One piece of musical technology I chose to focus on is sampling. Sampling is usually considered to be the foundation for hip- hop. “Sampling is the process of taking a sound from one recorded medium and inserting it into a new one” (570). Ultimately, this piece of technology can be played around with and compromised (sped up, layered, etc). Sampling is often important since many artists use a portion of one pre- existing recording in order to incorporate it in their songs.

In order to achieve this purpose, looping (repeating over and over) and scratching; 1980s- “a rhythmic noise created with slip mats between the record and turntable platter” (571) help artists play around with beats and find new ways to include these beats into their music. Now a days, Sampling is a common tool for many artists to use when producing/creating their songs, and is not usually used in a way which it wasn’t designed for. However, before the 1970s- 1980’s “scratching” two records together on a turntable was not the intent and might have not even been considered to be classified as music. However, turntablism became very popular in the Bronx (used for fun at dance parties- eventually became a way an element associated with hip- hop). While I’ve never had an experience with this technology, I have always been fascinated by sampling, looping, and scratching since hip-hop is one of my favorite genres and I was always interested in learning about the production of my favorite songs.

One piece of music that uses sampling/ use of turntables is “Straight Outta Compton” by the rap group NWA (1986-1991). This song illustrates the use of scratching in order to make up beats for the song. Additionally, it portrays hip-hop in its early stages when looping and scratching were vital in order to make a good flowing rap beat. Since there was a movie about this rap group a well documenting the production and creation of their music, viewers are able to see how crucial this particular technology was in that time period for this specific genre. Overall, Rap and hip-hop rely on scratching, looping, and sampling as a strategy put their music piece all together as well as make it unique (following the flow of the lyrics).