Study Notes on African American Music and Hip Hop Sampling

Main Introduction

The art of digital sampling in African American hip hop is intricately connected to an African American/African diasporic aesthetic that carefully selects available media, contexts, and sounds for performative use.

Function of Digital Sampling

  • Definition: Digital sampling, as explained by Thomas Porcello, allows the encoding of a fragment of sound from one to several seconds in duration, stored in a digitized binary form, and then played back through a keyboard.

  • Manipulation of Sound: The stored sound may retain its pitch and tonal qualities or be manipulated through electronic editing. Porcello remarks that rap musicians have come to use the sampler in a manner oppositional to capitalist notions of public and private property, employing previously tabooed modes of citation.

Metaphors in Popular Discourse

  • Public View on Sampling: Popular discourse on digital sampling often employs striking metaphors:

    • Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy describes rap culture as a “scavenger culture” mixing elements together.

    • Mark Costello and David Foster Wallace liken sampling to “holding music at gunpoint.”

    • A 1991 article refers to sampling as “audio junkyard collisions.”

Capabilities of the Sampler (Porcello)

Porcello highlights three capabilities of the sampler:

  1. Mimetic/Reproductive: Ability to reproduce sounds.

  2. Manipulative: Adjusting and altering sound.

  3. Extractive: Taking and incorporating elements from other works.

These capabilities connect to W.E.B. Du Bois's concept of "second sight," suggesting it is through these capabilities that minorities know majorities better than they know themselves, and that this knowledge is relevant to public and popular forums, notably African American musical performances.

Aesthetic Distinctions (Ben Sidran)

  • Oral vs. Literate Traditions: Sidran differentiates between literate and oral approaches to perception and organization of information. Literacy, he argues, "freezes concepts" through print, whereas the oral mode involves a functional elaboration through performance.

  • Continuum of Knowledge: African American artists have historically utilized what they learn by listening and put it into action through performance, evident in the evolution of music styles and forms.

Historical References in African American Music

  • Miles Davis's Transformation: Greg Tate suggests Miles Davis's late 1960s-70s electric band emerged from a deep act of listening to previous influential musicians, showcasing how listening shapes composition.

  • Duke Ellington's Works: Early compositions, such as "Harlem Speaks" and "Harlem Air Shaft," capture communal sounds and experiences from Harlem, highlighting the importance of context in musical composition. Ellington describes Harlem Air Shaft as a metaphorical loudspeaker, representing contrasts present in life.

Oral Tradition and Dissemination

  • Barbara Christian’s Views: Christian states people of color have theorized differently from Western norms, emphasizing storytelling, narratives, and proverbs as vehicles for dynamic ideas.

  • Chernoff's Observation: In his study, he emphasizes the variations and informal structures in musical performances that characterize artistic quality, contrasting with fixed models.

Contextual Musicology (John Lovell)

  • Biblical References: Lovell discusses how slaves adapted biblical references during spirituals to symbolize overcoming oppression and embodying hope.

  • Historical Knowledge: Knowledge was disseminated through oral traditions rather than written texts, creating a “thin Bible,” a shared cultural context among slaves for empowerment and communication.

Functionality of Song**

  • Call-and-Response: Centering songs around a leader's voice encourages community engagement and power, highlighting the performative aspect of spirituality in the African American tradition.

  • Metaphorical Presence: The metaphor of trains is explored, exemplifying how constructs like the railroad found resonance in spirituals and contributed to artistic imagery.

Labor Themes in African American Music

  • Integration of Work Rhythms: Rhythms from work songs are foundational in African American music, allowing cultural synchrony between labor and music-making.

  • Abrahams’s Analysis: He notes the corn-shucking event as a key aesthetic event that illustrates the blending of power, performance, and social engagement.

Concept of Performance in Historical Contexts

  • Dual Relationships in Historical Contexts: These connections between performers and observers represented an essential aspect of African American performative culture and the complexities therein.

  • Imitation and Authenticity: White minstrels often imitated African American performance styles, blurring lines between authentic cultural expression and performance art for profit.

Hip Hop Culture and Technology

  • Role of Turntables: The turntable revolutionizes hip hop performance, allowing DJs to manipulate sounds live. Chuck D argues that the act of deejaying equates to playing instruments, dismissing claims of unoriginality.

  • Recycling and Sampling: This continuous recycling of elements links hip hop to broader historical cycles of creativity and cultural response through its epistemological approaches.

Conclusion on Aesthetics**

  • Critical Reception & Transformation: The examination of hip hop as an act of counterinsurgency turns consumers into producers, redefining cultural narratives through complex interactions with previously existing musical ideas.

  • Statements on Musical Ownership: The discourse on sampling often links back to the appropriative nature of artistic expression within African American culture, reflecting ever-evolving ideas of ownership and creativity.