The importance of drums in hip-hop is often overlooked, but the drums establish the groove, emphasize the vocal style, and enhance the music beyond its vocal content. Ingrid Monson's discussion of repetition in African diasporic musics and Olly Wilson's concept of the heterogeneous sound ideal in African and African American musics can both be applied to the sonic role of drumming. Both sampling and drum machines play integral roles in hip-hop drumming, but the drum machine is more flexible than a sample because drum machines allow subtle changes to the beat without the necessity of a live performer. A Tribe Called Quest's Everything Is Fair, for example, mimics the delivery of Clyde Stubblefield's drum break in James Brown's Funky Drummer, but incorporates further syncopation and a pause before the downbeat emphasis.

Works: A Tribe Called Quest: Everything Is Fair (268-70).

Sources: James Brown: Funky Drummer (261-63, 268-70).

Index Classifications: 1900s, Popular

Contributed by: Amanda Sewell