If you’ve read more than one installment of my Jackson Pollock-ian word vomit that I like to call a “column,” one thing should be abundantly clear: Hip-hop music is one of my many obsessions.
If you’ve read more than three of my columns, you’ll know that I tend to focus on (read: nerdily obsess over) the production elements of hip-hop songs.
To be clear, when I say production, it essentially means the “beats” of hip-hop songs. But “production” sounds so much more sophisticated, doesn’t it?
But I digress.
In any case, I am a sucker for good production on a rap track. In my opinion, the beat is what draws you in in the first place, and also what makes you hit the replay button (although I do admit there are some songs where certain lines keep me coming back).
Related to that is the fact that it’s very easy to make average or even abysmal rappers sound like the prophetic voice of the 21st century when they’re backed up by a fantastic beat. I’ve become extremely well-acquainted with this phenomenon because of my addiction-level consumption of commercial hip-hop and top-40 radio via Power 106 (and let’s not forget my hometown San Diego’s Jammin’ Z90). As a result, I’ve become an absolute connoisseur of garden variety, unexceptional hip-hop beats.
This means that I’ve become a master categorist of the little, often unnoticed sonic tricks in hip-hop production. If the beat’s tempo and melodic qualities are the heart and soul of a track, then these unassuming tricks are the makeup. It’s a mixed analogy, but I think the gentle readers know what I mean.
But because these tricks are so subtle, they could be affecting you without you even knowing it. Just think, perhaps a song that you wouldn’t like in the first place has wormed its way into your subconscious just because of a well-placed whooshing synth noise.
In the interest of educating the public, I’ve decided to pass on what limited knowledge I’ve managed to accumulate. The time has come to take back our preferences and be swayed no longer by polished studio effects that have been engineered by professionals to gently persuade you into enjoying the song. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course, because as much as these techniques get tedious and predictable, they’re popular for a reason. And as much as I can front and rail against them, sometimes a snare roll is exactly what a song needs.
So, without further ado, I present a short field guide to the common flora and fauna of hip-hop production tricks.
The most prominent trick at this moment in time is none other than the pitch shifting snare roll. As technical as this sounds, we’ve all heard it. Famous examples include the beginning of 50 Cent’s “Ayo Technology,” where a short burst of snare notes descend in pitch before the main body of the song starts, as well as the very beginning of “Got Money” by T-Wayne. I honestly don’t know how this got so popular, but in theory it’s just a great way to presage the beginning of the main beat, and the descending pitch is a natural build up.
Another less common but still effective technique that isn’t completely exclusive to hip-hop is the filter. This is heard more so in dance music, but given the amount of recent crossover between the genres of dance and hip-hop, it’s no surprise that this technique is making crossover appearances. Essentially, a filter is the lowering of the levels of either high or low frequencies to achieve different effects. Basically, filtering out the highs makes it sound like you’re underwater, and cutting the lows makes it sound like a car radio. A perfect example of this is during the breakdown of Chris Brown’s “Forever.” This technique has obvious practical advantages given that it is an absolute power play of dynamics. Oh, you think you’re listening to a quiet AM radio station, … BOOM! The bass slams back in and you’re back (together) on the dance floor.
And finally, my personal favorite, is the use of sound effects. The selection and variety goes far beyond the “200 Wacky Sound FX!” CD kind, and has become an art unto itself. Potent example: the jet noises in “Swagga Like Us.” I get chills every time I hear that imaginary F-16 Tomcat shoot through the sky. And given that the sound precedes the verses of the four most commercially relevant MCs, it becomes a warning sign that these rap immortals are flying in from another galaxy to change our world forever like the Transformers. Other examples include sirens, air horns, air raid sirens and bombs going off. If well-placed, these can elevate a song considerably.
As I said before, these are subtle, but hopefully now that we can recognize them, we’ll gain some insight as to how a song is made and how bad that producer wants you to like it. At the very least, hopefully now I can talk about these things with someone else, rather than staring off into space while “Forever” plays at a party.
If a snare roll has been known to get you on the dance floor, e-mail Ayres at jayres@media.ucla.edu.