hip hop
Articles about hip hop:
Fleshmap – a site that makes visual “studies of desire”, has introduced a new feature, a visual guide to what parts of the body we sing about, categorized by music type.
It’s NSFW, so you’ll have to read more to see if wangdoodles make the list: Read more…
Happy 808 Day!
It’s 8/8/08 – so Experimentalists Anonymist has pointed out that it’s 808 day – a day to celebrate one of the two most important drum machines in electronic music, the Roland TR-808 Computer Controlled Rhythm Composer.
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines. Introduced by the Roland Corporation in late 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos.
When it was initially introduced, musicians were not generally impressed by its sound; a 1982 Keyboard Magazine review of the Linn Drum indirectly referred to the TR-808 as sounding like marching anteaters.
Like the TB-303, though, the TR-808 found it’s true call when it was accepted on its own merits and it became one of the foundations of electronic dance music.
Here’s an example of the 808 sound:
The TR-808 cost US$1,000 upon its release, and it’s kept it’s value pretty well, with used 808’s going for close to that price.
Here’s a great intro to the Roland 808 from the documentary The Shape Of Things That Hum:
If you need some 808 samples, you can download EA’s free 808 sample pack. (zip)
Update: Tom Whitwell has a nice roundup of 808 links to help you celebrate the day!
Image: bdu
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Filed under: Samplers, Sequencers, Synthesizers, Workstations
Don’t buy an Akai MPC5000 until you read this: hip-hop producer Just Blaze’s rant on the MPC Akai calls “the most advanced MPC on the planet.”
“THIS THING IS COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE AND SHOULD NOT BE!” says Blaze. “Some of the bugs in this thing are ATROCIOUS.”
He goes on to detail a litany of bugs and limitations he’s encountered in trying to use the MPC 5000, and summarizes his experience like this:
“I…recommend that you don’t buy the MPC 5000 until they release the next operating system.”
“Please don’t do this again Akai. As a fan, avid user, supporter, and friend. Don’t let the decline in hardware sales (or whatever is contributing to this) allow this to continue.. Quantity over Quality, Numbers over Blunders, Sales over Sincerity and Profits over Professionalism, it makes for Bad Business, Disgruntled Devotees, and Cold Hearted Customers who will Cease, Desist and Discontinue their Dilligent support of a Diluted brand.”
Ouch.
Peace Love Productions (PLP) is giving away four free sound kits formatted specifically for Intua’s BeatMaker iPhone app.
Genres include Drum n Bass, Jungle, Downtempo, Hip Hop, Crunk, Electro, House, and Trance. Each Sound Kit contains a minimum of ten loops organized by genre and tempo. They are 16 bit stereo files in the .bmkz file format. Read more…
Scratch (2001) is a documentary film, directed by Doug Pray, that looks at the birth and evolution of hip-hop disc jockeys (DJs), scratching and turntablism.
Interviewees include:
- Grand Wizard Theodore (the inventor of the scratch)
- Grand Mixer Q-bert
- Grand Mixer DXT, Z-Trip
- Mix Master Mike
- Rob Swift
- DJ Premier
- Afrika Bambaataa
- Jazzy Jay
- Cut Chemist
- NuMark
- DJ Craze
- DJ Shadow
- DJ Babu
- DJ Krush
- Madlib
- Peanut Butter Wolf
You can watch the whole thing for free; YouTube is experimenting with hosting full movies.
