"A bass-heavy medley with a sample from the 70s with a screwed up hook that went "Stack that cheese"....

The “New” Sound of Hip-Hop

It’s Thursday again and I have to thank Jus for filling in last week’s time slot. Awesome job, kid! But I’m back now and this won’t be your usual edition of Lyrical Exercise. Call it a superset of sorts, but a little broader than just the lyrics. In this edition, you could say we’re doing a bit of “track work.”

So, I was sitting at my desk today at work, when an AIM window fills my screen. One of my friends was just sending me a quick hello and we got a short discussion flowing. The topic? The state of hip-hop as a sample heavy mixture of the past and the present. My mind quickly raced to Kanye’s Late Registration (“Touch the Sky”, a Curtis Mayfield sample, “Rosie” a Bill Withers sample, just to name two) Common’s “Be” and Jay-Z’s "American Gangster" (where Diddy and the Hitmen seemingly took a time machine back to the 70’s and brought back some artists with them). It got me thinking: is this seemingly suddenly über-soulful, sample thick version of hip-hop really a new phenomenon?

Hmm…no, I quickly thought. Hip-hop producers have been sampling since as far back as “Rappers Delight” by The Sugar Hill Gang (although the sampler wasn’t invented in 1979, the release time of this song, it is a widely held notion that they had their DJ cut them into the track, which DJ’s at the time were adept at doing). They sampled Chic’s disco classic “Good Times”. This whole sampling thing has been around for years, yet nowadays, it seems as if it’s the only track you hear from producers now. Kanye West is a classic example; but also Diddy and Ski (of "Reasonable Doubt" and Camp Lo’s "Uptown Saturday Night Fame") and just recently, DJ Paul and Juicy J of Three 6 Mafia, just to name three.

Don’t be fooled, the sounds, the melodies and harmonies created by sampling some old – and sometimes obscure – classics is intoxicating. Peep Alchemist and Mobb Deep’s “Hold You Down” (an Al Kooper sample that Just Blaze also used for Jay-Z’s “Soon You’ll Understand" from 2000’s The Dynasty). I’m all ears when that song plays and truth be told, much of the hip-hop that I truly enjoy listening to contain heavy sampling. Not to mention how much it’s connected me to the great music of the past. At the same time, however, I can’t help but long for more tracks like Noreaga’s Neptunes produced “SuperThug” from 98’s N.O.R.E. or Timbaland’s “Lobster and Scrimp” -- off 98’s Tim’s Bio – which is a funky, permeating rhythm so oddly sounding that it can’t help but be good.

Speaking of Top Notch Tim, he and Swizz Beatz are two good examples of guys who haven’t really integrated sampling into their sounds and both have made very good livings off it. In fact, Swizzy may be one of the most underrated major producers out there (if you don’t believe me, try listening to “World War III" by the Ruff Ryders, Drag-On’s “Down Bottom” and Jay-Z’s “Money, Cash, Hoes” one more time).

It’s true, hip-hop is an ever-changing landscape and my longing may be equal parts naïveté and nostalgia. Besides, even two of the greatest: Dr. Dre and Dj Premier have been using samples to help bolster their respective sounds. And it would be foolish of me to deny that the music floating out of my speakers hasn’t been this good in a long while. So, as I queue up “Rapper’s Delight” one more time, I’ll take it with open arms. Now, what was the name of that song they sampled for this joint?