Sampling in Hip Hop Part 2

Revealing the Source: Keep it on the Low
A Hip Hop On My Mind 2 Part Series

In Part 1, I left off discussing sampling’s history and legal status. Now we move into sampling today. 

Like I mentioned before, current producers have expressed concerns that sample sets posted on forums 

are hurting the game. Personally, I agree. As a producer myself, I would admit that for the most part I don’t want my samples revealed.

The most recent producer that has spoken out is Madlib. Apparently, ‘Lib found blogger Kevin Nottingham’s sample set from the album Madvilliany and demanded via a myspace message that it be taken down. 

"Pages like this on the internet are no help at all to people like Doom, Madlib, and those that work with them" said Madlib, originally born Otis Jackson Jr. 

Fellow bloggers like Ivan on Hip-Hop is Read defend their counterparts in the matter. He posted, “We're just trying to learn about the art form (of sampling in particular) and spread it forth for everyone who shares our interests in this great music, culture and lifestyle we call Hip-Hop.”

While we have wikipedia, the-breaks.com and other sites dedicated to finding samples, one must consider the legal ramifications that come with disclosing samples. Sure many albums reveal samples in their liner notes. However, producers like Madlib, Dilla, and Doom chop the most obscure records in the smallest of doses for their tracks. 

They fly under the radar and since they’re not “mainstream, commercial” artists, they can 

avoid sample clearances. However, when you make a detailed list of the songs sampled, somehow the original artists come a callin’ through the grape vine looking for owed royalties.

This argument has been thrown through the ringer as of late, and I do not wish to try and restate what many other bloggers have already said. I would just like to dedicate my support to Madlib and other artists that would like to keep their craft special. I know that if and when I make my mark on the business, I will not want half-ass producer wannabees compiling and posting all the samples I’ve made to make hits. 

Honestly, when I am digging, and happen to find a sample I’ve heard before, it’s cool. I might bring it up if someone has the record on and we’re chilling; however to go out of the way and identify the samples really ruins the fun of digging. Get out there and find that Jackson 5 sample that Dilla flipped, or try and get any of the 45’s that Mack the 45 King used in his sample career. But whatever you choose to do, remember that music is a business, and people will always strive to collect their checks. 

Though I will admit that I bought the official Blue Note sample set, Sources For Madlib's Shades Of Blue Untinted, for the Sources of Blue album that Madlib made for them, and the chops are crazy!

Keep sampling people, keep real hip-hop alive.

Featured Artist: Hollywood Floss

Producers are gear heads. It’s no secret. It doesn’t matter if its got keys, pads, or buttons, if it has got interesting new sounds, it’s in demand. All the big names (Roland, Yamaha, Korg) are releasing new keyboards into the market, however some of the most innovative pieces of music gear are coming from Open Labs. Everyone from Timbaland to the Goo Goo Dolls are using their MiKo and NeKo synth/DAW workstations. Today’s featured artist, Hollywood Floss, is an Open Labs sponsored artist, and he explains more about using their products.

Cicero: Floss I appreciate you taking the time to talk about these great new musical instruments. Explain a little bit about yourself and musical background.

Floss: Nah man I appreciate you. The blog is looking promising and I hope you continue your success. As for me I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and been rapping since 1999. I started with a 7-member crew called Texas Ballers and it was great at first but faltered in 2003 as a result of arguments and lost of distribution. At that point it crushed me mentally, I had put 100% into it and got 0% in return. I wouldn't continue music again until 2005 when I rejoined with 2 members of the Texas Ballers and became The W.E.B.

Cicero: What do you think is an advantage of being both a producer and rapper?

Floss: The biggest advantage is if no one likes your beats chances are they like your rhymes or vice versa. I'm not a one trick pony, so the industry sees me as valuable somewhat, look @ Kanye, Rza, Pete Rock, Havoc & Necro all producer/rappers that can do both well. I started producing out of love for sampling & urgency. I wouldn't even call it producing more so beat making, I don't want to take away from the Dre's and Timbo's (haha). No one was looking out as far as beats go, so I had to put my rapping on hold and work on making beats for the group. In the span of 2 years the hard work has really paid off.

Cicero: Why did you decide to purchase your Open Labs product?

Floss: I purchased the Openlabs product because of the workflow & my NON- midi comprehension LOL. As a beat maker/rapper my most important criteria is simple workflow and tons of sounds at my disposal and the Miko fits that. With all external keyboards it gets messy and space consuming, so I wanted to eliminate all those; besides with the Miko I can clone a keyboard and still use the sounds inside the Miko.

Cicero: Are you producing exclusively in the Open Labs’ Environments or are you using any external computer-based programs?

Floss: When I first started using the Miko it was strictly their sounds tweaked with their plug-ins. But now that I've had it for a while I've added outside programs such as Kontakt 3, Sonik Synth 2, and B4.

Cicero: Now how did the Featured Artist from Open Labs come about?

Floss: The featured artist slot came from a video I made displaying how I used the Miko in my setup. I made a beat using all Miko stock sounds and uploaded it for the music community to see. Valerie Fouche (open labs rep) happened to see the video and called me a week later offering the featured artist spot. I gladly accepted the sponsorship.

Cicero: What opportunities have come your way from this affiliation with them?

Floss: Besides the featured artist section, I also performed live on the Open Labs showcase back in Jan. 2008. The webcast was a live stream event that displayed new product lines and various sponsored artist. Furthermore I've started youtube TV series showing different features in the Miko.

Cicero: What are you working on now?

Floss: Currently I'm working on another group album to follow up to last years release "Ain't Nuttin' But Muzik". Also I plan my first solo release later this year as well. I'm always down to collab; so get at me through myspace.com/hwflossss

Cicero: Thanks for the interview, I know a lot of other producers are looking to get with Open Labs gear, so I appreciate you giving us a little bit of insight. Where can people hear your music, or get a hold of you?

Floss: First and foremost myspace.com/hwflossss is the best place to reach me. I check my myspace at least twice a day. Also I go by floss on futureproducers.com and Niketalk.com, and lastly but not least I'm on youtube under the name yuppy808.

I'd also like to thank the massive amount of Producers, Rappers, Bands, Musicians, and Industry Personnel that have messaged me to be featured on this blog. I plan on bringing more up-and-coming artists to you every Tuesday and Thursday, including some surprisingly influential names. Keep checking back, and subscribe to the feed to find interesting interviews each week. Also, make sure to hit me up at myspace.com/ciceroproaudio or ncicero0@gmail.com if you'd like your musical entity featured on here!

Check out "I Know This Luv," from Hollywood Floss below!

Featured Artist: J.Troup

Today's featured artist is Music Producer J. Troup. He, along with his Black Atom Production company has made a name for himself on numerous Hip hop blogs, and has received praise from many industry executives, most notably a large "big-up" from Badboy A&R Conrad Dimanche. Troup is known for his "keyboard" productions, meaning free of the traditional samples...however he is certainly no stranger to all facets of the production game. 

His Myspace has over 30k plays and he's always open and active on the forums. 

J.Troup is the next big thing in Hip-Hop/R&B Production.

Cicero: To start off, I want to know about the gear! I've seen your videos on Youtube and all, so go ahead and share some of your favorite pieces of gear.

Troup: Well first off, I wanna thank you for the interest in what I do. It's my goal to inspire as well as make a significant impact in the industry. God is good, and he's blessing me, so I try to be a blessing to those around me. With that said, I'm not as big a gear slut as one may think! And of course I mean gear slut in the most respectful way possible lol! I mean, I got the usual...Cubase is the centerpiece of my setup, it's where I do all my sequencing, mixing, etc. Then i got Reason 4.0, can't live without that. Then of course there's the Triton Studio (which was my very first piece of gear), and the Fantom X6 with a few expansion boards in it. I just ordered the Open Labs MiKo (Timbaland Special Edition), which I'm like a kid waiting for Santa Claus with that piece! It's gon' take my imagination to a whole other level, and I can't wait!

Cicero: Even though versatility is crucial in today's business, producers still have their own signature sound. How do you create music that is unique, yet still follows mainstream needs?

Troup: You know, that's funny, because I used to be of the opinion that I don't want a signature sound. I want people to WONDER who did those tracks. I didn't want my music to be INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE, because I didn't want to get pigeonholed into one sound, and then when that sound dies off, my career dies off right along with it. We've all seen that happen before. But then I realized that apart of BUILDING A BRAND is having a distinct, instantly recognizable product in the market place.

It's like Coke...you KNOW that logo, even if you see it on the moon. When you taste a Coke, you don't just think "hmm...this is good, I wonder who made it?" As soon as it hits your tastebuds, you KNOW it's a Coke. So that's what I have to do with my sound. I just have to make it interesting enough for people to keep coming back.

It's so funny you should ask that, cuz when I was out at the One Stop Shop producers conference, Me and DJ Toomp talked for about 20 minutes about this very thing. He told me to just do me. Don't worry about what other people want from you. Denaun Porter (of D12) told me that he's turned projects down, because they didn't fit into his desired career progression. He told me that sometimes you have to say NO to certain things...you gotta think long term.

So really, I just try to make music that's different, but not TOO different. Because for real, the mainstream doesn't KNOW what it wants in advance. They just know hot when they hear it. They didn't know they wanted Timbo and The Neptunes until they got it, and when those 2 first started, they were as UN-MAINSTREAM as you could get!

So really, I just try to keep it fresh, try to push the envelope, and try to stay ahead of the curve. So right now, I'm trying to make music that's gon be fresh in 2010. If you're making music that sounds like what's out today, you've already lost the game.

Cicero: Who are you listening to right now, in terms of current music?

Troup: Honestly, I listen to everything. I used to be so anti-radio, but it's the stuff that's on the radio that people are liking. So for real, every time I'm in the car, I turn on the radio to hear what the people are listening to, just so I know. But my personal tastes? I love The Dream's album. Tricky and Los did their thing, and The Dream came with some hot songs. Snoop has a nice album, I'm loving the production that Teddy Riley came with. Can't wait for that QDT project to drop. Janet Jackson's album was hot, Lupe's album was the sh*t too. Jordin Sparks had a nice album too.

I can't wait for that Lil Wayne to drop. That lil boy been nice since he was 10 years old. I wanna hear what BG is going to come with now that he's back on a major. Oh, and that Young Jeezy is my sh*t...Jeezy like ta drank, Jeezy like ta smoke...That song is fire...definitely my favorite.

But I listen to some of everything. If it's hot and innovative, then I'll listen to it. I'm a fan of music!

Cicero: So you've been featured on the Producers Marketplace (PMP) Site twice, both in your own video and with the Conrad Dimanche shout out. What do you think of the PMP site, and it's sub-par imitators?

Troup: Man, I can't say enough good things about PMP! Shout out to Abom, Rad and AZ. They are all great guys, and doing some really controversial, ground breaking things with PMP. I had the chance to talk to them when I was up in NYC about some of the things they got coming up with PMP, and best believe it's not your ordinary "get placements" site. The overall vision is ridiculous!

But as far as the "sub-par" competitors?? LOL...I'm not gonna say any site is sub-par, because they wouldn't exist if there weren't a market for them. Granted, some of them do exist just to exploit the dreams (and lunch monies) of the young and dumb, but not all of them. Everything has it's place in the market.

I prefer PMP, because first off, Conrad Dimanche is a partner in the site. You got someone who's been an industry taste maker for over 10 years putting his dollars behind this venture. That speaks volumes for me. Secondly, the price tag...PMP is not cheap. So just with that pricetag, it's gonna keep away the hobbyist beat-makers. Alot of the other sites are cluttered with guys who just downloaded a cracked copy of Fruity Loops last month, and are trying to get records placed. I don't want to deal with that.

So every site has it's place and it's market that it serves, but I'm not going to personally call any of them sub-par. I happen to know J-Hatch and Don from iStandard (shout out to them!!), and even though it's a PMP competitor, they run a GREAT site and provide a great service to a slightly different segment of the market.

Personally, I just happen to prefer PMP, for my own needs at the moment. Those guys have been incredibly supportive of me and my pursuits, and my loyalty to them is eternal.

People ask me all the time have I gotten any placements from PMP. I tell them no. But I also tell them that "placements" is not my goal at this stage. My goal is exposure. Because you can have all the hot beats in the world, but if people don't know you, then your hot beats aren't gonna get you anywhere. So PMP has helped me greatly in my quest for exposure.

So many people in the industry have heard the name J.Troup, and the exposure that I've gotten on PMP has helped out greatly with that. There are people who have made like $50,000 off PMP by selling tracks. So PMP is what you make it. Clearly it works for selling tracks. And it most definitely works for exposing you to a greater audience!

But as with any site like that, it is what you make it. If you expect to just send your tracks to the projects and get placements instantly, then you can hang that up. You might get lucky, but more than likely, you'll get frustrated with wasting your money and quit in 2 months.

Cicero: Yeah I feel you on that. I'm not on PMP yet myself because I want to make sure when I officially introduce myself to the game I'm bringing the best product I can. Can you share any projects you're either working on now or recently completed?

Troup: Well, let's just say my phone has been ringing. There's nothing set in stone yet, but the more exposure I get, the more my phone is ringing, and the more important the people on the other end of the phone are!

But I'm doing some work with a singer that's signed to Stargate, and also doing some work with a singer who's signed to Atlantic. I also got some tracks from a multi platinum producer that wants some songs written for a particular artists...and I'm trying to put these songs to bed(*wink*)!

Other than that, I'm just grinding. I'm trying to increase my exposure level. My phone and email are blowing up every day, so expect to hear more of J.Troup in the next 12 to 18 months!!

Cicero: Thanks for lending me your time, I know you run a busy schedule. Tell the readers where they can get more info about you.

Troup: Oh no, thank you, and I hope I didn't talk your ear off! I get kinda long winded about music, but hey, it's what I love!

People can get more info on me from a few different places. My Myspace, my website, my email is jtroup@blackatomproductions.com, or my Youtube Channel. Of course my PMP link is www.pmpworldwide.com/j-troup

Of course, I'm always available by phone... 646.256.4076. I just have to ask people to be respectful of my time, and to only call me if you're trying to do some business. Don't call to see if it's really me, because it is! lol.

If you just have questions or something, then hit me on myspace or youtube, or email. I personally answer every message that I get, fairly quickly.

Cicero: Thanks Troup, can't wait to hear from you on the radio!

Listen to J.Troup's New Track, Pull It Off:

Rocloop.com Brings Rochester Life to College Students

Do you pick up a newspaper every morning when you eat breakfast? Of course not. In fact, most college students barely have time to slam a bagel or down a cup of juice on their way to their first class. The website Rocloop.com aims to change all that, bringing pertinent news, stories, and other information to area college students.

We receive our news much different than our parents do. They read the paper, we read the blogs; they watch the six o’clock news, we check Youtube; they listen to talk radio, we listen to podcasts. Rocloop.com is a website sponsored by the Democrat and Chronicle, created by college interns geared towards bringing the Rochester community to the local students.

A visit to Rocloop.com will show the story of the day, with an array of other information on the sidebars. Navigation on top menus will direct you to different areas of the site, feature sections stuffed full of information. The guides section is a course in “Rochester 101,” where you can find the best places to get coffee, watch sporting events, see a concert or art showing. Unique to Rocloop.com, the 360° panoramic views of various coffee shops will give you the scoop on a good cup of java for a study break. If you want to know bar specials, or band appearances, you can find it on the calendar that hugs the right side of the home page.

While the site is a wealth of knowledge, there are also many fun features only available on Rocloop.com. The “60-Second Rant” and “Someone to Know” segments offer a closer look at people and issues that interest college students. From RIT ice climbers, to gripes about Bluetooth Headsets and Naz Parking, the features of Rocloop.com are sure to keep you reading.

Registration at Rocloop.com is a great way to stay connected, and also a great way to win prizes. When you register you are automatically entered into a drawing for a weekly $20 gift card, and become eligible for other upcoming promotions. Rocloop.com is a place for college students to interact because, as Rocloop.com’s motto states, it is “Your College, Your life, Our Rochester.”

ROCLOOP.COM IS GIVING AWAY A NINTENDO Wii AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER...

ROCHESTER AREA COLLEGE STUDENTS 

CAN REGISTER WITH A .EDU EMAIL ADDRESS

WIN A Wii!

Pennywise's New Approach to Digital Music

Received a message from Pennywise today, about their free digital album...thought I'd share

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Here is what you’ve been waiting for…

Here is how to download your copy of Pennywise's Reason To Believe – FOR FREE!

Make sure you're logged into your MySpace account and you are friends with Textango.

Click this link or go to:
http://promos.myspace.com/download.ashx?pid=1&did=

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I'm not a fan, but it's a nice way to market

iMeem Playlist is Up

I added an iMeem playlist with some beats I've made to the left of the page. Leave a comment if you like them, and check out my myspace page (link on right) for more. Also beats are always for sale/lease so hit me up. Thanks.

Sampling in Hip Hop Part 1

Sampling’s Origins and Legality

A Hip Hop On My Mind Three Part Series

Sampling has been a part of hip-hop since it’s very inception. It was the main lifeblood of a musical genre that grew out of the funk and disco scene in the seventies and early eighties. As of late, articles written by bloggers Gooch from XXL, and Ivan from Hip-Hop is Read have brought an old topic back into the hip-hop community’s forefront. The issue of sampling and its legality has and will always be a dividing force between the new and old school. However that will be discussed in Part 2. First, for people unfamiliar with sampling, I present a brief, and I mean BRIEF history.

The earliest Party DJ’s would find the musical break portion of certain records and blend or cut them into one long musical vamp. Often times you could take seemingly corny records and turn them into party smashes. For example, the Run-DMC song, Mary Mary comes from the Monkees.

Many songs like this received new fame as the pioneers of hip-hop scrambled to find the best records with the best breaks and grooves. The new culture of hip-hop started as a South Bronx underground scene and grew to a nationwide, and eventually a worldwide phenomenon. 

This form of sampling dominated the early era of hip hop until DJ Marley Marl accidentally discovered that you could chop up drums from one drum break, and play them as his own drum kit over another musical groove. In the movie, The Beat Kings, Marley Marl describes his initial epiphany:

“I made a mistake at unique recording studios…sampled a snare by mistake when I was trying to get a vocal sample of the record. I started to play the snare on the beat, and I told the engineer to turn that old weak ass snare down, and now I’m poppin’ a James Brown snare on top of the beat I just made! I’m like you know what this means? I can take any kick, any snare, any hi-hat on any record and make my own kits?!?!”

This brought about sampling how it is today. The procedure is basically the same, with the equipment evolving, though many producers stick with old stand-bys like the Emu SP-1200, Akai MPC series, and Ensoniq ASRs.

Now when hip-hop began to reach mainstream status, the issues of copyright came to light. Before, producers had been making beats from any record, not clearing the samples. Clearing samples refers to the process of obtaining permission from the original copyrights owner to use the sample, and also distributing royalties from and profits made. However there hadn’t been any cases against the producers or rappers for this infringement of copyright, so the trend continued. This would all change with or old friend BIZ MARKIE.

In 1991 the first case was brought against a hip hop song from its original copyright holder. The song “Alone Again” by Biz Markie used a piano loop and three words from the Gilbert O’Sullivan song “Alone Again (Naturally).” O’Sullivan’s publishing company, Grand Upright, brought about a lawsuit against Warner Brothers Records, to whom Biz was signed. Warner Brothers actually had contested the fact that O’Sullivan hadn’t actually transferred copyright to Grand Upright, which really hurt their case, when they should have contested the rights of musicians to sample one another. Anyway, the judge had proclaimed that sampling was thievery and now for a song to be officially used in a profitable sense, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder, and subsequent royalties must be paid. 

Even though the result of the case deemed uncleared sampling illegal, there are ways around this,. Many producers have replayed samples themselves, essentially turning their creation into a “reinterpolation” or better known as a cover song. Like other musical acts that play cover songs, a less significant portion of profits is paid out.

To this day there are “sample police” that search through songs for uncleared samples in order to collect royalties. Usually working for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA,) these agents also go after “piracy” cases, most notably the raid on DJ Drama and the Aphilliates in January of ’07. Again the legal heads said that these mixtapes were illegal, copyright violating material, and so they were arrested on Racketeering charges.

Most influential musicians have a problem with samples and clearing them at some point in their career. While some have the funds to just pay for the rights, other artists have to find unique ways around them. This is the basis for the recent debate on identifying samples, and I will get into that in Part Two.