing the idea to its most memorable phrase.

A four-note motif repeated in the right way can be far more effective than a continuous guitar solo.

Think in phrases

Try:

Phrase → gap → variation → gap

rather than:

melodymelodymelodymelody

The spaces matter.

They give the drums somewhere to respond and ultimately leave room for the artist.

5. Add a Second Guitar Without Creating a Mess

Layered guitars can work extremely well in this style.

But each guitar should have a separate job.

For example:

Guitar 1: Main chord/arpeggio pattern
Guitar 2: High melodic response
Guitar 3: Occasional accent

You don't necessarily want three guitars playing complete melodies throughout the entire track.

Instead, introduce the secondary guitar selectively.

It might only appear at the end of every four bars.

Or only during the hook.

That makes the arrangement feel like it's developing without requiring an entirely new musical section.

6. Support the Guitar With Piano, Plucks and Atmosphere

Guitar can remain the main identity while other instruments reinforce the mood.

Useful supporting sounds include:

• Piano
• Pads
• Strings
• Bells
• Flutes
• Plucks
• Synth textures
• Vocal chops
• Ambient vocals

The key word is supporting.

If the guitar already provides the full harmony, the piano doesn't necessarily need to duplicate every chord.

Instead, it could play:

• Individual high notes
• Root notes
• A simple counter-melody
• Chords only during the hook

Likewise, a pad can sit almost invisibly behind the main instruments rather than demanding attention.

Layering works best when every sound occupies its own role.

7. Build Contrast Between Melody and Drums

This is one of the biggest differences between emotional guitar trap that feels flat and production that actually moves.

The melodic material might feel reflective or melancholic.

The drums don't necessarily have to.

You can create energy underneath the melody using:

• Punchier kicks
• Active hi-hats
• Short rolls
• Open hats
• Percussion
• Moving 808 patterns

The result is an instrumental that has emotional weight without becoming static.

If you're looking for the slower, more spacious end of guitar trap production, read our separate guide:

How to Make Rod Wave Type Beats: Emotional Guitar Trap Guide

8. Find the Right BPM

There isn't one correct BPM for an NBA YoungBoy type beat.

A lot of melodic trap is produced in a range where the DAW tempo might look relatively fast while the music itself feels like it's moving in half-time.

Try different tempos rather than choosing a number because you've seen somebody else use it.

As a starting point, guitar-driven trap often works comfortably somewhere around the 120–170 BPM range when programmed in double time, although slower and faster tracks can work perfectly well.

The guitar itself should help determine the tempo.

If the picking pattern starts sounding rushed, slow down.

If the melody feels like it's dragging, move it forward.

9. Make the 808 More Active

This is where I'd make the YoungBoy article noticeably different from our Rod Wave guide.

The 808 can play a more active role.

Instead of simply holding the root note underneath every chord, experiment with:

• Shorter bass notes
• Rhythmic gaps
• Octave changes
• Slides
• Passing notes
• Notes that answer the kick
• Changes in bass rhythm between sections

The bass can become part of the groove.

Still follow the harmony

Movement doesn't mean randomly clicking notes into the piano roll.

Know the key of your melody.

Build the bass line around notes that support the progression.

Then introduce movement where it helps the rhythm.

10. Use 808 Slides With Purpose

Slides can create a huge amount of character.

They can also become annoying very quickly.

A slide works particularly well when it:

• Leads into a new chord
• Emphasises the end of a phrase
• Introduces the hook
• Creates variation at the end of four or eight bars

You don't need one every bar.

Think of slides as punctuation.

If everything is emphasised, nothing feels important.

11. Let the Kick Interact With the 808

Don't simply place a kick underneath every bass note.

Experiment with the relationship between them.

Some 808 notes can exist without a kick.

Some kicks can create syncopation between bass notes.

The kick can also emphasise the beginning of an 808 slide or reinforce particular points in the vocal rhythm.

This interaction helps create the bounce.

Program the bass and kick as parts of the same rhythmic system rather than two completely separate instruments.

12. Give the Hi-Hats Movement

Start with a simple hi-hat pattern.

Then add variation.

Useful techniques include:

• Removing occasional hats
• Changing velocity
• Short rolls
• Triplets
• Faster subdivisions
• Panning selected rolls
• Small pitch changes

The mistake is assuming that complexity automatically equals bounce.

It doesn't.

A well-placed gap can create just as much movement as a roll.

Build the basic groove first.

Then decorate it.

13. Choose Snares and Claps That Cut Through

The snare needs to establish the backbeat clearly.

In guitar-led production, you already have plenty of tonal information occupying the midrange.

That means a short, controlled snare or clap can often work better than something huge and washed out.

Layering can help.

You might combine:

• A sharp snare transient
• A softer clap
• A subtle rim

But again, don't add layers simply because you can.

If one sound works, use one sound.

14. Leave Room for Melodic Rap Vocals

YoungBoy-inspired production often needs to accommodate vocals that move between rapping and singing.

That's important when arranging your melody.

The beat shouldn't constantly compete for the same melodic space as the artist.

Your instrumental can have a memorable identity while still leaving the centre relatively open.

A useful trick is to listen to the beat and imagine somebody performing over it.

Where would their voice sit?

If your answer is:

"I'm not sure because the guitar, vocal chop, piano and synth are all already doing something there"

you've probably got too much happening.

15. Use Vocal Chops as Texture

Vocal samples can add emotion quickly.

But they should rarely behave like another lead vocalist throughout the entire beat.

Try using vocal textures as:

• Background atmosphere
• Reversed transitions
• One-shot phrases
• Heavily reverberated accents
• Pitched textures
• Hook-only layers

You can also filter much of the intelligibility out of a vocal sample and use it almost like a pad.

That gives you human character without distracting from the future rapper or singer.

16. Arrange the Beat Beyond an Eight-Bar Loop

You might have a brilliant eight bars.

Now you need a record.

One possible structure could be:

Intro

Main guitar with filtering or ambience.

Hook

Full guitar arrangement, drums and 808.

Verse

Remove one guitar layer and simplify the drums.

Transition

Drop drums or bass briefly.

Hook

Full production returns.

Verse 2

Introduce a new counter-melody or percussion element.

Final Hook

Bring back the fullest version of the arrangement.

Outro

Strip back towards the original guitar.

The important part is contrast.

You don't need a new chord progression every 16 bars.

You can create development simply by controlling which elements are audible.

17. Use Drops to Create Impact

Sometimes removing the drums for half a bar is more effective than adding another sound.

Try:

• Muting the 808 before the hook
• Cutting everything except guitar
• Removing drums for the final beat of a phrase
• Letting a reverb tail fill a transition
• Dropping the kick while leaving the 808
• Muting the melody before it returns

These moments make the full production feel bigger when it comes back.

18. Change the Melody Between Sections

You don't need a completely new melody.

Small changes are enough.

For example:

Verse: Main guitar only

Hook: Main guitar + counter guitar + vocal texture

Verse 2: Main guitar + piano accent

The listener still recognises the central musical identity, but the arrangement doesn't feel like one loop copied across the timeline.

19. Process Guitar Without Losing the Performance

Live guitar works particularly well in trap because it brings organic detail into an otherwise heavily programmed production.

Processing should enhance that rather than remove it.

Useful tools include:

EQ

Control unnecessary low frequencies and create room for your bass.

Compression

Smooth dynamics when necessary without completely flattening the natural performance.

Saturation

Introduce harmonics, colour and density.

Reverb

Create space and push secondary guitars backwards.

Delay

Add width and rhythmic movement.

Chorus

Useful for creating a wider, more processed electric guitar texture.

Filtering

Particularly useful for intros and transitions.

The combination of live instrumentation with digital and analogue-style processing can produce a sound that feels both organic and contemporary.

20. Make Guitar Loops Sound Like Your Beat

Starting with a loop doesn't mean your finished record has to sound like everybody else who used it.

Change something.

You could:

• Chop the arrangement
• Pitch the guitar
• Reverse selected phrases
• Remove supporting instruments
• Use only one stem
• Replace an instrument with MIDI
• Write a new 808 pattern
• Create your own drums
• Add a new guitar
• Resample the entire musical section

This is where having access to more than a stereo WAV becomes important.

If you have the individual stems and MIDI, the original Songstarter becomes raw material rather than a finished instruction.

For more on building and manipulating guitar-led production:

Read our complete guide to making guitar trap beats →

Start With a Guitar Trap Songstarter

If writing the initial melody is slowing down your workflow, HEARTSTRINGS – Guitar Trap Songstarters was built specifically for this area of production.

HEARTSTRINGS contains 30 guitar-driven Songstarters inspired by the emotional and melodic side of modern trap, including sounds associated with YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Rod Wave and Gunna.

But they're designed as starting points rather than finished beats.

Every Songstarter gives you access to the underlying parts so you can rebuild the idea around your own production.

Inside HEARTSTRINGS

• 30 Guitar Trap Songstarters
• Full versions with drums
• Versions without drums
• Individual instrument stems
• Individual drum stems
• 342 WAV files
• 30 MIDI files
• Live instrumentation
• Guitar, piano, synth, strings, vocals and additional textures across the pack
• Analogue and digital processing
• BPM and key information
• Clearly labelled files
• Drag-and-drop workflow

Start with the complete Songstarter to hear the idea.

Then pull it apart.

Keep the guitar and remove everything else.

Use the melodic stems but write your own drums.

Take the MIDI and completely change the sound.

Build a different 808.

Chop the original guitar into something new.

The point is to get you from an empty project to an idea worth developing much faster.

Listen to HEARTSTRINGS and explore all 30 Songstarters →

21. Don't Forget Gain and Frequency Balance

A good beat can become exhausting if everything is fighting to be loud.

Give elements their own space.

The 808 needs room in the low frequencies.

That means your guitars, piano and other melodic elements don't need unnecessary low-end content.

Likewise, if three instruments occupy the same midrange frequencies, consider:

• EQ
• Panning
• Arrangement
• Different octaves
• Removing one of them

Don't immediately reach for an aggressive plugin chain.

Sometimes the best mixing decision is changing the arrangement.

22. Use Stereo Width Carefully

Guitars, pads and ambience can create width around the centre of your mix.

That helps preserve space for:

• Kick
• Snare
• 808
• Lead vocal

But don't make everything wide.

You need contrast between centre and sides.

A wide guitar can feel much more impressive when the bass underneath it remains focused.

23. Reference Other Beats

When you're trying to reproduce a broad production style, references are incredibly useful.

Don't necessarily copy the melody.

Listen instead for:

• How busy the drums are
• How much the 808 moves
• How loud the guitar is
• How many melodic layers appear simultaneously
• Where elements disappear
• How quickly sections change
• How much room is left for vocals

You may notice that a beat that initially sounds extremely full actually contains relatively few simultaneous elements.

Arrangement creates the illusion of complexity.

Common Mistakes When Making NBA YoungBoy Type Beats

Using a generic guitar loop and changing nothing

Use the loop as a starting point.

Chop it, rearrange it, process it or build around individual stems.

Making the guitar too busy

The vocalist needs melodic space as well.

Leave gaps.

Random 808 notes

An active bass line still needs to follow the harmony.

Know your key.

Using slides everywhere

A slide becomes much more effective when it doesn't happen every two seconds.

Overcomplicating the hi-hats

Bounce comes from rhythm and variation, not simply using the fastest subdivision available.

Adding too many melodies

Choose a main idea.

Everything else supports it.

Keeping the exact same arrangement for three minutes

Subtract and reintroduce elements.

Make sections feel different.

Forgetting the vocal

A type beat ultimately needs to work as a platform for an artist.

Don't use every available frequency and rhythmic space before they've recorded anything.

Final Thoughts

The strongest NBA YoungBoy type beats aren't created by finding one particular guitar preset or copying an existing drum pattern.

The style works because of the relationship between melody and movement.

Build an emotional guitar idea that has its own identity.

Give the 808 enough movement to create energy.

Let the kick reinforce the groove rather than simply duplicate every bass note.

Use hi-hats and percussion to add bounce without over-programming them.

And arrange everything around the fact that a vocalist still needs to become the most important element of the finished record.

That's where emotional guitar trap becomes more than a loop and a drum pattern.

If you want the melodic foundations ready to flip, chop and rebuild, HEARTSTRINGS gives you 30 complete guitar-driven starting points with WAV, stems and MIDI included.

Explore HEARTSTRINGS – Guitar Trap Songstarters →

Frequently Asked Questions

What BPM should I use for an NBA YoungBoy type beat?

There isn't one fixed tempo. Guitar-driven melodic trap often works well somewhere around 120–170 BPM when programmed in double time, but you should choose the tempo that suits the melody and intended vocal delivery rather than forcing every beat into one range.

What instruments are used in NBA YoungBoy type beats?

Guitar and piano are common foundations for the melodic side of the style. Producers can also use pads, strings, plucks, flutes, synths and vocal textures alongside trap drums and 808s.

What key should I use for a YoungBoy type beat?

Minor keys are a useful starting point for darker and more emotional production, but no specific key is required. The chord progression, voicing and melody matter much more than selecting one particular key.

How do I make YoungBoy guitar melodies?

Start with a simple chord progression, then experiment with arpeggios, short riffs and repeating melodic phrases. Leave gaps between phrases rather than filling every moment with notes.

What 808 pattern works for NBA YoungBoy type beats?

Try allowing the bass to contribute to the rhythm rather than only holding root notes. Short notes, rhythmic gaps, octave changes and occasional slides can add movement while still following the harmony.

How do I make my trap drums bounce?

Start simple. Get the relationship between kick, snare, hi-hat and 808 working first. Then introduce gaps, velocity changes, short rolls and occasional percussion rather than filling every beat.

Can I use guitar loops for NBA YoungBoy type beats?

Yes. Guitar loops are particularly useful for melodic trap, especially when you have access to stems and MIDI that allow you to chop, rearrange and rebuild the original musical idea.

How do I make a guitar loop sound original?

Use the underlying material rather than simply playing the complete loop unchanged. Pitch it, chop it, rearrange stems, remove instruments, add your own melody or use MIDI to replace the original sounds.

What's the difference between a Rod Wave and NBA YoungBoy type beat?

There is substantial overlap, particularly around emotional guitar and melodic trap. For the purposes of production, I'd generally push a YoungBoy-inspired beat towards more rhythmic movement, harder drums and a more active 808, while a Rod Wave-inspired production can lean further into space, sustained low end and slower emotional development.

For the latter approach, read:

How to Make Rod Wave Type Beats: Emotional Guitar Trap Guide →