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WOMAN: I'm in Grandmaster
Flash's dressing room,
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00:00:09,710 --> 00:00:11,411
which is why
I'm talking a bit funny,
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00:00:11,411 --> 00:00:13,479
'cause it's making me
actually quite nervous. Aah!
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00:00:13,479 --> 00:00:16,617
And they're doing
things like bodybuilding.
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00:00:16,617 --> 00:00:18,251
And they're wearing
surgical trusses.
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00:00:18,251 --> 00:00:20,186
So they're obviously ready
for the Tube.
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00:00:20,186 --> 00:00:22,689
How did you get
your scratch act together?
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We used to to this
out in the parks for free.
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And for the way that I mix,
I needed vocal entertainment
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00:00:28,194 --> 00:00:30,130
in between the way
that I played.
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00:00:30,130 --> 00:00:31,397
So what it was is the vocals
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00:00:31,397 --> 00:00:34,668
had to complement
with what I was doing.
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00:00:34,668 --> 00:00:36,503
So, at the time, throughout
the span of maybe...
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NARRATOR: Hip hop had barely
learned to crawl back in 1982.
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00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:43,076
But it was about
to jumpstart a revolution,
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00:00:43,076 --> 00:00:47,413
made possible by a cutting‐edge
technique known as sampling.
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[ "Me, Myself and I" plays ]
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♪ Play it now ♪
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00:00:55,656 --> 00:00:57,758
♪ Mirror, mirror on the wall ♪
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00:00:57,758 --> 00:00:59,926
♪ Tell me, mirror,
what is wrong? ♪
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00:00:59,926 --> 00:01:01,194
♪ Can it be my... ♪
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00:01:01,194 --> 00:01:02,529
RZA:
When hip hop came into my life,
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00:01:02,529 --> 00:01:06,567
I became immediately
just enamored by it.
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00:01:06,567 --> 00:01:10,470
It was so much about
taking it and making it
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00:01:10,470 --> 00:01:14,641
and breaking some rules
and telling your own story.
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00:01:14,641 --> 00:01:17,644
It was being able
to actually make something
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that seemed like a live
recording with recordings
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00:01:20,581 --> 00:01:21,915
‐that already existed.
‐♪ Me, myself and I ♪
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00:01:21,915 --> 00:01:25,218
They're using music
to create new music.
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00:01:25,218 --> 00:01:28,154
There's no more important
feeling in the world
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than that "War of the Worlds"
moment.
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00:01:30,223 --> 00:01:31,324
♪ One style ♪
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00:01:31,324 --> 00:01:32,859
♪ Work it, make it, do it ♪
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00:01:32,859 --> 00:01:35,629
♪ Makes us harder, better,
faster, stronger ♪
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00:01:35,629 --> 00:01:37,598
They weren't just
sampling one sound.
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00:01:37,598 --> 00:01:41,234
They realized they could sample,
you know, dozens of sounds.
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00:01:41,234 --> 00:01:44,705
Q‐TIP:
We just had the advantage
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00:01:44,705 --> 00:01:47,874
of hearing
all different types of music.
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00:01:47,874 --> 00:01:51,578
We created the world we lived in
through our music,
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00:01:51,578 --> 00:01:54,080
through our art,
and through our culture
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00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,783
and it all was good.
42
00:01:56,783 --> 00:01:59,152
I didn't want to make
a rap record.
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00:01:59,152 --> 00:02:01,287
I wanted to create a revolution.
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00:02:01,287 --> 00:02:04,257
‐♪ I need ya right now ♪
‐I think most of the best music
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00:02:04,257 --> 00:02:08,595
was probably created by pushing
the envelope of technology.
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00:02:08,595 --> 00:02:12,165
NARRATOR: Sampling has gone
far beyond hip hop.
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00:02:12,165 --> 00:02:14,768
New styles have been
built on it;
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00:02:14,768 --> 00:02:17,904
the whole idea of songwriting,
changed by it.
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00:02:17,904 --> 00:02:19,873
For the last 40 years,
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00:02:19,873 --> 00:02:23,677
no single technique has had
a bigger impact on recording.
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00:02:23,677 --> 00:02:25,646
Sampling is ‐‐
it's ‐‐ it's deep.
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00:02:25,646 --> 00:02:27,514
For people to just write if off
as like,
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00:02:27,514 --> 00:02:29,149
"Oh, you're just stealing
people's music,"
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00:02:29,149 --> 00:02:31,451
like, they don't actually know
what they're talking about.
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00:02:36,990 --> 00:02:39,125
[ Guitar strumming ]
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00:02:39,125 --> 00:02:41,528
‐HARRISON: What key is it in?
‐MAN: What key is it...
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00:02:41,528 --> 00:02:44,598
McCARTNEY:
It'll be in F for you.
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00:02:45,331 --> 00:02:48,669
SPECTOR: Here we go.
Just one more time.
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00:02:48,669 --> 00:02:51,204
FRANKLIN: Right after I say,
"Are you sure?"
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00:02:51,204 --> 00:02:52,773
Da da da ‐‐ yeah.
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00:02:52,773 --> 00:02:53,874
MAN: Oh.
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00:02:55,475 --> 00:02:58,211
WILSON: Hal, here's how
I want to do it. It's like this.
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00:02:58,211 --> 00:03:00,413
BOWIE: All right, it's fun time.
Fun time.
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00:03:00,413 --> 00:03:03,083
‐MAN #1: Here we go.
‐MAN #2: Oh, really?
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00:03:03,083 --> 00:03:05,351
MAN #1: 17, take one.
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00:03:05,852 --> 00:03:08,655
MAN #3:
This will be a keeper.
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00:03:20,233 --> 00:03:23,203
[ Mid‐tempo music plays ]
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00:03:23,203 --> 00:03:27,941
MAN:
Yeah... turn around and...
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00:03:32,546 --> 00:03:34,548
JAM: Sampling is basically
the ability
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00:03:34,548 --> 00:03:39,586
to take a piece of a song
and then loop it...
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00:03:39,586 --> 00:03:41,655
You make it go
over and over again,
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00:03:41,655 --> 00:03:44,090
and then create a new song.
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00:03:44,090 --> 00:03:45,425
SIMPSON:
Which most people equate
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00:03:45,425 --> 00:03:47,193
with stealing
other people's music.
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00:03:47,193 --> 00:03:49,530
This isn't exclusive to hip hop.
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00:03:49,530 --> 00:03:52,265
This has been going on
since the beginning of time.
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00:03:52,265 --> 00:03:54,668
[ "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
plays ]
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00:03:54,668 --> 00:03:57,003
[ Mid‐tempo rock 'n' roll
plays ]
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00:03:57,003 --> 00:03:59,740
[ Crowd cheers ]
80
00:04:02,008 --> 00:04:04,377
There's really
a limited number of notes
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00:04:04,377 --> 00:04:06,046
and a limited number of chords.
82
00:04:06,046 --> 00:04:08,849
And these have all been
replayed throughout history.
83
00:04:08,849 --> 00:04:12,118
Generally, we just
assimilate the information,
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00:04:12,118 --> 00:04:16,557
or the inspiration, and then
disseminate it as our own bag.
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00:04:16,557 --> 00:04:23,664
♪ We‐e‐e‐e‐e‐ll ♪
86
00:04:23,664 --> 00:04:26,600
♪ I can't quit you, baby ♪
87
00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,504
♪ But I gotta put you down
for a while ♪
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00:04:30,504 --> 00:04:33,774
KRAMER: Led Zeppelin,
rightly or wrongly,
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00:04:33,774 --> 00:04:37,143
have taken the very best
of the great blues guys
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00:04:37,143 --> 00:04:40,714
‐and made it their own.
‐♪ I can't quit you, baby ♪
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00:04:41,715 --> 00:04:46,452
♪ But I've gotta put you down
for a while ♪
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00:04:47,521 --> 00:04:49,656
The goal of sampling
is not sampling.
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00:04:49,656 --> 00:04:53,259
The goal of sampling
is creating compelling music.
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00:04:53,259 --> 00:04:56,963
[ Deejay scratches record ]
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00:04:56,963 --> 00:05:00,033
My first encounter
with hip hop,
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00:05:00,033 --> 00:05:04,771
for me, was probably,
like, 1976.
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00:05:04,771 --> 00:05:06,106
I was doing it in Brooklyn.
98
00:05:06,106 --> 00:05:08,875
You know, they were doing it
up in the Bronx.
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00:05:11,344 --> 00:05:12,813
BAMBAATAA:
South Bronx was an area
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00:05:12,813 --> 00:05:16,517
that was having many problems
at the time.
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00:05:16,517 --> 00:05:20,521
It was going through
a street‐gang age.
102
00:05:20,521 --> 00:05:23,524
It also was an area
that just came out
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00:05:23,524 --> 00:05:27,193
of the drug scene
that was happening at the time.
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00:05:27,193 --> 00:05:28,962
And also it was an area
that had
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00:05:28,962 --> 00:05:30,964
good people
who was hard workers.
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00:05:30,964 --> 00:05:34,234
The one thing that
never escaped us, though, was
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00:05:34,234 --> 00:05:39,039
our love for music and
our need to express ourselves.
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00:05:39,039 --> 00:05:42,375
Even though we didn't have much,
we put something together
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00:05:42,375 --> 00:05:44,945
so that we could have
a little bit more self‐esteem.
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00:05:44,945 --> 00:05:48,815
Hip hop and rap was
like the equivalent of ‐‐
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of folk music ‐‐ 'cause
folk music was always about,
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00:05:52,118 --> 00:05:57,157
you know, problems ‐‐ social
problems, political problems.
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And this actually was
a voice in a new way.
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00:06:04,430 --> 00:06:07,668
The holy trinity
of hip hop and rap music
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happened to be three deejays ‐‐
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00:06:09,269 --> 00:06:14,074
Kool DJ Herc, Afrika Bambaataa,
and Grandmaster Flash.
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00:06:14,074 --> 00:06:18,044
Two of the three
actually have Caribbean roots.
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00:06:18,044 --> 00:06:20,914
[ Singing reggae music ]
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The art of toasting
comes out of the Caribbean,
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which is the guy
who's the deejay
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would speak on top of the
microphone on top of records.
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That over‐dubbing process
is the same reason
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00:06:36,462 --> 00:06:38,665
they call reggae "dub music."
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[ Reggae music playing ]
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00:06:44,170 --> 00:06:46,540
DJ SPOOKY: Some of the most
incredible innovators,
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00:06:46,540 --> 00:06:49,309
Lee "Scratch" Perry,
King Tubby,
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00:06:49,309 --> 00:06:52,679
they were producers who would do
a whole album of one rhythm
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00:06:52,679 --> 00:06:55,248
and then have different MCs,
you know, rhyme over it.
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00:06:55,248 --> 00:06:58,852
KING: I often describe hip hop
as a kind of result
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00:06:58,852 --> 00:07:01,888
of the Caribbean‐ization
of global popular culture.
131
00:07:01,888 --> 00:07:04,024
You had immigrants
coming from Latin America,
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00:07:04,024 --> 00:07:06,392
and particularly from
the Caribbean, in larger numbers
133
00:07:06,392 --> 00:07:10,697
and very often, they were moving
to lower‐income neighborhoods,
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00:07:10,697 --> 00:07:12,666
like the Bronx, in the 1970s.
135
00:07:12,666 --> 00:07:15,502
They also brought their culture
to the Bronx.
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00:07:15,502 --> 00:07:18,839
And in particular, one of
the things that they brought ‐‐
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00:07:18,839 --> 00:07:20,106
or Jamaicans brought,
in particular ‐‐
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00:07:20,106 --> 00:07:21,374
was the culture
of sound systems ‐‐
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00:07:21,374 --> 00:07:24,044
mobile portable sound systems.
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00:07:25,712 --> 00:07:29,783
When Kuhar give a party,
everybody be there.
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00:07:29,783 --> 00:07:31,585
HADLEY:
If you talk to Kuhar,
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00:07:31,585 --> 00:07:33,253
or a lot of those guys
from the early era,
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00:07:33,253 --> 00:07:36,523
they were literally drawing on
the content that was around them
144
00:07:36,523 --> 00:07:38,258
and just experimenting
145
00:07:38,258 --> 00:07:42,495
and managed to create something
that changed the musical world.
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00:07:42,495 --> 00:07:45,298
‐Is Manhattan in the house?
‐Yeah!
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00:07:45,298 --> 00:07:47,601
‐Is the Bronx in the house?
‐Yeah!
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00:07:47,601 --> 00:07:51,137
‐Is everybody in the house?
‐Q‐TIP: Everybody kind of knows
149
00:07:51,137 --> 00:07:53,273
about
the traditional block party.
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00:07:53,273 --> 00:07:56,810
Growing up, you know, black,
the block party involved
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00:07:56,810 --> 00:07:59,179
speakers and deejays and party
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00:07:59,179 --> 00:08:00,947
and party punch
and all that stuff.
153
00:08:00,947 --> 00:08:03,684
When we formulated this whole
movement called hip hop,
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00:08:03,684 --> 00:08:06,787
we was usin' turntables
that we would bring
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00:08:06,787 --> 00:08:08,822
that your mom and pop
used to have in the house.
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00:08:08,822 --> 00:08:10,290
‐♪ EZ ♪
‐♪ Ay, D ♪
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00:08:10,290 --> 00:08:12,626
♪ Makin' your girl scream,
but get on... ♪
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00:08:12,626 --> 00:08:15,962
Rap is about
two aspects of music.
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00:08:15,962 --> 00:08:19,800
It's the deejay and it's the MC.
160
00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:23,804
The deejay is the one
that gave birth to the MC.
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00:08:23,804 --> 00:08:27,340
But it's the MCs that
gave popularity to the deejay.
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00:08:27,340 --> 00:08:30,143
Q‐TIP: You had people who
would be like, "Yes, indeed,
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00:08:30,143 --> 00:08:32,613
in the place to be,
New York Ci‐ty.
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00:08:32,613 --> 00:08:34,347
You know we cooler
than a blade of grass.
165
00:08:34,347 --> 00:08:36,482
And, you know,
we showin' up for your ass.
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00:08:36,482 --> 00:08:37,784
This is what we gonna do
tonight.
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00:08:37,784 --> 00:08:39,119
Everybody's gonna get right.
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00:08:39,119 --> 00:08:41,087
We gonna make sure
that everybody gets up
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00:08:41,087 --> 00:08:43,590
and get tight
to this jam right here."
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00:08:43,590 --> 00:08:47,327
I used to pay $20
for a live recording
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00:08:47,327 --> 00:08:51,698
of African Bambaataa
before rap was ever out there.
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00:08:51,698 --> 00:08:55,636
But we used to rap
over James Brown big beats,
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00:08:55,636 --> 00:08:57,270
because on a James Brown record,
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00:08:57,270 --> 00:09:00,273
it was always
a funky drummer beat for the MC.
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00:09:00,273 --> 00:09:02,008
♪ Oh, let me tell ya ♪
176
00:09:02,008 --> 00:09:03,710
♪ What ya gotta do ♪
177
00:09:03,710 --> 00:09:05,712
♪ TCB so mellow ♪
178
00:09:05,712 --> 00:09:07,714
♪ Nobody can get through ♪
179
00:09:07,714 --> 00:09:09,750
♪ When he asks do you love him ♪
180
00:09:09,750 --> 00:09:11,618
♪ Smile and kiss his cheek ♪
181
00:09:11,618 --> 00:09:13,587
♪ Walk away and twist your hip ♪
182
00:09:13,587 --> 00:09:15,421
♪ Make sure you keep him weak ♪
183
00:09:15,421 --> 00:09:19,726
RZA: James Brown was called
the Godfather of Soul, right?
184
00:09:19,726 --> 00:09:22,428
You know,
I used to buy his records
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00:09:22,428 --> 00:09:23,897
and scratch them all day.
186
00:09:23,897 --> 00:09:25,866
Some of his kicks,
some of his snares,
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00:09:25,866 --> 00:09:28,068
has found its way
into all of our music.
188
00:09:28,068 --> 00:09:30,871
You know, if you think of a song
like "Funky Drummer."
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00:09:30,871 --> 00:09:33,173
[ As Brown ]
One, two, three, four...
190
00:09:33,173 --> 00:09:34,941
♪ Buh‐doo‐doo‐doo,
ah‐ah, tik‐ah‐ah‐ah ♪
191
00:09:34,941 --> 00:09:38,912
♪ Tik‐uh‐‐uh ah ah, uh‐eh ah ♪
192
00:09:38,912 --> 00:09:41,147
I mean, we used to cut that up
all day
193
00:09:41,147 --> 00:09:43,016
and then rap on it,
slow it down,
194
00:09:43,016 --> 00:09:44,818
‐speed it up.
‐♪ Ain't it funky ♪
195
00:09:44,818 --> 00:09:47,420
♪ Ha! Ain't it funky ♪
196
00:09:47,420 --> 00:09:49,355
BAMBAATAA: James Brown.
197
00:09:49,355 --> 00:09:53,326
What he played
in his role in hip hop ‐‐
198
00:09:53,326 --> 00:09:54,895
let's put it this way.
199
00:09:54,895 --> 00:09:58,899
All music would stink
if there wasn't no James Brown.
200
00:09:58,899 --> 00:10:02,435
[ Mid‐tempo music plays ]
201
00:10:03,003 --> 00:10:06,507
CHUCK D.: I thought it was
inconceivable in 1978,
202
00:10:06,507 --> 00:10:08,274
and even the beginnings of 1979,
203
00:10:08,274 --> 00:10:10,744
that there ever could be
a rap record,
204
00:10:10,744 --> 00:10:13,780
because to me,
rap was a big event.
205
00:10:13,780 --> 00:10:15,916
It was a hip‐hop party.
206
00:10:15,916 --> 00:10:17,851
[ "Good Times" plays ]
207
00:10:17,851 --> 00:10:20,521
♪ Good times ♪
208
00:10:20,521 --> 00:10:24,224
♪ These are the good times ♪
209
00:10:24,891 --> 00:10:28,529
♪ Our new state of mind ♪
210
00:10:28,995 --> 00:10:32,232
♪ These are the good times ♪
211
00:10:32,232 --> 00:10:34,067
CHUCK D.: Chic comes out
with "Good Times,"
212
00:10:34,067 --> 00:10:35,669
this slow, funky record
213
00:10:35,669 --> 00:10:38,271
which was totally different
than anything else they did,
214
00:10:38,271 --> 00:10:42,308
which just knocked off
their disco following
215
00:10:42,308 --> 00:10:44,177
and said, "Y'all got to get
funky like this."
216
00:10:44,177 --> 00:10:46,780
Everywhere I went that summer,
you heard, you know,
217
00:10:46,780 --> 00:10:50,450
that beat and,
you know, those vocals.
218
00:10:50,450 --> 00:10:52,986
♪ Let's all do it again ♪
219
00:10:52,986 --> 00:10:54,588
♪ Boys will be boys ♪
220
00:10:54,588 --> 00:10:57,123
♪ Better let them
have their toys ♪
221
00:10:57,123 --> 00:10:58,959
♪ Girls will be girls ♪
222
00:10:58,959 --> 00:11:01,094
♪ Cute ponytails and curls ♪
223
00:11:01,094 --> 00:11:03,830
RODGERS: After "Good Times"
went number one,
224
00:11:03,830 --> 00:11:08,201
you saw a slew
of "Good Times" imitators.
225
00:11:08,201 --> 00:11:12,939
BOYD: 1979, Sylvia Robinson,
former R&B singer,
226
00:11:12,939 --> 00:11:14,841
is in New York.
227
00:11:14,841 --> 00:11:16,042
She's got a son.
228
00:11:16,042 --> 00:11:17,443
They want to do a record
229
00:11:17,443 --> 00:11:21,281
that sort of replicates
the party experience
230
00:11:21,281 --> 00:11:24,751
that's taking place in, like,
you know, the South Bronx.
231
00:11:24,751 --> 00:11:26,520
Sylvia Robinson tended to be
232
00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:30,423
somewhat of an unsung, you know,
pioneer in a lot of ways.
233
00:11:30,423 --> 00:11:32,325
She just knew what was
happening in the clubs
234
00:11:32,325 --> 00:11:34,094
and in these other places
in New York.
235
00:11:34,094 --> 00:11:36,162
And so she, in a sensible way,
236
00:11:36,162 --> 00:11:38,498
approached people
like Grandmaster Flash
237
00:11:38,498 --> 00:11:42,268
and approached Lovebug Starski,
who are all these top deejays,
238
00:11:42,268 --> 00:11:44,070
and they all said,
"This is never gonna work.
239
00:11:44,070 --> 00:11:45,672
We're not interested.
Move on."
240
00:11:45,672 --> 00:11:49,743
The story goes that her son ‐‐
I think his name's Joey ‐‐
241
00:11:49,743 --> 00:11:51,444
is in a pizza parlor
in New Jersey.
242
00:11:51,444 --> 00:11:55,381
He hears this guy who's, like,
rapping along to a tape.
243
00:11:55,381 --> 00:11:56,950
WANG: And said, "Well,
do you know anyone else
244
00:11:56,950 --> 00:11:58,819
who can recite rhymes
like you do?"
245
00:11:58,819 --> 00:12:00,253
And this guy thought about it
246
00:12:00,253 --> 00:12:02,556
and went and recruited
a bunch of his friends,
247
00:12:02,556 --> 00:12:05,659
and auditioned for the Robinsons
in the back of a car.
248
00:12:05,659 --> 00:12:08,061
And the Robinsons
seemed satisfied,
249
00:12:08,061 --> 00:12:11,031
so they brought them out
to Sugar Hill Studios,
250
00:12:11,031 --> 00:12:13,800
where they had a band
replaying the groove
251
00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,637
‐to Chic's "Good Times."
‐♪ Clams on the half‐shell ♪
252
00:12:16,637 --> 00:12:19,640
And that became the sound bit
for the song "Rapper's Delight."
253
00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:22,408
[ "Rapper's Delight" plays ]
254
00:12:25,345 --> 00:12:27,380
♪ I said a hip, hop,
the hippie ♪
255
00:12:27,380 --> 00:12:28,915
♪ The hippie
to the hip hip hop ♪
256
00:12:28,915 --> 00:12:30,483
♪ And you don't stop
the rockin' ♪
257
00:12:30,483 --> 00:12:32,052
♪ To the bang‐bang boogie,
say, up jump the boogie ♪
258
00:12:32,052 --> 00:12:33,954
♪ To the rhythm
of the boogity beat ♪
259
00:12:33,954 --> 00:12:36,122
♪ Now, what you hear
is not a test ♪
260
00:12:36,122 --> 00:12:38,391
♪ I'm rappin' to the beat ♪
261
00:12:38,391 --> 00:12:41,962
I used to hang out at this club
and typically, at clubs,
262
00:12:41,962 --> 00:12:43,997
when the deejay
needs to go to the bathroom,
263
00:12:43,997 --> 00:12:45,532
they'll put on
a reel‐to‐reel tape recorder
264
00:12:45,532 --> 00:12:48,001
or they'll put
on a very long record.
265
00:12:48,001 --> 00:12:50,436
I heard this song
that I knew wasn't us playing,
266
00:12:50,436 --> 00:12:53,273
but I knew it was
derivative of our record.
267
00:12:53,273 --> 00:12:57,878
So I thought that they had
gotten a band to copy our groove
268
00:12:57,878 --> 00:13:00,814
so that the rapper,
meaning the deejay,
269
00:13:00,814 --> 00:13:03,416
‐could rap over it.
‐♪ I brought two friends along ♪
270
00:13:03,416 --> 00:13:05,385
♪ And next on the mike
is my man Hank ♪
271
00:13:05,385 --> 00:13:06,787
♪ Come on, Hank,
sing that song ♪
272
00:13:06,787 --> 00:13:08,321
♪ Check it out ♪
273
00:13:08,321 --> 00:13:10,390
RODGERS: I looked in the deejay
booth, and it was empty.
274
00:13:10,390 --> 00:13:13,359
I was like, "Whoa.
How the hell is he doing that?"
275
00:13:13,359 --> 00:13:16,797
I look at the bar,
and I see the deejay.
276
00:13:16,797 --> 00:13:18,632
And I said, "What is that?"
277
00:13:18,632 --> 00:13:21,201
And he says, "Man, it's
the hottest record in town.
278
00:13:21,201 --> 00:13:23,904
I just bought this,
this afternoon, up in Harlem."
279
00:13:23,904 --> 00:13:25,471
I said, "You bought that?"
280
00:13:25,471 --> 00:13:28,208
'Cause it really was clearly
the "Good Times" bassline.
281
00:13:28,208 --> 00:13:32,546
♪ I got a Lincoln Continental
and a sunroof Cadillac ♪
282
00:13:32,546 --> 00:13:34,681
♪ So after school,
I take a dip in the pool ♪
283
00:13:34,681 --> 00:13:37,183
‐♪ Which is really on the wall ♪
‐CHUCK D.: It was like
284
00:13:37,183 --> 00:13:39,119
a Big Bang Theory
when the rap record came out.
285
00:13:39,119 --> 00:13:40,954
But it was
like people were headed
286
00:13:40,954 --> 00:13:42,589
towards something
that they didn't know.
287
00:13:42,589 --> 00:13:43,924
It sounds like "Good Times"
288
00:13:43,924 --> 00:13:46,326
with percussion
from this other record.
289
00:13:46,326 --> 00:13:47,894
And I'm like,
"What the fuck is that?"
290
00:13:47,894 --> 00:13:50,531
It's hard to describe whether
it kind of blew my mind
291
00:13:50,531 --> 00:13:53,233
or it was just, like, "Shit,
I've been waiting for this."
292
00:13:53,233 --> 00:13:55,268
It was
a "War of the Worlds" moment.
293
00:13:55,268 --> 00:14:00,140
It was the first
official rap record.
294
00:14:00,140 --> 00:14:02,042
CHUCK D.: And that right there
is the beginning
295
00:14:02,042 --> 00:14:04,177
of rap music
going into overdrive.
296
00:14:04,177 --> 00:14:06,046
♪ Then you take her friend ♪
297
00:14:06,046 --> 00:14:08,214
♪ Uh, Master Gee, am I mellow? ♪
298
00:14:08,214 --> 00:14:09,816
♪ It's on you,
so whatcha gonna do? ♪
299
00:14:09,816 --> 00:14:12,285
♪ Well, it's on and on,
and on, on, and on ♪
300
00:14:12,285 --> 00:14:15,188
♪ The beat don't stop
until the break of dawn ♪
301
00:14:15,188 --> 00:14:17,090
WANG: The success
of "Rapper's Delight"
302
00:14:17,090 --> 00:14:18,592
took everyone by surprise.
303
00:14:18,592 --> 00:14:21,695
No one expected it to be
as globally popular as it was.
304
00:14:21,695 --> 00:14:24,364
Hip hop, in the early '80s,
you could say was divided
305
00:14:24,364 --> 00:14:26,299
between the uptown,
which was the Bronx,
306
00:14:26,299 --> 00:14:27,801
which was the origin of hip hop,
307
00:14:27,801 --> 00:14:30,403
and it was gritty,
it was street.
308
00:14:30,403 --> 00:14:31,905
And then you had
the downtown scene
309
00:14:31,905 --> 00:14:33,339
where you have, kind of ‐‐
310
00:14:33,339 --> 00:14:35,509
graffiti now enters
into these art spaces.
311
00:14:35,509 --> 00:14:38,111
♪ Fab 5 Freddy
told me everybody's fly ♪
312
00:14:38,111 --> 00:14:40,246
♪ Deejay spinnin',
I said my, my ♪
313
00:14:40,246 --> 00:14:42,816
♪ Flash is fast,
Flash is cool ♪
314
00:14:42,816 --> 00:14:45,852
And it was really the work
of a couple of people
315
00:14:45,852 --> 00:14:47,721
that helped bridge that gap.
316
00:14:47,721 --> 00:14:49,322
Obviously, Fab 5 Freddy,
317
00:14:49,322 --> 00:14:52,325
namechecked by Debbie Harry
in a Blondie song,
318
00:14:52,325 --> 00:14:56,530
who helped bridge
that huge social‐cultural gap
319
00:14:56,530 --> 00:15:00,734
between 160‐something‐th Street
and below 14th Street.
320
00:15:00,734 --> 00:15:03,970
The hip‐hop thing sort of
came out with, you know,
321
00:15:03,970 --> 00:15:08,274
"Oh, man, you know, it's like
this is that and this is that,
322
00:15:08,274 --> 00:15:10,443
and it's fucked up
and blah, blah, blah."
323
00:15:10,443 --> 00:15:13,814
And it was just
a different kind of voice.
324
00:15:13,814 --> 00:15:15,916
You know,
it was a fresh voice.
325
00:15:15,916 --> 00:15:19,352
[ Mid‐tempo techno music plays ]
326
00:15:23,690 --> 00:15:27,060
I was in Brooklyn
at the Record Factory shop
327
00:15:27,060 --> 00:15:29,262
in Brooklyn at Atlantic Avenue.
328
00:15:29,262 --> 00:15:31,965
And when I heard that,
I was like, "What is that?"
329
00:15:31,965 --> 00:15:33,867
I went to the guys
who ran the shop,
330
00:15:33,867 --> 00:15:35,936
and they went,
"Oh, that's the new Kraftwerk."
331
00:15:35,936 --> 00:15:39,039
"God, that ‐‐" I said,
"That beat's unbelievable."
332
00:15:39,039 --> 00:15:41,441
I want to, you know,
I want to use that beat.
333
00:15:41,441 --> 00:15:44,110
And that was pretty much
"Planet Rock."
334
00:15:44,110 --> 00:15:46,479
[ "Planet Rock" plays ]
335
00:16:00,627 --> 00:16:03,329
McDANIELS: Afrika Bambaataa
and the Zulu Nation ‐‐
336
00:16:03,329 --> 00:16:05,298
Afrika Bambaataa was the leader
337
00:16:05,298 --> 00:16:08,268
of the biggest street gang
in New York City.
338
00:16:08,268 --> 00:16:10,036
They didn't make a record
talking about
339
00:16:10,036 --> 00:16:13,940
how many gang fights they won,
how many guns they had,
340
00:16:13,940 --> 00:16:17,644
how much drugs they did move
through their own communities.
341
00:16:17,644 --> 00:16:19,145
They wrote "Planet Rock"
342
00:16:19,145 --> 00:16:21,982
because they were envisioning
a better life
343
00:16:21,982 --> 00:16:24,851
for all those people in
the South Bronx who had nothing.
344
00:16:24,851 --> 00:16:28,822
BAMBAATAA: I used hip hop
as a cultural movement
345
00:16:28,822 --> 00:16:32,325
to bring many people together
to be part of
346
00:16:32,325 --> 00:16:36,296
what we call the one race ‐‐
the human race.
347
00:16:36,296 --> 00:16:39,099
I think the first time
I heard "Planet Rock"
348
00:16:39,099 --> 00:16:41,301
was in a club in New York.
349
00:16:41,301 --> 00:16:45,906
And the tune just had ‐‐
was just heavy in a way
350
00:16:45,906 --> 00:16:50,010
that I had, like, never heard
a track sound like before.
351
00:16:50,010 --> 00:16:51,678
BAKER:
When Bambaataa deejayed,
352
00:16:51,678 --> 00:16:55,315
he would play the Monkees,
he'd play Aerosmith.
353
00:16:55,315 --> 00:16:58,351
He'd just play records
that no one else would play.
354
00:16:58,351 --> 00:17:00,654
He just cared
that the beats were funky
355
00:17:00,654 --> 00:17:04,457
and he would find
funky beats anywhere.
356
00:17:04,457 --> 00:17:07,027
WANG: Sampling technology
by the 1980s
357
00:17:07,027 --> 00:17:09,462
were, you know,
intrepid producers.
358
00:17:09,462 --> 00:17:11,698
Afrika Bambaataa, Arthur Baker
359
00:17:11,698 --> 00:17:13,900
discovered that you can now
use this ability
360
00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:16,469
to take a few seconds
from a song, from a record,
361
00:17:16,469 --> 00:17:18,038
from any kind of sound source,
362
00:17:18,038 --> 00:17:21,207
and replay it endlessly
because of digital technology.
363
00:17:21,207 --> 00:17:22,643
MAN: They know she's pushing
the word "like."
364
00:17:22,643 --> 00:17:24,611
So you'll all go,
"Like," real strong.
365
00:17:24,611 --> 00:17:26,913
♪ Electronic jams, like... ♪
366
00:17:26,913 --> 00:17:28,181
One, two, three...
367
00:17:28,181 --> 00:17:30,517
‐♪ Like! ♪
‐Yeah.
368
00:17:30,517 --> 00:17:34,254
RZA: The first sampler only
sampled maybe 1 or 2 seconds.
369
00:17:34,254 --> 00:17:36,489
What it allowed
a producer to do
370
00:17:36,489 --> 00:17:39,760
was to actually capture
a snare or a sound
371
00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,195
from the records
he used to scratch.
372
00:17:42,195 --> 00:17:44,497
And that was
a revolutionary thing for us
373
00:17:44,497 --> 00:17:47,000
as hip‐hop producers,
because now, you know,
374
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,771
we could take the same thing
that we would deejay all day ‐‐
375
00:17:50,771 --> 00:17:52,539
'cause before you had
to have a 4‐track,
376
00:17:52,539 --> 00:17:54,641
two turntables and you'll ‐‐
you'll keep scratchin'
377
00:17:54,641 --> 00:17:56,643
back and forth
and you'll overdub.
378
00:17:56,643 --> 00:17:59,045
But now, you just
capture the loop,
379
00:17:59,045 --> 00:18:02,048
loop it,
and actually create a song
380
00:18:02,048 --> 00:18:05,652
and the template of your music
with these samplers.
381
00:18:05,652 --> 00:18:09,255
Technology has just taken
a giant leap forward.
382
00:18:09,255 --> 00:18:10,691
Hello, I'm Roger Linn,
383
00:18:10,691 --> 00:18:13,827
and this is the MPC60
Midi Production Center,
384
00:18:13,827 --> 00:18:16,396
created by myself
and Akai Professional.
385
00:18:16,396 --> 00:18:19,199
MILNER: Roger Linn foresaw
that sampling could be something
386
00:18:19,199 --> 00:18:21,835
that people would really
want to get behind.
387
00:18:21,835 --> 00:18:23,904
What he didn't really foresee ‐‐
388
00:18:23,904 --> 00:18:26,106
and that goes for a lot of
the early sampling people ‐‐
389
00:18:26,106 --> 00:18:28,609
which was sampling complete,
you know, sections of music,
390
00:18:28,609 --> 00:18:32,145
actual audio, and using that
as the basis of songs.
391
00:18:35,215 --> 00:18:36,583
‐♪ We have ♪
‐♪ We have ♪
392
00:18:36,583 --> 00:18:38,585
‐♪ We have ♪
‐♪ Say what? ♪
393
00:18:38,585 --> 00:18:42,956
♪ A whole lot of superstars
on this stage here tonight ♪
394
00:18:42,956 --> 00:18:45,592
♪ But I want y'all to know
one thing ♪
395
00:18:45,592 --> 00:18:48,261
♪ This is my house ♪
396
00:18:48,261 --> 00:18:50,263
♪ And when I say,
"Whose house?" ♪
397
00:18:50,263 --> 00:18:52,198
♪ Y'all know what time it is ♪
398
00:18:52,198 --> 00:18:53,800
♪ Whose house? ♪
399
00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,469
McDANIELS: Some people think
Run‐D. M. C. started hip hop.
400
00:18:56,469 --> 00:18:58,171
Before Run‐D. M. C. came along,
401
00:18:58,171 --> 00:19:00,373
everybody
was rapping over disco.
402
00:19:00,373 --> 00:19:03,544
When we came along,
we looked and said,
403
00:19:03,544 --> 00:19:06,146
"Okay, how we gonna fit in?"
404
00:19:06,146 --> 00:19:07,514
So Run‐D. M. C. said,
405
00:19:07,514 --> 00:19:09,716
"Ain't nobody rockin'
over rock records."
406
00:19:09,716 --> 00:19:12,586
♪ Gan‐ing, boom‐ba‐bam‐boom ♪
407
00:19:12,586 --> 00:19:15,355
♪ I'm the king of rock,
there is none higher ♪
408
00:19:15,355 --> 00:19:17,591
♪ Sucker MCs
should call me sire ♪
409
00:19:17,591 --> 00:19:20,026
♪ To burn my kingdom,
you must use fire ♪
410
00:19:20,026 --> 00:19:22,395
♪ I won't stop rockin'
till I retire ♪
411
00:19:22,395 --> 00:19:24,765
♪ Now we rock the party
and come correct ♪
412
00:19:24,765 --> 00:19:27,033
♪ Our cuts are on time
and rhymes connect ♪
413
00:19:27,033 --> 00:19:29,302
♪ Got the right to vote
and will elect ♪
414
00:19:29,302 --> 00:19:32,238
♪ And other rappers can't
stand us but give us respect ♪
415
00:19:32,238 --> 00:19:34,407
We used creativity,
416
00:19:34,407 --> 00:19:37,243
which created innovation,
what created evolution.
417
00:19:37,243 --> 00:19:39,379
♪ I am from around the way ♪
418
00:19:39,379 --> 00:19:41,648
♪ And Run goes to school
every day ♪
419
00:19:41,648 --> 00:19:44,184
We didn't say
we were the kings of rap.
420
00:19:44,184 --> 00:19:45,519
We said the the kings of rock,
421
00:19:45,519 --> 00:19:46,987
because we wanted to go
take the throne
422
00:19:46,987 --> 00:19:50,657
from Mick Jagger, Elvis Presley,
and Michael Jackson.
423
00:19:50,657 --> 00:19:53,760
Imitating is not allowed
in hip hop or music.
424
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,599
♪ She said, walk this way,
talk this way ♪
425
00:19:58,599 --> 00:20:02,135
♪ Walk this way,
talk this way ♪
426
00:20:02,135 --> 00:20:03,870
♪ Just gimme a kiss ♪
427
00:20:03,870 --> 00:20:07,040
RUBIN: The original Aerosmith
version of "Walk this Way"
428
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,344
was a popular break beat used
by deejays in the hip‐hop world.
429
00:20:11,344 --> 00:20:12,846
"Walk this Way"
was just gonna be
430
00:20:12,846 --> 00:20:15,949
me and Run rapping
about how good we were.
431
00:20:15,949 --> 00:20:17,818
♪ Tss da doo‐doo‐doo da ♪
432
00:20:17,818 --> 00:20:19,352
♪ Buh‐duh‐duh duh‐duh‐duh‐duh ♪
433
00:20:19,352 --> 00:20:21,387
♪ I'm D. M. C., the K‐I‐N‐G ♪
434
00:20:21,387 --> 00:20:23,089
♪ Been rhymin'
on the mike since '83 ♪
435
00:20:23,089 --> 00:20:25,025
♪ There will never be
an MC like me ♪
436
00:20:25,025 --> 00:20:27,460
♪ I'll be rhymin' and rulin'
for eternity ‐‐ ♪ Whatever.
437
00:20:27,460 --> 00:20:31,364
Rick Rubin, who was producing
us at the time,
438
00:20:31,364 --> 00:20:35,569
walks in the studio and goes,
"Guys, y'all know who this is?"
439
00:20:35,569 --> 00:20:37,704
♪ Seesaw swingin'
with the boys in the school ♪
440
00:20:37,704 --> 00:20:39,740
♪ With your feet
flyin' up in the air ♪
441
00:20:39,740 --> 00:20:41,542
‐♪ Singin' "Hey diddle‐diddle" ♪
‐RUBIN: When I suggested
442
00:20:41,542 --> 00:20:44,077
to Run‐D. M. C. that we do a song
using "Walk this Way,"
443
00:20:44,077 --> 00:20:45,779
I played them the beat
and they were like,
444
00:20:45,779 --> 00:20:47,614
"Oh, yeah, we rap over that
all the time."
445
00:20:47,614 --> 00:20:49,415
McDANIELS:
"This is 'Toys in the Attic.'"
446
00:20:49,415 --> 00:20:51,451
"Nah, the name of this group
is Aerosmith.
447
00:20:51,451 --> 00:20:53,353
The name of that song is
'Walk this Way.'"
448
00:20:53,353 --> 00:20:54,788
He gives us the 411.
449
00:20:54,788 --> 00:20:57,824
He finishes and we looking
at him like this: "And?"
450
00:20:57,824 --> 00:21:02,696
And I said, "But instead
of writing new words to it,
451
00:21:02,696 --> 00:21:06,299
let's use the original words
that Aerosmith used
452
00:21:06,299 --> 00:21:09,636
as a way to demonstrate
the connection
453
00:21:09,636 --> 00:21:12,238
between rap music
and rock 'n' roll."
454
00:21:12,238 --> 00:21:13,974
[ "Walk This Way" plays ]
455
00:21:13,974 --> 00:21:17,443
Jay goes ‐‐
Rest in peace, Jay ‐‐
456
00:21:17,443 --> 00:21:19,412
being the great innovator
he was,
457
00:21:19,412 --> 00:21:22,215
[as Jay]
"Yo, that might be a good idea."
458
00:21:22,215 --> 00:21:23,717
We had never heard the lyrics.
459
00:21:23,717 --> 00:21:25,351
Rick Rubin says,
"Here, take the record.
460
00:21:25,351 --> 00:21:27,754
Go to your basement, and you
and Run learn the lyrics."
461
00:21:27,754 --> 00:21:30,056
Me and Run put the needle
on the record.
462
00:21:30,056 --> 00:21:31,892
So that shit said...
463
00:21:31,892 --> 00:21:33,827
♪ Da‐na‐na‐na nu‐na‐na nu‐nu ♪
464
00:21:33,827 --> 00:21:35,495
♪ Backstroke lover
hidin' under the cover ♪
465
00:21:35,495 --> 00:21:36,730
Me and Run get on the phone.
466
00:21:36,730 --> 00:21:38,565
"Yo, Rick and Jay,
this isn't rap.
467
00:21:38,565 --> 00:21:40,701
This isn't hip hop.
We are not doing this record."
468
00:21:40,701 --> 00:21:42,803
Russell's screaming at us.
Rick's screaming at us.
469
00:21:42,803 --> 00:21:44,370
Jay's screaming at us.
"We're not doing this record."
470
00:21:44,370 --> 00:21:47,073
We had to sit there and learn
Steven Tyler's records.
471
00:21:47,073 --> 00:21:49,042
♪ ...she was foolin', 'cause
she knew what she was doin' ♪
472
00:21:49,042 --> 00:21:51,011
♪ When she told me to
walk this way ♪
473
00:21:51,011 --> 00:21:53,346
‐♪ The ho told me to ♪
‐[Falsetto] ♪ Walk this way ♪
474
00:21:53,346 --> 00:21:55,248
‐♪ And the bitch said ♪
‐McDANIELS: We did those lyrics,
475
00:21:55,248 --> 00:21:57,250
their record, over.
476
00:21:57,250 --> 00:21:59,520
♪ Seesaw swingin'
with the boys in the school ♪
477
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:01,454
♪ With your feet flyin'
up in the air ♪
478
00:22:01,454 --> 00:22:04,190
♪ Singin' "Hey diddle diddle"
with your kitty in the middle ♪
479
00:22:04,190 --> 00:22:06,092
♪ Of the swing
like you just don't care ♪
480
00:22:06,092 --> 00:22:08,695
♪ So I took a big chance
at the high‐school dance ♪
481
00:22:08,695 --> 00:22:10,631
♪ With a missy
who was ready to play ♪
482
00:22:10,631 --> 00:22:11,965
♪ Wasn't me she was foolin' ♪
483
00:22:11,965 --> 00:22:13,634
♪ 'Cause she knew
what was she was doin' ♪
484
00:22:13,634 --> 00:22:15,168
♪ When she told me
how to walk this way ♪
485
00:22:15,168 --> 00:22:18,104
‐♪ She told me to ♪
‐♪ Walk this way ♪
486
00:22:18,104 --> 00:22:19,740
♪ Talk this way ♪
487
00:22:19,740 --> 00:22:22,308
♪ Walk this way ♪
488
00:22:22,308 --> 00:22:24,511
‐♪ Talk this way ♪
‐♪ She told me to ♪
489
00:22:24,511 --> 00:22:27,247
So when they first played that
in Boston,
490
00:22:27,247 --> 00:22:28,815
on the rock radio station,
491
00:22:28,815 --> 00:22:32,485
20% of the people was,
"This is blasphemy.
492
00:22:32,485 --> 00:22:34,921
Who the hell do these rap guys
think they are?"
493
00:22:34,921 --> 00:22:37,123
But 80% was like,
"Yo, this is cool."
494
00:22:37,123 --> 00:22:42,462
Because we didn't talk about
weed and bitches and hoes
495
00:22:42,462 --> 00:22:44,565
on the record.
We did the record over.
496
00:22:44,565 --> 00:22:49,903
It helped connect the dots
for people to understand,
497
00:22:49,903 --> 00:22:52,973
"Oh, this is ‐‐
I know this song.
498
00:22:52,973 --> 00:22:55,308
And here are
these rappers doing it,
499
00:22:55,308 --> 00:22:57,177
and it sounds like a rap record.
500
00:22:57,177 --> 00:23:01,414
But it's not so different
than when Aerosmith did it.
501
00:23:01,414 --> 00:23:03,483
And maybe I'm allowed
to like this."
502
00:23:03,483 --> 00:23:05,586
BOYD: I hate that song.
I can't stand it.
503
00:23:05,586 --> 00:23:09,189
The idea
that rappers needed to link up
504
00:23:09,189 --> 00:23:14,561
with these rock musicians,
personally, didn't work for me.
505
00:23:14,561 --> 00:23:15,996
It was a smart move
506
00:23:15,996 --> 00:23:18,632
in terms of expanding
the reach of the music,
507
00:23:18,632 --> 00:23:21,267
but when I think about,
like, D. M. C.,
508
00:23:21,267 --> 00:23:25,438
that's probably the last song
that I think about.
509
00:23:25,438 --> 00:23:28,842
[ Electronic music plays ]
510
00:23:33,914 --> 00:23:35,682
McVEY: There was a machine
called the Fairlight,
511
00:23:35,682 --> 00:23:37,718
which was a big,
expensive sampling machine.
512
00:23:37,718 --> 00:23:39,085
It would have a keyboard
513
00:23:39,085 --> 00:23:41,855
and you could record
the sound of anything
514
00:23:41,855 --> 00:23:44,357
and then have it
play back that sound.
515
00:23:44,357 --> 00:23:45,926
‐Want to do me a favor?
‐What?
516
00:23:45,926 --> 00:23:48,962
Could you just say your name
into this microphone?
517
00:23:48,962 --> 00:23:51,632
‐Tatyana Ali.
‐Watch this.
518
00:23:51,632 --> 00:23:53,499
[ Distorted ] Tatyana Ali.
519
00:23:53,499 --> 00:23:54,935
[ Laughter ]
520
00:23:54,935 --> 00:23:57,070
McVEY: Like, for instance,
pour water into a glass.
521
00:23:57,070 --> 00:23:58,739
You could record it
with a microphone,
522
00:23:58,739 --> 00:24:00,006
put it into the Fairlight,
523
00:24:00,006 --> 00:24:01,742
and the Fairlight
would play that back.
524
00:24:01,742 --> 00:24:03,376
But across a keyboard,
and you could change the key,
525
00:24:03,376 --> 00:24:06,212
the chord, the speed, the time,
where it fell on the beat.
526
00:24:06,212 --> 00:24:08,248
And then there were
subsequent machines
527
00:24:08,248 --> 00:24:09,616
that followed the Fairlight
528
00:24:09,616 --> 00:24:11,918
which became more affordable
for kids.
529
00:24:11,918 --> 00:24:13,587
So you were able to make music
530
00:24:13,587 --> 00:24:15,221
for the first time
in your bedroom.
531
00:24:15,221 --> 00:24:17,924
WANG: The first major sampler
that enters into the market,
532
00:24:17,924 --> 00:24:20,894
at least in hip hop,
is the E‐mu SP 1200.
533
00:24:20,894 --> 00:24:23,296
HOROVITZ: The SP 1200
is my sampler of choice.
534
00:24:23,296 --> 00:24:27,033
It's a very limited amount
of sample time.
535
00:24:27,033 --> 00:24:29,603
And you have to chop things up,
which I like.
536
00:24:29,603 --> 00:24:32,305
So I would just spend all day,
every day
537
00:24:32,305 --> 00:24:34,440
with the sampler, the SP 1200.
538
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,612
RZA: I had an SP 1200
with no instruction manual.
539
00:24:38,612 --> 00:24:42,315
And I stayed up for days
until I figured it out.
540
00:24:42,315 --> 00:24:47,788
And that same SP 1200 produced
songs like "Bring the Pain."
541
00:24:47,788 --> 00:24:50,891
♪ I came to bring the pain
hardcore from the brain ♪
542
00:24:50,891 --> 00:24:52,759
♪ Let's go inside
my astral plane ♪
543
00:24:52,759 --> 00:24:54,094
♪ Find out my metal's
based on instrumental ♪
544
00:24:54,094 --> 00:24:55,762
Hundreds of thousands
of records sold ‐‐
545
00:24:55,762 --> 00:24:57,731
millions of records sold
off the "Method Man" album.
546
00:24:57,731 --> 00:24:59,700
Two million records,
we sold on that record.
547
00:24:59,700 --> 00:25:01,768
And that came from a guy
548
00:25:01,768 --> 00:25:05,606
who kept putting
his energy and time into it.
549
00:25:05,606 --> 00:25:07,741
So you can say
that's a natural talent,
550
00:25:07,741 --> 00:25:09,643
to sample and then
break something down,
551
00:25:09,643 --> 00:25:12,078
but the willpower of it
552
00:25:12,078 --> 00:25:14,380
is also important,
I think, in the artist.
553
00:25:14,380 --> 00:25:16,049
♪ The dark side of the Force ♪
554
00:25:16,049 --> 00:25:17,984
♪ Of course it's the Method Man
from the Wu Tang Clan ♪
555
00:25:17,984 --> 00:25:21,054
The producers using
the SP 1200, producers like
556
00:25:21,054 --> 00:25:23,857
Marley Marl, Pete Rock,
Large Professor,
557
00:25:23,857 --> 00:25:25,659
were making
some of the most amazing,
558
00:25:25,659 --> 00:25:27,728
sort of groundbreaking,
music of the day.
559
00:25:27,728 --> 00:25:31,264
WANG: Marley Marl
is this producer out of Queens
560
00:25:31,264 --> 00:25:34,500
and he has been in the mix
since the early 1980s.
561
00:25:34,500 --> 00:25:36,202
And he's fiddling
with a sampler,
562
00:25:36,202 --> 00:25:40,240
realizing that he can not just
loop up an existing drum sound,
563
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,008
but that he
could actually replay it,
564
00:25:42,008 --> 00:25:44,410
he could deconstruct it
and then reconstruct it
565
00:25:44,410 --> 00:25:45,946
to create
a whole new drum pattern.
566
00:25:45,946 --> 00:25:50,050
You know, he always
added his own groove.
567
00:25:50,050 --> 00:25:52,686
That's what's really incredible
about him, to me.
568
00:25:52,686 --> 00:25:56,422
If you think about a song
like "The Bridge."
569
00:25:56,422 --> 00:25:57,991
♪ The bridge, bridge‐bridge ♪
570
00:25:57,991 --> 00:26:00,026
♪ T‐T‐The bridge, the ‐‐
the bridge, bridge‐bridge ♪
571
00:26:00,026 --> 00:26:02,863
♪ The‐The‐The‐The bridge,
the‐the bridge, bridge‐bridge ♪
572
00:26:02,863 --> 00:26:04,731
He does samples of a break beat
573
00:26:04,731 --> 00:26:06,733
called "Impeach the President,"
right?
574
00:26:06,733 --> 00:26:08,501
It's been sampled
by many rappers
575
00:26:08,501 --> 00:26:10,103
in the course of history.
576
00:26:10,103 --> 00:26:14,608
But he did it, then he added
his own drums on top of it.
577
00:26:14,608 --> 00:26:16,309
And then he also added
a synth sound
578
00:26:16,309 --> 00:26:17,844
that I still don't know
where he got it from.
579
00:26:17,844 --> 00:26:19,212
♪ The ‐‐ The bridge,
the bridge ♪
580
00:26:19,212 --> 00:26:20,881
♪ The bridge, the bridge,
bridge‐bridge ♪
581
00:26:20,881 --> 00:26:22,382
♪ The bridge, the bridge,
the bridge, the bridge ♪
582
00:26:22,382 --> 00:26:28,154
He was able to find and use
break beats that was rare
583
00:26:28,154 --> 00:26:31,291
before anybody else
knew to use them.
584
00:26:34,327 --> 00:26:37,097
♪ Everyplace that said his name,
it rang an alarm ♪
585
00:26:37,097 --> 00:26:39,600
♪ Otherwise known as
Mean Team Tom ♪
586
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:41,401
The second week of May of '88,
587
00:26:41,401 --> 00:26:43,537
when "It Takes a Nation
of Millions to Hold Us Back"
588
00:26:43,537 --> 00:26:46,507
came out,
I purchased this cassette
589
00:26:46,507 --> 00:26:50,476
on the way to work
at my short‐order‐cook job,
590
00:26:50,476 --> 00:26:52,345
frying French fries,
591
00:26:52,345 --> 00:26:55,148
and I had to walk 10 blocks
to get to this job
592
00:26:55,148 --> 00:26:57,618
and, by the time
I got to this job,
593
00:26:57,618 --> 00:27:00,521
I was at the end of side one.
594
00:27:00,521 --> 00:27:03,924
And I was just like,
"There's no way that I can...
595
00:27:03,924 --> 00:27:06,126
I got to hear this record."
596
00:27:06,126 --> 00:27:07,928
And so on my lunch break,
I told my boss,
597
00:27:07,928 --> 00:27:10,296
"Okay, I'll be back at 3:00."
598
00:27:10,296 --> 00:27:11,832
I never came back.
599
00:27:11,832 --> 00:27:13,333
♪ Don't ♪
600
00:27:13,333 --> 00:27:15,569
♪ Don't, don't ♪
601
00:27:15,569 --> 00:27:19,072
♪ Don't, don't, don't, don't ♪
602
00:27:19,072 --> 00:27:21,608
♪ Now here's what
I want y'all to do for me ♪
603
00:27:21,608 --> 00:27:22,709
♪ Back ♪
604
00:27:22,709 --> 00:27:24,678
BOYD:
Late '80s, you have
605
00:27:24,678 --> 00:27:28,081
what is known as
the Golden Age of Hip Hop.
606
00:27:28,081 --> 00:27:29,916
SIMPSON:
Public Enemy's first record,
607
00:27:29,916 --> 00:27:33,086
"Yo! Bum Rush the Show,"
was amazing to me.
608
00:27:33,086 --> 00:27:35,421
It didn't sound
like any other rap record
609
00:27:35,421 --> 00:27:36,857
that had been out at the time.
610
00:27:36,857 --> 00:27:38,992
BOYD:
Chuck D, the group's leader,
611
00:27:38,992 --> 00:27:43,163
you have a person
who is making music
612
00:27:43,163 --> 00:27:46,166
and talking
about black nationalism
613
00:27:46,166 --> 00:27:48,001
♪ Number one, not born to run ♪
614
00:27:48,001 --> 00:27:51,237
♪ About the gun,
I wasn't licensed to have one ♪
615
00:27:51,237 --> 00:27:54,875
They perform at Rikers Island.
They go to jails.
616
00:27:54,875 --> 00:27:58,411
They're making
socially conscious music.
617
00:27:58,411 --> 00:28:01,782
And that's the thing about
Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad
618
00:28:01,782 --> 00:28:05,952
is that we just wanted
to destroy
619
00:28:05,952 --> 00:28:08,354
the predictability of music.
620
00:28:08,354 --> 00:28:11,692
Q‐TIP: They put out their "Rebel
Without a Pause" as a 12‐inch.
621
00:28:11,692 --> 00:28:14,460
And I remember that coming out
probably in the fall.
622
00:28:14,460 --> 00:28:15,996
And when that hit with the...
623
00:28:15,996 --> 00:28:19,432
♪ Brothers and sisters,
brothers and sisters ♪
624
00:28:19,432 --> 00:28:22,002
♪ I don't know
what this world is coming to ♪
625
00:28:22,002 --> 00:28:23,637
from Jesse Jackson.
626
00:28:23,637 --> 00:28:26,172
[ Imitates
turntable scratching ]
627
00:28:26,172 --> 00:28:28,542
♪ Yes, the rhythm, the rebel ♪
628
00:28:28,542 --> 00:28:31,144
♪ Without a pause,
I'm lowering my level ♪
629
00:28:31,144 --> 00:28:32,245
♪ The hard rhymer ♪
630
00:28:32,245 --> 00:28:33,980
♪ Where you never been, I'm in ♪
631
00:28:33,980 --> 00:28:36,016
♪ You want stylin'?
You know it's time again ♪
632
00:28:36,016 --> 00:28:39,185
It was haunting.
It was eerie.
633
00:28:39,185 --> 00:28:43,123
It was ‐‐ It was rabble‐rousing.
634
00:28:43,123 --> 00:28:45,692
It was just agitating.
635
00:28:45,692 --> 00:28:47,093
And his voice ‐‐
636
00:28:47,093 --> 00:28:49,162
[baritone] ♪ Yes!
The rhythm, the rebel ♪
637
00:28:49,162 --> 00:28:51,431
♪ Without a pause,
I'm lowering... ♪
638
00:28:51,431 --> 00:28:53,900
And I see all these names
and I'm like, "The Bomb Squad."
639
00:28:53,900 --> 00:28:56,402
I'm like, "Yo, this is dope."
640
00:28:56,402 --> 00:28:57,604
The Bomb Squad
641
00:28:57,604 --> 00:29:00,273
is a group of producers
I happened to work with.
642
00:29:00,273 --> 00:29:02,442
That's Hank Shocklee,
Keith Shocklee,
643
00:29:02,442 --> 00:29:05,311
Eric "Vietnam" Sadler,
Gary G‐Wiz,
644
00:29:05,311 --> 00:29:09,215
that made the sonic sounds
for Public Enemy.
645
00:29:09,215 --> 00:29:11,051
SHOCKLEE: The first element
of Public Enemy
646
00:29:11,051 --> 00:29:14,120
that has to be there,
it has to be the beat.
647
00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:16,890
And because my library
was so big
648
00:29:16,890 --> 00:29:20,060
that I can take snatches
from anywhere,
649
00:29:20,060 --> 00:29:22,262
not only did I collect
the Beatles's records
650
00:29:22,262 --> 00:29:23,897
but I was collecting
Rolling Stones,
651
00:29:23,897 --> 00:29:26,166
Blood, Sweat & Tears,
Three Dog Night.
652
00:29:26,166 --> 00:29:27,400
And then at the same time,
I'm collecting
653
00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,369
Kool & The Gang,
Parliament Funkadelic,
654
00:29:29,369 --> 00:29:30,804
Earth, Wind & Fire.
655
00:29:30,804 --> 00:29:33,206
And then at the same time,
I'm collecting jazz, as well ‐‐
656
00:29:33,206 --> 00:29:36,943
David Sanborn, Chick Corea,
you know, Return to Forever.
657
00:29:36,943 --> 00:29:40,581
They're sampling
television programs
658
00:29:40,581 --> 00:29:42,583
‐and speeches.
‐...land on Plymouth Rock.
659
00:29:42,583 --> 00:29:46,620
BOYD: And it's just a much more
complicated soundscape.
660
00:29:46,620 --> 00:29:49,389
SHOCKLEE: I remember Flavor
come up to me in the studio,
661
00:29:49,389 --> 00:29:50,857
tellin' me, he said,
662
00:29:50,857 --> 00:29:53,093
"Hank, this is the worst record
I've ever heard in my life!"
663
00:29:53,093 --> 00:29:55,295
They weren't just
sampling one sound.
664
00:29:55,295 --> 00:29:59,332
They realized they could sample,
you know, dozens of sounds.
665
00:29:59,332 --> 00:30:02,636
‐♪ Bring the noise! ♪
‐[ Turntable scratches ]
666
00:30:02,636 --> 00:30:06,106
WANG: Which was all about, you
know, hitting you in the face.
667
00:30:06,106 --> 00:30:07,508
It's kind of this
wall of noise ‐‐
668
00:30:07,508 --> 00:30:09,175
"Bring the noise,"
as they would say.
669
00:30:09,175 --> 00:30:10,677
♪ Yo, I don't understand
what they're saying ♪
670
00:30:10,677 --> 00:30:13,580
SHOCKLEE: When we first did
the Public Enemy records,
671
00:30:13,580 --> 00:30:15,582
nobody liked the records.
672
00:30:15,582 --> 00:30:16,817
Matter of fact, they were
673
00:30:16,817 --> 00:30:18,451
the worst records
anybody's ever heard
674
00:30:18,451 --> 00:30:20,754
when I brought them
for people to listen to.
675
00:30:20,754 --> 00:30:25,358
But the difference was
that those records resonated.
676
00:30:25,358 --> 00:30:27,894
I always admire
what Hank Shocklee did.
677
00:30:27,894 --> 00:30:30,564
He brought a lot to sampling.
678
00:30:30,564 --> 00:30:34,167
Q‐TIP: Public Enemy, to me, is,
like, the perfect hip‐hop group.
679
00:30:34,167 --> 00:30:36,803
I mean, it was hip hop.
It was crazy.
680
00:30:36,803 --> 00:30:39,205
♪ 1989, the number ♪
681
00:30:39,205 --> 00:30:40,974
‐♪ Another summer ♪
‐♪ Get down ♪
682
00:30:40,974 --> 00:30:42,609
♪ Sound of a funky drummer ♪
683
00:30:42,609 --> 00:30:45,211
RZA: When you think about a song
like "Fight the Power,"
684
00:30:45,211 --> 00:30:48,248
the energy that that brings out,
Hank Shocklee and P. E.,
685
00:30:48,248 --> 00:30:52,052
they was able to kind of have,
like, the horns of that song,
686
00:30:52,052 --> 00:30:54,855
the voice in the background,
the scratching ‐‐
687
00:30:54,855 --> 00:30:58,925
everything was at such a unique
level with sonic fusion
688
00:30:58,925 --> 00:31:01,327
and with Chuck D's voice
heavy on top of it.
689
00:31:01,327 --> 00:31:05,599
I mean, that song made you feel
like fighting the power.
690
00:31:05,599 --> 00:31:08,268
♪ Fight the power ♪
691
00:31:08,334 --> 00:31:10,170
♪ Fight the power ♪
692
00:31:10,236 --> 00:31:12,939
♪ Fight the power ♪
693
00:31:13,006 --> 00:31:14,641
♪ Fight the power ♪
694
00:31:14,708 --> 00:31:17,578
♪ Fight the power ♪
695
00:31:17,644 --> 00:31:19,312
♪ Fight the power ♪
696
00:31:19,379 --> 00:31:20,914
♪ Fight the power ♪
697
00:31:20,914 --> 00:31:23,383
BOYD: "Fight the Power"
was a great song, you know.
698
00:31:23,383 --> 00:31:25,986
"Elvis was a hero to most,
but he never meant shit to me.
699
00:31:25,986 --> 00:31:29,122
You see straight‐out racist,
the sucker was simple and plain.
700
00:31:29,122 --> 00:31:30,591
Motherfuck him and John Wayne,"
701
00:31:30,591 --> 00:31:32,125
‐right?
‐♪ ... and John Wayne ♪
702
00:31:32,125 --> 00:31:33,493
♪ 'Cause I'm black
and I'm proud ♪
703
00:31:33,493 --> 00:31:35,228
♪ I'm ready, I'm hyped,
plus I'm amped ♪
704
00:31:35,228 --> 00:31:37,598
♪ Most of my heroes
don't appear on no stamps ♪
705
00:31:37,598 --> 00:31:40,734
SHOCKLEE: "Fight the Power"
started with just a little loop.
706
00:31:40,734 --> 00:31:44,170
And then we'll go back in
and start embellishing it.
707
00:31:44,170 --> 00:31:46,439
And by embellishing it
is by putting in
708
00:31:46,439 --> 00:31:49,843
all kinds of little samples,
snippets, vocal hits.
709
00:31:49,843 --> 00:31:54,047
And then Chuck would go in and
start writing to the basic beat.
710
00:31:54,047 --> 00:31:57,183
And then also adding in Flavor
at the same time.
711
00:31:57,183 --> 00:31:59,119
RUBIN: The idea of having
712
00:31:59,119 --> 00:32:01,187
someone like Flavor Flav
in the group,
713
00:32:01,187 --> 00:32:04,758
who is so the antithesis
of Chuck ‐‐ like, Chuck had
714
00:32:04,758 --> 00:32:08,228
this serious message
and this voice of a grownup.
715
00:32:08,228 --> 00:32:11,464
And then he had Flavor Flav,
who was ridiculous.
716
00:32:11,464 --> 00:32:13,066
The seriousness could get old
717
00:32:13,066 --> 00:32:14,801
without having Flavor Flav
to lighten it up.
718
00:32:14,801 --> 00:32:16,770
‐♪ Don't believe the hype ♪
‐♪ Rock the house ♪
719
00:32:16,837 --> 00:32:18,705
‐♪ Don't believe the hype ♪
‐♪ Come on ♪
720
00:32:18,772 --> 00:32:21,508
‐♪ Don't believe the hype ♪
‐♪ Do or die ♪
721
00:32:21,508 --> 00:32:23,076
♪ Don't believe the hype ♪
722
00:32:23,076 --> 00:32:25,746
KING: There's a kind
of political aspect
723
00:32:25,746 --> 00:32:27,413
to the sampling of Public Enemy.
724
00:32:27,413 --> 00:32:29,750
They were sampling
particular artists
725
00:32:29,750 --> 00:32:33,219
and particular sounds that
referenced the entire history,
726
00:32:33,219 --> 00:32:34,855
I think,
of black musical materials.
727
00:32:34,855 --> 00:32:37,624
They're connecting the past
to the present to the future.
728
00:32:40,527 --> 00:32:44,731
HOROVITZ: Back in '86,
I didn't know what sampling was.
729
00:32:44,731 --> 00:32:47,734
Like, it was like, you know,
a magician just made it.
730
00:32:47,734 --> 00:32:49,736
‐Yo!
‐And then Chuck D rapped on it.
731
00:32:49,736 --> 00:32:50,871
Aah‐aah‐aah!
732
00:32:50,871 --> 00:32:52,973
What's up?!
733
00:32:52,973 --> 00:32:55,075
We're the Beastie Boys!
734
00:32:55,075 --> 00:32:58,411
WANG: The Beastie Boys first
explode on the scene in 1986
735
00:32:58,411 --> 00:33:00,814
with their Rick Rubin‐produced
album called "Licensed to Ill."
736
00:33:00,814 --> 00:33:04,150
And this puts them on the map.
It's a multi‐million seller.
737
00:33:04,150 --> 00:33:06,386
And it's mostly built off
of drum‐machine sounds,
738
00:33:06,386 --> 00:33:09,389
because, in 1986, that was
the dominant production tool.
739
00:33:09,389 --> 00:33:11,357
Come on now.
Let's get busy, y'all.
740
00:33:11,357 --> 00:33:12,492
[ "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"
plays ]
741
00:33:12,492 --> 00:33:15,662
Are y'all ready to get busy?
742
00:33:15,662 --> 00:33:16,930
Yeah!
743
00:33:16,930 --> 00:33:19,365
♪ Foot on the pedal,
never, ever false metal ♪
744
00:33:19,365 --> 00:33:21,367
♪ Engine running hotter
than a boiling kettle ♪
745
00:33:21,367 --> 00:33:22,636
HOROVITZ:
We were a hardcore band,
746
00:33:22,636 --> 00:33:23,904
and we used to play
hardcore songs.
747
00:33:23,904 --> 00:33:25,305
All our songs would fit
748
00:33:25,305 --> 00:33:27,107
into like 9 minutes
or something like that.
749
00:33:27,107 --> 00:33:29,342
And then we were, like, "Hey,
we should rap. Like, why not?
750
00:33:29,342 --> 00:33:31,945
That's all we listen to anymore
is rap records.
751
00:33:31,945 --> 00:33:33,547
So why not?
We should do it."
752
00:33:33,547 --> 00:33:36,917
♪ No... sleep... till Brooklyn ♪
753
00:33:36,917 --> 00:33:38,084
♪ Aw, yeah ♪
754
00:33:38,084 --> 00:33:42,856
♪ No... sleep... till Brooklyn ♪
755
00:33:43,356 --> 00:33:45,792
BAKER: They were exactly
what they looked like
756
00:33:45,792 --> 00:33:47,093
when they became big.
757
00:33:47,093 --> 00:33:49,062
They were
punk rockers who rapped.
758
00:33:49,062 --> 00:33:50,697
They came from wealthy families.
759
00:33:50,697 --> 00:33:53,366
They loved music.
They loved rock. They loved rap.
760
00:33:53,366 --> 00:33:54,868
And they had
a good sense of humor.
761
00:33:54,868 --> 00:33:56,603
Ad‐Rock, you forgot to tell me
where you were from.
762
00:33:56,603 --> 00:33:58,905
I'm from moneymaking Manhattan.
763
00:33:58,905 --> 00:34:00,340
‐And you?
‐Yeah.
764
00:34:00,340 --> 00:34:03,209
I'm from Manhattan.
And I'm not a bum.
765
00:34:03,209 --> 00:34:05,612
Well, that's ‐‐
that's plain to see.
766
00:34:05,612 --> 00:34:08,081
RONSON:
I, like all kids my age,
767
00:34:08,081 --> 00:34:10,551
love, like,
the kind of rebellious,
768
00:34:10,551 --> 00:34:13,119
sort of angsty vibe of,
like, "Fight for Your Right."
769
00:34:13,119 --> 00:34:15,856
♪ You gotta fight ♪
770
00:34:15,856 --> 00:34:17,658
♪ For your right ♪
771
00:34:17,658 --> 00:34:21,662
♪ To party ♪
772
00:34:22,062 --> 00:34:24,798
It was kind of Meathead‐y,
but, like, in a good way.
773
00:34:24,798 --> 00:34:28,168
And, you know, they were
so charming and captivating.
774
00:34:28,168 --> 00:34:30,771
You wanted that
to sort of be your life.
775
00:34:31,337 --> 00:34:33,907
♪ You gotta fight ♪
776
00:34:33,907 --> 00:34:35,475
The early days of hip hop
777
00:34:35,475 --> 00:34:37,978
really reminded me
of the early days of punk rock.
778
00:34:37,978 --> 00:34:40,514
It was a very similar energy.
779
00:34:40,514 --> 00:34:44,785
Music had been taken back
to where anybody could do it.
780
00:34:44,785 --> 00:34:46,553
You didn't have to be
a virtuoso
781
00:34:46,553 --> 00:34:49,289
in either field
to be good at it.
782
00:34:49,289 --> 00:34:51,291
You had to have a point of view
783
00:34:51,291 --> 00:34:53,393
and be able to express
this point of view,
784
00:34:53,393 --> 00:34:55,395
both in punk rock
and in hip hop.
785
00:34:55,395 --> 00:34:56,997
BAKER: I think a lot
of the Beastie Boys stuff
786
00:34:56,997 --> 00:35:00,366
sounded like you went to a gig
and you recorded it live.
787
00:35:00,366 --> 00:35:02,603
♪ Not like a fever,
not like a cold ♪
788
00:35:02,603 --> 00:35:05,972
♪ The beats are clear,
and the rhymes are bold ♪
789
00:35:05,972 --> 00:35:07,508
Now, well, I remember
seeing the Beasties play
790
00:35:07,508 --> 00:35:08,875
the Embassy Club in London
791
00:35:08,875 --> 00:35:10,944
and there being beer
everywhere, and vomit.
792
00:35:10,944 --> 00:35:12,546
And it just ended in a riot.
793
00:35:12,546 --> 00:35:14,414
And thinking, "Wow.
This is really out‐there."
794
00:35:14,414 --> 00:35:17,083
♪ It's time to party,
so have a ball ♪
795
00:35:17,083 --> 00:35:18,719
BAKER:
I was with them in Paris
796
00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:20,654
in a show that ended up
being a riot.
797
00:35:20,654 --> 00:35:23,256
Russell was throwing
cans of beer in the audience,
798
00:35:23,256 --> 00:35:25,191
like, to stir up the audience.
799
00:35:25,191 --> 00:35:26,760
And people thought
it was the Beastie Boys,
800
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:29,630
so people started getting
totally rowdy.
801
00:35:29,630 --> 00:35:31,865
And then when we left,
we get in the tour bus
802
00:35:31,865 --> 00:35:35,468
and the tour bus had been ‐‐
It was on fire, basically.
803
00:35:35,468 --> 00:35:38,672
It was on fire.
The fans trashed the tour bus.
804
00:35:39,706 --> 00:35:43,009
HOROVITZ: We were, like,
into this idea now
805
00:35:43,009 --> 00:35:46,446
of, like, samples or tape loops.
806
00:35:46,446 --> 00:35:48,682
And we were just, like,
buying a lot of records
807
00:35:48,682 --> 00:35:50,250
and trying to come up
with different ideas and stuff.
808
00:35:50,250 --> 00:35:53,654
And then I went
to a party in L. A.
809
00:35:53,654 --> 00:35:55,722
And there was
this crazy music playing.
810
00:35:55,722 --> 00:35:59,926
And I just happened to meet
these guys at this party
811
00:35:59,926 --> 00:36:01,294
and it was the Dust Brothers.
812
00:36:01,294 --> 00:36:03,730
He asked us if we had
any more music
813
00:36:03,730 --> 00:36:06,399
like the track we were playing
and we said we did
814
00:36:06,399 --> 00:36:09,570
and we ended up sending him a CD
815
00:36:09,570 --> 00:36:13,406
and waiting patiently for three
weeks to get a response.
816
00:36:13,406 --> 00:36:15,842
And then, on a Sunday night,
we get a call from Mike D
817
00:36:15,842 --> 00:36:18,512
and he says, "We're coming out
on a red‐eye. Book studio time.
818
00:36:18,512 --> 00:36:20,781
We want to make a record
with you guys."
819
00:36:20,781 --> 00:36:23,517
[ Beastie Boys' "Shadrach"
plays ]
820
00:36:25,619 --> 00:36:27,253
HOROVITZ: "Paul's Boutique,"
for the most part,
821
00:36:27,253 --> 00:36:33,059
was either us making the tracks
or them making the tracks.
822
00:36:33,059 --> 00:36:35,495
And, you know, their tracks
823
00:36:35,495 --> 00:36:37,698
were probably
a little bit better [Chuckles]
824
00:36:37,698 --> 00:36:39,399
'cause they're
really good at making them.
825
00:36:39,399 --> 00:36:41,134
♪ Riddle me this, my brother ♪
826
00:36:41,134 --> 00:36:42,803
‐♪ Can you handle it? ♪
‐♪ Your style to my style ♪
827
00:36:42,803 --> 00:36:44,538
♪ You can't hold a candle
to it ♪
828
00:36:44,538 --> 00:36:46,640
♪ Equinox symmetry,
and the balance is right ♪
829
00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,209
♪ Smokin' and drinkin'
on a Tuesday night ♪
830
00:36:49,209 --> 00:36:50,711
It's not how you play...♪
831
00:36:50,711 --> 00:36:52,378
SIMPSON: On "Paul's Boutique,"
I think the Beastie Boys
832
00:36:52,378 --> 00:36:54,147
really wanted to make
a statement.
833
00:36:54,147 --> 00:36:58,118
They wanted to get away from the
sort of one‐hit‐wonder aspect
834
00:36:58,118 --> 00:36:59,753
of "Fight for Your Right
to Party"
835
00:36:59,753 --> 00:37:01,955
and prove to the world
that they were real artists,
836
00:37:01,955 --> 00:37:03,323
because they were.
837
00:37:03,323 --> 00:37:05,125
♪ ...three MCs,
and we're on the go ♪
838
00:37:05,125 --> 00:37:07,393
♪ Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego ♪
839
00:37:07,460 --> 00:37:09,596
♪ Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego ♪
840
00:37:09,663 --> 00:37:11,865
♪ Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego ♪
841
00:37:11,932 --> 00:37:14,968
♪ Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego ♪
842
00:37:14,968 --> 00:37:16,970
WANG: If you go back
and listen to "Paul's Boutique"
843
00:37:16,970 --> 00:37:18,639
and you identify the sources
844
00:37:18,639 --> 00:37:20,674
where all these different
samples are coming from,
845
00:37:20,674 --> 00:37:22,442
they're coming from dozens
if not, you know,
846
00:37:22,442 --> 00:37:24,110
well over 100 different records.
847
00:37:24,110 --> 00:37:27,648
SIMPSON: There's "Machine Gun,"
which was a Commodores song.
848
00:37:27,648 --> 00:37:30,483
"Shake Your Rump"
was from Afrika Bambaataa.
849
00:37:30,483 --> 00:37:32,318
There's a whole bunch
of Beatles samples,
850
00:37:32,318 --> 00:37:34,020
and some of them
are recognizable
851
00:37:34,020 --> 00:37:35,556
and some of them aren't.
852
00:37:35,556 --> 00:37:36,790
‐♪ The Patty Duke Show ♪
‐♪ The wrench ♪
853
00:37:36,790 --> 00:37:38,424
♪ And then I bust the tango ♪
854
00:37:38,424 --> 00:37:40,661
♪ Got more rhymes
than Jamaica got mangoes ♪
855
00:37:40,661 --> 00:37:43,096
♪ I got the peg leg
at the end of my stump‐a ♪
856
00:37:43,096 --> 00:37:44,765
♪ Shake your rump‐a ♪
857
00:37:44,765 --> 00:37:46,700
SIMPSON: So, this took forever.
I mean, that's why
858
00:37:46,700 --> 00:37:50,036
"Paul's Boutique"
took two years to make.
859
00:37:54,675 --> 00:37:56,810
RUBIN: I remember the first time
I heard "Paul's Boutique."
860
00:37:56,810 --> 00:37:59,245
I was with Chuck D and we were
at the Mondrian Hotel,
861
00:37:59,245 --> 00:38:00,747
and we listened to it together.
862
00:38:00,747 --> 00:38:03,550
I think we got a cassette
and listened to it on a boombox.
863
00:38:03,550 --> 00:38:06,486
And both of us said,
"That's the future of hip hop."
864
00:38:06,486 --> 00:38:08,722
It blew our minds.
865
00:38:08,722 --> 00:38:10,924
We loved it.
We loved it.
866
00:38:17,197 --> 00:38:20,100
RZA: When the Beasties came back
with the Dust Brothers,
867
00:38:20,100 --> 00:38:22,669
they had actually left
the hip‐hop hemisphere
868
00:38:22,669 --> 00:38:27,107
and took this sound
to other musicians.
869
00:38:27,107 --> 00:38:30,043
And for a minute, you know,
I don't think other musicians
870
00:38:30,043 --> 00:38:32,713
knew how to get
to where the Beasties were at.
871
00:38:36,116 --> 00:38:40,486
♪ You got what I need ♪
872
00:38:40,954 --> 00:38:43,790
WANG: In the early '90s, there
were a series of key lawsuits
873
00:38:43,790 --> 00:38:45,526
that were brought about
by artists
874
00:38:45,526 --> 00:38:47,193
or by rights holders who felt
875
00:38:47,193 --> 00:38:49,395
like sampling was, in essence,
you know, stealing from them.
876
00:38:49,395 --> 00:38:50,597
It was plagiarizing their work,
877
00:38:50,597 --> 00:38:52,198
and that they had
a right to assert
878
00:38:52,198 --> 00:38:55,135
that they should be
compensated for this.
879
00:38:55,135 --> 00:38:57,270
♪ But you say
he's just a friend ♪
880
00:38:57,270 --> 00:39:00,106
♪ So I took blah‐blah's
word for it at this time ♪
881
00:39:00,106 --> 00:39:03,043
♪ I thought just having a friend
couldn't be no crime ♪
882
00:39:03,043 --> 00:39:06,012
WANG: And this had very much a
chilling effect on the industry,
883
00:39:06,012 --> 00:39:07,848
because now you had to clear
every sample.
884
00:39:07,848 --> 00:39:10,651
If you failed to do so, it
was gonna be really expensive.
885
00:39:10,651 --> 00:39:12,018
So labels were very gun‐shy
886
00:39:12,018 --> 00:39:14,688
about allowing
excessive sampling.
887
00:39:14,688 --> 00:39:16,256
WOMAN:
Remember that traditional...
888
00:39:16,256 --> 00:39:19,626
Q‐TIP: You know, people take
recipes and rework recipes
889
00:39:19,626 --> 00:39:22,529
and add their own seasoning
and shit like that.
890
00:39:22,529 --> 00:39:25,498
Then it becomes
something totally different.
891
00:39:25,498 --> 00:39:28,168
And the person who did
the original benefits.
892
00:39:28,168 --> 00:39:31,104
So it's basically,
in theory, "a co‐write."
893
00:39:31,104 --> 00:39:35,275
Sampling is not
a fucking bad word. It's not.
894
00:39:35,275 --> 00:39:38,278
HOROVITZ: I believe ‐‐ and
I could be wrong with this ‐‐
895
00:39:38,278 --> 00:39:41,314
that Beastie Boys had
a lawsuit ‐‐ against us ‐‐
896
00:39:41,314 --> 00:39:43,016
from the Jimmy Castor Bunch,
897
00:39:43,016 --> 00:39:47,788
and that was the first legal
document of the word "sample."
898
00:39:47,788 --> 00:39:51,491
Who gets paid,
how much do they get paid...
899
00:39:51,992 --> 00:39:53,493
... and how do they get paid ‐‐
900
00:39:53,493 --> 00:39:54,961
Those are really complicated
questions.
901
00:39:54,961 --> 00:39:57,664
A record like "The Funky
Drummer" is complicated,
902
00:39:57,664 --> 00:39:59,933
because the part
that you're sampling
903
00:39:59,933 --> 00:40:03,369
is Clyde Stubblefield's work,
but he is not the person
904
00:40:03,369 --> 00:40:05,772
who will get paid
those royalties.
905
00:40:05,772 --> 00:40:07,307
But that part that he played
906
00:40:07,307 --> 00:40:10,276
is so pivotal
in all of these other records.
907
00:40:10,276 --> 00:40:12,746
SIMPSON: Now it's become
cost‐prohibitive to use samples.
908
00:40:12,746 --> 00:40:15,549
Usually, if you get to use
one sample
909
00:40:15,549 --> 00:40:16,983
on your record, you're lucky.
910
00:40:16,983 --> 00:40:18,719
Just getting the clearance
can be a nightmare, too,
911
00:40:18,719 --> 00:40:20,854
because you have to track down
all of the publishers
912
00:40:20,854 --> 00:40:23,690
and I don't think
you could make a record
913
00:40:23,690 --> 00:40:25,058
like "Paul's Boutique" today.
914
00:40:25,058 --> 00:40:26,893
You'd need more lawyers
than producers
915
00:40:26,893 --> 00:40:28,461
to make that record today.
916
00:40:28,461 --> 00:40:29,730
This is what a sample is worth.
917
00:40:29,730 --> 00:40:31,665
The original song,
and the classic,
918
00:40:31,665 --> 00:40:33,667
a true classic
being made out of it.
919
00:40:33,667 --> 00:40:35,536
[ Beat plays ]
920
00:40:35,536 --> 00:40:36,903
Can I have some more amp?
921
00:40:36,903 --> 00:40:39,205
SHOCKLEE:
Now sampling is only available
922
00:40:39,205 --> 00:40:41,041
for the elite, if you would ‐‐
923
00:40:41,041 --> 00:40:44,310
those that can pay
the exorbitant fees, you know.
924
00:40:44,310 --> 00:40:46,212
A Kanye West can sample
925
00:40:46,212 --> 00:40:50,150
because he can afford to pay
$100,000 for a sample,
926
00:40:50,150 --> 00:40:54,054
whereas the average kid now
that's in their bedroom
927
00:40:54,054 --> 00:40:56,256
that wants to come up,
they can't do that.
928
00:40:56,256 --> 00:40:59,793
If you look at hip hop
on the whole ‐‐
929
00:40:59,793 --> 00:41:03,864
and I mean, including
every place, every facet,
930
00:41:03,864 --> 00:41:07,400
of not only America but abroad
and people who do it ‐‐
931
00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:10,070
sampling
is a very small percentage
932
00:41:10,070 --> 00:41:14,508
of what, you know, is going on
in hip hop currently
933
00:41:14,508 --> 00:41:16,777
and it has been like that
for some time.
934
00:41:16,777 --> 00:41:18,912
And then I think you have
things that happened
935
00:41:18,912 --> 00:41:20,781
a lot more in the '90s,
936
00:41:20,781 --> 00:41:22,448
where people were obviously
cashing in on a sample
937
00:41:22,448 --> 00:41:23,984
because they were like,
"Well, that's already a hit.
938
00:41:23,984 --> 00:41:25,686
Let's take that.
That'll be easy."
939
00:41:25,686 --> 00:41:27,821
♪ In the future,
I can't wait to see ♪
940
00:41:27,821 --> 00:41:29,489
♪ If you open up the gates
for me ♪
941
00:41:29,489 --> 00:41:31,725
♪ Reminisce sometimes,
the night they took my friend ♪
942
00:41:31,725 --> 00:41:34,828
Q‐TIP:
Puffy had a huge success
943
00:41:34,828 --> 00:41:38,765
with obvious samples
that sold millions of records.
944
00:41:38,765 --> 00:41:40,701
♪ Give anything to hear
half a breath ♪
945
00:41:40,701 --> 00:41:42,202
♪ I know you're still living
946
00:41:42,202 --> 00:41:45,839
‐your life after death ♪
‐♪ Every step I take ♪
947
00:41:45,839 --> 00:41:49,943
♪ Every move I make ♪
948
00:41:49,943 --> 00:41:54,648
♪ Every single day,
every time I pray ♪
949
00:41:54,648 --> 00:41:58,585
♪ I'll be missin' you ♪
950
00:41:58,585 --> 00:42:01,221
BOYD: The best producers
951
00:42:01,221 --> 00:42:04,558
are able to take
really familiar songs
952
00:42:04,558 --> 00:42:06,126
and sample them in such a way
953
00:42:06,126 --> 00:42:08,962
that you don't even recognize
what they are.
954
00:42:08,962 --> 00:42:10,631
And then there are other people
who are like,
955
00:42:10,631 --> 00:42:13,967
"I'm gonna just loop this and
find somebody to rap over it,"
956
00:42:13,967 --> 00:42:20,173
and they're letting the old song
do all the work for them.
957
00:42:20,173 --> 00:42:22,408
♪ I know you in heaven,
smilin' down ♪
958
00:42:22,408 --> 00:42:24,344
♪ Watchin' us
while we pray for you ♪
959
00:42:24,344 --> 00:42:27,313
BOYD: Like anything else,
sampling is creative.
960
00:42:27,313 --> 00:42:29,850
It can be really interesting
and compelling,
961
00:42:29,850 --> 00:42:32,085
or it can be simply
962
00:42:32,085 --> 00:42:34,721
a rehashing of something
that already existed.
963
00:42:34,721 --> 00:42:36,456
♪ ...I make ♪
964
00:42:36,456 --> 00:42:39,960
‐♪ I miss you ♪
‐♪ Every single day ♪
965
00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:41,995
♪ Every time I pray ♪
966
00:42:41,995 --> 00:42:44,765
♪ I'll be missin' you ♪
967
00:42:44,765 --> 00:42:46,733
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
968
00:42:46,733 --> 00:42:50,837
♪ Thinkin' of the day ♪
969
00:42:50,837 --> 00:42:54,675
♪ When you went away ♪
970
00:42:57,811 --> 00:43:02,415
RONSON: I started deejaying
in the spring of 1993
971
00:43:02,415 --> 00:43:04,017
and I went to Rock and Soul,
972
00:43:04,017 --> 00:43:05,485
the old record store
on 35th and 7th,
973
00:43:05,485 --> 00:43:08,354
where everyone went to get
their vinyl in Manhattan.
974
00:43:08,354 --> 00:43:09,856
And there was ‐‐
975
00:43:09,856 --> 00:43:11,725
I have the original 12‐inch
of "Protect Ya Neck."
976
00:43:11,725 --> 00:43:13,627
It was on Wu‐Tang Records.
977
00:43:13,627 --> 00:43:15,328
Like, this kind of
cheap‐looking, you know,
978
00:43:15,328 --> 00:43:18,131
just pressed up in
a black sleeve, nothing fancy.
979
00:43:18,131 --> 00:43:19,900
And it felt
like this exciting thing.
980
00:43:19,900 --> 00:43:21,034
Like, "Who the hell
are these guys?"
981
00:43:21,034 --> 00:43:22,402
There's 11 people rapping,
982
00:43:22,402 --> 00:43:24,938
and every single verse
is better than the last.
983
00:43:24,938 --> 00:43:27,908
The Wu‐Tang was everything,
sort of, when it came out.
984
00:43:27,908 --> 00:43:29,710
♪ I grew up on the crime side ♪
985
00:43:29,710 --> 00:43:31,144
♪ The New York Times side ♪
986
00:43:31,144 --> 00:43:32,846
♪ Staying alive was no jive ♪
987
00:43:32,846 --> 00:43:34,047
♪ Had secondhands ♪
988
00:43:34,047 --> 00:43:35,849
♪ Moms bounced on old man ♪
989
00:43:35,849 --> 00:43:37,951
♪ So then we moved
to Shaolin land ♪
990
00:43:37,951 --> 00:43:40,053
♪ A young youth, yo,
rockin' the gold tooth ♪
991
00:43:40,053 --> 00:43:41,922
HOROVITZ: Wu‐Tang Clan is
different from anybody else.
992
00:43:41,922 --> 00:43:43,790
Like, they're just ‐‐
They're different.
993
00:43:43,790 --> 00:43:45,458
You can't put them in...
994
00:43:45,458 --> 00:43:47,861
There's no category
that the Wu‐Tang Clan goes in.
995
00:43:47,861 --> 00:43:51,031
We developed our skills
and our techniques
996
00:43:51,031 --> 00:43:53,066
on Staten Island, New York.
997
00:43:53,066 --> 00:43:55,902
Now, Staten Island is a place
that's surrounded by water.
998
00:43:55,902 --> 00:43:57,804
It's isolated
from the rest of the city.
999
00:43:57,804 --> 00:43:59,405
In science‐fiction movies,
1000
00:43:59,405 --> 00:44:01,407
you'll see something
like King Kong,
1001
00:44:01,407 --> 00:44:04,344
and they have to take
a big boat to some island.
1002
00:44:04,344 --> 00:44:08,448
And on this island, there exists
something that's that old.
1003
00:44:08,448 --> 00:44:12,085
Being isolated from Manhattan
and Brooklyn and Queens,
1004
00:44:12,085 --> 00:44:14,655
it helped us to develop
our own style,
1005
00:44:14,655 --> 00:44:16,189
our own New York slang.
1006
00:44:16,189 --> 00:44:18,224
It was New York, but it was
a different New York.
1007
00:44:18,224 --> 00:44:20,026
♪ So I got with a sick,
tight clique ♪
1008
00:44:20,026 --> 00:44:21,361
♪ And went all‐out ♪
1009
00:44:21,361 --> 00:44:23,063
♪ Catchin' keys
from across seas ♪
1010
00:44:23,063 --> 00:44:24,665
♪ Rollin' in MPVs ♪
1011
00:44:24,665 --> 00:44:26,499
♪ Every week, we made 40 G's ♪
1012
00:44:26,499 --> 00:44:29,102
Your wisdom is a manifestation
of your knowledge.
1013
00:44:29,102 --> 00:44:31,605
Once you know that you're sure
without approval,
1014
00:44:31,605 --> 00:44:33,607
that's the understanding.
1015
00:44:33,607 --> 00:44:34,975
So we know what time it is.
1016
00:44:34,975 --> 00:44:36,276
We gonna show y'all niggas
what time it is
1017
00:44:36,276 --> 00:44:38,512
and we gonna prove
what time it is.
1018
00:44:38,512 --> 00:44:39,980
That's right.
1019
00:44:39,980 --> 00:44:42,248
And for the hip‐hop world,
it's Wu‐Tang time, nigga.
1020
00:44:42,248 --> 00:44:45,051
WANG: RZA from the Wu‐Tang Clan
is a really interesting figure
1021
00:44:45,051 --> 00:44:47,220
in this, because by the time
we start hearing
1022
00:44:47,220 --> 00:44:50,924
the first Wu‐Tang songs,
around 1993, '94,
1023
00:44:50,924 --> 00:44:53,159
he was still using
older sampling technologies
1024
00:44:53,159 --> 00:44:54,995
such as, like, the SP 1200,
1025
00:44:54,995 --> 00:44:57,731
because that gave him
a grittier sound.
1026
00:44:57,731 --> 00:44:59,399
It wasn't cleaned up.
It wasn't pretty.
1027
00:44:59,399 --> 00:45:01,234
It wasn't, you know,
at the cutting edge.
1028
00:45:01,234 --> 00:45:05,739
They would take Ultimate Beats
and Breaks hip hop.
1029
00:45:05,739 --> 00:45:08,374
They will take jazz music.
1030
00:45:08,374 --> 00:45:12,312
They will take...
any noise whatsoever.
1031
00:45:12,312 --> 00:45:17,651
They will take dialogue
from other films and loop it,
1032
00:45:17,651 --> 00:45:19,753
and sound sloppy as hell
doing it.
1033
00:45:19,753 --> 00:45:23,990
He's, like,
"The dirtier, the better."
1034
00:45:23,990 --> 00:45:27,694
That dirty,
stank, crusty feeling.
1035
00:45:27,694 --> 00:45:29,229
He just likes the agitation.
1036
00:45:29,229 --> 00:45:31,798
He likes to get
your blood boiling.
1037
00:45:31,798 --> 00:45:35,368
RZA: It don't have to be
always on beat.
1038
00:45:35,368 --> 00:45:37,137
I heard the CD skippin',
1039
00:45:37,137 --> 00:45:38,605
'cause I was trying to get
a sample off of something,
1040
00:45:38,605 --> 00:45:40,406
and the fuckin' CD was scratched
and was like...
1041
00:45:40,406 --> 00:45:42,909
♪ Dun dun, duh dun dun,
dun dun dun, duh dun dun ♪
1042
00:45:42,909 --> 00:45:45,812
I was like, "I like that."
1043
00:45:46,279 --> 00:45:49,149
♪ Can it be that
it was all so simple then? ♪
1044
00:45:49,149 --> 00:45:52,052
[ Cheers and applause ]
1045
00:45:52,052 --> 00:45:56,056
♪ Or has time
rewritten every line? ♪
1046
00:45:56,056 --> 00:45:58,925
When you look at songs
like Gladys Knight,
1047
00:45:58,925 --> 00:46:02,395
we sampled on "Memories,"
"The Way We Were,"
1048
00:46:02,395 --> 00:46:04,464
on "Can It Be So Simple?"
1049
00:46:04,464 --> 00:46:05,999
It starts off
1050
00:46:05,999 --> 00:46:08,468
exactly how I programmed it
in my beat machine.
1051
00:46:08,468 --> 00:46:09,903
KNIGHT: Hey, you know,
everybody's talking
1052
00:46:09,903 --> 00:46:11,371
about the good old days, right?
1053
00:46:11,371 --> 00:46:14,107
Everybody, the good old days,
the good old days.
1054
00:46:14,107 --> 00:46:16,510
RZA:
I programmed it with her intro,
1055
00:46:16,510 --> 00:46:18,712
a long intro,
and then my beat drops.
1056
00:46:18,712 --> 00:46:23,083
♪ Can it be that it
was all so simple then? ♪
1057
00:46:23,083 --> 00:46:24,518
[ Indistinct rapping ]
1058
00:46:24,518 --> 00:46:25,752
That was my thing.
1059
00:46:25,752 --> 00:46:29,489
When I had the power
to sample longer,
1060
00:46:29,489 --> 00:46:34,661
I was able to kind of make
my idea more cinematic.
1061
00:46:34,661 --> 00:46:38,632
♪ Can it be that it
was all so simple then? ♪
1062
00:46:38,632 --> 00:46:42,903
♪ Yo, started off
on the Island, AK Shaolin ♪
1063
00:46:42,903 --> 00:46:44,304
♪ Brothers wilin' ♪
1064
00:46:44,304 --> 00:46:45,972
♪ Gunshots thrown,
the phone dialin' ♪
1065
00:46:45,972 --> 00:46:49,576
HADLEY: It's like, how did you
make "Can It All Be So Simple"
1066
00:46:49,576 --> 00:46:53,980
so dark and make it sound
like this was its original home,
1067
00:46:53,980 --> 00:46:56,182
this is where it was
supposed to be,
1068
00:46:56,182 --> 00:46:59,586
as opposed to how it
was originally constructed?
1069
00:46:59,586 --> 00:47:01,121
I think it's truly a gift.
1070
00:47:01,121 --> 00:47:03,557
♪ That's the life of grimey ♪
1071
00:47:03,557 --> 00:47:05,058
RZA's just, like, creative.
1072
00:47:05,058 --> 00:47:08,394
He makes music
that sounds historical
1073
00:47:08,394 --> 00:47:10,263
and from the future,
all at the same time,
1074
00:47:10,263 --> 00:47:11,698
which is something
I really love.
1075
00:47:11,698 --> 00:47:15,368
♪ Can it be that it was all
so simple then? ♪
1076
00:47:15,368 --> 00:47:16,770
♪ Ah ♪
1077
00:47:16,770 --> 00:47:20,440
♪ Can it be that it
was all so simple then? ♪
1078
00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:21,675
♪ Ah ♪
1079
00:47:21,675 --> 00:47:25,579
♪ Can it be that it
was all so simple then? ♪
1080
00:47:25,579 --> 00:47:27,581
AUERBACH: That's what made
the Wu‐Tang the Wu‐Tang.
1081
00:47:27,581 --> 00:47:29,583
WEST: Always talking about,
you know, "You biting.
1082
00:47:29,583 --> 00:47:33,987
You biting my style. You bite
everything that I did a lot."
1083
00:47:33,987 --> 00:47:38,191
But hip hop itself
is based off of bite.
1084
00:47:38,191 --> 00:47:39,425
I think what you've seen
1085
00:47:39,425 --> 00:47:42,295
over the last,
especially 10, 15 years,
1086
00:47:42,295 --> 00:47:46,232
is just the explosion
in not just sampling technology,
1087
00:47:46,232 --> 00:47:49,435
but just production technology
and software in general.
1088
00:47:49,435 --> 00:47:51,304
RZA: First, we had
the drum‐machine sampler,
1089
00:47:51,304 --> 00:47:53,273
then it went
to the keyboard sampler.
1090
00:47:53,273 --> 00:47:55,576
And then from there,
you know, the synthesizer
1091
00:47:55,576 --> 00:47:56,943
and the workstations.
1092
00:47:56,943 --> 00:48:00,581
And now we at the level
of digital audio workstations,
1093
00:48:00,581 --> 00:48:04,184
which gives you
your tape machine, your sampler,
1094
00:48:04,184 --> 00:48:07,153
your drum machine,
all on your computer screen.
1095
00:48:07,153 --> 00:48:08,822
♪ Where it's at ♪
1096
00:48:08,822 --> 00:48:12,425
♪ I got two turntables
and a microphone ♪
1097
00:48:12,425 --> 00:48:15,495
Technology is humanity's
response to its own dreams.
1098
00:48:15,495 --> 00:48:18,765
I mean, if we can think
of something, we can make it.
1099
00:48:18,765 --> 00:48:22,268
♪ Got two turntables
and a microphone ♪
1100
00:48:23,570 --> 00:48:26,272
‐[ Turntable scratches ]
‐♪ That was a good drum break ♪
1101
00:48:26,272 --> 00:48:29,275
SIMPSON: Beck's "Odelay" was
really the most successful use
1102
00:48:29,275 --> 00:48:31,011
of this new technology for us.
1103
00:48:31,011 --> 00:48:33,013
Instead of
actually sampling records,
1104
00:48:33,013 --> 00:48:34,748
we were just going for sounds.
1105
00:48:34,748 --> 00:48:37,350
So we would listen to a record,
and Beck would say,
1106
00:48:37,350 --> 00:48:39,485
"Oh, I love the way
this record sounds!
1107
00:48:39,485 --> 00:48:41,254
I think I can get
that guitar sound."
1108
00:48:41,254 --> 00:48:44,390
And so Beck would dial up
that guitar sound,
1109
00:48:44,390 --> 00:48:46,927
and we would take
the very best sections,
1110
00:48:46,927 --> 00:48:50,063
and we would cut and paste those
together within the computer
1111
00:48:50,063 --> 00:48:51,431
and create our own loops,
1112
00:48:51,431 --> 00:48:53,499
instead of sampling them
off records.
1113
00:48:53,499 --> 00:48:55,068
♪ Don't stop, get it, get it ♪
1114
00:48:55,068 --> 00:48:57,037
♪ I don't wanna be a player
no more ♪
1115
00:48:57,037 --> 00:48:59,372
♪ Punisher, Big Punisher ♪
1116
00:48:59,372 --> 00:49:01,608
♪ Big Punisher, still got
1117
00:49:01,608 --> 00:49:04,511
‐what you're lookin' for ♪
‐♪ Big Punisher ♪
1118
00:49:04,511 --> 00:49:06,346
ROSEN: The radical innovations
of hip‐hop producers
1119
00:49:06,346 --> 00:49:08,381
created in the 1980s,
1120
00:49:08,381 --> 00:49:10,450
and perfected in kind of
the late '80s and early '90s,
1121
00:49:10,450 --> 00:49:13,053
have disseminated
throughout the musical world.
1122
00:49:13,053 --> 00:49:14,888
♪ I got a bad boy,
I must admit it ♪
1123
00:49:14,888 --> 00:49:18,291
♪ You got my heart,
don't know how you did it ♪
1124
00:49:18,291 --> 00:49:20,894
Almost all pop‐music producers
1125
00:49:20,894 --> 00:49:24,397
make their records
like hip‐hop guys once did.
1126
00:49:24,397 --> 00:49:27,634
♪ I love the way,
I love the way ♪
1127
00:49:27,634 --> 00:49:29,335
♪ I love the way ♪
1128
00:49:29,335 --> 00:49:34,374
Music has a foundation.
It has a circle of notes.
1129
00:49:34,374 --> 00:49:38,545
It has been tried over and over
from the Egyptians
1130
00:49:38,545 --> 00:49:43,183
to, you know, the Renaissance
to American music ‐‐
1131
00:49:43,183 --> 00:49:46,620
to jazz, folk, hip hop.
1132
00:49:46,620 --> 00:49:49,489
There's been ways
that's always been tried.
1133
00:49:49,489 --> 00:49:51,324
It's so crazy
to dismiss sampling.
1134
00:49:51,324 --> 00:49:54,695
Some of the most ingenious,
progressive music
1135
00:49:54,695 --> 00:49:57,864
of the past 20 years
has come from combining
1136
00:49:57,864 --> 00:50:00,333
the use of sampling
with original material.
1137
00:50:00,333 --> 00:50:03,469
Bjork, one of those great things
she does, like, you know,
1138
00:50:03,469 --> 00:50:04,805
"Dancer in the Dark"
and all these things
1139
00:50:04,805 --> 00:50:07,173
with found sounds ‐‐
I mean, that's sampling.
1140
00:50:07,173 --> 00:50:10,243
♪ I have seen
the willow leaves ♪
1141
00:50:10,243 --> 00:50:12,846
♪ Dancin' in the breeze ♪
1142
00:50:12,846 --> 00:50:14,380
RUBIN: It's the same thing
the Beatles did
1143
00:50:14,380 --> 00:50:16,182
when they wrote songs.
1144
00:50:16,182 --> 00:50:19,085
They would get inspired
by a Roy Orbison song
1145
00:50:19,085 --> 00:50:20,787
and then write a song.
1146
00:50:20,787 --> 00:50:22,155
You know, "Please Please Me"
1147
00:50:22,155 --> 00:50:23,990
was their version
of a Roy Orbison song.
1148
00:50:23,990 --> 00:50:26,426
Doesn't sound like that to us,
but that's how they wrote it.
1149
00:50:26,426 --> 00:50:28,729
I remember people saying,
"This isn't music.
1150
00:50:28,729 --> 00:50:30,030
Like, the Sugar Hill Gang,
1151
00:50:30,030 --> 00:50:32,498
like, people would say,
"They're not even singing.
1152
00:50:32,498 --> 00:50:34,701
They've used some ‐‐
They've used a Chic song
1153
00:50:34,701 --> 00:50:37,070
and they're talking over it ‐‐
How is that even their record?"
1154
00:50:37,070 --> 00:50:39,840
And now we hear it at weddings,
and we just dance along to it
1155
00:50:39,840 --> 00:50:42,242
because it's the most familiar
piece of music we can imagine.
1156
00:50:42,242 --> 00:50:45,478
If the idea is an original song,
1157
00:50:45,478 --> 00:50:49,349
where is the line
that divides what is original?
1158
00:50:49,349 --> 00:50:53,720
People like Kanye West,
who very creatively sample.
1159
00:50:53,720 --> 00:50:58,324
And it's kind of ‐‐
It's tough sometimes to tell,
1160
00:50:58,324 --> 00:50:59,693
how much of that
is the songwriting
1161
00:50:59,693 --> 00:51:01,361
and how much of that
is the production?
1162
00:51:01,361 --> 00:51:05,331
♪ Lost in the world ♪
1163
00:51:05,331 --> 00:51:07,734
♪ Been down my whole life ♪
1164
00:51:07,734 --> 00:51:09,803
The recording experience
is never finished.
1165
00:51:09,803 --> 00:51:13,373
It just goes on and on,
and people cut and mix records.
1166
00:51:13,373 --> 00:51:15,208
They take them,
recontextualize them.
1167
00:51:15,208 --> 00:51:19,312
Turn them into new moments,
into new meaning.
1168
00:51:19,312 --> 00:51:21,381
♪ You're my devil,
you're my angel ♪
1169
00:51:21,381 --> 00:51:23,249
♪ You're my heaven,
you're my hell ♪
1170
00:51:23,249 --> 00:51:25,385
♪ You're my now,
you're my forever ♪
1171
00:51:25,385 --> 00:51:27,387
♪ You're my freedom,
you're my jail ♪
1172
00:51:27,387 --> 00:51:30,323
BAMBAATAA: Well, we got to say,
many of the youth
1173
00:51:30,323 --> 00:51:34,360
always grab a new language
to whatever music.
1174
00:51:34,360 --> 00:51:36,329
Then we got to look at,
is it really new?
1175
00:51:36,329 --> 00:51:37,998
Is anything really new
under the sun?
1176
00:51:37,998 --> 00:51:41,334
McDANIELS: The beautiful thing
about that great era,
1177
00:51:41,334 --> 00:51:45,371
that great generation,
that time of music
1178
00:51:45,371 --> 00:51:47,140
is everything
that they said was truth.
1179
00:51:47,140 --> 00:51:48,609
It was our truth.
1180
00:51:48,609 --> 00:51:51,678
HOROVITZ: To me, and to us,
like, it never mattered.
1181
00:51:51,678 --> 00:51:54,014
Like, there's no,
like, real music.
1182
00:51:54,014 --> 00:51:56,249
The real music is what you like.
1183
00:51:56,249 --> 00:51:58,451
RZA: It's been very helpful.
It has grown us.
1184
00:51:58,451 --> 00:52:01,688
It has made musicians
out of non‐musicians.
1185
00:52:01,688 --> 00:52:03,289
It has made producers
out of those
1186
00:52:03,289 --> 00:52:04,658
who wouldn't normally
be producers.
1187
00:52:04,658 --> 00:52:06,026
ROSEN:
The production techniques,
1188
00:52:06,026 --> 00:52:07,694
the sampling technology,
1189
00:52:07,694 --> 00:52:10,063
the types of recordmaking that
were forms that were invented
1190
00:52:10,063 --> 00:52:11,798
by hip‐hop producers,
have become ubiquitous.
1191
00:52:11,798 --> 00:52:14,200
It's now changed the way
we listen to music
1192
00:52:14,200 --> 00:52:15,936
and what we regard as music.
1193
00:52:15,936 --> 00:52:19,072
♪ I'm new in the city ♪
1194
00:52:19,072 --> 00:52:21,174
♪ And I'm down for the night ♪
1195
00:52:21,174 --> 00:52:23,209
♪ I'm down for the night ♪
1196
00:52:23,209 --> 00:52:26,479
♪ I'm down for the night ♪
97762
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