Giving up Hip-Hop's Firstborn: A Quest for the Real after the Death of Sampling

“STABILIZED, YES!” by COOL FOR YOU: a Political Message

“…Only a few scholars continue to analyze the functions of sampling in this latest stage of its development. Among them, and following Wayne Marshall (2017), a tendency towards "a more atomized approach to sample-based music" can be recognized. According to Marshall, instead of "looping breakbeats or well-worn melodies," popular and obscure electronic dance music of the last decade has focused on "a set of brief sonic signifiers" (ibid.).…”

Hip-Hop pedagogy as production practice: Reverse-engineering the sample-based aesthetic

“…At the heart of hip-hop music production lies sampling, both as aesthetic ideal and problematic practice. Much has been written about sampling as composition (Demers 2003;Harkins 2008Harkins , 2010Moorefield 2005;Morey and McIntyre 2014;Rodgers 2003;Swiboda 2014), the ethics and legality of sampling (Collins 2008;Goodwin 1988;McLeod 2004), and sampling as a driver of stylistic authenticity in Hip-Hop (Marshall 2006;Rose 1994;Schloss 2014;Williams 2010). In his extensive ethnographic study, Making Beats: The Art of Sampled-Based Hip-Hop, Schloss (2014: 72) states that "the idea of sampling as an aesthetic ideal may appear jarring to individuals trained in other musical traditions, but it absolutely exemplifies the approach of most hip-hop producers", and he later adds that "this preference is not for the act of sampling, but for the sound of sampling: It is a matter of aesthetics" (Schloss 2014: 78).…”

“…The next notable stylistic divergence came from the US South, referencing earlier dancefloor orientated local subgenres-such as Miami Bass and New Orleans Bounce-and fusing live performances with increasingly synthesized instrumentation (Grem 2006). Nevertheless, the sample-based aesthetic continued evolving in parallel to these divergences, as an East Coast production reference, a reaction to mainstream stylizations and a signifier of hip-hop authenticity (Kulkarni 2015;Marshall 2006;Serrano 2015). A number of mainstream artists tapped into the production style in order to support lyrical content that was more personal or conscious, or as a way to stand out from the over-populated Trap crowd.…”

Sample magic: (conjuring) phonographic ghosts and meta-illusions in contemporary hip-hop production

“… Chang (2007, pp. 41-65) provides a historical context for how this necessity-the result of social engineering, the withdrawal of instrumental funding from New York schools, and a technically-trained but unemployed young generation-brought about hip-hop's 'big bang'.7 Live hip-hop band The Roots have had to deal with this criticism across their 14-studio-album career-a topic discussed in detail by WayneMarshall (2006).8 TriciaRose (1994, p. 79) informs us that: 'A few years after rap's recording history began, pioneering rap producer DJ Marley Marl discovered that real drum sounds could be used in place of simulated drum sounds'.9 KRS-One published a hip-hop 'commandments'-style/dogma book in 2009, entitled The Gospel of Hip Hop: First Instrument.…”

“… 7 Live hip-hop band The Roots have had to deal with this criticism across their 14-studio-album career – a topic discussed in detail by Wayne Marshall (2006). …”