Make it New: Sampling & Authorship By: Brianna Jordan
Sampling is a technique used by
many artists to add versatility to their music. Sampling allows certain artist
to become appealing to an audience that, normally, would not listen to their
music. An example of this would be “KRS-One” by Sublime. Sublime is not a hip
hop group by far. The use of incorporating song such as "Charlie Mack" by DJ Jazzy Jeff &
the Fresh Prince and "Tough" by Kurtis allowed Sublime to be heard by
a new audience. Although Sublime did their song sampling in 1992, sampling has
become more popular as the years progress. In 2000, Erick Sermon’s “Music” took
a sample from Marvin Gaye’s “I’ve Got My Music.” This song instantly became a
popular summer song.
Fast forwarding to recent years,
Kendrick Lamar’s “B***h, Don’t Kill My Vibe” took a sample from a song that was
pretty much unknown by the American population. Boom Clap Bachelors is a 5
person group from Copenhagen, Denmark. This Danish group’s music belongs to a
wide variety of genres from techno and electro-beats to soul and hip hop. Their
song “Tiden Flyver” (translated “Time Flies”) was used in Kendrick Lamar’s “B***h,
Don’t Kill My Vibe.” Lamar added his own drum and guitar beats into the song,
but Boom Clap Bachelors’ “Tiden Flyver” was the main backdrop for his beat.
Sampling does not just stop at songs already created by other artists. Some
religious activities are brought into the spotlight by these samples. There is
a chant that many people who practice Buddhism often repeat. “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo”
is known as “Daimoku.” This chant’s 4 words symbolize devotion, Mystic Law,
lotus flower, and sutra (the teachings of Buddha). Typically, this chant is
repeated during a meditation, and concentration is required to fully meditate. This
concentration was the main subject of Xzibit’s song “Concentrate.” The song
opens up with a Buddhist man repeating the chant continuously. This song is a
perfect example of how hip hop can make connections to people that would not necessarily
hear their music. By incorporating a religion into his song, Xzibit gains the
attention of people from that religion.
Sampling has allowed hip hop to be more that just merely a song genre. It
has allowed people from all regions of the world to come together to make hip
hop more appealing. Sampling from older songs allows generations from the “yesteryear”
time era to connect to the music of the current day. An example of this would
be Kanye West’s “Bound 2.” This song was released in 2013 and sampled from an
older song called "Bound" by Ponderosa Twins Plus One. This use of
sampling would not necessarily mean anything to the generation that many young
people belong to, but their parents and grandparents would be able to
appreciate the sample. This allows Kanye West to gain the attention of parents
and the elderly thus selling more records. Besides the fact that he will make
more money, the connection made between these two generations allows for the
gap to be closed. Parents, grandparents, and their children will be able to
listen to the same song and appreciate all that it has to offer.
This was really great. I really enjoyed all of your examples. When I first saw your topic the artist that came to my mind was Kayne West. He tends to use alot of sampling sometimes too much. I really liked the example that you gave of him. Some other songs that he samples are "Gold Digger" and "Blood on The Leaves". Just some food for thought. But thanks for this...I had no idea Kendrick Lamar sampled from that song. Very insightful.
Yeah I actually really enjoyed this blog. Only recently I've noticed that sampling is not an uncommon thing whatsoever. And I agree 100% when you said that sampling is a way to get the attention of a wider range of people. Just this little portion of hip hop shows the complexity, depth, and hella amounts of thought that go into each song.
Also, I don't know if you've ever heard of an underground rapper 'Robb Bank$', but he has a whole mixtape called 'Calendars' in which almost all of his songs are over samples.
Really great blog! It was very easy to understand due to the ample use of examples, and good examples at that. Sampling is such a huge part of hip-hop and I believe it helps keep classic music of the past alive and brings new unique flavor to current tracks on the radio. When I think of sampling, the first person that comes to mind for me is Flo-Rida. A good amount of his songs use sampling. To name a few, "Good Feeling" and "Cry". Again great blog!
Really great blog! It was very easy to understand due to the ample use of examples, and good examples at that. Sampling is such a huge part of hip-hop and I believe it helps keep classic music of the past alive and brings new unique flavor to current tracks on the radio. When I think of sampling, the first person that comes to mind for me is Flo-Rida. A good amount of his songs use sampling. To name a few, "Good Feeling" and "Cry". Again great blog!
It was very eye opening to know that artists we listen to on the daily basis are also researching into different fields to add that element of uniqueness to their music. Hip hop is no longer about thumping beats but with soothing ebbs and flows from various aspects of the world and other music genres. However, as great as it seems I somewhat dislike the fact that some artists go to far with crossing the line between sampling and downright copyrighting a song. Some artists add a few lines and drums in the background to old classic songs and completely ruin the ethnicity of the songs. At the end of the day, hip hop is forever changing and sampling as you've demonstrated is a way in which this is done.
I agree and I think that your examples where really good. I really liked that you had examples of new songs and older songs as well. It really shows how sampling has been around for a long time. Personally I enjoy songs that use sampling because they are a way to view a song in a different way. For example, Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CPlF-IEkXQ) uses a sample from The Isley Brother’s “Footsteps In The Dark” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etwIu8-FlGU) and it creates a whole new song that allows the audience to enjoy a great track in a completely different way. Even though some people might argue that these two songs are very similar I believe that they are completely different because when I listen to them they create a different vibe. The problem with sampling comes when the artist is not able to create that different vibe for the listeners. Then the song just sounds like the copy of another but overall I think that sampling is a good way for artist to introduce their audience to new music and at times it is also a great way to keep good songs alive.
I like how you organized your blog with the first years of sampling, to today, to areas of music we really don't think about like religion and other parts of the world. I am not a huge music or hip hop guru but I like the idea of sampling. It makes songs that I normally wouldn't listen too more appealing for to me to turn up and listen.
I really enjoyed this blog too, to be honest. Bound 2 was my first thought when I saw the title of the blog actually. Kanye being my favorite rapper, Ive already looked into what samples he uses in his various styles of music. Bound 2 was my favorite song on his latest album Yeezus so being able to come online to this blog and read a little about Kanye was really cool.
The blog did a good job of showing different types of sampling that hip hop uses in today's music industry. You didn't just show samples from classic tunes but with the Xzibit example you showed that you can sample just about anything as long as you stick a catchy beat in there too. Hip hop is probably the biggest example of a musical melting pot. Taking various techniques and sounds from different genres, hip hop caters to the appetites of music listeners around the world. This blog did a good job of highlighting some of those examples. Sampling can also generate more money as we saw in the Kanye West example because the sample is going to attract the attention of a much older crowd and as you said "closes the gap" on differing music.
This was a great blog! It was interesting to take a closer look at the different types of sampling. I agree with you that sampling is a great way to make a hip-hop song more universal across the board. I never really thought about how hip-hop artists will purposefully use older, foreign, or religious songs for sampling so they can attract different groups of listeners other than hip-hop lovers. Now that I have read this article, I will definitely pay closer attention and appreciate the sampling i hear in songs.
This was a great blog and was well written. You stayed on topic and educated somebody like me. I like that song "B*tch Don't Kill My Vibe" by Kendrick Lamar and had no idea he sampled it from someone. Your examples made this blog very easily to read. When I first saw that your blog was about sampling I thought about the song Otis by Jay Z and Kanye West. Just like you say, sampling is a way for artists to make a connection to other generations. Also it is a way for artists to connect with people who might like another genre of music instead by sampling different genre of music.
I never thought about how sampling other artists' music could be used as a link between generations but after reading your blog it makes so much sense. I can't believe some of the songs you mentioned used samples and I am definitely going to pay closer attention to the history behind the music I listen to for now on.
I really enjoyed reading your post. It's obvious that you did a lot of research on this particular subject and it shows in your blog. I like how you gave examples of sampling from songs that most of the class, and others, most likely didn't know about. The one example you gave that particularly stood out to me was the Kendrick Lamar song. With it being such a popular song, I had no idea it was a sample. Kendrick's example showed me that sampling can come from anywhere and everywhere. Erick Sermon and Kanye's samples both show how sampling are somewhat tributes to our music's history. Great post.
Great examples! I love Kanye and his relationship with sampling. He always finds a way to make soul music/r&b samples really resonate with a modern audience. An example of this would be use of a soul sample on the song "On Sight" (http://youtu.be/xnrLXDYnS6c). The sample comes in at a little over the minute mark and completely suspends the song in the air. However, it has been reported that this is not a sample at all but rather a studio crafted recreation of the original. (http://pitchfork.com/features/overtones/9156-kanyes-sold-soul/) In this way Kanye blurs the line of what is and isn't sampling, why? "I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things." - Kanye West That's why.
I found this to be very interesting, a lot of these examples I didn't realize ever existed. I believe that sampling is a popular as well important thing about hip hop and rap. By using these different things it allows for the music to reach a whole other audience. When an older person hears a song that they realize was from their childhood they are a lot more likely to continue to listen compared to something they just don't recognize at all. Sampling is becoming more and more popular by the day in almost every genre these days, but especially rap.
The Ponderosa Twins Plus One sample of Bound is actually one of my personal favorite samples. I almost signed up for this topic because I wanted to show the power of sampling through Kanye's work. Great job! Also, the religious side of sampling is new to me. I never realized religion could influence artists like Xzibit. Great post I loved the videos to add to it.
This blog really opened my eyes and made me realize how many artists, including some of my favorites use sampling in most of their tracks. One of my favorite artists today is a duo called Timeflies. They consist of a lead singer, Cal and a mixer, Rez. They do covers of many popular songs in a variety of different genres. They recreate songs and put their own creative spin on it. They really connect with this topic and I think it would worth your while to check them out. http://youtu.be/DWX9-74_EuU
It is interesting to see just how prevalent sampling is in music even to this day. I was unaware of how much sampling takes place in modern music (besides EDM). After I read this, I went ahead and re-listened to some of my favorite songs (like Eminem- Rap God) and it shocked me a bit.
I wasn't aware that some of the most popular songs included a sample that another artist before them created. Listening to music that has samples , I always thought that maybe artists using them really just borrowed them from a sound bank . Never have I ever considered it "stealing". I agree with you Brianna , that if anything samples make the song more appealing. It shows how creative an artist really is to incorporate someone else sound into theirs though making it a different product . I think samples teaches the audience about the origins of different sounds, like the example today in class with "Annie" being sampled on Jay-Z's Hardknock life . Most people didn't know of the sound until Jay-Z sampled it . Shout out to him .
Sampling is one of the things that started the hip hop music genre and I personally have no problems with it if the original artist is also okay with it. I didn't know that Kendrick Lamar's song was sampled and I dont think many people do. That goes to show that people do not always know the original or give any credit to the original artist but if the original artist was okay with Kendrick having it/ selling it, it is perfectly legal. I consider direct lyric stealing the worse because it directly comes out of the artists mouth. A lot of hip hop artists have someone else create their beats for them anyway.
This was really great. I really enjoyed all of your examples. When I first saw your topic the artist that came to my mind was Kayne West. He tends to use alot of sampling sometimes too much. I really liked the example that you gave of him. Some other songs that he samples are "Gold Digger" and "Blood on The Leaves". Just some food for thought. But thanks for this...I had no idea Kendrick Lamar sampled from that song. Very insightful.
ReplyDeleteYeah I actually really enjoyed this blog. Only recently I've noticed that sampling is not an uncommon thing whatsoever. And I agree 100% when you said that sampling is a way to get the attention of a wider range of people. Just this little portion of hip hop shows the complexity, depth, and hella amounts of thought that go into each song.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't know if you've ever heard of an underground rapper 'Robb Bank$', but he has a whole mixtape called 'Calendars' in which almost all of his songs are over samples.
Really great blog! It was very easy to understand due to the ample use of examples, and good examples at that. Sampling is such a huge part of hip-hop and I believe it helps keep classic music of the past alive and brings new unique flavor to current tracks on the radio. When I think of sampling, the first person that comes to mind for me is Flo-Rida. A good amount of his songs use sampling. To name a few, "Good Feeling" and "Cry". Again great blog!
ReplyDeleteReally great blog! It was very easy to understand due to the ample use of examples, and good examples at that. Sampling is such a huge part of hip-hop and I believe it helps keep classic music of the past alive and brings new unique flavor to current tracks on the radio. When I think of sampling, the first person that comes to mind for me is Flo-Rida. A good amount of his songs use sampling. To name a few, "Good Feeling" and "Cry". Again great blog!
ReplyDeleteIt was very eye opening to know that artists we listen to on the daily basis are also researching into different fields to add that element of uniqueness to their music. Hip hop is no longer about thumping beats but with soothing ebbs and flows from various aspects of the world and other music genres. However, as great as it seems I somewhat dislike the fact that some artists go to far with crossing the line between sampling and downright copyrighting a song. Some artists add a few lines and drums in the background to old classic songs and completely ruin the ethnicity of the songs. At the end of the day, hip hop is forever changing and sampling as you've demonstrated is a way in which this is done.
ReplyDeleteI agree and I think that your examples where really good. I really liked that you had examples of new songs and older songs as well. It really shows how sampling has been around for a long time. Personally I enjoy songs that use sampling because they are a way to view a song in a different way. For example, Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CPlF-IEkXQ) uses a sample from The Isley Brother’s “Footsteps In The Dark” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etwIu8-FlGU) and it creates a whole new song that allows the audience to enjoy a great track in a completely different way. Even though some people might argue that these two songs are very similar I believe that they are completely different because when I listen to them they create a different vibe. The problem with sampling comes when the artist is not able to create that different vibe for the listeners. Then the song just sounds like the copy of another but overall I think that sampling is a good way for artist to introduce their audience to new music and at times it is also a great way to keep good songs alive.
ReplyDeleteI like how you organized your blog with the first years of sampling, to today, to areas of music we really don't think about like religion and other parts of the world. I am not a huge music or hip hop guru but I like the idea of sampling. It makes songs that I normally wouldn't listen too more appealing for to me to turn up and listen.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this blog too, to be honest. Bound 2 was my first thought when I saw the title of the blog actually. Kanye being my favorite rapper, Ive already looked into what samples he uses in his various styles of music. Bound 2 was my favorite song on his latest album Yeezus so being able to come online to this blog and read a little about Kanye was really cool.
ReplyDeleteMy Comment^^
ReplyDeleteThe blog did a good job of showing different types of sampling that hip hop uses in today's music industry. You didn't just show samples from classic tunes but with the Xzibit example you showed that you can sample just about anything as long as you stick a catchy beat in there too. Hip hop is probably the biggest example of a musical melting pot. Taking various techniques and sounds from different genres, hip hop caters to the appetites of music listeners around the world. This blog did a good job of highlighting some of those examples. Sampling can also generate more money as we saw in the Kanye West example because the sample is going to attract the attention of a much older crowd and as you said "closes the gap" on differing music.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog! It was interesting to take a closer look at the different types of sampling. I agree with you that sampling is a great way to make a hip-hop song more universal across the board. I never really thought about how hip-hop artists will purposefully use older, foreign, or religious songs for sampling so they can attract different groups of listeners other than hip-hop lovers. Now that I have read this article, I will definitely pay closer attention and appreciate the sampling i hear in songs.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog and was well written. You stayed on topic and educated somebody like me. I like that song "B*tch Don't Kill My Vibe" by Kendrick Lamar and had no idea he sampled it from someone. Your examples made this blog very easily to read. When I first saw that your blog was about sampling I thought about the song Otis by Jay Z and Kanye West. Just like you say, sampling is a way for artists to make a connection to other generations. Also it is a way for artists to connect with people who might like another genre of music instead by sampling different genre of music.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about how sampling other artists' music could be used as a link between generations but after reading your blog it makes so much sense. I can't believe some of the songs you mentioned used samples and I am definitely going to pay closer attention to the history behind the music I listen to for now on.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. It's obvious that you did a lot of research on this particular subject and it shows in your blog. I like how you gave examples of sampling from songs that most of the class, and others, most likely didn't know about. The one example you gave that particularly stood out to me was the Kendrick Lamar song. With it being such a popular song, I had no idea it was a sample. Kendrick's example showed me that sampling can come from anywhere and everywhere. Erick Sermon and Kanye's samples both show how sampling are somewhat tributes to our music's history. Great post.
ReplyDeleteGreat examples! I love Kanye and his relationship with sampling. He always finds a way to make soul music/r&b samples really resonate with a modern audience. An example of this would be use of a soul sample on the song "On Sight" (http://youtu.be/xnrLXDYnS6c). The sample comes in at a little over the minute mark and completely suspends the song in the air. However, it has been reported that this is not a sample at all but rather a studio crafted recreation of the original. (http://pitchfork.com/features/overtones/9156-kanyes-sold-soul/) In this way Kanye blurs the line of what is and isn't sampling, why? "I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things." - Kanye West That's why.
ReplyDeleteI found this to be very interesting, a lot of these examples I didn't realize ever existed. I believe that sampling is a popular as well important thing about hip hop and rap. By using these different things it allows for the music to reach a whole other audience. When an older person hears a song that they realize was from their childhood they are a lot more likely to continue to listen compared to something they just don't recognize at all. Sampling is becoming more and more popular by the day in almost every genre these days, but especially rap.
ReplyDeleteThe Ponderosa Twins Plus One sample of Bound is actually one of my personal favorite samples. I almost signed up for this topic because I wanted to show the power of sampling through Kanye's work. Great job! Also, the religious side of sampling is new to me. I never realized religion could influence artists like Xzibit. Great post I loved the videos to add to it.
ReplyDeleteThis blog really opened my eyes and made me realize how many artists, including some of my favorites use sampling in most of their tracks. One of my favorite artists today is a duo called Timeflies. They consist of a lead singer, Cal and a mixer, Rez. They do covers of many popular songs in a variety of different genres. They recreate songs and put their own creative spin on it. They really connect with this topic and I think it would worth your while to check them out.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/DWX9-74_EuU
It is interesting to see just how prevalent sampling is in music even to this day. I was unaware of how much sampling takes place in modern music (besides EDM). After I read this, I went ahead and re-listened to some of my favorite songs (like Eminem- Rap God) and it shocked me a bit.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware that some of the most popular songs included a sample that another artist before them created. Listening to music that has samples , I always thought that maybe artists using them really just borrowed them from a sound bank . Never have I ever considered it "stealing". I agree with you Brianna , that if anything samples make the song more appealing. It shows how creative an artist really is to incorporate someone else sound into theirs though making it a different product . I think samples teaches the audience about the origins of different sounds, like the example today in class with "Annie" being sampled on Jay-Z's Hardknock life . Most people didn't know of the sound until Jay-Z sampled it . Shout out to him .
ReplyDeleteSampling is one of the things that started the hip hop music genre and I personally have no problems with it if the original artist is also okay with it. I didn't know that Kendrick Lamar's song was sampled and I dont think many people do. That goes to show that people do not always know the original or give any credit to the original artist but if the original artist was okay with Kendrick having it/ selling it, it is perfectly legal. I consider direct lyric stealing the worse because it directly comes out of the artists mouth. A lot of hip hop artists have someone else create their beats for them anyway.
ReplyDelete