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Is Sampling Dead?
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Published Work

Published Work

Is Sampling Dead? | SPIN Magazine | by Matthew Newton

Left for dead: Akai MPC 2000XL sampler (Photo: 77cuts).

“Right now, without sampling in hip-hop,” RZA says, "“it’s really a soggy-ass form of music."

A court case against Biz Markie in 1991 changed the rules of hip-hop and sample-based music as a whole.

“The people that do sample [are the ones who] can afford to,” says rapper/producer El-P.

"People are using the Internet to search out information that my generation thought was only possible through a secret handshake," says Eothen Alapatt, general manager at Stones Throw Records.

Is Sampling Dead?

Simple beats and Auto-Tuned vocals form the foundation of 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West’s latest release. As the title implies, it’s a breakup album. But perhaps the split is deeper than even West realizes. His new sound is a bold departure from his previous efforts, but also a challenge to the parameters of what many listeners would consider hip-hop. 808s & Heartbreak doesn’t rely on an element once pervasive in the genre: samples. The album doesn’t contain any prominent samples, while West’s previous release, Graduation, featured them on 10 of its 13 tracks. He is not alone in this change: Young Jeezy’s last album, The Recession, boasts just three samples, and T.I.’s latest, Paper Trail, features only four.

Published December 1st, 2008 in

Published Work