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The Whys Behind Hip Hop Production Choices
As a part of my research on the key characteristics of Melodic Rap, I’ve also began reading literature in musicology and hip hop. Although this topic feels like a stretch from spatial audio, the study is meant to be rigorous in many aspects, so it’s important to also understand the whys behind hip hop production, trends, and marketing. This ties into some recent headlines and reactions from the past few days that I’ll touch on at the end of this post.
In reading Amy Coddington’s book “How Hip Hop Became Hit Pop: Radio, Rap, and Race” (highly recommend), I was struck with many of the powerful statements made. This is because as I was going through Billboard Charts, Grammy Nominations and the like for my research, I kept finding instances of artists being put into rap and r&b categories, where the music is definitely Pop/Top 40. And after listening to many of these songs through a recording analysis approach, it’s not because of stylistic differences. So when I read the following section from Amy’s book, I felt validated in these thoughts and observations:
For most of the last century, the recording industry has been organized according to two intertwined principles: the assumption and subsequent demand that Black and white artists make different styles of music, and the simplification that consumers and performers of a genre share similar racial, ethnic, or class identities. This organizational structure influences how music is produced, promoted, and consumed. Record companies separate music made by and for people whom they consider outside the mainstream into Black, Latin, country, or other departmental divisions, and these departments encourage artists to design their musical wares for what they consider to be the same sorts of nonmainstream audiences…While this structuring is most often described using the language of genre, it is primarily about identity. “No other industry in America,” reported the NAACP in 1987, '“so openly classifies its operations on a racial basis”
Coddington, Amy. How Hip Hop Became Hit Pop: Radio, Rap, and Race (p. 17). University of California Press. Kindle Edition.
I bring this up because of the industry’s response to Beyonce’s two recent Country singles, “Texas Hold Em” and “16 Carriages”. We are seeing the media decide what to label the music, such as “Country Leaning” and “Country Themed”. We see this often. Remember when IGOR was nominated (and won) the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2020? His response to the nomination was:
How does this relate to my study on immersive mixing approaches for hip hop? I find a deep responsibility to honor the genre that has welcomed me with open arms and taught me so much as an engineer. I cannot justify doing a study within hip hop without acknowledging the complex and many times unfair landscapes artists have to deal with. Additionally as an engineer and researcher, I’m really trying to understand the production decisions we instinctively do. Does the 808 and kick really make or break the song? What if more time was spent on vocal production rather than using not so great vocal recordings (not always the case, but let’s be real here). Does the background vocal reallllly need a telephone effect?
I’m asking these questions because as I am in the middle of my recording analysis of Melodic Rap, I’m learning a lot about these sonic choices - what seems to be true and what isn’t. I’m questioning many mixing “best practices” now. Is it best for the record or is it because that is what is expected so artists can be boxed away into simpler categories, limiting their potential. This might seem trivial to some, but we are working in a time where mixing trends spread like rapid fire on reels and tik toks without any explanation or cause. I hope this encourages some reflection the next time you work out a mix and I hope we can start welcoming this idea of intentional mixing.
Intentional mixing - an approach that considers the musical thoughts behind shaping a mix