# How to build a hard 21 Savage type beat like MORTE's "Ricochet" at 164 BPM in G minor A practical guide to making a hard 21 Savage type beat: G minor, 164 BPM, dark loops, sliding 808s and Drake-style hooks, plus MORTE's free "Ricochet" beat. Source: https://dexinlong666.top/how-to-build/ · based on the channel [MORTE](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU167NE3gLhco469qtMuLYQ) · Video: [(FREE) DRAKE x 21 SAVAGE TYPE BEAT - "RICOCHET"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PCtEzTzyGk) · 2026-11-05 ![How to build a hard 21 Savage type beat like MORTE's "Ricochet" at 164 BPM in G minor](https://dexinlong666.top/how-to-build/how-to-build.webp) ## Key takeaways - "Ricochet" is a free Drake x 21 Savage type beat by producer MORTE, set in G minor at 164 BPM. - The instrumental is free for non-commercial use such as SoundCloud uploads with credit "prod. Morte". - Commercial licenses are sold on BeatStars, where a Buy 2 Get 3 Free sale runs. - MORTE also sells a drum kit used for this style of trap production. - 164 BPM sits in a half-time feel of roughly 82 BPM, the pocket 21 Savage often raps over. A 21 Savage type beat is a trap instrumental built around sparse, menacing minor-key loops, heavy sliding 808s and a half-time drum pocket that leaves room for deadpan, low-register rapping. MORTE's free Drake x 21 Savage type beat "Ricochet" is a working example: G minor, 164 BPM, free for non-commercial use with credit, and available for a full commercial license through [the "Ricochet" license page on BeatStars](https://bsta.rs/VivsB8). ## What "Ricochet" actually is and what the license allows "Ricochet" is a free type beat produced by MORTE that blends the two dominant Atlanta-adjacent lanes of the past decade: 21 Savage's cold, minimal trap and Drake's melodic, mid-tempo rap-sung hybrids. The file is tagged as a Drake x 21 Savage type beat and published with the key and tempo stated up front — G minor and 164 BPM — which is exactly what a rapper needs to know before writing. The licensing terms are the part most people skip. The free download is cleared for non-commercial use only, for example posting a song to SoundCloud, and it requires crediting the producer as "prod. Morte". Anything that generates revenue — streaming releases, YouTube monetization, sync, paid performances of the recording — needs a paid license, which is purchased on BeatStars. The store currently runs a Buy 2 Get 3 Free promotion, so five licenses cost the same as two. ## Why 164 BPM in G minor is the right pocket for a 21 Savage type beat 164 BPM sounds fast on paper, but trap at that tempo is almost always felt in half-time, so the listener hears a groove around 82 BPM. That is the sweet spot for 21 Savage's delivery: slow enough for his flat, unhurried cadence, fast enough that hi-hats can run in triplets and sixteenths without the track feeling sluggish. G minor does specific work here. The key sits low and dark on the keyboard, and its relative major, B-flat major, gives you the option of a slightly warmer hook section without leaving the scale. Practical moves for the same pocket: 1. Keep the root motion small — i–VI–III–VII or i–iv–VI–V loops in G minor rarely need more than four bars. 2. Put the melody in the upper register and leave the 60–200 Hz band almost empty for the 808. 3. Tune every 808 to G so slides land on scale tones instead of chromatic smears. 4. Use one percussive texture — a bell, a plucked string, a detuned electric piano — rather than stacking three. ## Building the drums and 808s that carry the record The drum pattern is where a 21 Savage type beat succeeds or fails, because there is very little else in the arrangement to hide behind. Start with a kick on the one and a second kick placed late in the bar to create drag, then let the 808 follow the kick exactly so the low end reads as one instrument. Slides are the signature. A short glide of two to five semitones between 808 notes, timed to land on the next bar's downbeat, produces the elastic movement heard across Savage's catalog. Keep the glide short — long portamento turns into mud at 164 BPM. On the top end, closed hi-hats in eighth notes with occasional 32nd-note rolls and a single open hat on the last beat of every second bar is enough. Snares or claps go on the three, and a light rimshot or percussion layer can fill the ghost notes without cluttering the midrange. MORTE sells the drum kit used for this style of production, which is the fastest route to matching the texture: [the MORTE drum kit on BeatStars](https://bsta.rs/QL2CnQ). ## Arrangement: how to make eight bars feel like a full song A type beat has to demonstrate a full song structure in roughly two to three minutes so an artist can hear where their verses go. The reliable layout: four to eight bars of intro with the loop filtered, eight bars of verse with full drums, an eight-bar hook that adds one new element, a second verse, a repeat of the hook, and an outro that strips back to the melody. For a Drake x 21 Savage crossover, the hook is where the two styles separate. Savage's sections stay sparse and rhythmically blunt; the Drake-leaning sections can open up with a wider melodic layer, a filtered vocal-chop texture, or a change in the 808 pattern that makes the beat feel like it lifts. Automation matters more than new sounds: opening a low-pass filter by 30–40% across four bars creates momentum without adding a single plugin. Mix decisions that keep the beat usable: leave the center channel clear between roughly 300 Hz and 2 kHz for the vocal, sidechain the 808 to the kick only slightly, and keep the melody loop mono-compatible so it survives phone speakers. ## Writing to a 21 Savage type beat: cadence, subject matter and flow 21 Savage's style rewards restraint. His verses tend to sit slightly behind the beat, with short phrases separated by pauses rather than long continuous runs, and the writing leans on concrete detail, deadpan threats and repetition of a single rhythmic motif. A practical writing process for "Ricochet" or any beat in this lane: 1. Loop the eight-bar verse and freestyle nonsense syllables until a rhythm locks in, then replace the syllables with words. 2. Write in two-bar phrases and leave the last beat of every second bar empty; the silence is part of the flow. 3. Keep the ad-libs sparse and placed in the gaps, not stacked over the rapped lines. 4. For a Drake-style hook, switch to a sung cadence on the same 164 BPM grid and let the melody move stepwise rather than leap. ## All the MORTE links for this beat in one place - License "Ricochet" and hear it in full: https://bsta.rs/VivsB8 - MORTE's full beat store: https://mortebeat.beatstars.com/ - The drum kit used for this style: https://bsta.rs/QL2CnQ - Contact and updates on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1morte_ ## Final thoughts on making a hard 21 Savage type beat "Ricochet" is a clean demonstration of the formula: a minor-key loop in G minor, a half-time drum pocket at 164 BPM, an 808 that slides instead of sits, and an arrangement that shows verse and hook space within the first minute. Producers studying this lane should copy the constraints rather than the melody — one texture, one low-end instrument, one rhythmic idea — and let the vocalist carry the rest. The video breakdown and the beat itself come from MORTE, whose catalog and drum kit are worth checking if this is the sound you are chasing. If you want to release a track over it commercially, [grab the "Ricochet" license on BeatStars](https://bsta.rs/VivsB8) before you upload. ## Questions & answers **Is the "Ricochet" 21 Savage type beat really free?** Yes, for non-commercial use. You can record and upload to SoundCloud or similar platforms at no cost, provided you credit the producer as "prod. Morte". Any monetized release requires a paid BeatStars license. **What key and tempo is "Ricochet" in?** The beat is in G minor at 164 BPM. Because trap at that tempo is felt in half-time, the perceived groove is closer to 82 BPM, which suits 21 Savage's laid-back cadence. **Can I use this beat for a Drake-style song instead?** The beat is tagged as a Drake x 21 Savage type beat, so it works for both. Keep the verses sparse and rhythmically blunt for the Savage approach, and open up the hook with a sung, stepwise melody for the Drake side. **Where can I buy a license or the drum kit?** Licenses are sold on MORTE's BeatStars store, with a current Buy 2 Get 3 Free promotion. The drum kit used for this style is also available on BeatStars, and MORTE can be reached via Instagram at @1morte_.