ABSTRACT
Hip-hop music has largely depended upon the phonographic past for its function and sonic aesthetic. Yet, the high premiums involved in sample clearance have restricted producers’ access to raw sonic materials. Consequently, sample-based practitioners have been pursuing alternative routes towards music creation, including the recording of live instrumentation and the production of intermediate sampling material. It is therefore important to consider the variables that enable an effective interaction between source content and the hip-hop process. The chapter proposes that hip-hop’s ‘meta’ aesthetic is borne out of the fusion of sampling processes and phonographic signatures, examining the bi-directional dynamic involved in their (re)construction and questioning the genre’s complex relationship with the past.
