Cosby's Back!

Bill Cosby's path has taken him from pudding pops to hip-hop.

The 70-year-old has recorded a hip-hop album set for release next month. "Cosby Narratives Vol. 1: State of Emergency" blends the comedian's concepts and stories with a hip-hop, pop and jazz soundtrack.

"I do not rap on any of these things," Cosby told The Associated Press on Monday. "I wouldn't know how to fix my mouth to say some of the words."

Cosby said the hip-hop music he hears is profane and degrading. His album is "the opposite of what I think is the profanity for no particular reason, the misogyny for no particular reason," he said. "It really looks at the frustration and the anger that a young man may have."

The album, assembled by Cosby's longtime musical collaborator Bill "Spaceman" Patterson, contains rhymes provided by guest rappers. The subject matter? "The value of an education. The value of respecting one's self and ... giving (listeners) a chance to raise their self-esteem and confidence," Cosby said.

Patterson said he was surprised when Cosby first inquired about making a rap record -- until the comedian revealed he wouldn't be the one doing the rapping.

"People started speculating, is he going to rap about Jell-O Pudding Pops or what?" Patterson said. "But he's always been involved in music and he was there for the first generation of spoken word. ... He has always understood rap's potential, but he was appalled by the foul language and the misogyny -- the way people used a medium that could be used to elevate people, to open their eyes and provoke thought."

Cosby made the album as a companion to his 2007 best-selling book, "Come on, People: On the Path from Victims to Victors." And though he doesn't expect the CD to be a huge hit, it won't be his last hip-hop venture.

"We can do even better," he said. "The next one will be even more cheerleading."

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: Brown

You know I can't wait too long to get new posts out. The first featured artist is a rapper by the name of Brown. I actually produced a few tracks for Brown. He's from Milwaukee and currently preparing a new EP.

Cicero: Milwaukee isn't generally known as a hip hop hotspot, how do you get your music heard in a small region in the business?

Brown: The internet is a huge help, especially for me in a small region. I've made a lot of connections with producers and many new fans through myspace and other spots.

Cicero: What are you currently working on?

Brown: I'm currently working on my album, Charlie. I feel it's my best project yet.

Cicero: Besides myself, what other producers are you working with?

Brown: Lots of guys, there's you of course, and also Filthy Productions, Real See, Nasty Kutt and more.

Cicero: Who are some of your musical influences?

Brown: My main musical influences are Tupac, Scarface, and Yo Gotti

Cicero: Where can readers listen to your music?

Brown: myspace.com/MoneyMadeRecords

Check out Brown's track "Ballers" produced by Filthy below:

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.