Gamble & Huff Speak On Sampling (Video)

October 21, 2008

Ladies and Gentleman, start your engines…I mean samplers. Philadelphia International Records Presents Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia will be in stores on October 21, 2008. Soul hits from The Intruders, The Delfonics, Wilson Pickett, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and many more produced by the legendary Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff will be available in one 4-disc Box set.

Gamble & Huff’s PIR songs and productions have truly permeated the musical DNA of contemporary culture. They have been covered or sampled by a vast array of artists including Jay-Z, Babyface, Nelly, OutKast, Angie Stone, Simply Red (whose #1 version of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” in 1989 earned Gamble & Huff the Best R&B Song Grammy), Bette Midler, Mary J. Blige, Michael Bublé, Kanye West, 50 Cent, and T.I., among many others.

Earlier this year Gamble & Huff were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. After the induction Nodfactor had Shady Goliath A&R Riggs Morales speak with them about being sampled by today’s artists. Here is a part of that interview…

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Large Professor: Revolve Around Science

September 29, 2008

By Jerry L. Barrow

“I would come out of Lefrak with duffle bags full of records…” - Large Professor

He studied at the feet of a master and became one of the most influential beatsmiths in hip-hop. William Paul Mitchell, aka, Large Professor is the quintessential hip-hop producer; low-key, humble and continually making magic behind the scenes. His discography reads like a who’s who of hip-hop. As a member of the group Main Source he crafted classics like “Lookin’ At The Front Door,” “Live at The BBQ” and “Fakin The Funk.” As a producer he made legendary MCs like Rakim, Kool G Rap and Nas achieve their greatness and as a solo artist he’s given us two collectible solo albums, The LP and 1st Class.

After releasing two volumes of instrumentals the Queens,NY native is releasing a new CD of original beats and rhymes appropriately titled, Main Source on September 30th. Taking things back to the break-beat foundation the CD features guest appearances from Styles P, AZ, Jeru The Damaja and Big Noyd with a lush collection of chopped soul and pulsating ear candy. I caught up with Extra P to talk about the Late Paul C, teaching Q-Tip how how to make beats why Nas doesn’t like “wearing the same sneakers.”

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Video Interview: Pete Rock & Green Lantern

September 4, 2008

A few months ago Nodfactor caught up with the legendary Pete Rock and DJ Green Lantern to discuss their song from NY’s Finest, “Don’t Be Mad.” In the process I got them to share their views on samples, remixing, filtering, and everything under the sun. Watch parts 1,2, and 3 below.

JLB

Part 1, The Making of “Don’t Be Mad,” Classic Drum breaks and When to clear samples

Part 2, Making “We Roll,” Truncation, TR-808s and new sounds

Part 3, What makes a remix great and the influence of “Shut ‘Em Down”

On deck: Pharoahe Monch speaks exclusively on the influence of the late Paul C, working with Denaun Porter and his own production

Bloggin 4 Beats: The Chase

August 15, 2008

The Robbery and the Chase
(from The Education of Sonny Carson)
by Coleridge Taylor Perkinson

Having some fun thanks to the folks at Beatclub producer community. Hydrosonics alumn Jack Nickelz posted a sample from the Education of Sonny Carson and asked other producers to do their best flip. Here is mine:

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Pete Rock and Green Lantern: Let The Beat Build

July 2, 2008

Pete Rock and Green Lantern_croppedHip-hop is built on moments. Some of them by accident, some of them planned, others are a mix of both. “Pete Rock is coming here?” Green Lantern said when told the Chocolate Boy Wonder was running late to his studio. While promoting Grand Theft Auto 4 with GL The Urban Daily (my day job) asked Pete Rock to meet us at Green Lantern’s midtown studio, but neglected to tell the Evil Genius. Oops. Our Bad. Mt. Vernon’s finest was stuck in traffic but GL shrugged it off. “Come on, it’s Pete Rock! How I’m not gonna wait for Pete Rock?” [Read more]