The Formula, Season 1: A Video Series On The Science Of Sampling
More Videos
- 00:05:52
Just Blaze Unpacks His Samples for Beyoncé And Jay-Z
- 00:05:41
9th Wonder Breaks Down His Beats For Kendrick Lamar's 'Duckworth.'
- 00:07:03
DJ Dahi Unpacks His Spiritual Samples for Pusha T and Kendrick Lamar
- 00:05:30
DJ Premier's Sonic Inspiration In Three Samples
- 00:06:21
Salaam Remi On Sampling For Nas and Amy Winehouse
In hip-hop, sampling is a little like alchemy. Producers go hunting for raw material — be it a drum break from a dollar-bin funk record or a vocal hook ripped from today's pop charts — so they can chop, loop, warp and recombine it into something totally new. It's an art form that rearranges space and time, and even when you know how it works, it can still feel like magic.
The Formula is a new NPR video series that takes you inside the creative process of sampling. Five acclaimed hip-hop producers break down their work, demonstrating how specific samples build layers of mood and meaning in songs ranging from recent hits by Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar to classics by The Notorious B.I.G and Gang Starr, as vivid animation illustrates how all the pieces fit together. Each video is paired with a companion essay by a fellow producer or critic.
Watch all episodes of Season 2 of The Formula here.
The Essays
For each of the five episodes in this series, NPR Music has asked a different writer to "sample" an element of the video we've made, spinning it off in a new direction.
'I Hate You, Man': Questlove On Just Blaze's Maddening Genius
The Roots' drummer and Tonight Show bandleader picks apart exactly why fellow producer Just Blaze's talent for finding and flipping samples in unexpected combinations is both inspiring and infuriating.
Kendrick Lamar Thinks Like A Jazz Musician
NPRKendrick Lamar's song "DUCKWORTH." is made up of three beats, each built around a different sample, by producer 9th Wonder. The way Lamar stitched those beats together illuminates his relationship with contemporary and historical jazz musicians.
Kendrick Lamar's 'Money Trees' Is A Time Machine
NPR![DJ Dahi in The Formula, NPR's video series on the art of sampling.]()
NPRAnother song by Kendrick Lamar — this one produced by DJ Dahi — that uses a sample to change the flow of time. For writer Jeff Weiss, 'Money Trees' has the uncanny ability — at any time, in any mood — to drop him into a single night in 2015.
Because You're Mine: Searching For The Children Of Screamin' Jay Hawkins
NPRThe Notorious B.I.G.'s "Kick In The Door," produced by DJ Premier, is infused with the spirit of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' classic "I Put A Spell on You." Hanif Abdurraqib looks at the art and life of Hawkins, a man who seemed to live multiple lives, and when he died, left behind dozens of children — many of whom he didn't know.
I'll Give My Love If You Return It To Me: Babyface And The Bonds Of Collaboration
NPRSalaam Remi defines his skill as a producer via the art of collaboration. Writer Danyel Smith says that's also true of songwriter Babyface, who for decades has been shaping the sound of R&B by showing deep respect for the singers — mostly women — with whom he's working.
