R.I.P to Hip Hop Producer Disco D
I’d like to say R.I.P. to Disco D who passed away from suicide on January 22nd. I wasn’t fortunate enough to meet him, but to this day I am still awestruck with the work that he did on 50 Cent’s "Ski Mask Way".
J Dilla Interview: Beats, MC’ing, & Style
I was just bumping around and wasting a little time when I ran across this interview where J Dilla discusses the use of beats and ID tags. Of course there are many more lessons to be learned, so pay attention… you might just get schooled.
Kanye West Making A Beat On The MPC 2000 & ASR 10
It was a very sad weekend. After coming up with the idea to have a rare beat making video blowout, I came to realized that in order to make room on my external hardrive, I deleted virtually all of my beat production and beat making videos. Yeah, I know it’s a damn shame to even … Read more
Ratings
You know that after writing and overanalyzing Hip Hop samples, breaks, records and mixes that I had to eventually start doing a few ratings. Ever since hearing my first sample and breaks mix by DJ 7L of Boston, I haven’t been able to get enough of that feeling which comes over you when you hear … Read more
Beat Heads Have Lost Their Minds!
I’ve been staying away from alot of breaks sites just because many cats have a tendency to go off the deep end with their record tastes. In recent years there have been a few strange trends in the samples and breaks community such as the obsession with Northern Soul, Funk, Library and Children’s records. It … Read more
More Gems and Treats For The Kiddies…
After much thought, I’ve decided to take a bit of a break from giving my isolated commentary about what music should sound like in an ideal world and figured it would be best to give you an illustrated example. By popular demand, here’s a link to a downloadable mp3 version of the Hip Hop, Breaks … Read more
Nas – Hip Hop Is Dead Samples
The request has been made for a full album of samplese and Crate Kings has answered the call. We now present the original samples and breaks for Nas’ Hip Hop is Dead. link-protector.com/130221/ Bill Withers – Use Me (Still Dreamin’) Carmine Coppola – Marcia Religiosa (Black Republican) Diana Ross – The Interim (Still Dreaming) Eric … Read more
Happy New Year Sample Drop!
Happy New Year Everyone! 2006 has definitely been an interesting and exciting year all around, especially musically. We saw the return of Jay Z, the confession by Nas that Hip Hop is Dead, and The Source magazine asking if Hip Hop has become a minstrel show. It seems as if there is a theme developing … Read more
Smack DVD Beat Making Videos – D.R. Period, Arsonist of Heatmakerz, Just Blaze,
I went ahead and gathered every Smack DVD beat making video that I could find. It just so happens that I hold a lot of respect for D.R. Period and it’s pretty interesting to hear his view on how a beat should knock. Arsonist from the Heatmakerz throws together something pretty hot in no time … Read more
Crate Digging and Sampling Ethics… Who Heard of Such A Thing???
They let me out of my gig a little early today so I took the opportunity to do a little crate digging on my way home from work. It’s tough when you walk into store and can’t find anything that you want. Imagine walking into a store and not being able to find one old … Read more