Hip Hop Drumming!

L

lloydscoobs

Junior Member
Growing up, I have always loved Hip Hop and R n B. However, it makes me sad that everything is basically electronic sampled drum beats. Where do live drums fit into this? Anyone out there play live hip hop or R n B drums? I'm interested on any tips, where to find some good live drum recordings, where live drums fit into Hip Hop, and how to get started playing some stuff. Any one out there have any ideas?
 
You'll often find that while many artists use sampled drums, a lot of them have a drummer when they play live.
 
Well ya know... hip-hop pretty much began by ripping off tracks from funk, R&B and rock tracks and looping them. Many examples I could give: "Jamie's Crying"'s beginning fill became "Wild Thang" by Tone Loc, you're got "Under Pressure" by Bowie that became "Ice, Ice, Baby"... "I Keep Forgettin'" by Michael McDonald became "Regulate" by Warren G. Etc, etc...

Nowadays, due to heavier and more enforced copyright laws, that doesn't happen anymore. Most beats are either totally synthetic or they use "beat packs" produced by real drummers playing beats in their home studios. I happen to do that and make a little scratch doing it. DJ's, hip-hop producers and EDM guys are ALWAYS looking for fresh beats that don't sound like anybody else.

But yeah, the big time hip-hop artists use real backing bands these days. Certainly makes the live show more interesting.
 
Ian Ballard said:
Well ya know... hip-hop pretty much began by ripping off tracks from funk, R&B and rock tracks and looping them. Many examples I could give: "Jamie's Crying"'s beginning fill became "Wild Thang" by Tone Loc, you're got "Under Pressure" by Bowie that became "Ice, Ice, Baby"... "I Keep Forgettin'" by Michael McDonald became "Regulate" by Warren G. Etc, etc...
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none of those songs you mentioned where really anywhere near the beginning of hip hop

....but yeah hip hop was built on break beats from rock, disco and funk records and Kool Herc spinning them in the parks of the south Bronx in the early to mid 70s....and samples were and still are often used on records

todays hip hop beats are quite different since guys like Premier, Pete Rock, Mo B, RZA, and J Dilla changed the game in the early 1990s ....it has been morphing since then into some of the stuff that you may hear guys like EL-P, MF DOOM, Danger Mouse, Timbaland, Large Professor , Exile or Karriem Riggins use

on a side note.....please try not to use the words "ice ice baby" and hip hop in the same sentence ....I find it offensive :)
 
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WhoIsTony? said:
there is something about the single note bass loop that Mingus creates the completely hip hop groove Max lays down then that completely dissonant piano chord that enters

it just screams hip hop to me

if you loop the first 20 seconds of that song Rakim or Kool G Rap could lace it with fire and I bet you that cats who don't know the tune Money Jungle might think it was built of samples

it almost has the feel of this tune in a way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUzDcxDQTyI
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Thanks Tony. As an incidental hip hop listener I haven't heard big bass sounds used in the genre quite like that before.

My understanding was that one stream of hip hop is blending with jazz and soul again, which is hopefully good news for drummers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEZz2oiKpHI
 
Ian Ballard said:
Nowadays, due to heavier and more enforced copyright laws, that doesn't happen anymore. Most beats are either totally synthetic or they use "beat packs" produced by real drummers playing beats in their home studios. I happen to do that and make a little scratch doing it. DJ's, hip-hop producers and EDM guys are ALWAYS looking for fresh beats that don't sound like anybody else.
Click to expand...


Hip-hop is as 'faddy' as dance music in the use of sample vs. synth. There'll be another day where sample-heavy beats are fashionable again, and hopefully sooner rather than later. Mainstream hip-hop is as ill as rock music at the moment.
 
WhoIsTony? said:
I make a lot of my living playing hip hop

grew up playing hip hop my whole life and it morphed naturally into jazz about 6 years ago

there is more live drumming in hip hop today than there has ever been

check out guys like

Chris Dave
Daru Jones
Karriem Riggins
Ahmir Thompson
Gerald Heyward
Adam Deitch

enjoy this for a bit ....one of the kings of hip hop drumming today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtCvi7dfyqU
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^^^This!

I'd add Cleon Edwards and Mark Colenburg to that list as well. There's actually a musical renaissance in live hip hop (via Chirs Dave and several other notables) that have expanded the role of the drummer (rhythm) in hip hop back to its rightful place.

Hip Hop music at its core and root is still sample heavy. But this is a good thing!

That is part of why those drummers are playing the way they are. Its about recreating the energy of the sample, keeping the groove etc and putting your own flavor on top of it. MOST of the drummers who are pushing the boundaries of what drummers can do are not just studying the legends of drumming but also the legends Hip Hop (production).


Chris Dave studies Dilla AND The Beatnuts..........think about it.
 
jonescrusher said:
Hip-hop is as 'faddy' as dance music in the use of sample vs. synth. There'll be another day where sample-heavy beats are fashionable again, and hopefully sooner rather than later. Mainstream hip-hop is as ill as rock music at the moment.
Click to expand...

I miss the days of Tupac and NWA.
 
Sesshoumaru said:
^^^This!

I'd add Cleon Edwards and Mark Colenburg to that list as well. There's actually a musical renaissance in live hip hop (via Chirs Dave and several other notables) that have expanded the role of the drummer (rhythm) in hip hop back to its rightful place.

Hip Hop music at its core and root is still sample heavy. But this is a good thing!

That is part of why those drummers are playing the way they are. Its about recreating the energy of the sample, keeping the groove etc and putting your own flavor on top of it. MOST of the drummers who are pushing the boundaries of what drummers can do are not just studying the legends of drumming but also the legends Hip Hop (production).


Chris Dave studies Dilla AND The Beatnuts..........think about it.
Click to expand...


this is dead on

if it was not for RZA using an Ensoniq ASR10 which had an electronic glitch in its loop software that RZA turned into an art form, J Dilla followed suit , while the Beatnuts, and Premier were pushing the envelope ......none of these drummers would sound like they do

what they are doing is emulating and recreating those electronic beats that they heard on those records that no live drummer had played at the time.

innovation ensued
 
BTW. most relevant old school hip-hop was built on live drums.
they sampled the classic drum breaks from the 70's funk & soul records.

here's a good starting point to understand where hip-hop beats came from:

classic hip-hop drum breaks?
the most used samples taken from the old funk & soul records?
here's a compilation / demonstration!
http://youtu.be/ST69kpx9New

have fun grooving!
 
I gotta suggest looking for interviews with ?uest Love on Youtube...he has some great observations on live Hip-Hop/Rap Drum Performance...that apply to all genres IMHO.


-note: missed wsabol's comment...+1 to his sentiments!
 
"Counting Stars" was the first track I heard by Japanese musician/producer/dj Nujabes, and I immediately fell in love with his music. I was especially enthralled by the fact that his drums sounded like someone was really playing them, which is rare in modern hip-hop. I am convinced he has worked with live drumming or drummers because of how organic they sound in his songs and if they are sampled than the cuts are extremely deep (which wouldn't surprise me). These beats are fun to play because of their funky uniqueness, dance-ability, and are sometimes a few measures longer than the average loop which makes them a little more challenging than most hip-hop rhythms. RIP Jun Seba a.k.a Nujabes.

https://youtu.be/4axI4nFcB3Q
 
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