Big City Records, Manhattan, NYC

Mark B. interviews some of the stalwarts of the NYC Hip Hop community back in 2002 for a radio documentary.

Sampling and Hip Hop go hand in hand – classic breakbeats, holy grail samples, vocal snippets, library records, brazilian records the list goes on and in tandem with this is the  list of producers/djs/mcs that have made an impact on Hip Hop & Pop music over the last two decades using this method of music making.

Showbiz, Dr. Dre, Buckwild, BeatNuts,  Marley Marl, DJ Premier, Easy Moe Bee, Prince Paul, Q-Tip, Dilla, Madlib & Co.  have all used sampling as the special ingredient and backbone to separate their sound from the rest but it also implies a deep understanding and appreciation of digging as part of their creative process.

Then there are the likes of David Holmes, Massive Attack, The Prodigy et al who use the same principles for sampling but their music usurps the average Hip Hop listener and brings sampling to a much larger audience, whether the audience realize it or not.

In the late 1980s breaks, chops and loops were lifted straight off the record with little or no treatment but ever since the Gilbert O Sullivan v Biz Markie episode the likes of DJ Premier began to chop up a sample a bit more, replay it, compress it, pitch it up etc.. (remember his work on Full Clip/Impeach The President – dope!)  so it was almost impossible to recognise the sample unless you were in the know or  had a great ear through already being a DJ or producer.

In short, there is nothing quite like an old sample being lifted out of its original recording context and made relevant to the sound of today or a period long after it was originally recorded.

If you have a few minutes to spare listen to this excellent time capsule with New York’s  fraternity of dj/producers/vinyl dealers talking to fellow producer Mark B. from his Black Market Breaks series.