Reflection 2: The Next Episode

My initial research on song sampling started off with investigating other sources and what they had to say about the topic. Through the Brock SuperSearch I was able to come across plenty of articles on the topic, as well in a google search there were many websites that came up that referenced songs that had been sampled. This gave me more of an understanding of my first step to investigation - What is song sampling? And what artists and songs use samples?

The questions I pose in my Project Proposal Pitch I find to be overlapping in the timeline. Last reflection I was able to find out a little bit more on the question, "Why do artists sample?" And used Jay Z's ode to Biggie as an example. But then I began thinking about all those artists who sample and have no connection to those they are sampling, so what could be their purpose? I made a few assumptions in my last post about what those purposes could be but I want to explore that further.

I began this week looking over articles again, but I realized that was not the right approach to begin for this week. I needed to see not what research was saying, but what the public was saying. So I went on to Youtube and came across [more gimmicky] videos on "Samples used by Rappers."

4:07 - 4:27 (The Next Episode/The Edge)

This lead me to find that one of the most iconic songs, "The Next Episode" by Dr. Dre had been sampled from a classical song in the 1967 by David McCallum titled, "The Edge." With this as my new path to research I came across the website/app WhoSampled, which allows public to see how far samples go. I was able to see that after Dr. Dre used this sample in 1999 (big jump from the original song in 1967) the song as been sampled 39 more times in the 2000's.

http://www.whosampled.com/Dr.-Dre/

This information is relevant to my Week 4 question that I've yet to investigate which is, "What makes one song more iconic than another?"

So far I am finding that my questions I wanted to explore in week one (who samples) extended into week two, which is "What is the purpose of sampling?" This week I had to revisit my week one question of who samples in order to gain more material for this week. And the new material I have found this week has given me prompts for questions I have posed in weeks 3 and 4.

I'm finding that the timeline gives structure to the order of what questions should be asked, but the way they are answered is not necessarily congruent with the timing. Learning is interweaving and making connections with the old and new information we discover. I have questions that are almost fully answered and questions I will have to keep on going back to and looking at in order to explore my Genius Hour topic further.

Reflection 1: Sampling and Intentions

On my Genius Hour topic, I'm presenting the question of why hip hop artists use song sampling, what is its purpose?

Hip hop is an open source text book, free for borrowing. Some sources say if you are repeating more than one bar it is considered, "aesthetic laziness." But I refuse to think so. This use of recycling of music is almost a type of tribute to past artists, using allusion and intertextuality to support to the artists' message.

For instance, what can we say when Jay Z, a Brooklyn rapper and more contemporary face of hip hop, quotes or samples (the late) Biggie Smalls? Another rapper from Brooklyn and a central figure of the East Coast hip hop scene, also ranked as the greatest rapper ever. He can be seen as paying tribute to his roots and also honouring a role model of music in his life.

Usages of sampling remind us listeners of the universality and diversity of not only hip hop music, but of music of all genres and we are reminded of the great musicians of our past, those who "did it first," and build on them. And, like education we take ideas of our past to come up with our own conclusions.

So far investigating this topic I am beginning to discover the intentions of artists. Coming from a visual arts background and mostly looking at visual artists, I want to apply that same knowledge to looking at artists of other disciplines and the conceptual meaning of their work.

At this point I want to continue to ask relevant and critical questions around the subject of what the artist is trying to convey, and why are they trying to convey that.

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Below is a Concept Organizer based off of the initial research I found. Joseph G Schloss wrote Making Beats: The Art of Sample Based HipHop Music. Schloss' writings are used in various articles to evaluate this topic.

References for Concept Organizer:

1. Chang, Vanessa. "The Records That Play: The Present Past in Sampling Process" in Popular Music. Vol 28, No. 2 (May 2009). Cambridge University Press. Accessed September 2015 http://www.jstor.org/stable/40541424.

2. Sewell, Amanda. "How Copyright Affected the Musical Style and Critical Reception of Sample-Based Hip-Hop" in Journal of Popular Music Studies. Vol 26, Issue 2/3 (June 2014). Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 2015).

DG1: Copyright

The easy access to digital tools and media in the classroom or at home means that we can take, upload, and share these materials so easily and frequently that we may not be aware that we are infringing on copyright. Copyright law means that all rights are reserved, so copying, distributing, performing, displaying, or adapting of digital media found online is prohibited. For teachers to be able to share online material (sharing a video, for example) in class without acquiring permission or public performance rights, it must have a CC (Creative Commons License). A CC means that some rights are reserved, so that those who have created the material and may not want to restrict it completely can modify their rights so that their work can be shared, learned, and built upon.

As students we are creators, anything that we make - essays, presentations, videos, recording, performances, art work, or website - is all protected by copyright. So just as we like to have ownership of our ideas, other creators around the world like to have ownership of theirs as well. For example, if we are using copyrighted works to create new works (called "user generated content") there are guidelines we have to meet:
1) Our new work cannot be for commercial purposes
2) The original source must be mentioned (if it is reasonable to do so)
3) The original work to generate content must have been acquired legally)
4) The result of the user generated content does not have a "substantial adverse affect" on the market for the original work.

As long as we meet this criteria, we are able to use music, DVDs, mash-ups, and art, for our own learning and use.

Below are two Internet images found using the search modifications from Flickr and Google Images, where the artists have chosen a Creative Commons License, both of their works may be downloaded and used for free:

Heijnsbroek, Fons. (2011, January 26). Splow, 2010 [Painting]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1LyptoX

Brault, Thomas. (2015, April 18). Multiple exposure image of a girl and a skyline [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1NDg7y1

References:

Figg, Candace. (2013). Handy4Class Presents: Copyright for Tech-Enhanced Teaching. Retrieved September 16, 2015 from http://bit.ly/1ysAvbF

Noel, W., & Snel, J. (2012). Copyright Matters. Retrieved September 16, 2015 from http://bit.ly/1OZ6E1r

Introduction: Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to my Genius Hour Blog! I am very excited to start a new year at Brock University and my placement and I hope to make some new friends along the way.

First, a little about me, I graduated with a degree in Visual Arts where I focused a lot on painting and photography. I enjoy exercise and a healthy lifestyle, I played soccer for many years, I enjoy reading and book binding.
I'm excited for this school year and hope we can inspire each other to be creative, engaged, and passionate learners!