KEVIN D. ENGLAND (kengland@mail.jhmi.edu)
Thu, 23 Dec 1999 10:22:49 -0500 (EST)
Read the liner notes. Mos Def himself played the drums and the bass licks on
much of the record. I'm sure he sampled himself as well and worked some
cut'n'paste magic.... but nevertheless... give the man credit for holdin down
the mic and workin' the traps.
On Wed, 22 Dec 1999, Steve Catanzaro wrote:
> Hey again, all, still rocking Mos Def, and there's one thing that's really
> starting to bug me, not just on this disc, but on so much music out there
> now, namely
>
> Where's the live drums?
>
> I was always under the impression that drum programming, sampling, beat
> chopping, loops, and what not were substitutes for the real thing,
> innovative solutions for guys and gals on a budget. (Anyone who's tried
> knows that real drums are the hardest thing to record right, usually.) Of
> course, drum and bass transcends that, and the real drummers are now trying
> to catch up with the programmers. But still, Mos Def's record is so steeped
> in R&B and funk - soul - jazz styles... so, where's the drummer?
>
> And, I'll bet Mos Def's budget was pretty big. Those of you rocking that
> record, just imagine how much better it would sound if, instead of a 2 or 4
> bar loop, it was a real drummer holding it down on "My Umi Says" or some of
> those other jams. He could'a done it. Why didn't he?
>
> About the only drummer I've heard lately is Francisco Moira jamming on
> Innerzone Orchestra, and I think this list generally agrees that this rocks.
> When are we going to hear more LIVE drum trax on hip hop, R&B, and acid jazz
> records, specially the big budget ones? Or, did everyone forget how to play
> the drums after samplers were invented?
>
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