Rap music?

Question

Why is it that rap and hip-hop music have to sample every other genre of music? Can't the artists come up with something original with there drum machines and synthesizers?

Answer 1

HaHa, it amazes me how people always seem to care about dumb things...

Answer 2

Actually they do and they have...also hip hop isnt the only genre that uses samples or drum machines...Umm Link Park uses samples and Limp Biskits has used samples also...and there are a few other ROCK groups that uses drum machines in their acts...Half the samples that you do are chopped and rearranged to sound other then what the orginal song was...So how is that not original...Have you asked why do rock groups cover older rock groups songs? Thats not original either...thats completely somebody else's song that they are singing...

Case and point is that not all hip hop groups sample...And have youve been listening...Most of the sounds out arent using samples...Crank Dat doesnt have samples in it...The Roots play their own music...Swizz beats ummmm no samples...Lil Jon no samples there....So what you just did was generalize. Lastly these artist that they are sampling are getting paid too for the bits of the songs that they use. Plus it gives this older artist a new life and other artist a broader fan base if they didnt know about that artist.

Answer 3

To understand the usage of previously recorded music in hip-hop, we have to look at hip-hop's roots.

Hip-hop's first stars were DJs: Afrika Bambaataa, Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and others. They were obsessed with getting the funkiest beats for their party sets. The "rapping" part-- saying rhymes over a DJ's beats-- came later, ostensibly for crowd control (if the audience members are concentrating on the music, they're not wanting to start fights with each other).

It was only natural, then, that rappers would perform over whatever beats or breaks the DJ was playing. This is, in a roundabout way, performing over music samples and is one core tenet of hip-hop. Artists in other genres borrow sounds and riffs, too (three-chord rock guitar progressions, anyone?); hip-hop just happens to do this in a very direct way.

Not to say that there isn't original hip-hop music, though. Starting with Grandmaster Flash, who introduced the use of drum machines in his live DJ sets, many hip-hop artists have evolved beyond samples. Newcleus recorded songs like Jam On It (you remember, the Wiki Wiki song) entirely using synths and drum machines rather than loop someone else's beats.

However, copyright considerations aside, one of the most surefire ways for a hip-hop artist to get radio airplay is to use a phrase from an easily recognizable song as a starting point. MC Hammer's and Vanilla Ice's careers were built around this tactic.

One of the best-known hip-hop producers today, Timbaland, has managed to find a balance between the two sound creation techniques. Some of his productions have obvious sample loops, but he virtually always constructs his own polyrhythms on top and often throws in a signature synth "whoo-oop" line too. (Listen to LL Cool J's "Headsprung" or Ludacris' "The Potion" for examples.)

Answer 4

I could actually open you up to a world of rap music away from the drum machine and synthesizer, but I know you wouldn't care, so I'll just leave.

Answer 5

It doesn't really matter to me because not one of them has EVER came close to being as good as the original artist. And personally I dont consider rap music. Anyone could make a rap beat on a computer program. But playing the guitar, drums, saxophone or any other instrument well takes discipline, talent and lots of practice.

Answer 6

The ablitity to sample every other type of music is what makes rap music so limitless. Listen to 3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul to see what i mean.

Answer 7

i've come to the conclusion that you are a closet rap/hip hop fan....you always come here postin something that bashes the music in some way...you must like it if you spend so much time in this section

Answer 8

i agree with you.

Answer 9

shut up and leave