HI anyone knows how to perfectly mix a soul sample or any chopped sample for hip hop??

Following Kevin McCloskey's method, I process the kick so it hits 0 VU and peaks at around -5 dB, set the snare to peak at around -5 dB, and match the bass to the kick at 0 VU. I also match the vocal level to the snare by ear and use the limiter test throughout the mix. After I've finished processing the vocals and the beat and then remove the limiter, how much headroom should I have on the master? If I only have 1–2 dB of headroom left after finishing the mix, what should I do? Should I turn the entire mix down, or is that amount of headroom acceptable before mastering?

Hi I'm watching Fix the Mix series, and I have a really confusing question about gain staging. When I build the foundation, I make the kick and snare hit around -5 dB after processing. But when I add the beat and the vocals (I make lo-fi hip hop, so I usually sample songs), I only have about 2 dB of headroom left on the stereo out. How should I gain stage my beat and vocals in this situation? Also, how much headroom should I aim to have on the stereo out before mastering? Another question: if I want my sample to have more bass by adding R-Bass or a similar plugin, should I apply the VU gain staging method to the sample before processing, or is the VU method unnecessary in this case? Also, what level should I aim for when recording or gain staging my vocals? I don't usually have many layers in my mixes. A typical session for me consists of: - Soul sample - Kick - Snare - Hi-hats - Percussion - Maybe a bassline - Vocals What would be the proper gain staging approach and target levels for a simple arrangement like this? Also, how should I approach mixing the sample? Since it's usually taken from an already mixed and mastered song, I'm never sure how much processing it actually needs. Should I treat it like any other instrument and gain stage it first, or is there a different workflow you recommend for samples? Thanks