Producers code?

Don't sample from within your own genre (scratch hooks and obvious homages or whatever excluded). That's about the only rule I think everybody should follow.

I got other shit I follow such as only sampling off vinyl, but that has a lot to do with growing up around people who were very heavy into the culture, it's just the way I learnt to do it.

I do find it funny people saying you are limiting yourself by only sampling from wax or whatever. To me its limitless, I need one note of a piano or a second of strings and I have a unique patch that I'd wager nobody else on the planet is using.

Anyway, have fun however it is that you do your thing, thats the main thing.
 
Everyone saying there is no code are the ones not following it. If you are producing real Hip Hop, it is mandatory that all sounds in the mix (drums, chops, bass, percussion) come straight from vinyl (no compilations) released prior to the hip hop era before being chopped and filtered. Live instrumentation is also acceptable. It's sort of like a moral code how even if you can't follow it completely, you should try your best and recognize where you fall short.

There are many unspoken reasons behind the rules. We don't sample new stuff because who's to say you're not sampling hip hop, something influenced by hip hop, or something specifically made to be sampled for hip hop. Sampling is about the art of taking something old and making it new, when the original artist had no idea at the time. That's why artists like Madlib and Oh No get hard for ancient samples off 78s from around the world. The more obscure the record, the less the artist would have ever guessed their music would be reinvented in the future. Digging and chopping are important for making the music your own. Pre-filtered drum kits are out if your music is completely legit. If you use sn_18 off of Ultimate Snares 6, it is no longer your beat, but a collaboration between you and the good people over at Ultimate Snares. I may have a strict view on sampling, but you can't say I'm old school because I'm 17.

If anyone is interested, I just found a complete book on the ethics of sampling.
http ://home.comcast . n e t/~hitdog/hiphoppaper .pdf
 
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