Are hip hop producers really musicians?

Griffin Avid said:
I just confused on how the OP posted this....
[h=2]Are hip hop producers really musicians?[/h]And you all are going back and forth about the definition of music
..instead of the understood/acceptable/cultural/traditional/general DEFINITION OF MUSICIAN.

And so saying I make music therefore I'm a musician is the equivalent of making a stool and saying you're a carpenter.
I know this and everyone else knows this.

If you tell ANYONE that you're a musician, they will ask what do you play?
And you (If YOU ARE A TRUE MUSICIAN) will answer 'a keyboard or Drum Pads'.
If you don't have a clue you will name a STUDIO TOOL, like a sampler or turntable.

If you EVER use the recording of someone else, THEY are the MUSICIAN(s) and you are reinterpreting/remixing/re-contextualizing THEIR MUSIC to create YOUR music.
That does not guarantee you are a musician. You can be creative/technical/clever/skillful and still not be a musician.

The true answer is DEPENDS and that depends on HOW that 'hip hop producer' makes his music.
Not whether or not WHAT he makes is considered music.

Most of us are ELECTRONIC MUSICIANS. That is, music made with the use of electronics.
i.e. COMPUTER aided. Meaning WHAT YOU CREATE MUSIC WITH USES ELECTRICITY.

99.9% of the definitions about Musicians involve skill/talent with a musical instrument. Instrument and NOT TOOL.
Musical instruments at their root DO NOT Need electricity.
Electric Guitar --- acoustic Guitar....
Electronic Drum set --- drums.
"Drum Machine" includes the machine and the inherent PROGRAMMING.


And you know the difference between making music by playing stuff and making music by programming stuff.
And you also know how much help all your studio tools are giving you along the way and that will impact the two key words
SKILL and TALENT. And I don't mean in a subjective 'his beats are hot tho' kind of way.
I repeat: you know the difference between making music by playing stuff and making music by programming stuff.

That's why the answer is depends.
There's lots of ways to make stuff generally accepted as GREAT MUSIC without being a musician.
Click to expand...

I am a electronic musician.
I play electronic instruments.
Control voltage is my hands.
Volts per octave is my voice.
Yet I neglect and reject 12TET.
 
Dudes-Be-Like-hit-me-up-for-exclusive-beats-just-0.99-cents-worldstarhiphop.jpg


Dis be muzik 2 doe!
 
Traxx1 said:
Dudes-Be-Like-hit-me-up-for-exclusive-beats-just-0.99-cents-worldstarhiphop.jpg


Dis be muzik 2 doe!
Click to expand...

God dude I can't stand that.

Producers thirsty as hell selling beats for like $10 bucks.

Invest time, get good and get some real money.

Everybody wanna make music but nobody wanna put in work.
 
Personally Ive only met a few cats that are real pros who cant play. There are some obvious ones that just sample and flip, but most have at least decent chops.
 
whether you call yourself a beat maker or musician you are still making something we classify as music. Look at the people that tried to push these boundaries like the composer John Cage. And John Zorn makes it impossible to define jazz he has twisted it so much. Music can be anything.
 
Pumpthrust said:
Ya know what? I'm gonna retract my previous statement and say no, hiphop producers ARE NOT musicians. Musicians PERFORM. Performance is not a key essential part of being a producer, and since most so-called hiphop producers are really just beatmakers at best, I'm going with an emphatic no.
Click to expand...

So what do you feel about the rock producer who doesn't touch one knob or play 1 instrument, but simple directs everything?

I feel like, if you can make music...YOU ARE A MUSICIAN. It's like if you can ride a bike, you're a bike rider. If you dance, you are a dancer. Now any adjective can be added to describe you from "professional" to "horrible". But you are WTF you are. :cheers:
 
^^^I'd disagree. They play the biggest part in the overall creation of a song.

What about the writers who don't sing or play an instrument, but do provide lyrics and coach the performer?

It's like saying the head chef isn't a chef because he's all over the place instructing the others, but doesn't make the food leaving the kitchen.

Just my opinion not saying you're wrong.
 
^^^Many head chef's are past their physical prime, can have circles ran around them by their younger faster staff, some even hire staff because of expertise they don't possess, yet they still are the brains of the operation.

I'm a bit confused to how you're not a musician if you're writing or producing the songs being performed. You're the reason the "music" exists.

Again, all opinions, but some of you guys give too much emphasis on titles. Hypothetically you're saying I could be behind the crafting of some of the biggest records in history, but I'm not a "musician" until I touch a keyboard...even if it's just to add a chord so I can say I'm a "musician". Same for singing? Write amazing songs with all the critical acclaim one could receive, but not a musician until I hum along or harmonize a little on a backing track? Wow.
 
I'm a musician. Been a musician since I was about 9. I can play a few instruments. But not proficiently enough to get up on someones stage and do it.

A musician is someone who creates and or plays music. I create music in my head. Lyrics, melodies, harmonies, arrangements, etc. Then I put it in a format where either other people can read it and play it (sheet music), or I tell the computer to play it.


Hip Hop producers create music. Whether it's by sampling, or whether it's by authoring an original arrangement.


Yes there are musicians that are at a higher level of proficiency than some hip hop producers, but that doesn't take away from the fact that hip hop producers and beat makers are indeed musicians.


They may not be INSTRUMENTALISTS (in the traditional sense), but if they create MUSIC, then they are MUSICIANS.
 
So when was the last time Quincy Jones actually picked up his trumpet to perform, probably 1940 something?
I hope you guys are not limiting a musician to just traditional instruments (are DJs and vocalists included).
 
Yes, you are a musician if you make music. It doesn't matter if it's easier to use a computer vs. a traditional instrument.

People that use PC to make comic books now are still considered artists. I think if people want to knit-pick... the titles to should change with the times.

Like - "I'm a traditional musician" vs. "I'm an electronic musician"... what music sounds more pleasing should be the real argument, not the title.

I'm a beat maker... and my shit sounds better than a lot of musician's music. They can have the title, I don't need it.
 
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