Jaden | Music

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For those unfamiliar with music production ‘sampling’ is the process of taking an existing recording sample and reusing it as a sound or instrument in a new recording.

Sampling has been a staple in Hip-Hop and RnB music production for a long time but coming from a musicians background its not something I have ever experimented with. Even though its legal when cleared (the original artists are paid royalties) I used to pass it off as unoriginal/theft.

I was always of the opinion that if you conceptualize a sound, instrument or beat you should create it from scratch. I was aware that many major producers were big on sampling and that many hits included samples but for the most part I ignored this aspect of music production.

All it took to flip the switch was one track! I knew Mr West built his sound on sampling but I never really cared until ‘Graduation’ was released and i heard ‘Champion’. I had to find out where the sample came from. I found that it came from a short break in a Steely Dan track called ‘Kid Charlemange’.

Its interesting that opinion can be so easily swayed. It makes me think that the line between criticism and adoration is a fine one. Now i understand that it takes a fantastic ear and great vision to take a snippet of a song and recreate it in such a way. This particualar one is quite clear cut and has not been modified much but if your do a little more research on sampling you find some fanastic sampled ideas and beats. Its just another production technique that many people turn a blind eye to but one which takes a certain talent.

To be honest at the moment i don’t have the luxury of listening to hundreds of old school classics looking for those few seconds of inspiration but my opinion on the subject has changed. I look forward to experimenting with this one day. Here is another YouTube video featuring all of the samples Mr West has used to date. Enjoy!