The culture of hip-hop was born out of necessity. From there, its innovation marked its rise as much as anything. As some say, hip-hop didn’t invent anything. Instead, it reinvented everything. And it’s that sense of reinvention that has kept it alive and rolling now since its birth in parks and homes across New York City in the late ’70s.
One of the things the culture and music reinvented was the record player, or turn table. So many of the genre’s beats in the early years were made with record scratches and break sampling. Meanwhile, much of the music of today is made with computers. But occasionally, you can find some rap music made with predominantly live instrumentation.
In the formative years of the music, that wasn’t often the case. Rap music was made with records and samples, the old guard would say. But rules bend, ideals soften. Here, we take a look through the ’90s—the Golden Age of rap—to find some of the best hip-hop songs made with live instruments.
“PROCEED” BY THE ROOTS FROM DO YOU WANT MORE?!!!??! (1995)
When it comes to rap groups with live instruments, the Philadelphia-born collective known as the Roots is the gold standard.
Led by the musical celebrity Questlove, an Oscar-winning documentarian who is also the bandleader for Jimmy Fallon’s late-night TV show, the Roots have worked with every big-name artist, from Jay Z to Dave Matthews. Their breakthrough 1995 LP, Do You Want More?!!!??! is a classic and features the group at its best.
“VERSES FROM THE ABSTRACT” BY A TRIBE CALLED QUEST FROM THE LOW END THEORY (1991)
This song from the smoothest group in rap, A Tribe Called Quest, features the iconic upright bass player, Ron Carter. Known as the most-recorded jazz bassist in history, Carter, who has worked with everyone from Herbie Hancock to Miles Davis, pulled up, did the session, and pulled out. He didn’t linger, he didn’t star gaze. It was work and the result is a classic.
Tribe was a group known for live bass lines, so why not get the best in history to do it?
“BULLS ON PARADE” BY RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE FROM EVIL EMPIRE (1996)
Some music fans may not consider Rage Against the Machine a rap band. And that’s fine. As Beyonce has said, labels just put artists in boxes, after all. Maybe they’re rock, maybe they’re rap. Maybe they’re both. But one listen to this song and you will just feel lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha spittin’.
Rage lead guitarist Tom Morello has often said he thought of his guitar like a turn-table and you can hear it clearly on this recording.
“VOCAB” BY THE FUGEES FROM BLUNTED ON REALITY (1994)
Before their hit album, The Score, the Fugees released their debut LP, Blunted on Reality. The 1994 work featured one of their fan-favorite tracks, “Vocab,” which essentially showcases the group’s three vocalists rapping over a simple acoustic guitar beat. The result is exquisite.
Fans of the Fugees know there have been several iterations of “Vocab” recorded and released and this live version below for MTV is one more excellent offering to add.
“SABOTAGE” BY THE BEASTIE BOYS FROM ILL COMMUNICATION (1994)
What started as a “frat rap” group became a sophisticated songwriting trio. And along the way the New York City-born band known as the Beastie Boys released guitar-bass-and-drum-driven songs like “Sabotage.”
In fact, before their hit 1980s debut LP, License to Ill, the Beasties were a punk rock group—just three kids trying to make it in the big bad world! So, it makes sense that years later, they’d be proficient enough to play their instruments on live TV. “Sabotage” might be even better this way.
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