Hip Hop Was Born Here

1 00:00:06,745 --> 00:00:10,445 <i>LL COOL J: So, Marley Marl, you produced Roxanne Shanté.</i> 2 00:00:10,532 --> 00:00:13,187 <i>You produced my song, "Mama Said Knock You Out."</i> 3 00:00:13,274 --> 00:00:17,191 You are the guy who introduced sampling to hip hop. 4 00:00:17,278 --> 00:00:20,411 <i>Early, early, early on,</i> 5 00:00:20,498 --> 00:00:23,935 <i>what was it that inspired you to produce hip hop?</i> 6 00:00:23,936 --> 00:00:26,199 -Now, I gotta say... -Hmm. 7 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:27,897 I didn't think rap was going that far. 8 00:00:28,028 --> 00:00:29,290 Tell me why. 9 00:00:29,377 --> 00:00:31,379 Because, no disrespect, 10 00:00:31,466 --> 00:00:34,208 but the early rap records just wasn't hitting me. 11 00:00:34,295 --> 00:00:35,861 Really? 12 00:00:35,948 --> 00:00:38,080 Man, let me tell you, when I first heard hip hop, 13 00:00:38,081 --> 00:00:41,041 I heard the echoes. 14 00:00:41,128 --> 00:00:42,693 [hip hop beat playing] 15 00:00:42,694 --> 00:00:44,261 I heard the break beat. 16 00:00:44,609 --> 00:00:47,742 ♪ 17 00:00:47,743 --> 00:00:48,966 I heard the zigga, zigga, zigga. 18 00:00:49,049 --> 00:00:51,138 ♪ 19 00:00:51,225 --> 00:00:54,966 And when the records came out, none of that was on there. 20 00:00:54,967 --> 00:00:55,968 -Right. -I'm like, yo, 21 00:00:56,056 --> 00:00:57,970 it gotta be a better way. -Right. 22 00:00:58,058 --> 00:00:59,755 [laughter] 23 00:00:59,885 --> 00:01:01,538 Gotta be somethin'. 24 00:01:01,539 --> 00:01:04,151 ♪ 25 00:01:04,238 --> 00:01:07,979 <i>LL COOL J: Hip hop is everywhere,</i> 26 00:01:07,980 --> 00:01:09,939 <i>every corner of the globe.</i> 27 00:01:10,026 --> 00:01:12,550 <i>To understand the power of hip hop today,</i> 28 00:01:12,637 --> 00:01:15,161 <i>you have to go back to where it all started...</i> 29 00:01:15,162 --> 00:01:16,728 <i>♪ Ain't no love</i> 30 00:01:16,815 --> 00:01:19,296 <i>LL COOL J: ...my hometown, New York City.</i> 31 00:01:19,383 --> 00:01:21,342 <i>Because listen when I tell you...</i> 32 00:01:21,429 --> 00:01:23,605 <i>- ♪ SINGER: Ain't no love - ...hip hop was born here.</i> 33 00:01:23,692 --> 00:01:26,389 <i>SINGER: ♪ In the heart of town ♪</i> 34 00:01:26,390 --> 00:01:29,045 <i>♪ Ain't no love</i> 35 00:01:30,612 --> 00:01:36,618 <i>♪</i> 36 00:01:36,705 --> 00:01:39,447 <i>The magic of New York City has always been collaboration.</i> 37 00:01:39,534 --> 00:01:42,580 <i>♪ Say "H" is for Hollis and Hollis town ♪</i> 38 00:01:42,667 --> 00:01:44,146 <i>LL COOL J: That's also the magic of making hip hop.</i> 39 00:01:44,147 --> 00:01:47,411 <i>♪ Somebody say ho, oh</i> 40 00:01:47,498 --> 00:01:51,415 <i>LL COOL J: Community, collaboration.</i> 41 00:01:51,502 --> 00:01:53,896 <i>Everyone sees the artist on the album cover,</i> 42 00:01:53,983 --> 00:01:57,117 <i>but there's a whole team behind the finished product...</i> 43 00:01:57,204 --> 00:01:59,728 <i>a team led by the producer.</i> 44 00:01:59,815 --> 00:02:02,599 <i>From Kool Herc's "Merry-Go-Round" technique</i> 45 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,082 <i>to Rick Rubin's mastery at bridging musical genres.</i> 46 00:02:06,169 --> 00:02:08,737 The Beastie Boys, one of the finest groups 47 00:02:08,824 --> 00:02:10,565 in music today right there. 48 00:02:10,652 --> 00:02:13,002 <i>Iconic elements of hip hop's New York sound</i> 49 00:02:13,089 --> 00:02:15,526 <i>were many times created behind the curtain,</i> 50 00:02:15,657 --> 00:02:20,227 <i>away from the spotlight by men and women in the producer chair,</i> 51 00:02:20,314 --> 00:02:22,881 <i>men and women who pushed hip hop forward.</i> 52 00:02:22,968 --> 00:02:25,319 You got that? 53 00:02:25,449 --> 00:02:27,799 <i>I'm headed to the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music</i> 54 00:02:27,886 --> 00:02:29,453 <i>in Brooklyn to speak to one</i> 55 00:02:29,584 --> 00:02:32,369 <i>of the earliest hip hop producers and innovators.</i> 56 00:02:32,456 --> 00:02:35,067 <i>I'm talking about none other</i> 57 00:02:35,155 --> 00:02:37,374 <i>than Queensbridge's own Marley Marl.</i> 58 00:02:37,461 --> 00:02:39,246 Take one. 59 00:02:39,333 --> 00:02:41,073 Marley Marl! 60 00:02:41,161 --> 00:02:43,075 -James Todd, what up? -What up, baby? 61 00:02:43,206 --> 00:02:45,382 -How you, bruh? -Excellent, my man. 62 00:02:45,469 --> 00:02:46,643 Yes. 63 00:02:46,644 --> 00:02:48,690 ♪ 64 00:02:48,820 --> 00:02:50,779 <i>A founding member of the Juice Crew,</i> 65 00:02:50,866 --> 00:02:52,563 <i>he brought unique beats,</i> 66 00:02:52,650 --> 00:02:55,436 <i>revolutionized how drum machines could be used,</i> 67 00:02:55,523 --> 00:02:57,394 <i>and is known for bringing sampling to hip hop,</i> 68 00:02:57,481 --> 00:02:59,569 <i>forever changing the game.</i> 69 00:02:59,570 --> 00:03:04,749 <i>Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, Biz Markie, Biggie, RZA</i> 70 00:03:04,836 --> 00:03:09,189 <i>all count him as a mentor or an influence on their music.</i> 71 00:03:09,276 --> 00:03:12,887 <i>This man's impact on hip hop cannot be measured.</i> 72 00:03:12,888 --> 00:03:15,934 <i>Let's go back to the beginning.</i> 73 00:03:16,021 --> 00:03:17,327 What was your musical influence, 74 00:03:17,414 --> 00:03:19,329 and how'd you become an engineer? 75 00:03:19,416 --> 00:03:22,289 My musical influence was before hip hop. 76 00:03:22,376 --> 00:03:25,335 I heard a song called "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer, 77 00:03:25,422 --> 00:03:27,380 <i>and I heard the electronics in it,</i> 78 00:03:27,381 --> 00:03:29,078 <i>and I was like, how did they do that?</i> 79 00:03:29,165 --> 00:03:33,343 Then one day I was jamming in Queens bridge Park. 80 00:03:33,430 --> 00:03:35,084 <i>The band was on one side of the park.</i> 81 00:03:35,171 --> 00:03:37,738 <i>I was on the other side of the park with the DJ equipment.</i> 82 00:03:37,739 --> 00:03:40,655 <i>So, they came and plugged into my set,</i> 83 00:03:40,742 --> 00:03:43,527 and they started jamming, but then the very next day, 84 00:03:43,614 --> 00:03:46,051 the musicians started coming to my house in Queens bridge. 85 00:03:46,138 --> 00:03:49,185 And that's how I started learning how to EQ the bass... 86 00:03:49,272 --> 00:03:51,056 <i>-Mm-hmm. -...and the guitars and stuff.</i> 87 00:03:51,143 --> 00:03:59,143 <i>DONNA SUMMER: ♪ I feel love ♪</i> 88 00:03:59,326 --> 00:04:02,328 Okay, so tell me about how that kinda 89 00:04:02,329 --> 00:04:04,373 evolved into production. 90 00:04:04,374 --> 00:04:07,856 I used to hear a guy named Shep Pettibone on the radio. 91 00:04:07,943 --> 00:04:09,552 <i>-Mm-hmm. -He was doing remixes.</i> 92 00:04:09,553 --> 00:04:11,902 <i>And I'm hearing him putting different elements</i> 93 00:04:11,903 --> 00:04:13,644 into his productions, 94 00:04:13,731 --> 00:04:16,733 and I'm like, wow, I hope... I got musicians with me. 95 00:04:16,734 --> 00:04:19,562 I could do the same thing. So, I started doing remixes 96 00:04:19,563 --> 00:04:22,349 <i>and started submitting them to WBLS.</i> 97 00:04:22,479 --> 00:04:24,393 <i>So, you would take the instrumentals</i> 98 00:04:24,394 --> 00:04:26,483 and put, what, a capellas to 'em or... 99 00:04:26,570 --> 00:04:27,744 What we would do is extend the instrumentals 100 00:04:27,745 --> 00:04:29,356 and take the choruses out. 101 00:04:29,443 --> 00:04:31,792 <i>By me doing remixes, I used to put,</i> 102 00:04:31,793 --> 00:04:35,012 like, little rap breaks that didn't belong on the remixes. 103 00:04:35,013 --> 00:04:36,580 <i>That's when I got into producing.</i> 104 00:04:36,667 --> 00:04:39,669 Guess I'm a producer now. 105 00:04:39,670 --> 00:04:42,238 <i>LL COOL J: Your craft... sampling. Let's get into it.</i> 106 00:04:42,325 --> 00:04:44,457 Well, when I first started out sampling, 107 00:04:44,458 --> 00:04:46,808 I was using an 808 to trigger my samples. 108 00:04:46,938 --> 00:04:50,290 <i>So, your one time would be a snare...</i> 109 00:04:50,377 --> 00:04:53,902 <i>one time would be a kick... and one time would be a hat...</i> 110 00:04:53,989 --> 00:04:55,033 <i>-Yes. -...et cetera.</i> 111 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:56,992 At first I was just taking kicks, 112 00:04:57,079 --> 00:04:58,950 snares, and hi-hats... -Okay. 113 00:04:59,037 --> 00:05:00,822 ...and just making my own patterns. 114 00:05:00,952 --> 00:05:02,780 -Okay. -That was fire because 115 00:05:02,867 --> 00:05:04,956 I would take, like, a James Brown kick and a snare 116 00:05:05,043 --> 00:05:06,567 and make my own beat. 117 00:05:06,697 --> 00:05:08,568 <i>♪ Hey ♪</i> 118 00:05:08,569 --> 00:05:10,614 <i>♪ Come on now</i> 119 00:05:10,701 --> 00:05:12,747 <i>♪</i> 120 00:05:12,834 --> 00:05:14,794 <i>MARLEY MARL: Everybody's like, "How'd he do that?"</i> 121 00:05:15,140 --> 00:05:16,619 <i>♪</i> 122 00:05:16,620 --> 00:05:19,884 How did you decide which drums to sample? 123 00:05:19,971 --> 00:05:21,582 What was the vibe, you know? 124 00:05:21,669 --> 00:05:24,280 Whatever I was getting reaction from, from being a DJ, 125 00:05:24,411 --> 00:05:26,326 I was gonna sample that record because 126 00:05:26,413 --> 00:05:29,111 it gave me instant reaction already. 127 00:05:29,198 --> 00:05:33,420 So, you were programming people by using certain popular sounds 128 00:05:33,507 --> 00:05:35,246 and incorporating those sounds 129 00:05:35,247 --> 00:05:36,644 into every record in a different way. 130 00:05:36,727 --> 00:05:38,903 -100%. -What you did, it really 131 00:05:38,990 --> 00:05:40,644 revolutionized the sound of hip hop. 132 00:05:40,731 --> 00:05:42,864 There's no question about that. 133 00:05:42,951 --> 00:05:46,824 We going to make history. 134 00:05:46,955 --> 00:05:48,130 Right now. 135 00:05:48,217 --> 00:05:50,741 <i>I'm walking into a session,</i> 136 00:05:50,872 --> 00:05:53,962 <i>and inside this session is the great Marley Marl.</i> 137 00:05:54,049 --> 00:05:56,007 Let's see what happens. 138 00:05:56,094 --> 00:05:59,228 Marley Marl was a major contributor 139 00:05:59,315 --> 00:06:00,969 to the changing of the time. 140 00:06:01,056 --> 00:06:04,538 <i>JUST BLAZE: Hip hop... obviously it originated from park jams,</i> 141 00:06:04,625 --> 00:06:05,934 and dudes were rhyming over breaks. 142 00:06:06,017 --> 00:06:07,888 <i>Most of the early records were</i> 143 00:06:07,889 --> 00:06:12,023 bands recreating the breaks that were played in the park. 144 00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:14,112 <i>♪ ...tell it like this you would never discover ♪</i> 145 00:06:14,199 --> 00:06:16,287 <i>♪ That mess is in the lover ♪</i> 146 00:06:16,288 --> 00:06:18,160 <i>JUST BLAZE: You fast forward a bit later,</i> 147 00:06:18,247 --> 00:06:20,117 <i>and the sound starts to change.</i> 148 00:06:20,118 --> 00:06:23,818 <i>Now it's heavily reliant on drum machines and synthesizers.</i> 149 00:06:23,905 --> 00:06:25,907 <i>♪</i> 150 00:06:25,994 --> 00:06:28,865 You fast forward a few years later and to Marley Marl... 151 00:06:28,866 --> 00:06:33,393 <i>he introduced a form of sampling that was very different</i> 152 00:06:33,523 --> 00:06:35,917 <i>and quite revolutionary and still prevalent to this day.</i> 153 00:06:36,004 --> 00:06:38,658 <i>♪</i> 154 00:06:38,659 --> 00:06:40,530 There was a Marley Marl sound. 155 00:06:40,617 --> 00:06:42,580 <i>We usually go over her rap first before I even do a track,</i> 156 00:06:42,663 --> 00:06:45,274 then fit a beat up under it. 157 00:06:45,361 --> 00:06:49,234 And then, you know, we find a hook. The rest is history. 158 00:06:49,321 --> 00:06:51,715 <i>POKE: He made sounds, like, real gritty.</i> 159 00:06:51,802 --> 00:06:54,370 He also sampled records that no one 160 00:06:54,501 --> 00:06:56,720 was ever thinking of sampling at the time, 161 00:06:56,851 --> 00:06:59,244 <i>and it led the way for other producers</i> 162 00:06:59,331 --> 00:07:02,422 <i>to broaden their mind and start sampling things</i> 163 00:07:02,509 --> 00:07:04,031 <i>that they wouldn't normally sample.</i> 164 00:07:04,032 --> 00:07:06,208 <i>♪</i> 165 00:07:06,295 --> 00:07:08,210 <i>♪ Impeach the president ♪</i> 166 00:07:08,297 --> 00:07:11,255 <i>♪</i> 167 00:07:11,256 --> 00:07:13,781 He realizes, "Oh, I can take" 168 00:07:13,911 --> 00:07:16,173 the "Impeach the President" snare. 169 00:07:16,174 --> 00:07:18,525 And instead of just looping "Impeach the President," 170 00:07:18,612 --> 00:07:21,353 I can take the kick, the snare, and the hi-hat 171 00:07:21,441 --> 00:07:23,530 and sequence them differently. 172 00:07:23,617 --> 00:07:26,620 <i>Now you have this new form of sampling where instead</i> 173 00:07:26,750 --> 00:07:29,013 <i>of just looping something, it's like the kick, the snare,</i> 174 00:07:29,100 --> 00:07:32,146 <i>the hat are all resequenced into a different arrangement.</i> 175 00:07:32,147 --> 00:07:34,153 And that kind of changed the sound of hip hop forever. 176 00:07:34,236 --> 00:07:37,892 ♪ 177 00:07:37,979 --> 00:07:40,024 Tell me about the response and what it was like 178 00:07:40,155 --> 00:07:43,854 being Marley Marl as you revolutionized the game. 179 00:07:43,941 --> 00:07:45,987 ♪ 180 00:07:46,074 --> 00:07:48,598 <i>It was kind of hard in a way because now the musicians</i> 181 00:07:48,729 --> 00:07:51,558 are looking at me like, "You just sampling. 182 00:07:51,645 --> 00:07:53,429 You ain't no musician. That ain't music." 183 00:07:53,516 --> 00:07:55,039 I was hearing all that. 184 00:07:55,126 --> 00:07:56,780 I wasn't a musician, 185 00:07:56,867 --> 00:07:59,390 but I knew how to make everything sound good. 186 00:07:59,391 --> 00:08:02,612 Well, that's a musician. You were able to take what was 187 00:08:02,743 --> 00:08:04,919 inside of you musically and put it out there. 188 00:08:05,006 --> 00:08:07,269 -You used different tools. -No doubt. 189 00:08:07,356 --> 00:08:09,489 There is something to be said 190 00:08:09,619 --> 00:08:12,055 for the intuitive soul aspects of the craft. 191 00:08:12,056 --> 00:08:14,236 They was coming with everything to stop me from doing it, 192 00:08:14,319 --> 00:08:18,019 but I just felt that this is what the music needed. 193 00:08:18,106 --> 00:08:24,154 ♪ 194 00:08:24,155 --> 00:08:26,418 Hold up, hold up. We're doing this for the Bridge. 195 00:08:26,506 --> 00:08:27,724 We don't need that tonight. 196 00:08:27,811 --> 00:08:29,421 Ain't gon' be none of that tonight. 197 00:08:29,509 --> 00:08:31,814 Yo, we doin' this in peace for the Bridge. 198 00:08:31,815 --> 00:08:34,644 ♪ 199 00:08:34,731 --> 00:08:37,734 Okay, so now let's make a sonic comparison. 200 00:08:37,821 --> 00:08:39,867 -Yes. -From how sounds were when 201 00:08:39,954 --> 00:08:41,781 you first started sampling... -Mm-hmm. 202 00:08:41,782 --> 00:08:43,435 ...and compare that to now. 203 00:08:43,523 --> 00:08:46,177 Sonically, once virtual instruments got involved, 204 00:08:46,308 --> 00:08:48,265 it changed the whole game. 205 00:08:48,266 --> 00:08:50,747 Taking chances creates change in the music. 206 00:08:50,834 --> 00:08:52,835 To put it simply, our music is going from a live band 207 00:08:52,836 --> 00:08:56,926 to a basic beat, all the way to a producer's medium 208 00:08:56,927 --> 00:09:00,801 of complicated, rich samples with a sophistication of sound. 209 00:09:00,888 --> 00:09:03,847 The evolution of the tools in production 210 00:09:03,934 --> 00:09:06,458 have changed immensely. 211 00:09:06,546 --> 00:09:10,332 <i>In the beginning, we talking about 2-inch tapes.</i> 212 00:09:10,419 --> 00:09:12,813 <i>♪</i> 213 00:09:12,900 --> 00:09:14,466 <i>Outboard gear.</i> 214 00:09:14,554 --> 00:09:16,598 <i>Everything was tubes. Everything was analog.</i> 215 00:09:16,599 --> 00:09:18,645 Even the mix consoles was analog. 216 00:09:18,993 --> 00:09:22,779 ♪ 217 00:09:22,866 --> 00:09:25,085 <i>We're talking about 24 tracks,</i> 218 00:09:25,086 --> 00:09:27,610 <i>flying in vocals, flying in choruses.</i> 219 00:09:27,697 --> 00:09:29,656 And if you had to do an edit of any sort, 220 00:09:29,743 --> 00:09:31,918 we say, "All right. We going to lunch. 221 00:09:31,919 --> 00:09:33,310 Let the engineer do the edit. We'll come back." 222 00:09:33,311 --> 00:09:34,965 'Cause that's how long it took. 223 00:09:35,052 --> 00:09:36,749 <i>JUST BLAZE: Technology always has to evolve.</i> 224 00:09:36,750 --> 00:09:38,621 <i>It's never gonna sit in one place.</i> 225 00:09:38,708 --> 00:09:40,056 As long as there's innovation to be had, 226 00:09:40,057 --> 00:09:41,885 as long as there's money to be made, 227 00:09:41,972 --> 00:09:43,017 change is gonna happen. 228 00:09:43,365 --> 00:09:50,415 ♪ 229 00:09:50,502 --> 00:09:55,203 <i>Eventually, tools like the SP, the MPCs,</i> 230 00:09:55,290 --> 00:09:59,076 the ASR-10s, give way to the digital audio workstation. 231 00:09:59,163 --> 00:10:02,297 <i>And you have programs like Logic,</i> 232 00:10:02,384 --> 00:10:05,779 programs like FruityLoops, Pro Tools. 233 00:10:05,866 --> 00:10:09,043 <i>It just made it so much easier to create.</i> 234 00:10:09,130 --> 00:10:10,914 It lowered the cost of entry. 235 00:10:11,045 --> 00:10:13,917 I do mostly on the laptop. 236 00:10:14,048 --> 00:10:15,571 <i>You could just buy a computer</i> 237 00:10:15,702 --> 00:10:17,964 and have the somewhat of an equivalent, 238 00:10:17,965 --> 00:10:20,837 instead of a studio in New York, you know, all in one box 239 00:10:20,924 --> 00:10:23,274 <i>that allows you to sample, sequence, and everything</i> 240 00:10:23,361 --> 00:10:26,668 you could do on these machines at a fraction of the cost. 241 00:10:26,669 --> 00:10:29,672 ♪ 242 00:10:33,197 --> 00:10:37,941 Digital is more of a frequency range than analog would be. 243 00:10:38,028 --> 00:10:41,466 ♪ 244 00:10:41,553 --> 00:10:43,468 <i>It's a tunnel. You can only put a certain amount</i> 245 00:10:43,555 --> 00:10:45,862 of information through that room. 246 00:10:45,949 --> 00:10:47,651 But when you're doing digital, there is no room. 247 00:10:47,734 --> 00:10:49,431 <i>It's empty space.</i> 248 00:10:49,518 --> 00:10:51,999 <i>You can just put as much stuff in it as you want.</i> 249 00:10:52,086 --> 00:10:54,044 <i>♪</i> 250 00:10:54,131 --> 00:10:55,959 As technology advances, 251 00:10:56,090 --> 00:10:58,570 eventually you can just do the whole thing, 252 00:10:58,658 --> 00:10:59,919 <i>you know, on a mobile device.</i> 253 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:03,837 <i>These days, it's not so much what you use,</i> 254 00:11:03,967 --> 00:11:06,013 but how you use what you have available. 255 00:11:06,143 --> 00:11:08,624 <i>The reality that that presents</i> 256 00:11:08,755 --> 00:11:12,628 is that the greatest tool you can have in the studio 257 00:11:12,715 --> 00:11:15,413 is your ear and your brain. 258 00:11:17,459 --> 00:11:19,199 ♪ 259 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,682 <i>LL COOL J: So, let's talk about these upcoming producers.</i> 260 00:11:22,769 --> 00:11:24,335 <i>MARLEY MARL: Mm-hmm.</i> 261 00:11:24,422 --> 00:11:25,685 -These young artists. -Mm-hmm. 262 00:11:25,772 --> 00:11:28,339 What would your advice be to them? 263 00:11:28,426 --> 00:11:30,950 <i>MARLEY MARL: It's important to have chemistry with the artists.</i> 264 00:11:30,951 --> 00:11:32,909 <i>You know what I'm saying?</i> 265 00:11:32,996 --> 00:11:35,912 <i>Now, we first met when you came to WBLS...</i> 266 00:11:36,043 --> 00:11:37,217 <i>-Yeah, I remember. -...and did "In Control."</i> 267 00:11:37,218 --> 00:11:41,265 And I was like, "Yo, L., I like the album. 268 00:11:41,352 --> 00:11:43,223 It's one song I think I could fix for you." 269 00:11:43,224 --> 00:11:45,008 I was like, "A'ight." 270 00:11:45,095 --> 00:11:46,880 <i>♪ Rollin' over punks like a redneck trucker ♪</i> 271 00:11:47,010 --> 00:11:49,447 <i>♪ Innovating, devastating, and dope on a single now ♪</i> 272 00:11:49,578 --> 00:11:52,886 And then you found that bass line on the reel... 273 00:11:52,973 --> 00:11:55,366 -Yeah. -...that I had put on there. 274 00:11:55,453 --> 00:11:56,802 -Just... -Didn't even turn it up on it. 275 00:11:56,803 --> 00:11:58,587 -Didn't even turn it up. -Right. 276 00:11:58,674 --> 00:12:00,937 And I'm like, "Yo, hold up. Yo, that's fire." 277 00:12:01,024 --> 00:12:02,939 <i>♪ You're jingling, baby ♪</i> 278 00:12:03,026 --> 00:12:04,244 <i>- ♪ Go ahead, baby - ♪ Break down ♪</i> 279 00:12:04,245 --> 00:12:06,028 And then you turned around and put the... 280 00:12:06,029 --> 00:12:07,944 <i>♪ Duh-duh, duh-duh, duh-duh</i> 281 00:12:08,031 --> 00:12:09,946 And that boom... [imitating drumbeat] 282 00:12:10,077 --> 00:12:13,080 And you was like, "Yo, let me do the vocals over." 283 00:12:13,167 --> 00:12:14,738 I remember doing 'em over. And you were like, 284 00:12:14,821 --> 00:12:16,257 "Yo, but calm it down." 285 00:12:16,344 --> 00:12:18,607 <i>♪ Uncle I, future of the funk ♪</i> 286 00:12:18,694 --> 00:12:20,652 <i>♪ Records are recorded minus all the junk ♪</i> 287 00:12:21,001 --> 00:12:22,393 <i>♪</i> 288 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:23,960 <i>-You have to trust me. -Yeah.</i> 289 00:12:24,047 --> 00:12:25,570 <i>I gotta trust you.</i> 290 00:12:25,657 --> 00:12:27,098 <i>We gotta have that belief in each other.</i> 291 00:12:27,181 --> 00:12:29,966 Yeah, I agree. And also, you gotta know when to know 292 00:12:30,097 --> 00:12:31,924 and when not to know. There's times when I'd be like, 293 00:12:31,925 --> 00:12:34,883 "Yo, Marley, I'm telling you." And I'm sticking to my guns, 294 00:12:34,884 --> 00:12:36,934 and I'm right. And there are other times when I'm like, 295 00:12:37,017 --> 00:12:37,887 "Okay." -Yeah. 296 00:12:38,018 --> 00:12:39,627 -Right? -Yeah, of course. 297 00:12:39,628 --> 00:12:41,848 Peace! 298 00:12:41,935 --> 00:12:45,112 Okay, so... one word. 299 00:12:45,199 --> 00:12:46,722 Legacy. 300 00:12:46,809 --> 00:12:49,680 -Legacy. End of the day. -Yeah. 301 00:12:49,681 --> 00:12:52,641 What y'all gon' know about me when I'm gone? 302 00:12:54,251 --> 00:12:56,123 That I birthed all y'all motherfuckers. 303 00:12:56,210 --> 00:12:59,909 [laughter] 304 00:12:59,996 --> 00:13:02,782 Every producer out there, I birthed you. 305 00:13:02,869 --> 00:13:04,479 It's your daddy talking right now. 306 00:13:04,609 --> 00:13:06,133 [laughter continues] 307 00:13:06,263 --> 00:13:09,658 -You know, just seriously. -My man, Marley Marl. 308 00:13:09,745 --> 00:13:10,750 James Todd right here, y'all. 309 00:13:10,833 --> 00:13:15,054 Right here. Love. Let's go. Bounce. 310 00:13:15,055 --> 00:13:22,018 ♪ 311 00:13:22,105 --> 00:13:23,019 ♪ 312 00:13:23,106 --> 00:13:24,934 It's... It's like a jigsaw puzzle, 313 00:13:25,065 --> 00:13:27,676 you know, when you're making a song. 314 00:13:27,763 --> 00:13:30,026 Sometimes I'll start out with the beat first, 315 00:13:30,113 --> 00:13:33,289 and then I'll, um, have someone come in, 316 00:13:33,290 --> 00:13:36,816 spit on it, like, you know, on some vocals or whatever. 317 00:13:36,946 --> 00:13:40,254 And then I'll arrange the music around 318 00:13:40,341 --> 00:13:42,169 <i>and make it more exciting.</i> 319 00:13:42,517 --> 00:13:44,606 <i>♪</i> 320 00:13:44,693 --> 00:13:47,217 <i>When it's already over, they wanna hear it again.</i> 321 00:13:47,348 --> 00:13:49,479 I just go to another place where... where people... 322 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:51,743 other people don't go. 323 00:13:51,831 --> 00:13:55,225 <i>LL COOL J: As hip hop evolved, there's no doubt Marley Marl</i> 324 00:13:55,356 --> 00:13:57,924 <i>left a mark on a new generation of producers</i> 325 00:13:58,011 --> 00:13:59,577 <i>who brought new sound...</i> 326 00:13:59,664 --> 00:14:00,622 ♪ 327 00:14:00,709 --> 00:14:02,753 <i>...new tools.</i> 328 00:14:02,754 --> 00:14:04,931 What will they think up next? 329 00:14:05,018 --> 00:14:07,890 <i>...the new perspectives to the New York hip hop scene.</i> 330 00:14:07,977 --> 00:14:09,849 There's a lot of competition out there, 331 00:14:09,936 --> 00:14:11,506 <i>but, you know, when it comes to our thing, you know,</i> 332 00:14:11,589 --> 00:14:14,027 <i>we trendsetters, we all about making it happen.</i> 333 00:14:14,114 --> 00:14:16,377 <i>LL COOL J: That essential hip hop sound,</i> 334 00:14:16,507 --> 00:14:18,334 <i>that raw heart and spirit of the music</i> 335 00:14:18,335 --> 00:14:22,426 <i>spread around the globe but was born in New York City.</i> 336 00:14:22,513 --> 00:14:24,166 It's the cool vibe. That's energy. 337 00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:26,561 <i>And you still hear it in the music the city</i> 338 00:14:26,648 --> 00:14:28,692 <i>is putting out today.</i> 339 00:14:28,693 --> 00:14:29,825 <i>♪</i> 340 00:14:29,912 --> 00:14:31,653 [needle scratches] 341 00:14:31,783 --> 00:14:34,437 <i>When I do these things, I'm kind of thinking ahead.</i> 342 00:14:34,438 --> 00:14:36,531 <i>As I'm hearing it, I'm already kind of piecing together</i> 343 00:14:36,614 --> 00:14:38,094 <i>how I'm gonna put them together.</i> 344 00:14:38,181 --> 00:14:41,184 So, it's kind of like you have all these ideas 345 00:14:41,271 --> 00:14:42,799 <i>fighting to get out. It's like different personalities</i> 346 00:14:42,882 --> 00:14:44,535 <i>trying to get out all at once.</i> 347 00:14:44,622 --> 00:14:45,932 I know I'm making it sound extra dramatic, 348 00:14:46,015 --> 00:14:47,843 but that's how it feels sometimes. 349 00:14:47,930 --> 00:14:50,498 <i>TONE: New York producers had a unique sound.</i> 350 00:14:50,585 --> 00:14:53,327 We were sort of in our own bubble. 351 00:14:53,414 --> 00:14:55,632 <i>What we were doing with hip hop</i> 352 00:14:55,633 --> 00:14:58,158 was really keeping the roots really intact. 353 00:14:58,245 --> 00:15:00,247 ♪ 354 00:15:00,334 --> 00:15:03,423 <i>The dirty kick, the dirty snare, the dirty hi hat.</i> 355 00:15:03,424 --> 00:15:05,860 -We kept the grit. <i>-♪ Ow</i> 356 00:15:05,861 --> 00:15:09,299 <i>♪ Yeah, uhh, uhh, ow</i> 357 00:15:09,430 --> 00:15:12,346 <i>We really wanted it to sound like there was real drummers</i> 358 00:15:12,433 --> 00:15:14,348 rather than, man, that came out of a keyboard. 359 00:15:14,435 --> 00:15:16,088 That shit sounds terrible. 360 00:15:16,089 --> 00:15:18,178 <i>♪ I say it now like I said it before ♪</i> 361 00:15:18,265 --> 00:15:20,354 <i>♪ I'm lookin' at the front door ♪</i> 362 00:15:20,441 --> 00:15:21,877 <i>♪</i> 363 00:15:21,964 --> 00:15:26,360 In New York, our swag is different. 364 00:15:26,447 --> 00:15:29,276 And sonically, like, we would sample James Brown heavy. 365 00:15:29,406 --> 00:15:32,801 James Brown A1, B4. 366 00:15:32,888 --> 00:15:35,151 We sampled soul music heavy. 367 00:15:35,238 --> 00:15:36,457 <i>♪ Hey ♪</i> 368 00:15:36,544 --> 00:15:39,634 <i>We sampled disco heavy.</i> 369 00:15:39,721 --> 00:15:44,117 <i>But we took all of that and made it as gritty as possible.</i> 370 00:15:44,204 --> 00:15:47,119 So, it has this authentic kind of vibe, 371 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:48,865 and it rings off different, you know what I mean? 372 00:15:48,948 --> 00:15:50,861 ♪ 373 00:15:50,862 --> 00:15:52,734 There was always certain drum patterns, 374 00:15:52,821 --> 00:15:54,343 certain feelings, certain moods. 375 00:15:54,344 --> 00:15:56,564 ♪ 376 00:15:56,651 --> 00:15:59,045 <i>Tempo, even, you know, the New York tempo was always</i> 377 00:15:59,132 --> 00:16:01,264 <i>somewhere, between, like, 87 and, like, 95.</i> 378 00:16:01,612 --> 00:16:03,135 ♪ 379 00:16:03,136 --> 00:16:05,096 In retrospect, that's what we would call boom bap. 380 00:16:05,225 --> 00:16:06,877 <i>♪ This or that, this... ♪</i> 381 00:16:06,878 --> 00:16:08,271 <i>KIM OSORIO: This boom bap sound</i> 382 00:16:08,402 --> 00:16:11,317 originated in my mind from the lunchroom, right? 383 00:16:11,318 --> 00:16:13,450 So, it's just like you're, like, banging on the table. 384 00:16:13,537 --> 00:16:17,977 -[imitating rhythmic drumbeats] <i>-♪ Ooh, come on ♪</i> 385 00:16:18,064 --> 00:16:20,327 There's a certain swing to the drums. 386 00:16:20,414 --> 00:16:22,807 <i>♪ Who's the black sheep? What's the black sheep?</i> 387 00:16:22,894 --> 00:16:25,679 <i>♪ Know not who I am, or when I'm coming, so you sleep ♪</i> 388 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:28,291 It can be soulful, it can be jazzy. 389 00:16:28,422 --> 00:16:30,119 <i>There's a certain sonic quality to it.</i> 390 00:16:30,250 --> 00:16:31,686 <i>It's not the most sonically robust.</i> 391 00:16:32,034 --> 00:16:34,383 <i>♪</i> 392 00:16:34,384 --> 00:16:36,298 <i>CRYSTAL CAINES: I feel like New York had a unique sound,</i> 393 00:16:36,299 --> 00:16:38,475 <i>and it just grew into different things</i> 394 00:16:38,562 --> 00:16:42,262 <i>as the era grew and generations changed.</i> 395 00:16:42,349 --> 00:16:44,438 New York now is just open to creativity. 396 00:16:44,525 --> 00:16:46,179 They just wanna take it up a notch. 397 00:16:46,266 --> 00:16:49,356 The style is there. The confidence is there. 398 00:16:49,486 --> 00:16:52,011 The creativity is there. The art is there. 399 00:16:52,098 --> 00:16:54,187 <i>The heart is there. [laughs]</i> 400 00:16:54,274 --> 00:16:55,583 And that's the most important part. 401 00:16:55,666 --> 00:16:58,800 ♪ 402 00:16:58,887 --> 00:17:01,672 <i>LL COOL J: Oftentimes, the beats and melodies created</i> 403 00:17:01,759 --> 00:17:04,718 <i>by producers and artists are extensions of their soul,</i> 404 00:17:04,719 --> 00:17:08,113 <i>a feeling and a moment in time born in the studio</i> 405 00:17:08,114 --> 00:17:11,465 <i>and captured for generations to come.</i> 406 00:17:11,552 --> 00:17:17,949 We just saw the power of this subculture 407 00:17:18,080 --> 00:17:21,692 and just tried to present it, um... 408 00:17:21,779 --> 00:17:24,043 as it deserved to be presented. 409 00:17:24,130 --> 00:17:25,566 <i>LL COOL J: So now I'm headed</i> 410 00:17:25,653 --> 00:17:28,568 <i>to the legendary Quad Recording Studio in Manhattan to talk</i> 411 00:17:28,569 --> 00:17:30,962 <i>to an up-and-coming producer who speaks from the heart...</i> 412 00:17:31,050 --> 00:17:32,964 Whassup? 413 00:17:33,052 --> 00:17:34,313 <i>...while representing the past, present,</i> 414 00:17:34,314 --> 00:17:36,794 <i>and future of hip hop production.</i> 415 00:17:36,925 --> 00:17:38,191 -How's everything? -Pretty good. 416 00:17:38,274 --> 00:17:40,189 -Good vibes? -Always. 417 00:17:40,276 --> 00:17:43,149 -So, you really do this? -Hell, yeah. 418 00:17:43,236 --> 00:17:45,107 Introduce yourself. Reppin' Harlem. 419 00:17:45,194 --> 00:17:47,196 Crystal Caines. You already know. 420 00:17:47,283 --> 00:17:49,328 Rapper, singer, producer. Let's get it. 421 00:17:49,329 --> 00:17:52,114 ♪ 422 00:17:52,201 --> 00:17:54,203 <i>LL COOL J: Crystal Caines is a producer</i> 423 00:17:54,290 --> 00:17:56,596 <i>who skillfully bridged that raw original sound</i> 424 00:17:56,597 --> 00:17:58,512 <i>with the new.</i> -Yep. 425 00:17:58,599 --> 00:18:01,515 <i>Born and raised in Harlem, she wears many hats...</i> 426 00:18:01,602 --> 00:18:05,605 <i>producer, songwriter, engineer, and rap artist herself.</i> 427 00:18:05,606 --> 00:18:07,086 I'm a renaissance woman. 428 00:18:07,216 --> 00:18:09,610 <i>Crystal's worked with everyone from M.I.A.</i> 429 00:18:09,740 --> 00:18:12,003 <i>to Bryson Tiller and Jack Harlow.</i> 430 00:18:12,134 --> 00:18:14,397 <i>She's a born and raised New Yorker</i> 431 00:18:14,484 --> 00:18:17,443 <i>determined to keep NYC hip hop on the map...</i> 432 00:18:17,444 --> 00:18:20,099 -Crystal fucking Caines! <i>-...for decades to come.</i> 433 00:18:20,186 --> 00:18:22,362 -State your name once more. -Crystal Caines. 434 00:18:22,449 --> 00:18:23,802 -You already know. -Say it cockier than that. 435 00:18:23,885 --> 00:18:26,409 [voice echoing] Crystal Caines. Ha ha ha! 436 00:18:26,496 --> 00:18:30,109 So, tell me the first thing you remember 437 00:18:30,196 --> 00:18:32,459 that touched you in hip hop. 438 00:18:32,546 --> 00:18:35,375 I would say seeing Eve rap. 439 00:18:35,462 --> 00:18:37,768 ♪ 440 00:18:37,855 --> 00:18:39,770 <i>Seeing her, she was a beautiful Black woman</i> 441 00:18:39,857 --> 00:18:42,033 <i>surrounded by powerful men,</i> 442 00:18:42,121 --> 00:18:44,471 <i>and she inspired me to rap, and I think in the beginning,</i> 443 00:18:44,558 --> 00:18:46,299 I kinda sounded like her a little bit, too. 444 00:18:46,386 --> 00:18:50,041 <i>♪ Gotta man that I think I'm gon' love forever ♪</i> 445 00:18:50,129 --> 00:18:52,261 <i>♪ And forever we'll be together ♪</i> 446 00:18:52,348 --> 00:18:54,871 <i>♪ No matter where he goes, I'll be thinking of him ♪</i> 447 00:18:54,872 --> 00:18:57,745 <i>♪ Hey, I'm gonna love him, I'm gonna love ♪</i> 448 00:18:57,832 --> 00:19:00,574 <i>Yeah. That song just put me in a different place.</i> 449 00:19:00,661 --> 00:19:02,618 As a kid, seeing that, I just felt like I wanted 450 00:19:02,619 --> 00:19:05,100 to be that powerful, too. -And so... so you just... 451 00:19:05,187 --> 00:19:07,233 the dream started. -Yeah. 452 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,326 <i>- EVE: ♪ I'm gonna love - LL COOL J: So, you see Eve,</i> 453 00:19:09,409 --> 00:19:11,411 <i>and you're thinking about being a singer,</i> 454 00:19:11,498 --> 00:19:13,460 <i>and you decide to be a rapper, but then it was a point when</i> 455 00:19:13,543 --> 00:19:15,502 you started producing, right? -Yeah. 456 00:19:15,589 --> 00:19:17,634 There was a point when you started creating music. 457 00:19:17,721 --> 00:19:19,419 -Mm-hmm. -Talk to me about 458 00:19:19,506 --> 00:19:21,943 how that transition happened and why you did that. 459 00:19:22,030 --> 00:19:24,205 Okay. So, I did start as an artist. 460 00:19:24,206 --> 00:19:27,731 ♪ 461 00:19:27,818 --> 00:19:31,648 <i>I was in college, and producers were sending me records.</i> 462 00:19:31,735 --> 00:19:33,345 The things that they're sending me, 463 00:19:33,346 --> 00:19:35,478 I just didn't really feel like it was me. 464 00:19:35,609 --> 00:19:38,046 <i>I started. I would put loops together,</i> 465 00:19:38,133 --> 00:19:40,353 <i>just find, like, a little rhythm of what I like.</i> 466 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:42,136 <i>♪</i> 467 00:19:42,137 --> 00:19:44,444 And then I'll start cutting up the loops 468 00:19:44,531 --> 00:19:46,446 to create a bounce that's specific to me. 469 00:19:46,533 --> 00:19:50,319 ♪ 470 00:19:50,450 --> 00:19:51,929 <i>How did that make you feel,</i> 471 00:19:52,060 --> 00:19:54,541 like, taking that creative power into your own hands? 472 00:19:54,671 --> 00:19:56,064 Talk to me about that. 473 00:19:56,151 --> 00:19:57,591 Producing is something I wanted to do. 474 00:19:57,674 --> 00:20:00,111 <i>I knew I had rhythm, and so once I started</i> 475 00:20:00,199 --> 00:20:03,941 <i>incorporating my voice and the beats together,</i> 476 00:20:04,072 --> 00:20:06,770 <i>everything just fell into place. I got an album placement.</i> 477 00:20:06,857 --> 00:20:10,339 The first song was A$AP Ferg, "A Hundred Million Roses." 478 00:20:10,426 --> 00:20:14,300 <i>I stuck with it and started figuring out new tools, ideas.</i> 479 00:20:14,387 --> 00:20:16,389 <i>Collaborating with producers really helped me</i> 480 00:20:16,476 --> 00:20:18,826 grow as a producer as well. 481 00:20:18,913 --> 00:20:23,133 Which producers kind of moved your spirit? 482 00:20:23,134 --> 00:20:26,312 Who made you feel like, "Yo, I need to be doing this"? 483 00:20:26,442 --> 00:20:28,531 Who moved you in that way? 484 00:20:28,618 --> 00:20:30,185 Missy and Timbaland, of course. 485 00:20:30,272 --> 00:20:32,231 ♪ 486 00:20:32,318 --> 00:20:35,146 <i>Pharrell, Just Blaze,</i> 487 00:20:35,234 --> 00:20:37,191 anyone who had a unique sound of their own. 488 00:20:37,192 --> 00:20:39,107 <i>Like, I feel like if you hear Pharrell beat,</i> 489 00:20:39,194 --> 00:20:41,849 <i>you hear the four count, you know he about to come on.</i> 490 00:20:41,936 --> 00:20:43,459 [opening beats from "Happy" play] 491 00:20:43,546 --> 00:20:45,286 If you hear a Timbaland beat, 492 00:20:45,287 --> 00:20:46,553 you know everything is gon' knock. 493 00:20:46,636 --> 00:20:50,684 <i>♪ If you're horny, let's do it ♪</i> 494 00:20:50,771 --> 00:20:52,641 Everyone has their own, like, unique pattern. 495 00:20:52,642 --> 00:20:54,731 And I think for me, like, that's something 496 00:20:54,818 --> 00:20:57,081 that I wanna continue is just having something of my own. 497 00:20:57,168 --> 00:20:58,604 So, when you hear something, 498 00:20:58,605 --> 00:21:00,520 you be like, "Oh, Crystal Caines did that beat." 499 00:21:00,607 --> 00:21:02,173 <i>Crystal Caines.</i> 500 00:21:02,261 --> 00:21:05,394 <i>[laughter echoes]</i> 501 00:21:08,310 --> 00:21:11,052 <i>♪</i> 502 00:21:11,139 --> 00:21:13,141 Your process of making music... 503 00:21:13,228 --> 00:21:15,012 distill it down for me a little bit. 504 00:21:15,099 --> 00:21:17,406 I just create a melody 505 00:21:17,537 --> 00:21:20,148 <i>until I feel like something sticks to me.</i> 506 00:21:20,235 --> 00:21:23,672 It's just finding something in there that stands out to me. 507 00:21:23,673 --> 00:21:27,155 <i>As a fan of music, the way that music made me feel</i> 508 00:21:27,242 --> 00:21:29,727 when I was going to buy albums... that's what I wanna incorporate 509 00:21:29,810 --> 00:21:32,465 and bring forward, like, for me. 510 00:21:32,552 --> 00:21:34,945 <i>I'm just looking for</i> it. 511 00:21:36,033 --> 00:21:38,470 <i>LL COOL J: When you say "it," tell me what "it" is,</i> 512 00:21:38,471 --> 00:21:40,738 when you're looking for "it." -You'll feel it, you know? So... 513 00:21:40,821 --> 00:21:41,952 -Ah. -Yeah. 514 00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:43,393 So, you're looking for that feeling. 515 00:21:43,476 --> 00:21:45,434 Yeah. And I'll just go through sounds 516 00:21:45,521 --> 00:21:46,740 until I feel that feeling. 517 00:21:46,827 --> 00:21:48,394 -I love that. -Yeah. 518 00:21:48,481 --> 00:21:49,877 So, you like capturing lightning in a bottle 519 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:51,701 and then sharing it with the world? 520 00:21:51,788 --> 00:21:53,660 Mm-hmm. I like working with anybody who's down 521 00:21:53,747 --> 00:21:55,488 <i>to, like, push the envelope.</i> 522 00:21:55,575 --> 00:21:57,577 <i>And I like meeting people in their world...</i> 523 00:21:57,664 --> 00:21:58,664 -Mm-hmm. -Because I get 524 00:21:58,752 --> 00:22:00,493 to bring my world into it. 525 00:22:00,580 --> 00:22:02,103 -Yeah. -So, I let them be comfortable 526 00:22:02,233 --> 00:22:04,196 in where they are, and here I come, shake your shit up. 527 00:22:04,279 --> 00:22:06,237 <i>That creates the best music for me.</i> 528 00:22:06,325 --> 00:22:09,632 It's like making sure people's comfortable first. 529 00:22:09,719 --> 00:22:11,765 I agree with that, because a big part of it is 530 00:22:11,852 --> 00:22:14,032 you being comfortable and free to create and no judgment. 531 00:22:14,115 --> 00:22:15,420 Right. 532 00:22:15,421 --> 00:22:17,205 You let people get it out of their spirit. 533 00:22:17,292 --> 00:22:18,297 -Right. -Let 'em get it out. 534 00:22:18,380 --> 00:22:20,208 -Mm-hmm. -You feel me? 535 00:22:20,295 --> 00:22:21,862 This is what it's all about... 536 00:22:21,949 --> 00:22:24,299 just making the music you wanna make. 537 00:22:24,386 --> 00:22:25,821 ♪ 538 00:22:25,822 --> 00:22:29,522 The collaborative process can take many forms. 539 00:22:29,609 --> 00:22:33,656 <i>Today, people are collaborating over DM.</i> 540 00:22:33,787 --> 00:22:36,442 <i>Early on, we didn't have the ability</i> 541 00:22:36,529 --> 00:22:39,009 to record remotely or email files back and forth. 542 00:22:39,096 --> 00:22:43,013 <i>The magic always happened when</i> 543 00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:45,189 the collaborators were in the same room together. 544 00:22:45,276 --> 00:22:48,845 <i>You wanna catch a vibe from the person because, you know,</i> 545 00:22:48,932 --> 00:22:52,545 the song may change just by the vibe in the room. 546 00:22:52,675 --> 00:22:55,678 <i>"JUST BLAZE: The inspiration like, "Oh, he just said that?</i> 547 00:22:55,765 --> 00:22:58,681 <i>Let me rewrite this line. Oh, he just did that that way?</i> 548 00:22:58,768 --> 00:23:01,074 "Let me reprogram these drums to fit that," right? 549 00:23:01,075 --> 00:23:02,946 On that chorus, we got to take out the drum. 550 00:23:03,077 --> 00:23:04,818 <i>TONE: That process of being</i> 551 00:23:04,905 --> 00:23:08,081 <i>in the studio with an artist, talking to the artist,</i> 552 00:23:08,082 --> 00:23:11,172 put you in the same mind space as the artist 553 00:23:11,259 --> 00:23:14,567 <i>gave me an opportunity to really get to know you</i> 554 00:23:14,654 --> 00:23:16,089 <i>and push the envelope a little bit.</i> 555 00:23:16,090 --> 00:23:18,009 Because our conversation says, "You like shit like this. 556 00:23:18,092 --> 00:23:19,746 You just don't know it." 557 00:23:19,876 --> 00:23:21,486 I need you to come up with a line like that 558 00:23:21,487 --> 00:23:24,315 so I can behind you and sing something. 559 00:23:24,403 --> 00:23:28,232 <i>LADY LONDON: The relationship between producer and artist</i> 560 00:23:28,319 --> 00:23:31,279 <i>is so integral.</i> 561 00:23:31,366 --> 00:23:33,107 <i>It can make or break a project</i> 562 00:23:33,194 --> 00:23:35,675 if you guys are not on the same page with things. 563 00:23:35,762 --> 00:23:37,894 I like that, like... mm, mm. 564 00:23:37,981 --> 00:23:39,861 <i>I love sitting down face to face with producers,</i> 565 00:23:39,983 --> 00:23:43,683 and a lot of things become beautiful pieces of work 566 00:23:43,770 --> 00:23:45,379 <i>when you have real, authentic conversations</i> 567 00:23:45,380 --> 00:23:47,426 <i>about the direction you're heading in.</i> 568 00:23:47,513 --> 00:23:50,994 I <i>love</i> all that jazz shit. It's your hard-hitting music. 569 00:23:51,125 --> 00:23:52,909 That's the shit, man. Who's the producers? 570 00:23:52,996 --> 00:23:54,258 Right here. 571 00:23:54,389 --> 00:23:55,999 -Very good work. -Thank you. 572 00:23:56,086 --> 00:23:58,049 You look at many of the great movements in hip hop, 573 00:23:58,132 --> 00:24:00,613 <i>whether it's Roc-A-Fella, Ruff Ryders,</i> 574 00:24:00,743 --> 00:24:05,574 <i>Sugarhill, early Def Jam, Cash Money...</i> 575 00:24:05,661 --> 00:24:08,010 -Yeah, a'ight. <i>-The one consistency</i> 576 00:24:08,011 --> 00:24:11,275 is that you had all these great, creative minds 577 00:24:11,406 --> 00:24:13,668 under one roof in one studio. 578 00:24:13,669 --> 00:24:16,542 Thinking, maybe we start a capella with... 579 00:24:16,629 --> 00:24:18,156 "If you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you, son. 580 00:24:18,239 --> 00:24:20,154 I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one." 581 00:24:20,241 --> 00:24:22,508 -Yeah, that's... that's money? -We back in the game, right? 582 00:24:22,591 --> 00:24:23,548 -Guess so. -Yeah. 583 00:24:23,549 --> 00:24:25,158 -Apparently so. -[laughs] 584 00:24:25,159 --> 00:24:26,639 ♪ 585 00:24:26,769 --> 00:24:29,032 <i>LL COOL J: Back in the days, making a record</i> 586 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,343 was like the equivalent of being able to make it to the NBA. 587 00:24:31,426 --> 00:24:33,080 -Right. -But that vetted 588 00:24:33,167 --> 00:24:34,864 a lot of the talent, too. -Right. 589 00:24:34,951 --> 00:24:36,648 That mean you had to be <i>way</i> better. 590 00:24:36,649 --> 00:24:37,828 You had to have a different level. 591 00:24:37,911 --> 00:24:39,564 Tell me about what it's like today. 592 00:24:39,565 --> 00:24:41,828 Just really unpack this idea 593 00:24:41,915 --> 00:24:44,482 of making a song on your phone, being on YouTube, like, 594 00:24:44,483 --> 00:24:46,310 you know, get into that for me a little. 595 00:24:46,441 --> 00:24:49,444 Hmm. People have so much freedom to be expressive, 596 00:24:49,531 --> 00:24:51,794 but now it's really just one click away. 597 00:24:51,881 --> 00:24:54,188 And it starts from you releasing your art. 598 00:24:54,275 --> 00:24:57,408 <i>I started in my room. Who knew that a girl from Harlem</i> 599 00:24:57,539 --> 00:24:59,106 <i>who started in her room</i> 600 00:24:59,193 --> 00:25:02,065 <i>with equipment that was probably worth $300</i> 601 00:25:02,152 --> 00:25:04,111 would go straight to the radio? 602 00:25:04,198 --> 00:25:06,635 <i>LL COOL J: You're saying that nowadays you got the access.</i> 603 00:25:06,722 --> 00:25:09,420 If you can catch a wave, you can be on. 604 00:25:09,508 --> 00:25:12,336 At the end of the day, though, a hit record is a miracle. 605 00:25:12,423 --> 00:25:14,208 Yeah. 606 00:25:14,295 --> 00:25:15,779 <i>LL COOL J: To create something that really moves people,</i> 607 00:25:15,862 --> 00:25:18,647 <i>that people really rock to, that is still</i> 608 00:25:18,734 --> 00:25:21,258 an amazing thrill and an exciting feeling. 609 00:25:21,345 --> 00:25:24,479 And it's something that can't be bought, can't be manufactured. 610 00:25:24,610 --> 00:25:26,481 -Right. -You have to really create 611 00:25:26,568 --> 00:25:28,352 that music that moves people like that. 612 00:25:28,483 --> 00:25:29,793 Yeah, and you know when you feel it, 613 00:25:29,876 --> 00:25:31,355 'cause you start to get goosebumps. 614 00:25:31,486 --> 00:25:32,970 There you go. That divining rod, right? 615 00:25:33,053 --> 00:25:35,534 ♪ 616 00:25:35,621 --> 00:25:37,579 <i>-It's early in your career. -Yeah.</i> 617 00:25:37,710 --> 00:25:39,101 <i>By the grace of God, of course,</i> 618 00:25:39,102 --> 00:25:40,060 <i>a long time to go. -Yep.</i> 619 00:25:40,147 --> 00:25:42,279 -Legacy. -Legacy. Mm. 620 00:25:42,366 --> 00:25:43,585 ♪ 621 00:25:43,672 --> 00:25:45,413 <i>At this point,</i> 622 00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:46,674 <i>what would you want your legacy to be?</i> 623 00:25:46,675 --> 00:25:48,938 What do you think about the word "legacy"? 624 00:25:49,025 --> 00:25:52,028 With the word "legacy," I think of powerhouse to me. 625 00:25:52,115 --> 00:25:54,552 It's so much to do. 626 00:25:54,553 --> 00:25:57,381 <i>My greatest passion come from helping other people,</i> 627 00:25:57,468 --> 00:25:59,906 and I've been grateful enough to do that through music, 628 00:25:59,993 --> 00:26:01,907 <i>whether it's guiding them or just giving them tools</i> 629 00:26:01,908 --> 00:26:04,127 <i>that they take forward to use on their songs.</i> 630 00:26:04,258 --> 00:26:09,916 I'm trying to leave a footprint that's extremely progressive. 631 00:26:10,046 --> 00:26:11,917 I say, "What's my name?" You say, "Crystal Caines." 632 00:26:11,918 --> 00:26:13,401 To be able to hear my beats and be like, 633 00:26:13,484 --> 00:26:16,444 "Yeah, Crystal Caines did that." 634 00:26:16,531 --> 00:26:18,968 <i>New sounds, same energy.</i> 635 00:26:19,055 --> 00:26:21,144 That's right, 'cause hip hop was born <i>here,</i> right? 636 00:26:21,275 --> 00:26:22,711 -Exactly. -It was born <i>here.</i> 637 00:26:22,798 --> 00:26:24,408 It... it's not only about the Bronx. 638 00:26:24,495 --> 00:26:25,849 -Right. -It's not only about Harlem. 639 00:26:25,932 --> 00:26:27,585 -Right. -It's not only about Queens. 640 00:26:27,586 --> 00:26:30,284 -Right. -It was born in here. 641 00:26:30,371 --> 00:26:31,851 -That's a beautiful thing. -Yeah. 642 00:26:31,938 --> 00:26:33,596 -Appreciate you, baby. -Thank you for having me. 643 00:26:33,679 --> 00:26:34,549 -Good to talk to you. -Good to talk to you, too. 644 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:35,897 -Good vibes. -Thank you. 645 00:26:35,898 --> 00:26:37,596 -Peace and love, baby. -Peace and love. 646 00:26:37,683 --> 00:26:39,598 -All right. -Wait, what he do? 647 00:26:39,685 --> 00:26:40,951 You know I mean? You know I mean? 648 00:26:41,034 --> 00:26:44,384 [laughs] 649 00:26:44,385 --> 00:26:47,954 ♪ 650 00:26:48,041 --> 00:26:52,088 [cheers and applause] 651 00:26:52,175 --> 00:26:55,048 Marley Marl. 652 00:26:55,135 --> 00:26:55,657 Super producer. 653 00:26:56,005 --> 00:26:58,312 ♪ 654 00:26:58,399 --> 00:27:00,444 Make some noise for that man. 655 00:27:00,531 --> 00:27:05,058 [cheers and applause] 656 00:27:05,145 --> 00:27:06,625 ♪