Sample Rich, Or Sample Less

[Big La]

A short while back, I was crate diggin' in San Francisco and got into a discussion with some DJ's and Producers. A lot of kats were saying they didn't sample hardly because they were trying to make it in the business and it's just a crutch for those who aren't creative enough to do their own thing.

What's the word on sampling with you guys? I see most of the producers here range from late teens to late 20's. So you're more intune with the state of Hip-Hop today than me.

Personally, I am old-schooler. I got into Hip-Hop just as it was starting. Then I really got into beat construction in the 90's, and that's been my style ever since. I'm a heavy sampler. I'm not big on digital beats and sounds. I like the texture of older stuff.

Since I don't sell beats, or produce for artists anymore, I don't have to worry about copyrights and crap like that. I usually put together stuff for myself, remixes for mixtapes, freestyles instrumentals, etc.

What's the word from y'all?

Examples:
Music Makers.mp3 (http://toddkelley.addr.com/audio/music_makers.mp3)
Final Fantasy.mp3 (http://toddkelley.addr.com/audio/final_fantasy.mp3)
The Hellraiser.mp3 (http://toddkelley.addr.com/audio/Hellraiser.mp3)

[MarkN]

Yea i think these days theres obviously more original stuff coming out but samples are still around and i think they will continue to be for some time yet ! But how long till the amount of quality samples becomes 0 ! Personally i try and create original stuff but if i hear good samples i don't mind using them, the way i see it if no-one has sampled it before then i feel its original as its never been used in that sense before !

[Formant024]

Check out Edan and related, thats positive sampling. Dont sell out, thats all.

[" Killah! "]

Personally, I try not to sample. I'd rather come with original songs, or sample instruments of me playing rather than off a record.

But, if you have a hot sample, and there it's seen as a hit by a record rep or A&R, they're going to go with a proven sample that they know will sell. This is because, though the artist may give up in songwriting and publishing on a sample, the rest of the album (where the artist royalties are bigger/less samples) will sell along with the "hit" track. It's sort of like a loss leader analogy.

[vitaminman]

Hey,

Killah has a good point. A lot of tracks, especially by some of the big boys like Puff Daddy and Will Smith, use samples of established hits, such as Cashmere and Every Breath You Take; the labels pay a licensing fee for a single sample which is relatively small to the payoff they get through sales of an entire album which use that song as its foundation.

As for myself, I have no qualms with sampling a riff from a track I like, but the reality is that I cannot afford to pay the license fee, so I dissect it and try to recreate it using my own gear. Eventually I add my own style to it and it becomes and original riff...

Sometimes for drums though I'll sample them, chop them up and make new patterns with them in Cool Edit, then add MIDI drums on top to mask the sounds.

Take care,

Nick

[BeatOff]

If you can find a dope sample that not many have used then its good to chop it up and add midi sounds on top of it. I personally would rather create my own beat with original synth sounds 1. so that i dont have to pay royalties if i ever sold it, 2. so that i dont get sued if it does sell big and i never paid the fee's to use the sample. If i'm just selling a beat locally then ok, but i dont want it to come back to haunt me in case it sells over 9000 copies or whatever you sell to get them to come after you.

[Barock]

I'm a sample-based beatmaker, a sample is the main ingridient in every of my beats. Of course I ad synthesizer and soundmudul sounds, but it's mainly digging, looping and chopping some samples. That'S what I love.

[Formant024]

yeah, fug the money. If you eventualy make money with it you can pay the fines.

[BeatOff]

I cant say fugg the money a 9-5 is bullshit even with a degree it means nothing your a slave making peanuts especially in the bay where you need at least 50 grand a year to make a decent living.

[afriquedeluxe]

man, old samples gon run out like non-renewable sources of energy as mark said.
soon there will be a need fo more peeps like kool n da gang from whom mad samplers out there can sample,
fo me, am safe, bout 60% of beats i make from scratch n 40% sample,
ama buy sum live instruments which cant be easily emulated on da pc n work on playin n recordin em

[BeatOff]

Originally posted by afriquedeluxe
man, old samples gon run out like non-renewable sources of energy as mark said.
soon there will be a need fo more peeps like kool n da gang from whom mad samplers out there can sample,
fo me, am safe, bout 60% of beats i make from scratch n 40% sample,
ama buy sum live instruments which cant be easily emulated on da pc n work on playin n recordin em

Considering there are millions and millions of songs from people all over the world i dont see that happening. You can sample anything, you dont have to use same people as everybody else. The problem is everybody seems to sample from the same artists. You can take bits and pieces from songs that came out in Ireland or something. Songs to sample is basically endless.

[ProZak]

I use only samples, but I almost never sample more than one note, so that's not really the same thing. I'm against sampling loops, simply because anyone can do it, there's little to no skill involved except the cratedigging element, which I hate to do anyway.....
plus, you've got to clear the samples....

[Copenhagen]

Do whatever you feel right and works best for you. If it sounds dope then you shouldn't care about what anybody thinks.