RE: the trip-hop/hip-hop thing
Matthew Robert Chicoine (scooby@umich.edu)
Thu, 20 Jun 1996 12:47:12 -0400 (EDT)
There are actually a number of tracks to come out in hip-hop's heyday
that had no rhymes at all. No, not the B-side instrumental, no lyrics on
any version. I could give you a list if you, but for starters Grandmaster
Flash had put out a number of instrumental tracks in the early 80s.
The point about breakbeats (or "breaks" or whatever you want to call
them) is that before MCs, there were DJs playing the breaks. The MC, if
there was one at all, was reduced to quirky, sporadic lines meant only to
pump up the audience. Point being, hip-hop music (as manipulated breaks
of songs) came before MCs. Thus, saying that hip-hop tracks without an MC
are somehow new twists on "rap" music is histiorically inaccurate, and
this distinction (by which you see the difference between the trip and
the hip) is a misnomer. As far as Source=MTV, no disrespect
meant, but the Source's commitment to hip-hop is questionable compared to a
commitment to the wallet (ie the acts covered in the magazine don't
necessarily warrant attention based on artistic merit, but more on the
record sales). Could we really be on top of hip-hop (and have an
understanding of it) if we only read the Source? Maybe a skewed
understanding. Nuff said. Peace-
Matt "Hmmm" Chicoine
On Thu, 20 Jun 1996, Dana Cobbs wrote:
> Im not a DJ exactly, but the only instrumental hip-hop I know of (b4
> trip-hop) are the instrumental versions of a particular rap song on say
> a 12'' for example...and as far as breakbeats go, I dont know that there
> were actual breakbeats b4 rap? The whole beat concept behind rap came
> from mixing two records together. Not necessarily 2 breakbeat records
> together...You can buy breakbeat albums all day, so as not to have to
> keep sampling from this record and that one, and in turn owing monies to
> this artist and that one...just a thought.....hhhmmm...
>
>
> >----------
> >From: Matthew Robert Chicoine[SMTP:scooby@umich.edu]
> >Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 1996 5:29 PM
> >To: Elson Trinidad
> >Cc: Tyler Askew; acid-jazz@UCSD.EDU
> >Subject: Re: the trip-hop/hip-hop thing
> >
> >Another thing, wasn't there such a thing as instrumental hip-hop before
> >
> >"trip-hop"? Wasn't there such a thing as breakbeats before raps?
> >hmmmm...
> >
>