Ghostface Killah is one of the best at picking beats for his rhymes. And his album projects are usually unique, ambitious, and curiously titled. But I'm concerned about his upcoming album, The Wizard of Poetry. I've heard for a while now that it's an "R&B" album. I didn't wanna believe. However, Def Jam A&R, Lenny S., has just confirmed it. Peep the video below. I think they'll need to do a whole lot more of these videos to "prep" real Ghostface fans for what NOT to expect...
-Sa'id
Recently, we've been having a discussion in the BeatTips Community about which locations are ideal for beatmakers to make a move to. The obvious top choices that undoubtedly came up were: New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Indeed, each of these cities offer their own advantages, and unfortunately, disadvantages; however, for the "bang for the buck," you just can't beat New York.
The thing that makes New York the clear standout, in my book, is its independent business-friendly infrastructure. New York has always been one of the top portals for independent entertainment, and now with the virtual collapse of the major label system--the engine that used to easily drive the music industry--New York is even more ideal for upstart beatmakers with visions of creating their own music production outfit. Consider the facts:
Cultural Diversity
New York City is the melting pot of America. The number of cultures and sensibilities that mesh together in this city project a stronger sense of individuality, which subsequently, cuts down on the "follow-the-crowd" factor that can often permeate and pollute the grander music scene. This factor alone virtually assures any new musical entity with an open-minded audience.
Youth Pool
If you're going to crack into the music business, you need a fan base. And there is no easier fan base to win, and unfortunately lose, than teenagers! Truth is, teenagers are the single biggest group most ready to mobilize into a fan base. They consume, (and are much more influenced by), the music industry more than any other group in America. This is not to say that they are "dead-minded followers;" on the contrary, teenagers are eager explorers. In fact, a great part of their existence depends upon their ability to create, spot, and/or participate in the latest and hottest trends. Hence, given the opportunity, teenagers will support any music that appeals to them... Finally, I should point out that New York City is home to the largest public school system in America. Over 1 million students presently make up the system that spreads throughout five separate--but interrelated--boroughs. Mind you, this number is expected to swell as more and more people move back to the city for a more culturally rich living experience.
Here, I must point out that this does not mean you should dumb down your music. Lately, teenagers have gotten a bad rap for being poor purveyors of good taste in music. But the fact is teenagers (on a whole) are far more forward-thinking and inclined to great music than many adults give them credit for... Need I remind you that it was teenagers who are solely responsible for the advent of hip hop/rap music! Kool DJ Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Grand Wizard Theodore, Grand Master Caz, DJ Charlie Chase, LL Cool J, Rakim, Nas, Jay-Z, and MANY more were all "teenagers" when they broke on to the scene...
Indie Town
New York City is truly an "indie town." It's conducive to almost any kind of independent business that you can imagine, but it's particularly well-suited for an independent hip hop/rap music enterprise. In the last two years, there has been an uptick in the launch of city venues that feature hip hop/rap music as the main ticket. Moreover, all of these venues are distinctly concerned with provided a balanced, more honest hip hop/rap music experience. That is, these venues are not underscored by a rotation of "radio hits," but instead they are predicated upon offering a more authentic reflection of hip hop/rap music, a reflection that stands to offer new acts chances they might not otherwise get outside of New York City.
Also, it's worth noting that New York is home to countless accessible former and current music insiders, business professionals, and business resources that can help you manage and expand your enterprise. And many of the nation's key independent music distributors are headquartered in New York City.
Because of the subtle nuances, this is actually one of the better videos I've ever scene... In this video, Havoc (of Mobb Deep) finds a complete phrase from off of a record, then he chops it up, modifies the pitch, and blammm! A new heater is made...
Pay careful attention to how he creates an ill change using the same source sample. And when he throws the drums in, aw, man, this shit really comes alive! Great video, as it shows how meticulous the process can be, but how efficient the workflow can be when you have an ideas, instinct, and, well, the best "dummy-proof" machine ever built: the MPC 4000...
-Sa'id
In this video, M-Phazes upgrades a beat that he did for Pharoahe Monch. Nothing major in this video, but a decent look at his setup, and a glimpse into how he works.
-Sa'id
Many 20- and 30-somethings are betraying their kids. Worst part is, most (if not all) don't even know it...In fact, many don't even have kids yet. Bizarre? Nope, stick with the kid for moment.
The parent/child relationship is not merely a testament of love, it's an agreement. For better or worse, when a man and woman (intentionally or unintentionally) have a child, they in effect "sign on the dotted line" and agree to provide nourishment for their child. But nourishment is to be provided in more forms, other than the standard food and shelter. And one form that is of particular interest to me is musical nourishment.
In today's world of hyper-active marketing, massive numbers of people willfully endure promotional practices that are designed to seemingly shame them into buying products, regardless of their quality or merit. The idea is to just pile-drive the concept of conspicuous consumption into people's minds; turning them into a zombie race of conspicuous consumers, who buy into to the "what's in" without any critical analysis of its worth. And all it takes to set this dastardly chain of consumption into motion is this: take one supposed "taste maker" and/or widely considered "hip" person, have them announce that they like something, (of course using some retro slang that they don't even understand, like "dope" for instance), and boom... product sold, zombies unite!
Parents are supposed to screen their children from becoming zombies. That is to say, in no small degree, they are charged with nourishing the musical education and understanding of their children. In the early part of our lives, mostly everything we learn about music comes directly and/or indirectly from our parents. Well, at least that's how it used to be. These days, the marketers, promoters, hype people, and the media-massives that back them, have figured out that the earlier you can convert someone to a zombie, the better the chance at suckering them into buying woeful products for the rest of their lives! So as it is, on the pop side of things, kids are shot at with boy-band bullets and stabbed with out-of-tune (and autotune) tween Madonnas. On the "urban" side of things, (read black, hip hop/rap, and R&B), the youth are strangled with winey, often incoherent vocals, meaningless concepts, and rampant duplication. And yes, bi-partisanship is in full effect in hip hop/rap and R&B; underground and commercial!
Sometime ago, the notion was passed on that kids are not supposed to like, relate to, feel, and/or understand the music of their parents. Here, I have to provide some sobering context. This "hate your parents music" complex is rooted in the fact that during the middle of the twentieth-century, many white teens were breaking away from the chains of American-style racism, and consciously (publicly) listening to black music, then known as "race music." By the late 1960s/early 1970s, public attitudes towards race and music in America had all but inverted. And the children of these "radical" parents of the 50s, 60s, and 70s received a musical nourishment that underscored as much as 30 years of the highest quality of American popular music. It was these children who would go on to develop hip hop/rap music. It was these children that would get together and form groups like Metallica and Nirvana...
So what about the children of today and the children of the soon tomorrow? Are their parents, the now 20- and 30-something retro hip-stylers, going to be able to provide the quality musical nourishment that they deserve. Probably not. Moreover, by then, these parents will be so accustomed to labeling their own kids as "haters" (some do already) that the brightest kids will simply reject their parents and see to their own musical nourishment. I mean, let's open up the hood on this one: will the children of now be impressed with their parents and their music, finding a new level of respect for their parents? Or will they be so utterly unimpressed with their parents musical choices that they begin to question and reject other qualities about their parents? My grandmother really liked Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin... My mother really liked Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and The Miracles... I like Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, The Miracles, and Curtis Mayfield. But 10, 20, 30 years out from now, will the then "grown-ups" like Lil Wayne and Drake? That's not a knock against these two, it's a valid question from someone who received a great deal of musical nourishment and did NOT ignore and/or reject it...
And as to why I'm not so easily impressed by any of the so-called "R&B artists", of today, well, below, I present to you Aretha Franklin.
-Sa'id
*Article initially published on BlameTheCritic.com
maurostu04 from the BeatTips Forums had a question regarding Stretching Chopped Samples: I dont usually stretch a sample if im going to chop it up, but I recently thought about stretching some stabs. Now, I can't decide if I should stretch the sample before or after I chop it up. I would appreciate some help and discussion about stretching chopped samples in general.
Here's My Response
Actually, I prefer to stay away from stretching samples... Though I understand the primary benefits of it -- e.g. it helps with tempo matching and the like, I do not like what you give up: sound and texture quality! Once you stretch a sample, the sound "changes", and along with that sound change is a vibe change. I think of it like going from natural to synthetic... Thus, for me, if I need to fit something to a tempo, I simply change the tempo, or a modify the velocity and volume of certain sounds within the beat, so that everything meshes together.
I know a number of beatmakers who stretch their samples, but they do it not for "effect" but as a last resort when something's not matching up...and even they do it in a fairly limited manner.
Congrats to Krazyfingaz for winning the March '09 BeatTips Beat Battle. Krazyfingaz, who had to overcome a two-month "beat block," took the crown with a soulful banger. His beat, "Treat Me Bad," could best be described as organized chaos with a smooth underflow.
For a full detailed listing of all of the Placements and Honorable Mentions for the March '09 BeatTips Beat Battle, go to the BeatTips Forums.
delloway from the BeatTips Forums had a question regarding a 9th Wonder interview:
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http://remixmag.com/artists/remix_little_feat/ In this interview with 9th Wonder, it says: Nevertheless, he does reveal one clue about adding a little swing to the mix. “I learned this from producer J Dilla: Move your hi-hats, slidin' your hi-hats on the scale,” he says. He scatters the samples across the loops, resulting in hooks that move with the grace of the soul songs that Wonder loves, including his favorites by Curtis Mayfield and Al Green. From old-school singers to classic hip-hop producers, Wonder studies the masters. “I learned a lot from Premier and Pete Rock and J Dilla [aka Jay Dee] from bass lines,” he continues. “Wails and moans, I learned from RZA.”
Can someone explain what this means? to slide hats on the scale? and, how would one do this in FL Studio?
---
Here's My Response...
I never read or heard Dilla's original quote, and I interviewed 9th Wonder for the 5th edition of the BeatTips Manual, so I'm confident that 9th wasn't talking about 'scales' in the music theory sense of the word, as "on the scale" would not make sense in that context. So, simply put, what Dilla most like meant is: playing hi-hats hits (and other drums) much more naturally on (across or in) the pattern, sequence, etc. However, now that being said, it MUST be noted that since 9th Wonder uses FL Studio and J Dilla used an MPC 3000, 9th Wonder had to 'transfer' Dilla's knowledge and method to a software environment!
Programming through software applications is dramatically different than with an MPC. This is not an endorsement over one way or the other, it is simply a fact -- a fact that must be considered whenever one seeks to emulate ANY method, technique, and/or concept that was first formulated and mastered through the use of hardware EMPIs (electronic music production instruments). Again, I'm not necessarily saying one setup approach is better or worse, I'm just drawing attention to the fact certain aesthetic approaches are in line more with certain EMPIs. Of course, this does not mean that these aesthetic approaches are limited to just one kind of EMPI. For example, they can indeed be achieved (realized) with FL Studio. However, before one moves to modify and adjust any functions (parameters) within FL Studio (or any other software solution), they must first grasp the notion in the first place. In that way, it's not about making hi-hat programs like Dilla or 9th Wonder, it's simply about making natural sounding hi-hat programs that fit your own unique style of beats.
Another thing that is necessary to point out is that, to view rhythm through the prism of mathematics can actually be counterproductive to making dope beats! Just as with other black music traditions, rhythm has always been a major aesthetic of hip hop/rap music and its main compositional practice: beatmaking. But rhythm isn't merely some sort of a mathematical concept, it's a 'time' concept -- it deals with how musical elements move through time. When you attempt to reduce (or pin down) rhythm to simple mathematical principles, you actually subtract away from the 'natural essence' of time in music. Remember, timing correct is the 'mechanical correction' of time. It 'perfects' the value of timing that one sets. But another way of looking at it is that it disrupts (if not absolutely destroys) the natural ('live') sense of timing, by making time 'artificial'!
Here, it's important to note that when we make beats, we are essentially moving between artificial and natural (live) realms. Still, the more artificiality we incorporate into our beats, the more likely they are to sound 'mechanical', stiff, 'stuck', or just plain lifeless, i.e. whack! On the other hand, the more naturalness that we are able to incorporate into our beats, the more likely they will have a 'real' feeling to them, more 'vibe'... Hence, hi-hats (and other percussive elements) are ideal for incorporating a more natural feel to our drum patterns, and our beats overall. Therefore, the less 'corrective' measures you take with hi-hat programming, the better the chance you'll retain some naturalness and vibe in your beats.
"As a musical process, hip hop-rap music production and beat-making can be broken down into three separate-- but equally important--spheres: the Technical, the Logical, and the Creative. The Technical sphere of the hip hop-rap production and beat-making process describes the mechanical procedures of making hip hop-rap music. It involves all the steps associated with operating various Electronic Music Production Instruments (EMPIs). This is the sphere where things like sampling, chopping, looping, sequencing, recording, mixing, mastering, and such come into play." -Sa'id Read more
Recently, we've been having a discussion in the BeatTips Community about which locations are ideal for beatmakers to make a move to. The obvious top choices that undoubtedly came up were: New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Indeed, each of these cities offer their own advantages, and unfortunately, disadvantages; however, for the "bang for the buck," you just can't beat New York.
Congrats to Krazyfingaz for winning the March '09 BeatTips Beat Battle. Krazyfingaz, who had to overcome a two-month "beat block," took the crown with a soulful banger. His beat, "Treat Me Bad," could best be described as organized chaos with a smooth underflow. 
Recent Comments
beat-making can be broken down into three separate--
but equally important--spheres: the Technical,
the Logical, and the Creative. The Technical sphere
of the hip hop-rap production and beat-making
process describes the mechanical procedures of making
hip hop-rap music. It involves all the steps
associated with operating various Electronic Music
Production Instruments (EMPIs). This is the sphere where
things like sampling, chopping, looping, sequencing,
recording, mixing, mastering, and such come into play." -Sa'id
Read more
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