Hip-Hip production is unlike many other genres of music – producers create beats from many different sources. The fact that so much of hip hop revolves around sampling, actually forces a close-minded producer to open up to other genres. Whether it’s appreciating the breakbeats of psychedelic rock groups from the 60s, the melodic synth loops of the 80s, or the progressive variety of Krautrock; every sample-based producer is forced to listen to other genres of music, in search of these samples. Many times this will lead to having a larger appreciation for music in general, which in turn opens you up to all sorts of creativity.
In addition to getting inspiration from older genres via sampling and etc, it’s incredibly useful to listen to other types of current music, without any intention of sampling. Staying aware on the progression of other music styles is essential. With that being said, here is just a small selection of hip-hop inspired music that I highly recommend for expanding your musical palette. This is a “Best of” post, but obviously it’s next to impossible to list every good song or even album released over the last decade. If you know of some good music, please post them in the comments below!
In case you don’t already know about Aziz Ansari, he’s a comedian that’s currently in a few tv shows and movies, including a recent stand-up special on Comedy Central. Anyways, to relate this to production, he has been working on a mixtape with Dave Sitek, and apparently is dealing with a common headache of production -- waiting on artists.
It sounds like he’s fed up with waiting on emcees for their lyrics, and decided to lash by leaking an early cut off his new mixtape. Most producers out there should be able to relate.
And just to squeeze in one more Parks & Recreation production reference, here is the Parks & Recreation Screen Test featuring Questlove and RZA (and Aziz Ansari)
A little unrelated to hip-hop, but this should be interesting to any vinyl junkies and dustmites out there. Chris Supranowitz from The Insitute of Optics at the University of Rochester has taken some pictures of vinyl record grooves under an electron microscope. If you ever wanted to get a better idea of how the grooves on a record work, check out his final project.
Calling all up-and-coming producers: Twista and M.O.P. are looking for beats for their upcoming albums.
Carl Terrell Mitchell, better known by his stage name Twista (formally Tung Twista), is an American rapper who once held the title of fastest emcee in the world, according to the Guinness World Records in 1992, being able to pronounce 11.2 syllables per second. His 2004 album Kamikaze went to number-one on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart after the success of his number-one Billboard Hot 100 single “Slow Jamz.”
Despite the ongoing arguments about whether vinyl is in or out, producers know the value of vinyl. It’s not just about the distinct sound, exclusivity, or the way a record feels and smells – this is a case where the total is greater than the sum of its parts. Vinyl represents the origin of many types of music and genres, unlike many other formats. It can even be used as an instrument itself.
