Michel Brasil
Músico, educador, comunicador e "estudador". Interesses: Música Popular Afro-Diaspórica; Música Popular Brasileira; Black Music, Música Eletrônica Dançante; Rap; Funk; Comunicação Comunitária; Audiovisual; etc..
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Rap is a musical genre that emerged in New York in the 1970s as a fundamental element of Hip Hop culture. From the 1980s, Belo Horizonte assimilated and produced its own rap and hip hop culture. The use of samples or sampling - an appropriation of excerpts from musical works to create other works - has been established in rap production since the earliest days of Hip Hop. This technique helped to shape the traditional sonority of the genre through the work of the beatmakers, who are responsible for creating instrumental bases for rappers to sing. This study aims to investigate how sampling establishes an aesthetic and procedural reference for local beatmakers. Through ethnographic approaches and the search of a diversity of sources of information, we sought to (1) map the production references and performance of beatmakers from Belo Horizonte and region, (2) trace a critical history about digital sampling, (3) describe how the producers of Belo Horizonte use sampling, and (4) to analyze their use as a local creative procedure. Nine interviews were conducted with beatmakers, among other agents linked to rap, as well as observation of recording and musical production processes. The study produced a number of representations of local cultural panoramas that suggest that local artists have a hybrid behavior in relation to sampling and that, while recognizing the importance of the technique for rap sound, its relevance is not reflected in the constant use of the technique in the local productions.
Papers
This debate is approached within the discussion of "boom bap" and "trap", two categories used by local artists, which refer to sonorities and modes of production of rap beats. The term "boom bap" is used to refer to beats with the classic rap sound of the 1990’s, with organic drum tones (especially from the 1970’s), and extensive use of digital sampling.
The term "trap" is used to refer to beats with more contemporary characteristics, with a frequent use of synthesizers, 808 drum tones, and its rattling hi-hat line. How do these sonorities make generational distinctions explicit? How do artists of different ages move between these influences? These are some of the questions this essay intends to answer.
Books
Rap is a musical genre that emerged in New York in the 1970s as a fundamental element of Hip Hop culture. From the 1980s, Belo Horizonte assimilated and produced its own rap and hip hop culture. The use of samples or sampling - an appropriation of excerpts from musical works to create other works - has been established in rap production since the earliest days of Hip Hop. This technique helped to shape the traditional sonority of the genre through the work of the beatmakers, who are responsible for creating instrumental bases for rappers to sing. This study aims to investigate how sampling establishes an aesthetic and procedural reference for local beatmakers. Through ethnographic approaches and the search of a diversity of sources of information, we sought to (1) map the production references and performance of beatmakers from Belo Horizonte and region, (2) trace a critical history about digital sampling, (3) describe how the producers of Belo Horizonte use sampling, and (4) to analyze their use as a local creative procedure. Nine interviews were conducted with beatmakers, among other agents linked to rap, as well as observation of recording and musical production processes. The study produced a number of representations of local cultural panoramas that suggest that local artists have a hybrid behavior in relation to sampling and that, while recognizing the importance of the technique for rap sound, its relevance is not reflected in the constant use of the technique in the local productions.
This debate is approached within the discussion of "boom bap" and "trap", two categories used by local artists, which refer to sonorities and modes of production of rap beats. The term "boom bap" is used to refer to beats with the classic rap sound of the 1990’s, with organic drum tones (especially from the 1970’s), and extensive use of digital sampling.
The term "trap" is used to refer to beats with more contemporary characteristics, with a frequent use of synthesizers, 808 drum tones, and its rattling hi-hat line. How do these sonorities make generational distinctions explicit? How do artists of different ages move between these influences? These are some of the questions this essay intends to answer.