This question has been mulled in the minds of music fans, especially those of Hip-Hop and Old School for years. One of our favorite shows takes an in-depth look into sampling.
Long running PBS series Independent Lens will get to the root of the issue and will also include commentary from those in Hip-Hop as well as artist that have been sampled while looking at the ramifications to music and the legalities of sampling.
The series takes a look at Hip-Hop’s use of sampling and the legal issues surrounding it. It also includes the artist that have been sampled, the deejays and emcees that have sampled and their feelings around it.
Guest will include James Brown’s former drummer, Clyde Stubblefield, regarded as one of the most highly sampled musicians ever and the Funkadelic Maestro himself, George Clinton.
For those unfamiliar with the term sampling in regards to music, it is taking part or a sample, of one sound recording and reusing it for a different recording. It can be a single instrument lifted from the recording, a vocal loop, or an entire section.
In the last two plus decades there has been a lot of discussion about this in regards to Hip-Hop and it’s heavy use of sampling and its once disrespect of paying those artist who they sampled. Some doing so from sheer lack of knowledge of copyright laws and others doing it because the didn’t feel the need to pay for sampling.
Tune in to Independent Lens on January 19, 2010. Check your local PBS affiliate for exact air times.