Thanks bro. I made that beat in one sitting too, probably took me close to 2hrs to get it to the point you hear it at. Obviously it ain't completely polished or layed out like a song, but you can hear all the main elements. I'd say it really ain't all that hard to lay down a WestCoast sounding beat like that. For me the hardest part is the drums and laying down a solid bassline. I used a very nice freeware compressor VST plugin called "Rough Rider" on the drums, if you can hear it, you can tell how the drums POP, hear it on the attack leading up to the Clap. The rest is really not all that hard to do IMO. I say start by laying down some chords to get a basic foundation and rhythm going. Most funky melodies are quick n short, just have to have nice rhythm.