This document discusses why hip-hop music is interesting from several perspectives: - Hip-hop is the musical language of global urban youth and is built on appropriating and creatively manipulating existing recordings rather than traditional instruments. - Hip-hop production focuses on sound and rhythm over harmony and form, with the music being the production itself. - The document provides several examples of famous hip-hop songs and their sample sources to illustrate how sampling is used in hip-hop music.

1. ISMIR 2016:
Why Hip-Hop
Is Interesting
Ethan Hein
ethanhein.com
@ethanhein

2. Hip-hop is
the musical
language of
global urban
youth

3. Hip-hop
and rap
are not
the same
thing

4. Hip-hop is
built on the
appropriation
and creative
manipulation
of existing
recordings

5. Hip-hop
rarely
involves
traditional
instruments;
the digital
studio is the
instrument

6. Hip-hop production is about sound
and rhythm, not harmony and form

7. The music is the production
The production is the music

8. Run-DMC - "Sucker MCs"

10. Sister Nancy
"Do What You
Gotta Do" (1968)
"Wake Up Mr.
West" (2005)
Kanye West
"Famous"
(2016)
Swizz
Beatz Rihanna
"Bam Bam" (1982) "Bam Bam" (1966)
"Stalag 17" (1974)
Ansel Collins
The Maytals
Byron Lee &
The Dragonaires
"The Well-Tempered
Clavier" (1722)
"Mi Sono Svegliato E... Ho
Chiuso Gli Occhi" (1973)
Nina Simone
Il Rovescio
Della Medaglia Johann Sebastian Bach
"Someone That I Used
To Love" (1980)
Natalie Cole
Sample sources in "Famous"

11. We ne- ver gonna die
Kanye's vocal melody

12. Eric B and Rakim - "Follow The Leader"
X-
I'm e-
ing,
on
can go
for
days
and
days dis-
with
rhyme
that
en-
grave
deep
as
rays
playsver
last-
I

13. Fugees - "Fu-Gee-La (Refugee Camp Remix)"
sor-
Fake
bull-
ets can't
scar
me
I
can
smell
the
weak
outlike
sa-fa-
ri
Play
you
out
like
A-ta-
ri,
Sac- fice
ri-
Ka-
youHa-
ri
ri
And
I'm
ry

14. The
fence
is
too high
to
jump
in
jail,
Too
low
to
dig
I
might
just
touch
hell
Hot!
Get
alife
sale
on
now,
they Then
I might
cast
spell
you
a
Look
at
what
mail,
came
in
the
scale
a
OutKast - "B.O.B."

15. The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer

16. Hip-hop is
heavily
syncopated

17. Impeach The President

18. The Funky
Drummer

19. Amen
Break

20. musedlab.org/groovepizza

21. Herbie Hancock - "Chameleon"

23. America's music springs
from the African diaspora

25. Copyright law is sampling-unfriendly

26. Auto-Tune: the death of authenticity
or the next step in vocal expression?