Decoding Nine Vicious ‘Emotions’: What Defines His Signature Production?

Is decoding Nine Vicious ‘Emotions’: What Defines His Signature Production a question on your mind? Read expert analysis right here.

The drum rhythm provides the bounce that balances out the heavy, drawn-out melodic loops. The snare or clap sits traditionally on the third beat of every bar (assuming a standard half-time trap grid at 140 BPM). Real character emerges in the spaces between those hits.

To lock in authentic hi-hat rolls and bounce, avoid straight eighth-note quantization across the pattern. Set your grid to 1/32 and 1/64 notes for quick, descending rolls, and automate the velocity of each hit. Pitching down a hat roll by three semitones as it resolves adds tension before the snare lands.

Standard 2-Bar Bounce Template:

Beat: | 1 . . . | 2 . . . | 3 . . . | 4 . . . |

Snare: | . . . . | . . . . | [X] . . . | . . . . |

Hi-Hat: | x x x / | x x / / /| x x x x | x / / / x |

Kick/808: | [X] . . .| . [X]. . | . . . . | . . [X] . |

Legend: [X] = Hard Accent, x = Normal, / = Velocity Roll

Supplement the main pattern with a metallic open hi-hat striking right before beat three, accompanied by a soft rimshot hitting late off the grid. Leave plenty of breathing room. The trap drum arrangement in a Nine Vicious track leans on space; overpopulating the pattern with percussion takes away from the weight of the kick and 808.