Mini Mixtape: Why Hip-Hop MUSIC Is Cool

There's really no hiding it:  I'm a Hip-Hop music fan.  It's kinda my thing. From the first time I heard the Sugar Hill Gang's epic Rapper's Delight as a little kid, I was hooked.  Surprisingly, my parents embraced rap music and encouraged some of my personal exploration.  When my peers discovered Hendrix, Metallica, and Pearl Jam, I was immersed in A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and Dr. Dre.  


Like so much of music these days, rap music is horribly represented in the "mainstream" by awful beats, terrible MC's, and generally crappy product.  As a result, I get pretty tired of the "Rap is crap" statements that are fairly prevalent, at least in the circles of people I run in.  While I understand the sentiment, to me, it's akin to me telling my music buddies (MB's) that I dismiss rock music because, I mean, have you heard Nickelback? They are really bad the worst band ever.


As a growing musician, Hip Hop continues to inspire me not only because of quality MC's who clearly display their mastery of rhythm and poetry, but also the pure genius of the DJ's and producers behind the scenes creating musical masterpieces.  Nobody denies that these beatmasters are sampling clips of others' music to "write" their songs, but sometimes the question of "stealing" is raised on this topic.  I tend to feel the opposite.  In my mind, the top echelon of producers are really paying homage to what they feel are great songs and artists, and often times, bring virtually unknown music to light.


I've said a lot to get to my point.  Check out a cut from one of my favorite groups The Pharcyde:





I know... real dope right? Yeah, everybody knows that.

But...

What everybody does not know, is that track, Runinn' was produced by the late and VERY great J Dilla, a producer and rapper with beats supporting some of the most popular tracks by Q-Tip, Common, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, etc.

What everybody does not know, is that the sample for that beat came from the song Saudade Vem Correndo by Stan Getz and Luis Bonfa of the 1963 album Jazz Samba Encore.

Sure, Stan Getz isn't all that obscure to a musician perhaps. But J Dilla knew the song, and knew it well enough to pick out 4 bars at approx. 2:05 into the song that he could work with to compose a chart topper for The Pharcyde, more than 30 YEARS after the original song was recorded.





I'd be willing to wager that more people are aware of Stan Getz' music as a result of J Dilla's homage to it. More people went to the record store to pick up Jazz Samba Encore after they heard Runnin'.

As with my earlier post on covers, beatmaking and sampling speaks volumes to the credibility of the original song, and it's a wise musician who can grasp and really enjoy the creative process of turning a 3-second idea into a dope track.