i think its important to focus on the finished product too.. as opposed to just making beats... get with an artists and make some music... u will develop like ten times faster if u "train as a producer" as opposed to just tryin to sit in ur room and come up with the craziest beats. thats a mistake i made when i first started out and i learned from it. Of course u need that time to zone out in ur studio and perfect your craft but at the same time the sooner u can snatch up a dope artist and start shaping ur sound togther the better off you will be. dont forget the voice is just another instrument, and is probably the most important one in hip hop so learn how to use and produce around it. Rarely does a major producer get "on" outta nowhere or just because they have hot beats .. they find an unknown or upandcoming artist/artists, grind togther ad develop a sound. then when the artists blows, everybody comes to that producer, not neccesarily for the beats alone, but the ability to create a hot track.