Tuesday, September 8, 2009
These Are The Breaks: Turntabalism and DJ Culture
This week, we broadly discuss DJ Culture and the role sampling has played in creating the foundation of Hip-hop music and Culture. As you write about the readings, listen to various remixes and watch the film "Scratch," in what ways has sampling grown with Hip-hop if at all? How has it shaped the music and culture?
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In Robert Karimi’s article “How I found My Inner DJ,” he discusses the connections of all parts of his life, and how his life has been a series of choosing between alternates. I can relate to Karimi because I have made decisions in my life that haven’t always been easy. He mentions that he went to Catholic school while his father prayed secretly to Allah. While I consider myself a Catholic, I have always struggled with my parents’ idea of always going to church and being a “good Catholic.” I also struggle with some parts of the Church doctrine, which only complicates the decisions I have to make in my life. Sampling is important in hip-hop and in life, because it allows for all aspects of life and culture to be taken into consideration when making important decisions. Sampling has grown with hip-hop over the years. Sampling has shaped hip-hop culture by exposing those who listen to the music to various aspects of other cultures.
ReplyDeleteRobert Ford, Jr. discusses the culture of mobile DJs in the Bronx in his article “B-Beat Bombarding the Bronx: Mobile DJ Starts something with Oldie R&B Discs.” He talks about sampling and how DJ Cool Herc began to buy older albums to mix in while he was DJing. Ford claims that Herc’s music became popular due to how younger generations were dissatisfied with disco music. I find it interesting that while disco music was unpopular with younger generations, as soon as it is mixed with other beats in a hip-hop song, it becomes very popular.
Turntablism is deeply rotted into the hip-hop music genre and how songs are created and sounds are worked with. Hip-hop artists such as Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash have led the way when it came to mastering beat mixing and scratching methods. The movie Scratch documents how the number of DJs has dramatically lowered in the early 1990’s and how scratching and DJing moved to the underground again to be appreciated by the hip-hop lovers from previous generations. This lead to turntablism popularity in hip-hop soundtracks to create the beat in the background of the artists lyrics. Now sampling is taking the sound recordings that can be made by use of turntablism and utilizing it for the beat of their song. It is very popular to use samples from older songs to create a new song with the sort of beat that was so popular back when the original song was released. A classic example of an artist using an older songs sample is Vanilla Ice using Queen’s beat from “Under Pressure” in his hit song “Ice, Ice Baby.”
ReplyDeleteWhat began as the Sugar Hill house band’s sampling of “Good Times” by Chic for “Rapper’s Delight” has now become one of the biggest elements of hip-hop today. Although sampling is a debatable subject within the hip-hop community, it is undeniable that it has created a new breed of musicians and a new sound for hip-hop. In Nelson George’s “Sample This,” he states “sampling’s flexibility gave hip-hop-bred music makers the tools to create tracks that not only were in the hip-hop tradition but allowed them to extend that tradition.” Traditional musicians like Mtume would argue that sampling is a “tragic break from African-American’s creative musical traditions.” Nelson evens goes so far as comparing the sampling craze in hip-hop to Bob Dylan plugging in electric instruments in 1965, which became one of the most controversial events in music history. Today, radio and television is overwhelmed with sampling. Rappers like Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Asher Roth and Lil’ Wayne have made a name for themselves just by sampling other songs. One might argue that sampling has created a greater appreciation for music within the generation of Millennials or an ignorance of the samples used in popular music today.
ReplyDeleteThe culture within the hip-hop nation comes alongside the art of DJing. These days, when listening to a rap song, comes the motion and projection of the DJing that occurs behind the scenes. We learned this upcoming affect of hip-hop through the work of various artists such as Grandmaster Flash, as he guided us towards mixing genres of music and making it one compatible form of music. These kinds of beat juggling soon guided our generation towards “turntablism” which became a form of music in which the person manipulates various sounds to get different sounds resulting in a mix between various sounds and songs. I personally believe that the growth of sampling has shifted in its ways of motion throughout history. It’s literally become a common underground style of art within the hip-hop world. In our generation we seek upon various mixes that come on the radio, and over time they have developed into an extremely popular form of music. As our generations shift in interests, musical factors such as different forms of music become more appreciated because of its effectiveness towards its listeners, making it a continuing growth throughout our nation.
ReplyDeleteSampling was a staple of the American Hip-Hop scene from the beginning. By using clips of music from other artist, you are already giving the audience something to know and to appreciate. By putting your own spin on it by rapping over it, you are able to get your name out there and still give the credit to the people who came before you, by using their music. At least that is one of the points of view over this topic. There are others that believe that using samples is just plain wrong. That it allows for “lazy musicans” (George pg. 437) and what was being produced “were nothing but Memorex music” (George pg 437). The people producing the music took great offence to this and one band, Brooklyn’s Stetsasonic, made a new song about those thoughts. This song referred to the first point of view where the artist were keeping alive the old African-American music tradition.
ReplyDeleteSampling has grown greatly within Hip-hop. Prior to the use of sampling in Hip-hop, it was used to “disguise the absence of a live instrument.” (Sample This) Since then it has been used to integrate several different styles of music into hip-hop. Sample This uses the example of Cool Herc using 30 seconds of disco mixed with his hip-hop music. Many hip-hop artist use sample consciousness by integrating their experiences, stories, and observations into their songs which has lead to the shaping of their music and culture. As you listen to various songs by artists of basically all genres, you will see that artists put their own experiences and emotions into their songs, hip-hop has also managed to do this. We have discussed in class that some rappers talk about the ghettos and the rats on the street to describe their hardships, the use of these is sampling consciousness. I think that the use of sampling in hip-hop is what makes it so popular because listeners of the music can relate to what the artist is talking about.
ReplyDeleteLike it or not, admit to it or not, turntables and sampling have transformed hip hop music to what it is today. Older musicians and MCs may argue that turntables and sampling require less creativity and do not challenge the musician or audience alike. However, as a member of a generation that did not grow up around old school hip hop, if it were not for sampling I would have never heard some of the lyrics and beats and known about any of the old school hip hop songs. Therefore, in my opinion, sampling and turntables have allowed the brilliance of old school hip hop beats and lyrics to live on today and continue to be passed down form generation to generation.
ReplyDeleteThe whole concept of sampling, borrowing elements from others to create your own whole is a concept as old as human civilization. It reminds me of what Lewis Hyde says about “Culture as Commonwealth” in his upcoming book. His whole idea is that your ideas and creations, your art, is never & has never been yours alone. Due to the fact that you live in and interact with your surroundings and the society, those that came before you influence your ideas and creations. Culture belongs to the Commons and is often created with the help and inspiration of others, which is why Benjamin Franklin never took out a patent on his inventions.
ReplyDeleteThe way that Hip-hop brings to life sampling is through turntablism. The turntable is the DJ’s instrument to create his or her art. By using the creations of others and cutting and combining them together to create her own mixes, the DJ brings her perspective on the world and shares that with the Commons. It’s a beautiful and intricate art form and uses one of the oldest tools of mankind to create unique and cutting edge perspectives and art.
When reading and learning about the introduction of sampling into the genre of hip-hop, it was difficult for me to separate the two ideas. From the beginning, hip-hop has been samplng, and vice versa. Sampling is so immersed in hip-hop that sometimes I do not notice it because it is so common. In the 1990s and early 2000s it seemed like every song had a "remix". Often this remix became more popular than the original track. Sampling and turntabalism were present in the beginnings of hip-hop and have grown along with it. The article titled "B-Beats Bombarding Bronx" explained how DJ Kool Herc started using sampling while DJing back in the 1970s. More recently, Robert Karimi uses sampling in a different sense by "sampling" his life story. By cutting and reshaping his life story, he brings sampling into today's terms ans shows how the idea has grown into more than just music. Growing up around these trends, it was interesting to learn that not everyone agreed with the act of sampling past artists in current music. Nelson George, in his article "Sample This", expressed his opposition to the idea of sampling and connected it to the idea that African-American music was no longer progressing. In my opinion, sampling and turntabalism were new areas of art and music which fed off past modes but created a new and unique form of art. Although DJs may not be creating their music from scratch, they are using a new medium to express music that is "remixed" into their own.
ReplyDeleteFrom my understanding I would like to correlate sampling and “digging”. Both associate by taking samples (breaks) from the past, experimenting with them then creating something for the present and future. Turnablism branched out when the MCs were turning mainstream. What I really liked in the movie “Scratch” was when they were talking about the “full circle”. The quote I liked the most was, “You have to know where hip-hop has been to know where it was going.” There were many examples throughout the movie backing up this statement. One I personally loved was one of the DJs incorporated Robert Johnson Delta Blues into his scratch. In the long run, I’ve learned that turntablism and sampling was something that shaped music by taking different samples of songs and creating something new. It was experimenting with the past but as well as a tribute by appreciating the songs that was once composed. It also brought diversity to scratching and hip-hop. For example, DJ Qbert is a Filipino American Turntablist. I agree with how music is competitive along with the rest of the world. But it’s the competitive nature that brings so many different styles of hip-hop and turntablism together. The DMC gave artists (DJs) and opportunity to show their talent and creativity in a competition for a world title. It also showed dedication and passion. DJs could “dig” through the past (record stores) for hours to find their break. To me once the DJ found his record or break they needed its like they found their relationship to the past and is bringing it to the present. Just like Robert Karimi said, “Hip-hop did not reject the past; it said, ‘It is part of us.’”
ReplyDeleteI think that sampling has grown with Hip-hop or one could even say that Hip-hop has grown with sampling. In the section of “Sample This” tilted “New Toys”, it discusses how new instruments are used and “the old style didn’t work anymore and it created a new language”. The E-mu Emulator was like the new toy for sampling that created this new language that people began to use to create new sounds within hip-hop that also contained old sounds at the same time. Over time, people began to use new tools or technology to further incorporate sampling into new creations. Towards the end of “Sample This”, the author talks about how sampling includes “embracing new sounds, bending found technology to a creator’s will”. This statement helps a person better understand that sampling impacted hip-hop, music, and culture overall by further explaining how it changes the way audience hears music and its message within the music. A person’s culture can be affected when the way he/she perceives something changes, and this occurs for some people with the way sampling affected how they hear.
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ReplyDeleteSampling and Turtabalism are two great means of expression in Hip-Hop. It is sad to see that there are people, such as Gilbert O'Sullivan, took such negative actions against this form of expression(George p. 4 p. 440). Sampling is an inherently problematic when it comes to Turntablism because DJ's need records in order to produce their unique sound. It is interesting how you can get a unique sound out of each record. Some D.J's, Q-bert and Mixmaster Mike to name a few, say that DJing is like talking and they compare it to a language (Scratch 2001). In this language their is a sound that corresponds to each word (Scratch 2001). There are even sounds that relay flatulence(Scratch, 2001). The downside is when these artists sample they put the artist's that they are sampling from that much farther away from realizing their dream because they don't necessarily pay the original artist for the right to use their music. This is the extent of the sampling exchange unless the artist is sued and is forced to render restitution which has happened before.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Nelson when he says that sampling is lousy when you don’t make it your own. I think sampling is a great idea. I don’t see anything wrong with it as long as it’s not a copy cat version of the original. Hip hop, and music in general, is a creative expression. It wouldn’t be creative anymore if you didn’t put a spin on it and make it your own. There are plenty of artists today that use sampling. For example, Girl Talk, who is a contemporary musician who uses digital sampling and “mash up” techniques. He takes beats, lyrics, and music from other songs and mashes them all together and comes up with a new sound. He makes a new sound for consumers to hear. It’s peculiar and interesting because you hear all of the mainstream music we all love to listen to mixed and mingled. The mixing and sampling gives the wow factor because it’s something new. I think sampling is a good idea because it brings back memories or thoughts from the song that’s being sampled. For instance, if you heard a song you used to listen to when you were in middle school in contemporary song, you automatically think back to middle school. You might even be thinking, “Ooooh that used to be the Jam!” or “This was me and my boyfriend’s song!” It relates to the idea of putting words and phrases in songs that people who identify with those references can relate to.
ReplyDeleteFrom the time the earliest sounds of Hip Hop had emerged into the musical world, sampling was a key element found in many of the genre’s songs. In the first reading we read during week one, “Rap and Hip Hop”, Hebdige writes how DJ Kool Herc sampled the drumming from Apache by The Incredible Bongo Band. From then on sampling could be heard in numerous hip hop artists’ songs. While some criticize these artists for lacking creativity and ingenuity, I see sampling as a very innovative idea. Before hip hop, each generation of artists threw out past styles and created something completely different than before. While this is not a bad thing at all, hip hop embraced the past experiences that shaped the world and incorporated it into their songs. Karimi explained it best when he wrote that “Throughout the history of art, literature, and philosophy, people destroyed the old to create the new […] Hip-hop did not reject the past; it said, “It is part of us.” Hip hop did something completely new by merging the old with the new, something past artists were afraid to do.
ReplyDeleteSampling and turntabalism are both integral and emblematic parts of the larger hip-hop culture. Born of the necessity to make music with any available tools, DJ Cool Herc used the combinations of various vinyl sounds to string together the ‘best’ parts of myriad disco songs. I found Karimi’s article about the synthesis of different elements to be central to my understanding of sampling: that this ethic of picking, choosing, and recombining extends beyond the music itself. It hints at the multiculturalism of hip-hop and the creativity behind using different facets of one’s identity to forge something new. The style of Karimi’s article was somewhat jarring at first, but it quickly became intelligible after reading further.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to me in George’s “Sample This” to read about the hostility towards sampling from older musicians involved in the jazz/funk/soul music scene at the time of hip-hops beginnings. Although I understand the position of artists such as Mtume, I find no criticisms of creativity to be had in the practice of sampling and turntabalism. After all, no one who’s seen Scratch can rightly say that it is not an art form just like jazz guitar, concert piano, or any other instrument requiring immense technical skill.
Turntablism is an integral part of hip hop, it first started being used when DJ's needed new sounds to mash up in songs. Sampling is done by almost every rapper, such as guys like Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Jay-z, and the list goes on and on and on. If the sampling is done in a way where it makes a song sound new and like you haven't heard it before then I'm all for it, but once people start over using sampling it gets a little troubling as it just sounds like the same song be re-done. Sampling and turntablism is an art form of music and needs to be done right as it takes a lot of talent for these muscians to get the sound right and to make a song fresh with it's own sound and feel.
ReplyDeleteIn the article “Sample this” by Nelson George, music producer-songwriter Mtume criticized the art of Hip-Hop for being dependent on record sampling. He also believed unskilled artists were taking tracks to sample and mix without understanding the underlying composition of the music. Although there may be some truth to his statements; there is no denying the fact that Hip-Hop was extending its borders of creativity. Thanks to advances in technology such as the E-mu Emulator, DJs were capable of mixing and scratching sounds taken from samples which became known as turntablism. The great thing about Hip-Hop was that it allowed artists to improvise their work by manipulating new sounds and beats. I think sampling is interesting and unique because it provides a reference to artists in the past while reviving a sound for the current generation. A great example is the song “Juicy” by Biggie Smalls who sampled from the song “Juicy Fruit” by Mtume. In the song “Juicy,” Biggie Smalls spits out several references who all have had influenced his life and the Hip-Hop community. Because of rappers like Biggie, Hip-Hop has expanded its horizons and yet retained its cultural identity for how it got there.
ReplyDeleteEach genre of music has its roots. Music differs in how it sounds because of its uniqueness in how it came to be. Hip-Hop was developed and pursued by its four elements, two of which directly correlate to the sound of hip-hop today: MCing and DJing. I believe there to be two other factors that contribute to these elements: sampling and turntablism. The music of hip-hop was created, tested, and made great. In George’s article “Sample This” he explains how sampling gave hip-hop the tools it needed to create a tradition and extend that tradition. Sampling brings different sides and edges to hip-hop. Artists and DJs bring in sounds from past times, other artists, or even from different genres of music. Turntablism allows people to make their samples that further add to the sound of hip-hop. Both sampling and turntablism have added to the tradition and sounds of hip-hop. Together they have created a specific sound of hip-hop and because of them, people everywhere can listen to the music and find a way to recognize and connect with the songs.
ReplyDeleteIn the film “Scratch,” it became apparent that sampling and scratching has advanced hip-hop beyond anything it could have become without it. Even from hip-hop’s beginning with sampling from 70’s disco and soul (such as Chic’s “Good Times” in Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”) to modern sampling (such as Rakim’s acapella verse “Pump Up the Volume” in a Cool Kids song by the same name), sampling and scratching has been an integral part of hip-hop. Some acts such as the Beastie Boys (with constant scratching throughout their songs) and Kanye West (with his infamous sped-up ‘chipmunk voice’ clips from classic soul songs) would not have the fame they have today without these crucial techniques. Great mixers like DJ Q-Bert and Mix Master Mike have truly understood their artform and have made history through their craft. Hip-hop has grown infinitely from it’s beginning through styles of DJ-ing such as scratching and sampling.
ReplyDeleteSampling is a staple of hip-hop music and for me one of the main reasons I enjoy the music so much. The ability to sample from any different genre adds to the versatility and appeal of the music. Whether it's sampling a speech, movie, or other song, whatever sound is sampled adds a new element to the song. In the reading "how I found my Inner DJ" I found his thoughts on sampled consciousness very thought provoking. The idea that we are the product of a variety of "sampled experiences" is an interesting concept. We are a collection of things that have happened to us as hip hop is a collection of samples and beat that are rapped over.
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ReplyDeleteTurntabalism and Sampling are a major part of the Hip-Hop community today. It has advanced the music side of hip-hop, and created a newer sprectrum of style within the industry. With newer, recent rap music, it has been apparent that a remix lies with almost every song. Artists such as Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, T-Pain are sampling their own voice within a song. This gives the music a different aspect, a different tone, as well as helping to keep the song "fresh" and new. Almost every song carries a featuring artists, letting others sample their own voice for tracks. For DJ's, turntablism has become a huge phenomenon. Not only does the art of turntablism help expresses a DJ's own "blackness" and style, but it helps correlate the arts of dance and Hip-Hop. DJ AM is an example of a great man who could take a track, use his turntables, and create a stylistic piece of hip-hop that everyone loved. Both turntablism and sampling form uniqueness within the sound of a hip-hop track. It is a new wave of art, music, dance, and voice that has enhanced and furthermore developed the world of hip-hop.
ReplyDeleteTurntablism and sampling have always been right there in hip hop along with mcing. Most songs even today if you listen closely, it has a past beat to it or has a sample of an old song in it. Dj’s and their turntables are a beautiful thing when they are put together. The Dj’s are the teachers and we as listeners are the students. Djs are always going to be sampling and trying out new sounds mixed together to see what happens. I think sampling is wonderful thing when you can mix an old tune right in today’s musical sound. Music is always trying to move forward and create new ways of hearing sounds and music. Sampling a sound or an old tune is great when you can put it together. Sampling is the way you hear in your head, and putting it down the way you want it to sound in a new song or beat. Some people might not like that because you’re not creating your own music but the artist now days have to give credit or they will get sued. One of the first rap groups Sugar Hill gang even uses sampling from a T.V show “Good Times” (Sample this p. 439) Several years later Sean P. Diddy Combs did the same thing but just changed the Sugar Hill song. I think people should be open to new sounds and new ways to bob our heads. Hip hop will always keep changing and hybridizing to whatever’s the new sound, but while they keep changing I think they will still keep on sampling from their past music. Let music be free, let music open your ears to new things. Keep on moving hip hop and we as listeners, will keep moving on with you.
ReplyDeleteSampling within Hip Hop
ReplyDeleteSampling has always been a foundation of Hip Hop. From its street roots, what is the most accessible, cheapest and easiest way to make a track? Sample from someone else, whether it be the beat, chorus, or even a single phrase or noise. As Hip Hop has grown sampling of course has also expanded. With the Hip Hop culture becoming more widely accepted by other genres new forms of musical expressions have become available. These may now be provided by the other musical sources embracing hip hop due to its more accepted status in society that may have once been consider “competition”. The other day a song by B.O.B., a protégé of T.I., called I Am the Man, sampling the chorus and instruments from O’ Brother where art thou, a movie about a genre of music totally different from hip hop, but with its roots in the same socio-economic status. This sampling can then spread the music. This can be seen with early hip hop sampling disco. Although the disco music may have been unpopular, it did have features that could be absorbed and played off of such as a catchy beat that you just can’t lose, or that makes you want to move. Scratching and remixing on the top of this fit perfectly into the loud, brash statement hip hop culture was making during the 80’s and 90’s. Modern technology has greatly advanced the art and ease of sampling as well. In my own novice experience when I began to DJ it was shocking to me how easily songs could be manipulated using a soundboard mixer and two digital turntables.
Sampling, it seems, has always been a part of hip-hop culture. A cheaper way to create music, it allows the DJ to create innovative sounds while recycling what some people may consider the "best part of the song." New songs could be created from manipulations of songs or mixed with songs unrelated to that one to create a new hybrid of old and new.
ReplyDeleteBecause of this, some artists praise turntabling and sampling, whereas other artists feel that it is stealing. This could easily cause some disaccord in the music industry, but the hip-hop listener seems to enjoy the mesh of old and new. Many artists have used a featured artist alongside the samples previously used. This has allowed hip-hop to advance in ways that other genres have not been as successful at doing. Although other genres have featured artists or samples of other songs, the prevalence in hip-hop to have this has provided it with the driving power that has allowed it to be popular for this long.
Sampling is basically taking a part or parts of a song and mixing it with the part or parts of another song. Sampling has allowed for DJs to become more creative in their line of work. As a result, I believe sampling has grown with hip hop because it creates a totally different way a person can listen to a certain song. After watching Scratch, sampling goes hand in hand with turntabilism because sampling is a necessity to be a successful and entertaining DJ. Also, another reason sampling has grown with hip hop is that Activision, the company that created Guitar Hero, is releasing a new game called DJ Hero which shows somewhat how much turntablism has grown in popularity. Another company is also releasing a game called Scratch: The Ultimate DJ. In the movie, Scratch, one of the groups interviewed joked that there should be a Playstation game featuring turntablism. Now that has become a reality as turntabilsm gains in popularity.
ReplyDeleteThe DJ is the backbone of hip-hop. Turntablism gave the MC an opportunity to be heard, which then gave way to the widespread listening of rap music. Turntablism is a way for different cultures to become a part of the Hip-hop movement. In 'Scratch', DJ Z-Trip talks about the first time he attempted scratching. It was on his mom's Joan Baez record. Joan Baez and hip-hop are not two terms that are easily connected, but Z-Trip proved that theory wrong. As DJing and MCing evolved and became more widely respected, there was a schism between the two. This is viewed as some as the beginning of hip-hop as a commodity. Afrika Bambaataa speaks about how the MC left the Dj behind in order to pursue money over art. This is truly evident in presnt day hip-hop culture, where turntablism is close to dead in the public eye. The biggest focus is on the MC and his or her lyrical abilities.
ReplyDeleteSampling is the most direct way to connect different generations to the hip-hop culture.By using different types of music from varying time periods a record can create a sound that crosses boundaries. An interesting example of this method is the track "Can't Forget About You" by Nas. In this record Nas samples the refrain from Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" and transforms it into a rhythm that flows with rap.
Turntabalism and sampling are two very core elements that go into making Hip-Hop. Turntabalism to me is what gives the D.J. the most ability to express themselves the most. This is when the D.J. can feel the music and use those feelings to hit the breaks on just the right moment, or incorporate another sample. Sampling and turntabalism seem to me to be the most difficult part of Hip-Hop music to master. Sampling is somewhat like remixing, or taking bits and pieces of other songs and making them into one. Sampling is very key to turntabalism because it helps to connect the music with the audience, it allows the D.J. to give somewhat of a metaphor about what they are talking about. The other key part to sampling is choosing samples that flow together.
ReplyDeleteThe idea behind turntablism is to interact the music of the artist with other performers and DJs. Sampling has also played a large role in Hip-hop because it too interacts music from different performers. Much of Hip-hop as we know it today has been shaped because of these elements. DJs, artists, and performers have built themselves off of some founding characteristics within Hip-hop. Essentially, the same beat can be used in many different ways to create a mix that represents the artist. I think now, sampling has grown to new heights. Numerous songs have portions in them that have evolved from an entirely different song. It some of today’s music it is even witty to use a sampling from a different, more popular song. Turntablism has taken the attribute of sampling and has introduced it more seamless into the culture.
ReplyDeleteThe Turntable is one of the iconic and time-tested images in Hip-Hop. The Turntable has been around since close to the early inception of Hip-hop. For a long time a DJ and an MC went hand in hand, you couldn’t have one without the other. One rocked the crowd and one rocked the beats. Technology threatened to change that, almost eliminating the physical presence of DJs. However the prominence of DJ’s in music has seen resurgence with many well known DJs releasing their own collaborative albums that they have produced and even rap on. The role of the DJ has changed slightly and become more the role of a producer. It is very trendy now as it was then to mix and sample songs to produce the sound that they are looking for. In conjunction with last week’s post, you can see DJs sampling songs from completely different genres like rock into hip-hop music as well. However you can still see many Traditional DJs mixing and scratching songs at parties and concerts and other venues where live music is played. The funny thing is that no one really uses records so these DJs scratch digital “records” which is just a turntable hooked up to a computer that simulates record scratching.
ReplyDeleteSampling has become a huge influence in the genre of Hip Hop. It is basically adding pieces of other, well-known tracks or songs that work well with in a new song. Personally, I find songs that sample to be the ones I like most and the catchiest. Artists with major influence in the Hip Hop community, such as Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, have been sampling past popular songs into their modern hits. Adding MCing on top of sampling is another defining aspect of this version of Hip Hop. Artists make the song their own when they sample by rapping on top of the verse. The very first group to do this, sampling, was the Sugarhill Gang with their song “Rappers Delight.” Since then, the world has seen many different versions, genres, and types of sampling.
ReplyDeleteI think that sampling is unique way to express your feelings and display different features of songs. My favorite samples actual come from Lil' Wayne. On his CD 'Da Drought 3' he uses tracks from various artists such as Kayne West, T.I., Young Jeezy, Jay Z, Mike Jones, and Nas just to name a few. The sampling that Eric B and Rakim produced in "Paid In Full" was very interesting because during the video I watched on youtube.com the Artist was shown. I think that by sampling you can view different songs from various artists, generations, and even genres. I do not agree with anyone who says that it is "copy cat" because in reality it just adding to the hip-hop scene by creating diversity.
ReplyDeleteTurntablism, I believe, is a way for the DJ to express himself through his passion, turning tables. It adds depth to music, along with variation because it hardly is ever the same. Both aspects are vital to the larger world of hip-hop.
Turntablism and sampling have changed the face of African American music today. Most if not all hip hop artists use some form of these methods in their art. Turntablsim is one of the ways DJ’s can separate themselves from other DJ’s…each have their own way of scratching and mixing different beats to make their own sound. Sampling one the other hand is a way of taking different mixes from any place and being able to incorporate them into a song. I believe that sampling is a way of making sure all aspects of hip hop can last- from old school beats, blues, jazz, or gospel; sampling can ensure that these different sounds are not forgotten and also pay tribute to where hip hop came from. Not to mention sampling is an interesting way to relate to more audience. An example of that would be when Run DMC sampled Walk This Way by Aerosmith, the group was able to not only appeal to their own audience but also the Rock audience of Aerosmith.
ReplyDeleteTo me, turntabalism is like jazz music, you are speaking with your instrument. You don’t have to be the MC, as stated in the movie “Scratch,” the DJ wouldn’t use the mic unless they had to tell someone to move their car or what not. Turntabalism is a major expression of Hip Hop and is a way of life. To be able to feel the record and mix songs together and scratch over samples is a unique feeling; especially back in the 80s with all the b-boys and b-girls. To be able to spin with breakers on stage would be a very fun and special experience. By DJs using samples, they could extend a small part or breakdown in a song and loop it, expanding a short sound clip to be the length of a normal song if needed. This was especially useful for the b-boys/b-girls because they were able to break to a funky part in the song for much longer than a possible 20-second drum breakdown on a record. In the movie Scratch, Mix Master Mike uses an old blues/jazz record to scratch over a beat sample of Dead Prez’s song “Hip Hop,” which is a great example of the creativeness that is involved in sampling and turntabalism.
ReplyDeleteDuring the first week of class when we were going over the classic Hip-hop songs we played “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. I immediately noticed that the beat from the song was used in Puff Daddy’s song featuring Mase “Can’t nobody hold me down”. At first I agreed with Mtume when he said Hip-hop producers “have no understanding of theory and can play no instruments.” Essentially Mtume was saying that it doesn’t take a musical talent to create a beat; an individual can just push a button on an E-mu Emulator to take an existing beat and alter it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, after I continued the reading I understood the view of the group Stetsasonic by stating they were paying homage to the past artists and through sampling an artist will never be forgotten. With “turntabalism” there is more of an artistic side where the DJ must have an ear for the music and the beat making a transition from one song to another and making it easily. As DJ Herc says in the Ford article he has to find the best part of the song (beat wise) to get people to dance to which takes a precise ear to find.
“Sampling” in the hip-hop context connotes a sort of vigilante musicianship that continues to fuel the debate over musical integrity. The act of sampling offers critical insight into the birth of this genre. In the inner-city streets and apartments in which it was born, it’s a miracle that any form of self-expression asserted itself at all; these people could barely afford to eat, let alone splurge on a decent drumset or guitar. It might be argued, rather, that their resourcefulness became their saving grace. In both the film and George Nelson’s essay, the primary defense of sampling operates on the principle of recognizing the old and showing respect for it by rejuvenating it for the present day. Indeed, Nelson is quick to cite examples of scene-changing technology in the past works of Stevie Wonder and the invention of the electric guitar. Personally, I define “turntablism” as the art which encompasses sampling among other aspects. A true master of the turntables WILL display virtuosity in the indigenous form of scratching, and he will employ sampling INTELLIGENTLY to augment the beat. One need look no further than Public Enemy to witness this mastery in intricate tapestries of social commentary.
ReplyDeleteHip hop started with sampling when DJ Kool Herc and others like him learned to use turn tables to play the breaks of a song over and over. It has advanced light years beyond the music these early DJs produced to the art and culture that it is today. Hip hop is known for its sampling of other music genres, starting mostly with blues and jazz sounds. In the 80’s Run DMC teamed up with Aerosmith to create a hip hop song meshed with rock, and helped pave the creative path for other hip hop artists to sample various music genres. Today we can turn on the radio and hear hip hop songs using any other music genre, from jazz to rock and even techno, like in T.I.’s hit with Rihanna, “Live Your Life.” This flexibility of hip hop, along with ever emerging new technologies, inspire artists to create new sounds to incorporate into their music, or to use old sounds in new ways. Sampling is an integral part of turntablism and DJing, and as such will continue to progress and evolve with hip hop.
ReplyDeleteAlthought sampling may be used very loosely by today's standards, it was a very important tool in the development of Hip-Hop. Artists who did not posesses the technology or the wealth to create their own "beats" had to use what was already done; in other words creating "something out of nothing" and to put a personal twist on it to make it their own. Finding oneself is also another topic for DJ culture. Many men and women create their own persona and identity by greatly exaggerating their own personal strenghts or a personal trait.
ReplyDeleteTurntabalism and sampling are two of the key parts that go into producing a good hip-hop beat and sound. Although with current advancements in technology the true art in it is being extinguished. With “DJs” simply being able to hit switch on an MP3 file and cut up sounds on his computer the actual practice of turntabalism is becoming a thing of the past. Along with turnatabalism comes sampling, the practice of using sounds from someone else and slightly modifying them into your own piece. These two important parts of hip-hop played major roles into making hip-hop what it is today. It was a way for people to express themselves through the sounds that they were producing. In “How I Found My Inner DJ” by Robert Karimi, the subject talks about how his DJing work had been influenced by multiple different outlets, from ethnicity and culture to the identity of ones self. One of the examples I found very interesting was how the disco genre was losing popularity quickly amongst the younger generations, as hip-hop was on the rise. Oddly enough some of the first DJs we heard, like DJ Cool Herc, were using samples heavily influenced if not straight from disco songs mixed with a hip-hop beat to create an infectious sound that took off creating much buzz amongst the younger crowd.
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