9th Wonder Discusses The Art of Sampling

by Kevin on April 28, 2009

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9th Wonder sits down with SoulCulture to talk about the misinterpretations of sampling, as well as his new collaborations with David Banner and Wale. No disrespect to 9th Wonder, I love his music, but doesn’t it sound like his head has gotten a little big? Great interview nonetheless.

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  4. 9th Wonder: God’s Stepson & 2008 Release Info
  5. Illmatic Beat Contest Week 3: The Entries

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Posted in Around The Net,Interviews

  • GOLDIE

    9th is indeed an icon and has paid his dues but what I’d like to see more of is brothers like him build with those of us that truly want to learn the art form and keep it moving for future generations vice always assuming that EVERYONE else is in it to be the next 9th Wonder or one hit wonder (Even I try to school my 10 year old son on the ART of beat production so that he will not gravitate towards the dark side of the game). This site has an AWSOME array of producers that I feel do it for the love of the craft. In my opinion, dude needs to tone it down a notch. Each 1 Teach 1 or what’s the point of doing it?!?!!!

    16-5-1-3-5!!!

  • KayAreEss

    how DO you filter a bassline?

  • razorSHARPE

    i filter my basslines with an EQ….

  • http://www.myspace.com/banghardmusik banghardboy

    I filter using frequency and resonance. .then repeat the process. .. over again and again till im happy.. But yea 9th doing his thing.. I love his music.. im not sure about him.. he just dont seem like some one i can sit back in the studio with and have a good time and create music..

  • http://rapnewscenter.blogspot.com/ akzzle4shzzle

    9th Wonder is too ill. Much respect on how he has made it and his music, thanks for posting this up Kev.

  • http://www.myspace.com/gregfaletto Greg Faletto

    I see that Kevin, I was like “wait, did he just mention himself in the same breath as Pete Rock?” Kind of weird.

    Also why don’t you guys filter basslines with just regular filters? It’s not something I do a lot so I’m kind of curious to hear if there’s a better way.

  • Brain

    I have no idea how someone who likes 9th wonder would watch that interview and say he is big headed. he SHOULD be in the same breath as pete rock and premier. he chops samples better than any producer alive. he is not the best of all time yet, but i guarentee you before it is all said and done he will be. do you want to know what big headed is? overrated herbs like kanye west. i love and respect this website, but yall give dap to some of the biggest jokes in RAP. the fact yall even covered 808 and heartbreaks, or talk about lil wayne shows that even a “underground” hip hop website like this hops on banwagons. everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but wow, 9th wonder big headed? that’s a bigger joke than some of the godawful mixtapes yall post. next thing i know there’s gonna be an artist review on soulja boy.

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin

    Brain, dude, chill out man. First of all, I’ve been a 9th Wonder follower since day one. My comment on him sounding big headed (though true) was meant to be taken lightly. Come on now, who refers to themselves as “the Grammy Award Winning” 9th Wonder? And yes, I agree he should be named up there with Pete and Premo, but let someone else name him up there. He shouldn’t have to do it himself.

    Now about this website. Where on here did you read this was an underground hip hop website? Please show me. Yeah, we post a lot of underground stuff, cuz that’s what I like. But check the name of the website… KevinNottingham.com not UndergroundHipHop.com. This means (and I’ll say it again) that I can post whatever I want. If you don’t like it, you are free to go to whatever other website you wish.

  • 999 Wonders

    Thanks for posting this up.

    Good interview.

  • Brain

    There is Hip Hop, and then there is Hip Pop.

  • One Mic

    Yo Brian, that’s a little harsh isn’t it? I’ve been coming here for a while and to date I haven’t been disappointed (except April Fools Day, when I nearly passed out!!!). This Forum is as real as Hip Hop can get. You can’t knock a site for posting news on the big names in the game, because whether you admit it or not, I know you checked out 808′s and Heartbreaks when it dropped! And if you read the review, you will notice that it’s not really hyping the album. Believe me, this site has a lot to offer. Just ignore the posts that don’t appeal to you! One-

  • 999 Wonders

    Kevin, have you ever thought about having a forum with this site?

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

    SMH….seems like somebody always comes out from behind the bushes when we say something about (insert favorite artist). I think the only person that contributes to the site that digs a lot of Lil Wayne’s stuff is me. You can check the search….I bet we’ve had less than 10 post about Lil Wayne in about 2500 or so post Kev has made.

    Anyhoo…I like the fact that 9th is more in the forefront. He’s talented and should be taking advantage of that to get his work out there. He might have missed the bus though….should have done this in 03-04 when he got on Jay’s, DC, and Mary’s album.

  • Ferrell

    “There is Hip Hop, and then there is Hip Pop”
    Nope. 3,967 times later, and I still don’t find that (sub)label clever. Oh and 808s was just plain pop. Straight from the horses mouth, and about a nine dozen pop music critics.

    I’m suddenly in the mood for some Heavy D.

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin

    We had a forum a while ago, but I shut it down cuz nobody went there and I didn’t have time to monitor it so it just got spammed a lot.

  • Brendan

    Okay, let’s get this straight: 9th is not even close to Premo or Pete Rock. I think it’s insulting to even put him in that category. I love a lot of stuff 9th has done, I love his work with Little Brother, but his new stuff is not that great really. Dream Merchant 2 is possibly some of the worst production I have ever heard, save a couple songs. 9th Wonder has lots of talent and I respect the way he got in the game, but isn’t it incredibly egotistical and big-headed to bash cats who are on the come up themselves? That’s my 2 cents.

  • KayAreEss

    where do you get an EQ or a filter? sorry i just don’t really know these things

  • http://www.myspace.com/mikepsounds Medium

    @kayareess its usually embedded in any music production program (i.e. fl, cubase, pro tools etc.)

  • KayAreEss

    yeah i’ve found the paramatic eq. what bass is the best on fl?

  • http://www.myspace.com/mikepsounds Medium

    and kev the forum thing isn’t a bad idea to bring it back up progressively. plus if you don’t have time to check up on it have people like sean deez, thomas, j rizzle etc… to monitor it.

  • http://www.myspace.com/gc88e G.C.

    @KayAreEss – Many sequencers come built with EQ, filters, and mastering tools. I personally use Fruity Loops 8, but there are many out there.

    All a filter does is it puts a pure sound in and outputs a different sound because certain frequencies are changed. You can do a low pass (meaning only the low sounds come through), which is what a lot of producers use to make basslines. There are reverb filters that can make it sound like a concert hall or a small pipe. There are delay filters that make a sound echo. There are chorus filters that make the sound full in both headphones. The list goes on and on.

    Think of an EQ like the sound adjusters on your car stereo. You can adjust the bass, middle, treble, pan left to right, front to back, etc. Same goes for an EQ. The EQ is a lot more detailed and usually has many levels of low, middle, and high. The whole point is that you can tweak a sound so it fits your vision. Most, if not all, sequencers come with a master EQ and individual channel EQs. That’s right, you can EQ each sound separately (channel) or all together as one song (master).

    Hope that helps! Good luck producing!

  • http://www.myspace.com/mikepsounds Medium

    @kayareess boobass is cool if you know how to mess with it there are others but, I’ll give you some advice marco polo gave me when I asked him. he said to use basses from samples. You can also get sets with drums, basses, percussion etc.

  • http://www.myspace.com/gc88e G.C.

    @KayAreEss – Ok, now I know you have FLP. Hit F9 to open your mixer, and you’ll see 64 channels and the master on the left. It should default to “Mixer – Master”. Each channel, you can put filters and EQ adjustments on the right in the vertical column labeled 1-7.

    Look in the folders on the left of your screen and you’ll find “Plugin Presets” –> “Effects”. There you’ll find everything from EQ, Chorus, Flanger, Reverb, etc. What I suggest is take a song and play it on loop. Drag one of those filters into the master channel and see how it makes the song sound. There are literally hundreds of filters to use, just learn how they tweak the sound and choose your favorites.

  • http://myspace.com/dah2l JL

    Ok, 9th is a great producer, but hes not on the level of Pete Rock. There’s alot more complexity to petes production (or at least his work with CL there is). 9th is cool music wise (even though, like mentioned earlier, hes been putting out sub par work recently), but the attitude hes grown into is exactly what I originally thought I was getting away from when I started listening to him and LB. I mean, it’s one thing to have confidence, everybody needs that to make it, but there’s also a line between cocky and confident.
    anyways…
    If you’re using fl and you want to filter bass, I recommend using the love philter (on the simple triangle low pass LFO setting) which is what I ussually use. But to get a good effect, I add a bess line (sub bass, I dont fuck wit boo bass, shit sounds corny most the time) here’s an example of a beat I used that method with: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=625034&songID=7260057

  • http://myspace.com/dah2l JL

    ^and the filter is on the verses fyi

  • Brain

    never listened to graduation, never listened to 808′s. honestly, i boycotted that shit. kevin, my bad, i reread my post after i cooled down, and attacking your site was not chill. i am on here almost everyday, and i appreciate what u do for hip hop. thomas, im sorry, but i dont understand how you or anyone likes lil wayne. the fact that he gets so much godamn puplicity, and little brother and de la get banned from BET, shows where we are headed as a society.

  • http://www.myspace.com/abstraktsoundz Abstrakt Soundz

    ATTN: G.C. yo man.. aim me whenever u get a chance.. i got a FL question for u man.. AIM= Abstrakt Soundz haha.. anything less would be uncivilized.

  • http://www.myspace.com/gc88e G.C.

    I don’t use AIM, just hit up the email. 88elements@gmail.com

    One!

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

    What is not to like about Lil Wayne? Why is Lil Wayne so bad for hip hop? I see an artist who at times can make great music (see D1, D2, C2, and the pre-carter 3 leak mixtapes). He is an artist who over time has worked on his craft and got to a point where others in the game have respect for what he does. Peep this video. http://djpremierblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/dj-premier-on-jay-z-nas-lil-wayne.html

    I’m not defending Wayne, not saying he is the best rapper alive, not saying he will go down in history as a great….just don’t understand all of the hate towards him. Yeah he’s on the radio alot, yeah he is on everyone’s remixes, yeah he is on just about every blog, yeah he’s on T.V., etc? I can’t be mad at him for taking advantage of the spotlight and getting it while he can….we as hip hop fans turn on our own too quick.

    If you haven’t listened to Graduation you’re missing out on good music my friend.

    Anyhoo….no shots…

  • http://www.myspace.com/abstraktsoundz Abstrakt Soundz

    haha… and if i may add.. ( a little late) YOU TELL HIM KEV!!! brain is on some of that GOOD ISH haha… i mean i like 9th n all, but i wouldnt put him (or anyone else for that matter) up there with Premo. Premos in a league of his own. Thas jus what happens when u achieve that greatness/ legendary status in music. 9th is nice too though, but i just dont think u can compare GREATS to anybody. but anyhoiw… I GOT A NEW COMPUTER YALL!!!! so Ab is BACK!!! (not that anyone cares… i just felt like broadcasting myself.. thas all lol)

  • Lynx

    I agree with you Kev…. but if I were 9th, id have a little ego too! Wouldn’t we all if we dropped beats like his? Interesting interview though

  • http://www.myspace.com/abstraktsoundz Abstrakt Soundz

    i liked that sweet lord project…. the chemistry between those two is CRAAAAZZZYY!!!!

  • GOLDIE

    “Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility.” – The Talmud

    Real talk Brain, I admire you for having the heart to correct yourself when you could have just did what every other mainstream artist seems to do now a days. Not only is this site a sanctuary for aspiring producers, it is also a place filled with inspiration and men vice ignorance and boys…

    As for Lil Wayne, it is a reflection of the times in which we live. It just makes me want to try even harder to get my own skill up to par for the imminent downturn in today’s “hip-pop” (lol).

    PEACE TO ALL!!!

  • grady

    GTFOOH..lil wayne?..lil wayne??…weezy f baby?? …mister licklicklooklika
    lolly pop?.. mr inventor of the autotune rapper singer next to u know who?..and the many song where u can t hear a goddamn thing he says?? ..the punch line where he pauses to feel himself..pause….straight homo….the verses with no content??…and the guy is only started being sober in his interview a month ago….thomas UGTBFKM
    ..well ..aside from that i guess there is no reason to not like lil wayne

  • Thomas

    Thanks for articulating such an intelligent point Grady. My 8 and 5 year old children could have written that with more detail and depth. I’m taking that took all but 20 seconds to write.

    You’re on my list of people to ignore until you step your comment game up!

  • Victor

    Personally, i see Lil Wayne as talented but seriously, seriously overrated. Yeah he has released some dope material but what i think pisses most off is the fact that so many “hip hop fans”, publications and the public in general have all near enough crowned him as the greatest.

    It is a frustration when scores of better spitters are still droppin today let alone the legends who HAVE dropped classics. Is he better than Redman, Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, Nas, Jigga, Q-Tip, BDK, O.C., KRS, scarface and other legends? Nah, heck thats not even to get into personal favs who dont even come into top 10 discussions e.g. Elzhi, Blu, Inspectah Deck and others who i prefer.

    Still, no one can knock his hustle, at least someone with talent is getting some shine. Now if it was Flo Rida who people were heralding that would be a different story.

  • http://www.myspace.com/garciastudios Garcia’s Grooves

    I always dig an interview from someone who is a master at what they do. Whether he’s as good as Premo or Pete Rock remains to be seen but he mos def has his own style.

    Good interview! Thanks for posting and I look forward to more!

  • http://www.myspace.com/gregfaletto Greg Faletto

    so uh

    how many of you guys who are knocking wayne can freestyle like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxFzStjSCYI or this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUUzCSo97VU

    or can even name five other rappers who can freestyle like that?

  • http://www.myspace.com/gregfaletto Greg Faletto

    five other rappers out there right now that is

  • http://www.soundclick.com/dynastywiliams dynasty williams

    its so funny to sit here and read these posts..does anyone else notice that the post started with 9th wonder and has completely turned into little wayne…lol..9th is a hot producer…and as a producer or as a artist in general i tend to find that when we start blowing up and everyone starts recognizing the talent we start thinking we can put out bull and its cool..we may not even do it intentionally and then theres the fact that we have these hype men that tell us everything we say is hot…and yes i keep saying we because i am a part of this culture as well…so i take blame as well..but we can’t hate on little wayne despite the dumb stuff he may say..he’s out there making his money while your sitting at home complaining while your listening to him on the radio and downloading his shit cause you’re not going to the store to buy it.

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Thomas

    I am the one who got us off track. lol

  • 999 Wonders

    “We had a forum a while ago, but I shut it down cuz nobody went there and I didn’t have time to monitor it so it just got spammed a lot.”

    Hey Kevin can you bring it back up? I wouldn’t mind being a moderator on there to help you guys.

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin

    It would have been easier a week ago before I transferred the site to this new server, but I left behind the old forum and didn’t back it up. so it’s lost. If there’s enough interested maybe I’ll think about setting a new one up. I just don’t want it to be a place for people to post music for illegal download, cuz that’s not what we’re about and that’s what most forums seem to be.

  • http://www.dividedsoulsent.com Chris

    9th is doing his thing. Whether or not you feel his production, he sure can convey his feelings and thoughts about the music. He’s definitely a good representation for all of Hip Hop. Peace

  • N

    SERIOUSLY 9TH NEEDS TO GO BACK TO FRUITY LOOPS OR SOMETHING… BECAUSE HE MADE BETTER BEATS THEN WITH THAT FAMOUS SNARE… LIKE I UNDERSTAND HE WANTS TO PROGRESS BUT WHY LEAVE SOMETHING THAT WAS SO GOOD AND YOU MADE SO FAMOUS…

  • grady

    yo thomas, i didn t mean to hurt ur feelings..but a niggaz gets real passionated abouz his stuffs sunz..actually it s just that wayne annoys the living hell out of me. “can t we all just get along” (royce, boom; biggie, party and bullshit)
    Nyhow luvizluv

  • Killer Bee

    Man I’d love to have a forum here. Fuck illegal downloading music I don’t support that in any way and I’m sure most real hip hop fans don’t either. This is one of the realest hip hop sites out, make a forum for this community to discuss real hip hop i cant find a decent forum anywhere

  • http://kevinnottingham.com Kevin

    Aight, the people have spoken! lol Gimme some time to set it up.

  • ignite mindz

    nice, i couldnt have said it better myself

  • http://www.myspace.com/gftdgroove GftdGrooVe

    . . .that post was a GOOD read . . i didnt even watch the interview! ! . . i love this site !!

    . . .and Kevin. . YES .. please put the forum back up . .. lol

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