One of the greatest things about
Hip Hop is that it is one of the most versatile genres of music today. Hip Hop
music is constantly evolving which, in my opinion, is the reason why Hip Hop
has such a wide range of listeners. In the late 1970’s the use of sampling
started to become more present in music. As we discussed in class, Sampling is
when an artist takes a section or beat from one song and uses it in their own
song. Sampling music has received much criticism on whether or not it is
effective; However, Sampling has been taken to a whole new level. Instead of
sampling a certain section of a song, entire songs are being re-used and
“adapted” to appeal to a different audience. The best example of these song
adaptions are the re-makes of Jay-Z’s song “Encore” which are the songs from
the homework.
The original version of “Encore” by
Jay-Z is a Hip Hop song with an “Old School” Vibe to it and the song includes
various instruments like trumpets, drums, and the piano.
This same exact song was later mixed with Lincoln Parks song
“Numb”, completely changing the style of the song. What was previously seen as
an oldies-like Hip Hop song was turned into a more modern Hip Hop/Rock song.
The Mixing of the two songs received much praise and the new song “Numb/Encore”
won a Grammy Award. Re-making songs can expose the original song to a new
audience and in some cases, like “Encore”, enhance the original song.
Another example of a way that
Adaptations to songs are used today is when people do Covers on songs on
YouTube. Covers are when a person or group of people rerecords a song (that has
already been previously made) into their own style. YouTube is filled with
amateur singers/rappers that create covers of popular songs. A pretty popular
person on YouTube that is known for her adaptations to numerous Hip Hop songs
is Karmin. Karmin is a female that redoes songs from female and male artists
whether it is Hip Hop or any other genre of music.
An Example of one of Karmins Covers is the Cover she did of Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass”. The original song has a lot of bass and the remake done by Karmin includes a guitar and other various instruments which gives the song a different tone.
I believe that doing adaptations of
songs can have two results; it could either really work complementing the
original lyrics/beat or it could completely ruin a song. However, when it does
work, I think that it is a clever way of expanding the Hip Hop audience. It
allows the listeners of different genres of music to be exposed to Hip Hop
(lyrically not musically) in a way that they enjoy.
I agree that artists of different genres covering hip hop songs brings attracts new listeners. Some of my all time favorite songs are acoustic covers of popular rap tracks that I probably otherwise wouldn't even know about.
ReplyDeleteAdaptations are a really cool way to launch new artists' careers! The popular duo known as Karmin got their start with an acoustic cover of "Look at me Now" among many other youtube sensations!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khCokQt--l4
I think covers and other things are cool like that. But I think that people should be careful what songs they try to cover because some songs are better left untouched. Kanye West said on "The View" that The Fray's cover of his song "Heartless" was better than his original version which I thought was interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think when adaptations are done right they can really expand an artists audience bringing new and old fans together. Adaptions can really reinvent an old song. I like how you talked about covers in your post because this is becoming very common on You Tube. Covers are a great way for unknown artist to get recognized. Personally they get annoying to me sometimes because to many people do them, but their are good ones out there.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! and I totally agree with what was said! I personally love when rappers sample different genres it really adds to the song and shows how diverse they are Childish Gambino for example has sampled a lot of Adele with songs like "Do Ya Like" and "Rolling In The Deep Remix." I think that doing covers really shows what a fan base an artist has and the respect from the fans to do a cover because they like the song enough!
ReplyDeleteI like adaptations as a reinterpretation of a song. It is a cool way to look at a song from a different way form the original.
ReplyDeleteWhats so interesting about hip hop is, compared to most of the other popular genres, its relatively young. Rock music, for example, has almost been completely played out and all its different adaptions and sub genres explored and is now almost on life support. Hip hop is still in the middle of its growth, with creative people exploring new ways to adapt old and new rap songs to different trends in interesting ways.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I think you're right about hip hop being so versatile and that is part of what has made it grow for all this time. Covers help expand and explore where the genre can go. It's a way to bridge the gap between listeners as well.
ReplyDeleteNice posts, good examples of adaptations in Hip-Hop, but you could have also talked about how Hip-Hop artist such as Nicki Minaj, has incorporated Pop into her music, as well as Lil Wayne doing his rock thing.
ReplyDeleteAdaptation seems like an interesting characteristic in hip-hop because like you said it is why it has so many listeners. Listeners like all different types of hip-hop because it has changed so much. It is such an evolution of music. It makes me think of "Revofev" by Kid Cudi. Great post.
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ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with everyone on here, adaptions are definitely interesting. They not only open up artist to a wider audience by experimentation with genre but they also offer a different angle/approach to an artist's original idea that can become relatable to all kinds of people. Some songs are better left untouched but some adaptations are awe-inspiring. Janeisha does have a point, it would've been cool to see the story flipped the other way around but this is a great post regardless.
ReplyDeleteLinkin Park x Jay z was a sad day for hip hop history. I still cringe everytime I see the two names together. One example in which appealing to a wider audience alienated the original listener base as Jay Z was clearly chasing money (again).
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