Make it funk-ay! Remember “Groove Is In The Heart” by Deee-lite?…

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That song had a mean bassline,with a riff reminiscent of the James Brown era. Theres just something about that big bottom, the finger picking, and a funky drum rhythm that has made the world dance since 1956. James Brown released “Please Please Please” and although bands at the time used the upright bass often, this was our humble introduction to funk. Take a listen to the snippets and hear the bass babies of an era important to Hip Hop.

James Browns “Please Please Please”

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James Browns “Get Up Offa That Thing”

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The bassline is one of my favorite elements of jazz, blues, classic soul,funk, and Hip Hop. It helps drive a songs rhythmic movement, defining the heartbeat of a melodies musical scale. Back in the day this was achieved by the bassists thump thumping on an upright, and later went to the electric bass, or lower scale of the keyboard. As music progressed, synths were introduced and basslines got deeper and digitized through sound design and effects.

If I could own all the vintage equipment that helped the world be funk-aaay.. I’d have to move..lol. There are several possibilities for mimicking the basslines of the funk movement. One way: ..hire a great bass player to play riffs and “stink” up your tracks or 2.. VST instruments. My favorite is the Novation Bass Station.

The heavy bottom and endless amount of bass options make this a bass lovers dream. Born from the vintage hardware piece of the same name, with a few twist of the knobs I was able to get funky in under 5 minutes. Check out a little history of the origional hardware:Vintage Novation Bass Station Rack.

Here are the specs from KVR Audio

If you don’t have a vst instrument host there are several free ones online. I found this one today:

from Hermannseib.com. Need a lil guidance making that perfect bassline? Head on over to StudyBass.ComTheres tons of lessons on bass and theory…..aighty so ga head and make it funk-aaay…and remember to put some “stink ” on it ..

Update: I added Bass Station to the store…

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Sam Addams – Making A Beat Live Just For SpitYoGame.com

Check one of my fav producers doin his thing on the Roland Fantom series…nice chord progressions and a sweet piano melody line…

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Part2:

Stress

Thanks to Prezidential Records for giving me the tip on artist with “Five Hots”… next up is Stress, an emcee straight outta Queens. If you are a fan of Fabolous, you’re gonna love Stress. On a rainy Friday morn his hit single ” Show Me” has the head nod factor off the meter! Having sold 10,000 copies of his album “Who Am I”, He’s using his indy hustle to reach the top.
“..Put ya hands up if you get money…” Stress definitely has that Big Swagg for the masses. He’s keeping the art of lyricism sparked with hot punch lines and clever metaphors. Another favorite about Stress is his choice of beats. Leaning towards tracks with an eastcoast bounce feel, he’s chosen the right back drop for his street certified lyrics….

“Show Me”

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I know I know featured artist weren’t supposed to arrive until June…But, Prezidential Records gave me the up on 2 artist who are making power moves you need to know about like… yesterday…

In this crazy world of Hip Hop, independent labels are arriving on the scene in record numbers. Some are bad , some are good, then you have those considered Great! The labels which are great usually consist of “Five Hots”
1. Hot Artist, 2. Hot Production,3. Hot Songs 4. Hot Management, 5. Hot Promotion.

I know there is far more criteria, but in general these are extremely important. When all these consistantly come together..whaaaala! I’ll be promoting artist and labels that are utilizing the ” Five Hots”, and making power moves in the game. Lets learn from one another as we grow into greatness, always improving our ” Five Hots”…shine artist shine!

Prezidential Records inside scoop on Gdash and Stress a two part feature. Up 1st…

Gdash:

I was playing GDash’s single ” What Should I Do” while posting yesterday…..without even thinking…. I caught myself singing the Hook when it came in after the 2nd verse… ” What Should I Do”

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Ladies are gonna love this track!~ Be sure to tune in on BET

Gdash hits 106& Park On June 4th!

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Check out the new video by Ab Rock, “Who Do You Think You Are” ft. Marc Evans, produced by yours truly Ms.Tris Beats, directed by Hilton Carter.

We had a blast doing this shoot. Ab and I have worked together on several tracks for his album. We’ll sit down with Ab this summer. Check out the video and always remember “Clicky Clicky the links”…..

About AB-ROCK
Often described as what Hip-Hop would be, when it grows up, AbRock has been steadily rocking crowds in the MD/DC Mid Atlantic region for the last 5 years. A product of the late 90s Baltimore Hip hop scene, the Nigerian emcee burst into the spotlight with his 2003 debut album Declaration of Independence.

A well balanced lyricist, AbRock has competed in various local and national showcases such as The Source Unsigned Hype and Blaze1 Battle. He also recently won the StyleWarz Battle and took 2nd Place in the Okayplayers Foreign Exchange Remix competition couple months later. Having earned a reputation among his peers and fans as a strong performer with the ability to rock crowds, Ab has shared stages with independent and national heavyweights such as Fertile Ground, 5thL, Poemcees, Akrobatic, Zion I, Black Sheep, Sadat X, and others.

Influenced musically by hip hop contemporaries Jay-Z, Pharaoh Monch , Talib Kweli, Common, Nas etc. AbRock developed the perfect balance between battle and creative emcee. His in-depth understanding of songwriting allows for songs with strong hooks, attention grabbing lyrics, an topics often ranging from social commentary, introspective self reflections, all the way to feel good party anthems. A firm believer of music as a soundtrack to life, AbRock is currently promoting on his sophomore album aptly named the mid MidLife Crisis.

AbRock Myspace

Marc Evans Myspace

Hilton Carter Official Site

and of course you are cruising MsTris’s Official Site…pz til later

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Man oh Man has it been along time since I’ve heard whats being slated as “Real Hip Hop”. Once you get to know my music you’ll see that I try to stay up with the up. I make all kinds of Hip Hop..Eastcoast, Westcoast, Dirty South, Mid West, Experimental … you name it!.
I stated in “I Was A Sample Queen” that I grew up on classic Hip Hop , the Boom Bap 90′s style, and all the great underground artist of that time. Now being that I’m from the eastcoast and raised on this classic Hip Hop, of course when I got into Dirty South, mnnn let’s just say some may have thought ” She’s sellin out”..lol. This is simply not true. A lot of Hip Hop heads seem to have forgotten Uncle Luke and 2 Live Crew from back in the day. In my opinion they were some of the key pioneers of Dirty South music. From Florida to Ny they were burning up clubs with the 808 driven porno rap . Guess that’s where I acquired a liking for a different style, which would later lead to an equal love of crunk.
YeEeaAH!
“On and on it seems to go…don’t know what you got til it’s gone”… Today stations are playing a majority of crunk/dirty south style tracks. So when I come across some Boom Bap Hip Hop, it’s almost like a “family reunion” type emotion goin on. You know like being reunited with some old friends from school or something.. immediately I’m taken back and find myself turning up the volume…Aaaah scratchin..when is the last time you’ve heard songs with scratchin in it on the radio?
For all the lovers of classic Hip Hop, I met a DJ who still ” picks up the phone up on the request line”…
His name is AJ Rok Woodson. We met on Twitter. I went to his site and found myself listening to almost every mix he had on there. It’s called Heavy Rotation Magazine Radio… So he’s mixing Hip Hop from old to new, and even allows artist to send tracks. NOW keep in mind that his station is Hip Hop..don’t go sendin Crunk and Pop Hop..lol. But take a listen and leave comments on the mixes you like. (ga-head click the link, get a mix playing, and read on……….)
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Check out this cool lil gmail tip. If you are starting your online beat business or any business online this may help keeping gmail more organized.
The + sign thing is extremely useful! Check out Geek sugar to

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