My first foray into rap/hip hop

[Bloody_Inferno]

One of the regular clients at the studio I frequent happens to be a rapper, and was planning to record his debut 4 song EP. So he hired the studio and some musos to build turn his demos into a full production since he wanted his EP to sound like a real band playing. And since really loved my recent solo album, he chose me specifically.

We had drummer and myself on bass to lay down the rhythm section. Once the beds were tracked, I added guitars, keys/synths and other weird stuff like a pipa (Chinese lute), a fretless guitar through a ring modulator, and God knows what else. There are some sound samples that was lifted from the rapper's pre-production demos, but a good chuck of the final music tracks are played by real people (well, me, the drummer, and the producer, who also worked on my album).

Full EP was just released and since he uploaded all the tracks on the tube, here they are.









We had a ton of fun making this EP, and it's basically my second release of the year. The client loved my contributions so much that he's made me a principal collaborator/arranger for future work. A full album will be in the works and we've already made demos for 2 songs.

For those into 90s inspired rap and hip hop, please check 24/8 out!

 

[DrewJD82]

That's pretty badass, man!!

That actually sounds like a good amount of fun, actually playing all the instruments and making the tracks old school instead of doing it all in a DAW. It all sounds legit, too, tight work!

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

That's pretty badass, man!!

That actually sounds like a good amount of fun, actually playing all the instruments and making the tracks old school instead of doing it all in a DAW. It all sounds legit, too, tight work!

Thanks man!

It's funny how as instrument players, the way we tracked the songs 'old school' way isn't saying much, and it's just what we regularly do. But in rap and hip hop circles, where sampling, cutting and manipulating sounds is the name of the game, it's refreshing. Especially now that the genre is full of trap beats, rapid hi hats and digital effects.

One of the other guys in the studio was commenting that the music has a Gorillaz vibe to it and meant it as a compliment. As someone who loved Demon Days, it was great to hear that feedback.

 

[Whizzinby]

Awesome dood.

Most old school hip hop incorporated a lot of real instruments or samples of actual instruments. I actually think that’s what made a lot of early rap feel so organic compared to a lot of the drill beat shit we hear today. (Get off my lawn!) I can cruise all day listening to Mind Playing Tricks On Me or It Was A Good Day, because those beats and grooves feel real and get you nodding.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

Now I'll have to confess that I do have 2 tracks which dabble in hip hop so I realised the thread title is an out stinking lie.





The first track was something I wrote for my label to use as they see fit. It was an excuse to put myself in the mindset on how hip hop guys write using samples and chopping up bits and pieces. Basically I wrote some short progressions and build from there.

The second one, I posted in another thread. Basically a remix of a song off my first album. Getting heavily into rearrangements, I thought the song would make a fun hip hop re-imagining. So I gave it a shot with all bets off.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

Awesome dood.

Most old school hip hop incorporated a lot of real instruments or samples of actual instruments. I actually think that’s what made a lot of early rap feel so organic compared to a lot of the drill beat shit we hear today. (Get off my lawn!) I can cruise all day listening to Mind Playing Tricks On Me or It Was A Good Day, because those beats and grooves feel real and get you nodding.

Agreed. And it's great whenever I hear current guys who do it this way.

I remember Juan Alderete doing gigs for Deltron 3030 and I've always loved how he jumps back and forth between genres like they were nothing at all. Racer X, Mars Volta, Juliette Lewis, Marilyn Manson, Juan can do it all. I pretty much used him as inspiration when laying down the bass for this EP.