# How to make an asap rocky type beat with the old Clams Casino cloud rap sound

How to build an old-school asap rocky type beat in the Clams Casino cloud rap style: tempo, drums, samples, mixing and where to get a free beat.

Source: https://thenextapp.shop/how-to-make-45851/ · based on the channel [KostyaG](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZrOOXAc4v312OZkZcQEHsA) · Video: [(FREE) OLD ASAP ROCKY x CLAMS CASINO TYPE BEAT - ROLL UP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rik8BsY6tM) · 2026-10-30

![How to make an asap rocky type beat with the old Clams Casino cloud rap sound](https://thenextapp.shop/how-to-make-45851/how-to-make-45851.webp)

## Key takeaways

- Clams Casino produced the core of A$AP Rocky's 2011 mixtape Live.Love.A$AP, including "Bass", "Wassup" and "Demons".
- The old cloud rap sound sits around 70–85 BPM with half-time drums and heavy reverb.
- KostyaG's "ROLL UP" is a free-for-non-profit A$AP Rocky x Clams Casino type beat, untagged lease via BeatStars.
- Commercial releases on streaming services require a paid lease; free use is limited to non-profit work.
- Sampling is the fastest route to the style: pitched-down vocals, ambient pads and lo-fi texture.

An asap rocky type beat in the old Clams Casino style is built around 70–85 BPM, half-time drums, a hazy pitched vocal or ambient sample, and a mix drowned in reverb and low-pass filtering. The goal is not to copy a specific song but to recreate the floating, drugged-out atmosphere of A$AP Rocky's 2011 Live.Love.A$AP era, where Clams Casino handled much of the production. A ready-made example is KostyaG's "ROLL UP", a free A$AP Rocky x Clams Casino type beat you can [purchase untagged on BeatStars](https://bsta.rs/yM4gi0) if you want to release a song commercially.

## What defines the old A$AP Rocky x Clams Casino sound

The old cloud rap formula is a small set of choices repeated with discipline: slow tempo, sparse drums, a sample that sounds like it is playing from another room, and a vocalist who half-raps over the top.

1. **Tempo:** 70–85 BPM, usually written as half-time so the snare lands on beat 3. Anything faster loses the lean.
2. **Drums:** a soft, tuned kick, a snare with heavy room reverb, and hi-hats that are either very sparse or rolled in triplets. Clams Casino often used almost no percussion in the first bars.
3. **Sample source:** pitched-down R&B and pop vocals, film dialogue, ambient new age records, choir pads. The sample carries the melody; the drums only mark time.
4. **Texture:** tape saturation, low-pass filtering around 8–12 kHz, long plate or hall reverbs, and deliberate background noise.
5. **Space:** wide stereo pads, a mono vocal sample in the center, and almost nothing in the low mids — that emptiness is what makes the beat feel like it floats.

Clams Casino's credits on Live.Love.A$AP include "Bass", "Wassup" and "Demons", and that mixtape is the reference point most producers mean when they search for an asap rocky type beat.

## How to build the beat step by step

Start with the sample, not the drums; in this style the sample is the song and the drums are decoration.

1. **Pick a source.** A 4–8 bar loop from a soul, ambient or pop record. Pitch it down 2–5 semitones and time-stretch rather than chop it into a rigid pattern.
2. **Filter it.** Cut everything above roughly 10 kHz and below 80 Hz so the sample sits in the midrange and leaves room for the kick.
3. **Add a pad or choir.** Layer a sustained synth or vocal choir under the loop, sidechained lightly to the kick so it breathes.
4. **Program half-time drums.** Kick on 1 and the "and" of 3, snare on 3, hats sparse. Keep the velocity low on the hats; this is not trap.
5. **Add one signature element.** A single reversed vocal chop, a vinyl crackle layer, or a distant ad-lib sample placed every 8 bars.
6. **Arrange short.** Intro with sample only, 8 bars of drums, drop the drums for 4 bars, bring them back. Two minutes is enough for a type beat.

## Drums, mixing and the cloud rap texture

Mixing decides whether the beat sounds old A$AP Rocky or like a generic lo-fi loop. The first sentence of the mix is simple: everything except the sample and the snare should be slightly duller than you think.

- **Kick:** tune it to the root of the sample, cut at 60 Hz, boost around 90–110 Hz, and keep it short — a long 808 destroys the half-time feel.
- **Snare:** layer a dry crack with a large hall reverb, then high-pass the reverb send so the low end stays clean.
- **Sample:** duplicate the loop, pitch one copy an octave down at low volume for weight, and automate a low-pass filter opening slowly across 16 bars.
- **Reverb and delay:** one long reverb (3–5 second decay) on the snare and vocal chops, a ping-pong delay on the pad, nothing on the kick.
- **Master bus:** gentle tape saturation, 1–2 dB of glue compression, and a limiter leaving about -1 dBTP. Leave the mix slightly quiet and hazy rather than loud and bright.

## Using a free asap rocky type beat legally

A free type beat is not the same as a free license. KostyaG's "ROLL UP" is marked free for non-profit use only: you can write and record over it, but any release through a distributor such as DistroKid, TuneCore or Amuse requires a purchased lease.

- **Non-profit use:** practice tracks, SoundCloud demos with no monetization, freestyles you do not sell.
- **Paid lease:** required before you earn money from a song using the beat, including streaming royalties and YouTube Content ID registration.
- **Untagged file:** the purchase link provides the version without the producer tag, which is what you need for a real release.
- **Credit:** always name the producer in the title or description, e.g. "prod. KostyaG".

## Where to find the producer and the beat

KostyaG publishes free type beats and sells untagged leases through BeatStars. The main pages are:

- Untagged purchase of "ROLL UP": https://bsta.rs/yM4gi0
- Beat store: https://kostyag.beatstars.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prodkostyag/
- Contact: kostyagee.beats@gmail.com

## Summary

The old A$AP Rocky x Clams Casino sound is a repeatable recipe: 70–85 BPM, half-time drums, a filtered and pitched-down sample, long reverb and a mix that stays deliberately dull and wide. Build the sample first, keep the arrangement short, and treat the drums as texture rather than the focus. If you want a starting point, KostyaG's video breakdown of "ROLL UP" demonstrates the palette, and you can [get the untagged beat here](https://bsta.rs/yM4gi0) when you are ready to release.

## Questions & answers

**What BPM should an asap rocky type beat be?**

Most old A$AP Rocky and Clams Casino productions sit between 70 and 85 BPM, usually programmed half-time so the snare hits on beat 3. Staying in that range keeps the lazy, floating feel; going above 90 BPM turns it into generic trap.

**Can I release a song on a free type beat?**

Only if the license allows it. KostyaG's "ROLL UP" is free for non-profit use, so streaming releases through distributors require a paid lease. Buy the untagged version first, then register the song.

**What samples work best for the Clams Casino style?**

Pitched-down R&B and pop vocals, ambient or new age records, film dialogue and choir pads. Pitch the loop down 2–5 semitones, low-pass it around 10 kHz, and let it carry the melody while the drums stay sparse.

**Do I need to credit the producer of a type beat?**

Yes. Put "prod. KostyaG" in the title or description of the song and keep the license file. Credit is standard practice and is usually a condition of both free and leased use.
