Buy or Sell: Sampling has become minimal because artists don't recognize/listen to old school artists?

Question

Buy or Sell: Sampling has become minimal because artists don't recognize/listen to old school artists?

Answer 1

Yeah I'm gonna have to agree with Cap on this one. Rock is not heavily sampled. Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd are definately not the type of artists I think of when I go looking for samples. And it's more like the 60/70s that is good for sampling, not the 90's (Unless you're talking about sampling a rapper's voice). Second of all, someone said that people don't sample because "They don't have to." and "They can just download drum kits." Well, maybe so, but alot of the drum kits out there suck. The thing that sampling drums gives you is the ability to have your drums sound like someone is actually playing them. When you take a kick here and a snare there from a drum kit, it sounds like it's just glued together, it doesn't flow like a real drummer would. Also, the really good producers don't just sample their drums and leave them, they program them to make them sound better. Also Kanye sucks.



As for the issue of money it's hard for me to say as I'm not in the industry, but I tend to think that if the underground has enough money to sample, then the mainstream should have enough too. Maybe the underground labels are just breaking the rules and not asking artists for permission. But this is just speculation. I'm not gonna sit here and act like I know anything about record labels.



Lastly, I think it's important that people realize that YOU CAN SAMPLE IN FL STUDIO!!!!!!!!!!!!



It's called edison. I use Fl Studio, and all of my beats are sample beats. Not only do I use it, but there are a million people cluttering up youtube with their sampled fl studio beats. Like cap said, not only is it possible, it's common. Furthermore, even the best producers use computer programs for their beats, and use samples. I heard Cap say that Primo has used Pro Tools. Don't even try to tell me that DJ Premier doesn't sample, or that his beats suck.



Anyway, the main reason people don't sample anymore, is because the music sucks anyway so why put any effort into it if people will eat up crap, and hate on good ****. Again Cap got it right. If sampling isn't considered good anymore, then why spend your money trying to pay for samples? People are retarted and like this crappy sythesized stuff, so that's what the mainstream promotes.

Answer 2

As a producer (I am not a super producer or anything, hell, I'm not even THAT good lol but I can comment because I am one), I will tell you the real and very OVERLOOKED reason of why producers don't sample anymore.



They don't have to. Think about when Hip Hop started. Even the "major" rappers where rapping in dingy equipment (KRS-One said this on one of the "Beef" DVDs) so they had to make due. There weren't no sound libraries like they are now. You HAD to sample EVERYTHING (down to kicks and snares) if you weren't a rock band. So it wasn't the fact they wanted to sample, it was the fact that they needed to and since most musicians are "hustlers", they made with what they had.



Now fast forward to now where recently (two days ago exactly) I went on a torrent website and downloaded 2 GB of drum kits, and 4 GB of other sounds (piano, violins, guitars, synths, etc.), why would I need to know how to sample.



About your "money is not the problem" statement. It is. "Back in the day", samples used in beats didn't have to be cleared. Until recently, where now the artists who is being sampled can actually make more off a track than the person who is actually performing over the sample. Perfect example is Kanye West on "All Falls Down". Lauryn Hill wanted some crazy amount for him to use that sample so he just had Syleena Johnson go back and redo it. And I also refuse to believe MOST rappers make $10 million a year. Not even most MAJOR rappers are making $10 million a year.

Answer 3

Sampling has become minimalistic but only among major label/ringtone rappers. This is because the music sucks anyway and they're only concerned with a top 40 hit, therefore wanting to avoid complications or lawsuits.



I think you'll find that today's best emcees still sample just as much, if not more, then those from back in the day! Have you heard Stoupe The Enemy of Mankind from Jedi Mind Tricks? the dude is known for sampling up to 200 tracks AT A TIME. damn!

Answer 4

Hip Hop has taken the turn for the worst.Samples all depending can cost tens of thousands.Producers have become really lazy and rappers just want to make quick money so they have their producers make a club beat in 5 minutes.Plus sampling at least mainstream-wise is under-appreciated nowadays.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

Sell, I've heard producers say that the one of the main factors in why the don't sample as much anymore is because of the decreasing economy. Kanye still continues to do that because it's his trademark as a producer and h

Answer 7

Sell: I think the reason is that samples are to expensive now. You don't need to know an artist to sample them you can just dig through the crates. I think back in the 90's when people realized how much money was in charging for samples the rates skyrocketed. Only big names can afford samples that's why ye, jay, and just blaze can afford too.

Answer 8

I think you're misunderstanding sampling heavily. Most of the good samples aren't from the 90's. They're from the 60's to 80's and were applied in the late 80's to 90s and rock isn't sampled that heavily either (generally speaking). The only Jimi Hendrix sample on a classic record is on "The Low End Theory" and most people aren't even aware it's there. The one thing I'd agree with you on is the sampling of actual MC's, I can't remember the last time I heard an MC's vocals sampled as part of a hook. i.e. No Gimmicks (Remix) by Lord Finesse or Mad Props by Da Youngstas



Also, In theory it's easier to make a beat organically (Generally speaking) than it is to sample well. To sample, you need an ear for samples. You need to will to seek out records. You need the patience to listen to the record and be able to identify what part of that record can be used in a completely new context and then re-arrange that part into a plausible hip hop beat. Any one with a mouse and FL Studio, Reason, Logic, Acid Pro etc. can make beats.



Also, Kanye West doesn't use great samples in the slightest. Stoupe uses great samples. Kno uses great samples. Kanye abuses his budget to use lazy samples. He makes good beats. Good samples aren't akin to good beats. And good beats aren't akin to good samples. Also, Money is irrelevant. The only reason no one samples anymore is because crate digging isn't really associated with hip hop as much as it used to be. Out of me and all my friends who make music, I'm the only one with a record collection in the hundreds.



To cap off, If sampling is in no way considered relevant to the appreciation of beats nowadays, Why on earth would a producer want to spend his bank roll clearing samples?



I think you asked a good question. But you blurred the line between not recognizing/listening to the sound/style of beats from the golden age and it not being relevant in the success of current music. Also it's possible AND common to sample on software.

Answer 9

I understand exactly where you are coming from and it's true. The same beats and samples are used over and over and over again and it really does become redundant and boring. People complain about the music that artists put out but what they don't realize is that it's the beats and the fact that "we" the consumer don't speak out and say "hey, put some better beats" or "samples" on your music because basically the artist is responsible to YOU because YOU are the consumer who pays his bills. There are a few, very few who do sample well. I think J. Dilla and Kanye are excellent examples but there are too few who don't and it really puts a constraint on the sound of RHH overall.

Great guestion...this once again goes to prove how mature a listener you are for you age!!!

Happy 2010!!!

Answer 10

In general there's less sampling today because it costs so much money to get a sample cleared. Some of the albums that were coming out in the mid/late 80s to early 90s would never get made now because the laws regarding use of samples has changed at a producer (or record label) could have to pay 50k per sample, depending on what they use.



I think in regards to crappy mainstream beats you have a point. I don't think these people are really music people and as such they have no interest in listening to a wide variety of music - it's all about getting a catchy beat out there to make a quick buck. I would be very surprised if someone like Lil' Jon could sit down and have an in depth discussion about music because I don't think they care (obviously I don't know that for a fact, but it seems that way).



There is still plenty of sampling happening though - like all things within an art form, it goes through its ups and downs: much like turntablism.



I've said before - I don't think it's any coincidence that the worst hip hop music is overwhelmingly coming from acts with no respect for the genre and no understanding of its roots.

Answer 11

Madlib

J Dilla

Kanye West

Willie Evans Jr.

Exile

88 Keys

Edan

Ant

MF Doom

Nujabes

Oh No

PBW

Black Milk





The only decline I've seen is in the mainstream. For the most part the underground still uses samples.



Also is it necessary to sample when creating 'Club Music', because for the most part that's what it is.

Answer 12

I think its greatly decreased simply because it's easier to make a successful/hard beat using something like Fruity Loops or Reason...whereas less producers are inclined to use tools that require more technique and skill



Also...Kanye doesn't exactly sample, so much as steal beats. Doesn't mean they sound any less dope, though.

Answer 13

wow, kind of hard to judge record sales with quality of rap nowadays. i just think now rappers recognize their buying crowd. and sadly to say their buying crowd is teenage white girls mostly.

Answer 14

I don't know if its from them not listening, but I agreed that it is way easier and cheaper to make beats with out samples using your computer and its a damn shame.

Answer 15

ay I have to disagree with u. Do u kno how many songs I listen to that artist sample. U have to listen alittle closer.

Answer 16

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