Evertime I listen to Q Tips Abstract Radio I realize....

[DoubleClutch]

My favorite 90's Hip Hop producers weren't that talented after all. I don't know if on purpose but he always plays songs that have very well known samples for hip hop hits from the 1990's or maybe its just coincidence?

I remember one episode featured Quest Love and this whole show was literally 1-2 hr of songs that had been used for samples in major Rap/R&B songs from 1990-2000

anyway some songs that stood out to me were this:



which the Neptunes turned into this:



and then there was this:



which Timbaland used to make:



those are just two examples, but the list really goes on, and on

anyways this may not be a big deal to those who have a lot of old school music knowledge but man I thought all these hip hop producers were more original

Oh and one more thing, QTips taste and knowledge of music is go get apple music and check out his channel if you like that old school hiphop/soul/r&b stuff.

 

[SunZoo]

My favorite 90's Hip Hop producers weren't that talented after all. I don't know if on purpose but he always plays songs that have very well known samples for hip hop hits from the 1990's or maybe its just coincidence?

In Hip Hop culture, being able to mix/match influences from other things and put them together is a talent. Not saying just looping up a sample alone is the hardest thing in the world but I think you're looking at it from the framework of the music industry rather than the culture.

 

[DoubleClutch]

In Hip Hop culture, being able to mix/match influences from other things and put them together is a talent. Not saying just looping up a sample alone is the hardest thing in the world but I think you're looking at it from the framework of the music industry rather than the culture.

yea but would you say producers who don't sample are more talented or better? In hip hop when defining what it takes to be a "great producer" originality isn't a criteria.

It just makes producing songs seem very easy to me.

I do think to be a good producer your knowledge of old music from the past has to be extensive and diverse. But I prefer original musicians

 

[SunZoo]

yea but would you say producers who don't sample are more talented or better?



It just makes producing songs seem very easy to me.

I do think to be a good producer your knowledge of old music from the past has to be extensive and diverse. But I prefer original musicians

I can't even think of his name or what songs he did...because nobody talks about him now but it was some dude who put togetehr a string of hits, and one of them had stock sounds from one of the various softwares that people use to make beats now.

So no, not in general.

 

[Ghpstface]

I can't even think of his name or what songs he did...because nobody talks about him now but it was some dude who put togetehr a string of hits, and one of them had stock sounds from one of the various softwares that people use to make beats now.

So no, not in general.

Polow da Don

 

[Double Burger With Cheese]

yea but would you say producers who don't sample are more talented or better? In hip hop when defining what it takes to be a "great producer" originality isn't a criteria.

It just makes producing songs seem very easy to me.

I do think to be a good producer your knowledge of old music from the past has to be extensive and diverse. But I prefer original musicians

There is no right answer in choosing whos the most talented between sample based and non sample based producers.

Sampling is more than just looping a few seconds from an old song and throwing percussion on it. But sometimes, that what the beat calls for. Music is about feeling. Whatever feels right. You don't want to overproduce for the sake of overproducing. A lot of sample based producers make this mistake when first starting out. They overproduce, because they feel like they are cheating cause "they didn't do much to the sample"

But sampling gets more complicated. I break sample based beats into 2 categories: Looping and Chopping.

This is an example of a looped sample based beat



Original Sample




This in an example of a Chopped sample based beat



Original Sample



As you can hear, DJ Premier had to chop the sample up and replay it to get a slightly different melody and cadance of the original.

Now it's different levels to chopping. You can chop a sample where someone can listen to the original and tell where you got it from. Or you can chop a hell out of a sample and replay a melody to where, even if a person heard the original sample source, they would have no idea where it came from.



Original Sample (at 13 seconds)



Now this is not even an extreme example. You can chop something and make it completely unrecognizable. Add in pitch variations, filters, etc.. and you can manipulate samples in any way you can imagine. Not to mention, making beats with multiple samples. You can make a beat whit a chopped melody from one song, a baseline from another, sampled snares and kicks from another, a vocal sample from another, etc... Basically, sampling can be infinitely complex.

In many ways, sampled base producing, and producing is a thankless job/hobby. People will only hear the finished product and decide if they like it. They won't know that you spent a whole day digging for samples until you found the perfect a perfect 4 second passage, then spent another few hours chopping it up into 16 pieces and playing a whole different melody. Then going through 500 snare drums until you found the perfect one, then layering that snare with other snares and sounds to make it "perfect"

You do all that shyt and play it for your people, and they be like it's straight

 

[John Hull]

Dre is looked at as the goat and the framework of most of his hits are simple break beats. He does a lot of interpolation too.

 

[DoubleClutch]

There is no right answer in choosing whos the most talented between sample based and non sample based producers.

Sampling is more than just looping a few seconds from an old song and throwing percussion on it. But sometimes, that what the beat calls for. Music is about feeling. Whatever feels right. You don't want to overproduce for the sake of overproducing. A lot of sample based producers make this mistake when first starting out. They overproduce, because they feel like they are cheating cause "they didn't do much to the sample"

But sampling gets more complicated. I break sample based beats into 2 categories: Looping and Chopping.

This is an example of a looped sample based beat



Original Sample




This in an example of a Chopped sample based beat



Original Sample



As you can hear, DJ Premier had to chop the sample up and replay it to get a slightly different melody and cadance of the original.

Now it's different levels to chopping. You can chop a sample where someone can listen to the original and tell where you got it from. Or you can chop a hell out of a sample and replay a melody to where, even if a person heard the original sample source, they would have no idea where it came from.



Original Sample (at 13 seconds)



Now this is not even an extreme example. You can chop something and make it completely unrecognizable. Add in pitch variations, filters, etc.. and you can manipulate samples in any way you can imagine. Not to mention, making beats with multiple samples. You can make a beat whit a chopped melody from one song, a baseline from another, sampled snares and kicks from another, a vocal sample from another, etc... Basically, sampling can be infinitely complex.

In many ways, sampled base producing, and producing is a thankless job/hobby. People will only hear the finished product and decide if they like it. They won't know that you spent a whole day digging for samples until you found the perfect a perfect 4 second passage, then spent another few hours chopping it up into 16 pieces and playing a whole different melody. Then going through 500 snare drums until you found the perfect one, then layering that snare with other snares and sounds to make it "perfect"

You do all that shyt and play it for your people, and they be like it's straight

True I guess you gotta know music to appreciate how much works/skill goes into something like a jdilla beat.

Like j dilla will do things with samples that are like a mathematical equation to figure out

But I can see artists who are actually musicians looking down on some basic sampled beats that are hits nowadays. Especially if they are the artist or if it was their favorite song from childhood

Case in point Drakes producers samples are always real obvious. It sounds good but how hard is it to make a good song when you're sampling the best part of a smash hit from 5-10 years earlier

 

[SirBiatch]

yea but would you say producers who don't sample are more talented or better? In hip hop when defining what it takes to be a "great producer" originality isn't a criteria.

It just makes producing songs seem very easy to me.

I do think to be a good producer your knowledge of old music from the past has to be extensive and diverse. But I prefer original musicians

And I totally respect that. But you're not a hip hop fan.

True I guess you gotta know music to appreciate how much works/skill goes into something like a jdilla beat.

Like j dilla will do things with samples that are like a mathematical equation to figure out

But I can see artists who are actually musicians looking down on some basic sampled beats that are hits nowadays. Especially if they are the artist or if it was their favorite song from childhood

Case in point Drakes producers samples are always real obvious. It sounds good but how hard is it to make a good song when you're sampling the best part of a smash hit from 5-10 years earlier

Less hard but still hard to make it work. Besides, they're doing this because most people like familiar sounds - unfortunately. It's a big reason why hip hop went into the toilet. While dudes Premo, Pete Rock, RZA were bringing you obscure, weird and ultimately brilliant flips, Puffy was looping 70s/80s records wholesale and doing stupid units. It's just the way it is.

Drake is not dumb. That "Best I Ever Had", which is a great song, is a sample from a 70s hit. Hotline Bling is also a sample from a 70s hit I believe. He knows his audience for the most part don't want anything too experimental. Familiar is nice.

 

[DoubleClutch]

And I totally respect that. But you're not a hip hop fan.

what are you talking about?

 

[ZEB WALTON]

yea but would you say producers who don't sample are more talented or better? In hip hop when defining what it takes to be a "great producer" originality isn't a criteria.

It just makes producing songs seem very easy to me.

I do think to be a good producer your knowledge of old music from the past has to be extensive and diverse. But I prefer original musicians

Looping from a hip hop perspective wasnt just some point n click stuff in the 90s. It was a natural progression of hip hop starting from djing samples over n over. I dint see the difference.

Sampled hip hop has a while different feel than live. Its part of the culture i cant say those guys were leas talented because thats how music was made then. Guys didnt have conputers and thousand instrumenta to make music luke today for free.

 

[Mowgli]

My favorite 90's Hip Hop producers weren't that talented after all. I don't know if on purpose but he always plays songs that have very well known samples for hip hop hits from the 1990's or maybe its just coincidence?

I remember one episode featured Quest Love and this whole show was literally 1-2 hr of songs that had been used for samples in major Rap/R&B songs from 1990-2000

anyway some songs that stood out to me were this:



which the Neptunes turned into this:



and then there was this:



which Timbaland used to make:



those are just two examples, but the list really goes on, and on

anyways this may not be a big deal to those who have a lot of old school music knowledge but man I thought all these hip hop producers were more original

Oh and one more thing, QTips taste and knowledge of music is go get apple music and check out his channel if you like that old school hiphop/soul/r&b stuff.

If it was easy you'd be rich faggit. Negged

 

[DoubleClutch]

If it was easy you'd be rich faggit. Negged

Its easy to make music but not to get rich because so many good producers today doing the same thing with access to the same equipment and so many outlets to share their music. So much competition.

 

[Mowgli]

Its easy to make music but not to get rich because so many good producers today doing the same thing with access to the same equipment and so many outlets to share their music. So much competition.

Enjoying music, isnt cerebral. You like it because you like it.

Ol, i know that sample so fukk this song ass nikka.

 

[SunZoo]

Polow da Don

Yeah, that guy.