In Hip Hop there is two ways you can make beats. Either you can sample or make original beats using a keyboard. Sampling is when you take a small portion of another artist work and then basically adding your own instruments to it such as kicks and snares. Kanye West, DJ Premier, The Alchemist and J-Dilla are samplers for example. Manny Fresh and The Neptunes are producers who don't sample and mainly use a keyboard to make their instrumentals. Timbaland is an excellent producer who actually utilizes both techniques. I personally prefer to sample because I'm more talented at that. I recommend trying out both techniques to see what suits you better. Try not to force one or the other.
