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Break!
I'm gonna step in here.
Anyone who has followed the P and read more than a few interviews knows that, at times, I can very outspoken about the art of sampling. Rightfully so, it seldom gets respect as an artform anyways. That being said, I believe there are two aspects to creating a beat, the first being the material used. Now you can get flavor points in a varety of different ways but ultimately it usually comes down to bringing forth something new - now before everyone jumps on me about synthetic sub and skull snaps etc. etc., the overuse of the same breaks (from ultimate breaks and beats) is what led to the downfall of most legitamate and creative sampling. Sure alot of classics were made, but after that you can't make a classic just because you use the same break as a classic. And that doesn't even include what gets laid on top of it or how it is implemented in the overall structure of the song. For instance .. Yield, alot of you probably don't know, I orginally made as a remix for El Da Sensei but due to label red tape, it never got released, so me and mike used it. That was a direct effort to take something classic and dear to all hip hop heads (Bubblegum/Wrong Side) and reinterpret it. But the point remains, there was an overlying theory in it. There was reasoning in its use. Reason in the same way that sampling James Brown for afro-centric hip hop carries forth the original message in the music (the big payback!) If you sit down with Substitution and listen to the whole track, then use the drums in a way relative but creatively new form the original, that, in my book, could be flavorful. But you got to catch the groove of the original and you can't do that if you are scrounging for crumbs off of released records. For all the people that jacked primos kick and snare, none of them became prolific like Primo. Biters usually don't have longevity because you will always be relegated to stealing the leftovers, so there is rarely innovation.
There is a difference between caring about what other people think and actually being a toy. I'm not going to curse at you, Mel. You can sample whatever you want.
But even if you flipped the sh!t out of the drums, when I say to you, Oh sh!t! you found a copy of the Post Modern Space be-bop? And you say "Huh?" you're going to look like a dummy. and that's not good. Not knowing the source and using it is production date rape. You need to spend some quality time with the original
or hip hop production is lessened to everything the mainstream wants to believe it is: theft.
I already dropped the title, so I suggest you save up a few hundred and cop you one so you can truly enjoy that incredible record. And that way when someone bugs out on your beat, you can have the pride of pulling out the orginal for said listener.

Most importantly (in my opinion). Digging is not about having dope records or flossing breaks or even the music. It is about the act. Getting out and getting our fingers dusty and the experiences that come along with it are what seperates us from the disposable downloaders. It's about the time you spend with your crew, talking to owners, the thrill of the hunt, the hamburger stand you've never been to, having to take a dump but trying to finish the bin, sneaking in the portable, using your fingernail to discretely open the sealed record, bargaining and listening. It's the joy of paying 1 dollar for the 100 dollar record, and the agony of paying 100 dollars for the one break you know will make a hot beat. At the end of the day, it's part of our culture, and all of the people people who bite, steal and re-use are not. I ain't mad at ya.

Keep digging yall.

That was still a dope rant.....I personally enjoyed it:)

Yeah Asuza I'm definitely not with using drums already extracted off of old records by someone else and using'em. I'm not claiming to be very good at production although I try my best but the only experience I have with making beats is when I rented a Roland Sp-202 like a year ago for a couple of months, and more recently an MPC 1000 I rented like a month ago. When I try to make beats, I like to dig for the drums and program them myself, and most preferably use the same rhythm as the original break as possible. But on your note, yeah I hate records/programs out there like "dusty fingers" and what not, which are just records with looped drum breaks from old records, just there for people to sample. Plus when you sample out your own drums you can make them so heavy and do so much more with them. But I'm no expert at this all I'm just saying finding your own drums is so much more fulfilling.
Peace man,
Denny

Ya how is the MPC 1000? I got the chance to sit on one (no literally i sat on it before it came out of the box to hook it up), and i was impressed with the features. It seemed to me like it was geared toward people with a computer because of the USB feature. The 128 meg expansion is good too i believe it was like 2:30 min of sample TIME?!?!?! Ohh Fiddle Sticks!! thats alot. And the 4 or so pad banks? if my math is correct thats 64 pad at your disposal, WOW!!!! So anyways if any one has anything has any knowledge on the 2000, which seem to be closely related, drop a line i wanna know the ups and downs on the MPCS im thinking of buying one myself. 1000 and 2000 are the ones im lookin at getting. Doesnt Thes One Got a 2000?

Denny said: But on your note, yeah I hate records/programs out there like "dusty fingers" and what not, which are just records with looped drum breaks from old records, just there for people to sample. Plus when you sample out your own drums you can make them so heavy and do so much more with them. But I'm no expert at this all I'm just saying finding your own drums is so much more fulfilling.
Peace man,
Denny

Just an FYI, the "Dusty Fingers" comps do not loop drums. That's a whole other break series. The DF comps just have songs or snippets of songs in which they think amazing beats can be made from... they also put out comps with records sampled by popular rap groups. "Tribe Vibes" I think they did...

Whether or not that's violating or not, that's on you. I like finding the records they use though, because it helps me learn to be open-minded about peeping certain records. I see the cover of Billy Squier's Tale of the Tape and go... "this sh!t is gay," but if cats had the same mentality, "Big Beat" wouldn't be a classic break. So I give DF some credit, because I listen to their comps then hit the streets and pull up gems that I'm sure they paid the same amount I did for a break or a loop that NO ONE had flipped yet.*

*I do not own DF comps. I know people that do and I borrow them to study them.

SimonSamoorye said:
Try Rory Gallagher for breaks, his other album 'Tattoo' has drum breaks aswell, it's not mega-rare so you won't have to do much travelling when finding some Rory sh!t.

Sound clips: http://breakz4dayz.com/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=17913&cat=0&page=1

When I was 13 I used to think, 'f***!, I'M NEVER GONNA FIND ANY SICK DRUM BEATS' I'm 17 now, and after long hard hours of diggin' in the crates, I got a whole stack o' breaks!

Where there's a will there's a way...

A generous digger... gotta love it.

Yeah man, Rory's got some bangers.

I came across some at the Record Graveyard in Hamtramck, MI today. I love finding ones that I was not aware of... most of them are on rock and pop records.

right now, my record collection is very randomized, mostly classic rock,jazz and junk, but there are breaks nontheless! and rock is where the drums are at anyway,.,,
i have however bought one record with just break beats only to play while i practice my scratching, wouldnt even cross my mind to sample beats from a beat record, it doesnt seem natural to me, ide rather find that great drum break on my own on the orignal record. what can i say that hasnt been said already,,,,
peace
stowik!

Well well well isnt this an interesting topic?

This is how i feel.

-It doesnt matter. It doesnt matter what you sample, comps, mp3s, OG press, cassette tapes, masters, bootlegs, reissues, etc.... Sample away

-There are no "ethics" or sampling rules

-You like the beat someone else made? take it, that is essentially what they did.

-Dudes like the Heatmakerz and dudes that produce Dipset sh!t jack huge portions of other producers work, and guess what? It works, they sell records.


It makes no sense when people are against people sampling the beats they looped. You sampled someone elses work! They are just doing what you did.


And as far as digging. f*** it. Dig for mp3's online, dig on ebay, dig at record stores, dig whereever and however. It deosnt matter.

People need to remember--THEY ARE JUST RECORDS!-they are not that serioius. There are much more beautiful things in this world than worrying about some record ethics that only matter to nerds and fat sweaty men.