Music is a part of my existence. I can't imagine a life without music. Listening to music is as vital to my life as breathing, eating, and all the other necessities that make sure I make it to another day. At any given moment I could be listening to a progressive band like Radiohead, or I could be relaxed, jamming out to the likes of J Dilla.

While my love of music is very eclectic, I am very specific about how I listen to music and when I might listen to a certain genre. For example, if I am getting ready for a night out, I might listen to something a little more upbeat and progressive. If I am in the mood for relaxing at night, or possibly just looking for background noise, I might pick from a plethora of ambient electronic producers. Their music is filled with both interesting beat patterns that I can vibe to and is also ambient enough for me to fall asleep if I really wanted to.

In fact, in the last couple of months I have almost religiously dedicated myself to scavenging through the likes of Soundcloud and Bandcamp to try and find the best of unknown producers. The music they create is ear candy for the mind and soul. Most of the songs you’ll find enveloped in my Soundcloud page are short, simple beats that are created through the use of a beat pad and sampling.

If you type sampling into google you will find this answer:

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a sound recording in a different song or piece.

It was not until the late 1970s and early 80s that sampling really exploded in the hip hop community. This began when DJs started interacting with and manipulating the vinyl records they played. At first, it became popular to play and replay the breaks in funk music, simply because crowds loved to dance to these parts. Kool DJ Herc is credited with originating this practice, and others, like DJ Grandmaster Flash, helped perfect the techniques, such as changing turntable speeds and turning the records manually. He joined other rappers to form Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and the group rose to national stardom with the 1980 single, "Freedom," which sampled "Get Up and Dance" by the rock band Freedom.

DJ Grandmaster Flash

DJ Kool Herc

Sampling isn’t just a way of recycling old and forgotten vinyl of years past. Artists like Premier are paying homage to the artists that paved the way for this emerging genre. Many of the songs that today’s hip hop artist are spitting verses over have the essence of a soul tune from the 70s, or Jazz riff that struck home with the artist.

Sampling, in a way, is sort of paying respect to the artist that you are sampling from. By re-using what they have created an artist is showing gratitude. The context of the sample could have meant some to the producer using the small recording. Creators like DJ Premier and the great J Dilla made careers out of the art form and have inspired a great number of music fans and other creators.