Hip-Hop pedagogy as production practice: Reverse-engineering the sample-based aesthetic

Hip-hop practice contains a rich matrix of creative methodologies within its paradigm, which can inform and inspire music production pedagogy in higher education. The techno-artistic trajectory of rap production consists of numerous phases that may involve live performance, recording, sampling, synthesis, programming, mixing and mastering. Furthermore, it is not rare for self-contained processes—such as interpolation and the creation of content for sampling—to be actualised as developmental phases within the larger production cycle. The well-documented issues affecting phonographic sampling have given rise to alternative methodologies inviting live musicianship within hip-hop practice, but also a dependance on synthetic sonics (often as signifiers of geographical or stylistic divergence). As a hybrid production vehicle par excellence—both live and electronic, performed and programmed, modern and vintage—Hip-Hop provides a fertile context for the application of diverse techniques in pursuit of inter-stylistic aesthetics. The paper explores the spectrum of creative opportunities that lie between live performance, the sample-based process, and notions of 'composition' as encompassed within the hip-hop paradigm, seeking to identify under-represented aspects of contemporary music production and unexploited synergies in popular music curricula that may benefit from further integration.