Hip-Hop
Roots · 1979 · 85 to 105 BPM · also known as Rap, Hip Hop
Hip-hop is a root, not a branch, of this family tree. Born in the Bronx, it invented the isolated, looped break, sampling as a form of composition, and the DJ as an instrumentalist in their own right, the foundations that every electronic genre here borrows from. SONAA does not trace this lineage in depth, since its scope is electronic music, but hip-hop appears here as the parent of everything it passed on to machines, from breakbeat hardcore to footwork. Its early sound, built from funk breaks, drum machines and turntables, laid the groundwork that sampling-based dance music would run with for decades.
7 reference tracks
- Sugarhill Gang: Rapper's Delight (1979)
- Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five: The Message (1982)
- Run DMC: It's Like That (1983)
- Run-DMC: Peter Piper (1986)
- Eric B. & Rakim: Paid in Full (1987)
- Public Enemy: Fight The Power (1989)
- Beastie Boys: Intergalactic (1998)
At a glance
- Tempo: 85 to 105 BPM
- First appeared: around 1979
- Machines: Console de mixage, Platines vinyle, Akai MPC60, E-mu SP-1200, Roland TR-808, Boîte à rythmes
- The sound: Deux platines et une table de mixage, Échantillonneur (SP-1200, MPC60), Boîte à rythmes TR-808, Micro et MC, Breaks de funk bouclés
- Labels: Sugar Hill Records, Def Jam, Tommy Boy
- Key artists: DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Run-DMC, Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy
Producing Hip-Hop
Early hip-hop lives between 85 and 105 BPM, the tempo of the funk breaks DJs looped, from Rapper's Delight at 110 to Paid in Full at 97, its feel from sampler swing: the SP-1200 and MPC60 add a shuffle and slight quantization drift that make boom bap, snare landing late, kick slightly early. Build drums from a looped two-bar break chopped and reordered, or an 808 pattern, long deep kick, dry snare, sixteenth hats, kick on 1 and the and of 2, snare on 2 and 4, quantized only lightly. The bass is sampled with the break and low-passed, doubled by a sine an octave down, or an 808 kick with a long decay tuned to the key. A short sample, transposed by ear, resampled for grit, and a dry, central MC vocal complete the sound.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Hip-Hop?
Hip-hop is a root, not a branch, of this family tree. Born in the Bronx, it invented the isolated, looped break, sampling as a form of composition, and the DJ as an instrumentalist in their own right, the foundations that every electronic genre here borrows from. SONAA does not trace this lineage…
What tempo is Hip-Hop played at?
Between 85 and 105 BPM.
Who are the key Hip-Hop artists?
DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Run-DMC, Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy.
