If you feel something is missing in your music production, you should listen to The Roots
In an era where songs can be mass-produced by AI, why should you listen to the live hip-hop of The Roots?
Creating songs with AI is no longer difficult.
Enter a prompt, press a button, and you can have a decent-sounding song in a few dozen seconds.
At first, it's impressive.
However, after making a few songs, a question suddenly arises.
Is this song really my own sound?
Even though I'm using convenient tools, for some reason, my own personal touch doesn't remain.
For those who feel this sense of unease, there is an album you should listen to right now.
It is The Roots' Do You Want More?!!!??!.
In 1995, an era when sampling was at the heart of hip-hop, this was an album that took on the challenge head-on with live instrumentation.
They didn't choose the convenient path. Instead, they chose inconvenient constraints.
That is precisely why, even nearly 30 years later, the groove remains timeless.
In this article, using Do You Want More?!!!??! as a clue, I will explore why creators in the AI era should dare to embrace inconvenient constraints.
1. Why did The Roots choose live instrumentation during the golden age of the sampler?
I usually produce my own original tracks using software like Logic Pro.
I face the screen for hours, play the keyboard myself, and laboriously program and layer the drums one note at a time.
It is a plain, analog process that is far from easy.
However, I feel every day that it is only in the sounds I have painstakingly crafted with my own hands that my passion and groove truly reside.
That is why I believe that,no matter how much technology evolves, the joy of weaving sounds with your own hands will never fade.
The situation The Roots faced when they made their major debut is similar to this.
They chose not to follow the path of sampling, which was at the heart of hip-hop at the time.
Instead, they chose the inconvenient and roundabout path of recreating the loop feel and stickiness of hip-hop with their own bodies and instruments.
In other words, what they did was not just a commitment to live performance.
They decided in advance on the constraints within which they could win.
This applies directly to AI music today as well.
In an era where you can do anything, those who decide what not to do are the ones who break through.
2. The choice to compete with live performance during the golden age of samplers
The hip-hop scene at the time was dominated by sampling techniques, which were the norm.
In that environment, what The Roots presented in this work was an approach of live-performance hip-hop that did not rely on samples.
Unlike the mainstream of the time, which relied heavily on sampling existing records, they built hip-hop grooves centered on live performance and their own sensibilities.
This was a very challenging and even rebellious style against the scene at the time.
However, it was this very constraint that instantly differentiated them from the rest of the sampling producers.
In other words,daring to limit convenient technologies that others believe are "obvious" becomes the greatest weapon for building a unique brand.
In an era of convenience, the sounds that endure are those of people who intentionally leave in tedious processes.
By intentionally replacing parts that tools do automatically with manual work, you create an originality that is different from others for the first time.
Of course, I am aware that sampling technology is not easy.
3. Questlove's drums that physically reproduced the texture of a sampler
The most insane thing about this album is the attitude of the drummer, Questlove.
He did not aim for a human-like, warm live performance.
Rather, he was thoroughly committed to "playing drums that were as accurate and inorganic as a sampling machine."
They tried to reproduce the tight loop feel that a drum machine spits out, not by relying entirely on a click track, but by training their own bodies.
A perverse, inverted idea of reproducing the texture of a machine through live performance.
When trying to master something within constraints, humans can even imitate technology and install it into their own bodies.
Precisely because things can be automated, the question becomes what parts you choose to leave to your own hands.
Rather than just accepting the polished output of AI, the obsession with trying to control that texture through your own manual work is what creates true creativity.
4. The work of Bob Power, who didn't just make live performance 'just jazz'
To bring this live-performance hip-hop to major distribution, many talents took on the core of the production.
A.J. Shine, Kelo, and The Grand Negaz became the core of the production.
Furthermore, in terms of sound creation, Bob Power's involvement was crucial.
Bob Power is an important engineer and producer of 90s black music, also known for his sound creation around A Tribe Called Quest's 'The Low End Theory' and 'Midnight Marauders'.
Through his involvement, The Roots' live performances gained beats that sounded thick as hip-hop, rather than just being recordings of a clean jazz band.
I also failed many times when making songs in Logic Pro.
I would put in a bass line, but it wouldn't sound at all when listening on a smartphone.
I would intend to make the kick drum thicker, but the whole thing would become muddy.
Songs generated by AI are the same; they might be clean as they are, but sometimes they lack your own body heat.
That's why, in the end, you have no choice but to touch the volume, bass, spacing, and progression with your own hands.
To deliver unique ideas to the world, a fusion of not just concepts, but the engineering that gives them form, is essential.
No matter how interesting the ideas you can generate with AI, it is this kind of artisan-like manual work that determines the quality, landing it as a single finished piece of work.
5. The moment when members full of foreign elements melted into a single groove
The charm of this album is born from the chemical reaction between the stellar lineup of players and their jazz connections.
In addition to the dual MC powerhouse of Black Thought and Malik B., a young Dice Raw, who would later become a vital MC, makes a cameo appearance on this work, showing the budding of his talent.
On keys, early member Scott Storch provided a floating, mellow sound on signature tracks like 'Proceed,' defining the musical backbone of this album.
Furthermore, the raw bass lines played by bassist Leonard Hubbard and the overwhelming performance of human beatboxer Rahzel, who recreates scratches and drums with just his mouth, pushed the group's live energy to the limit.
Moreover, the addition of cross-genre jazz guests like Steve Coleman and Cassandra Wilson completed a one-of-a-kind organic hip-hop jazz sound.
Even with such diverse talents gathered together, each one clashed without compromising their individuality, integrating into a single, superb groove.
The true excitement of creativity lies not in neat, predictable harmony, but in the friction born from the collision of disparate elements.
Herein lies the next challenge for AI production.
By daring to break the average, clean harmony presented by AI and mixing in the noise and sense of 'otherness' within yourself, you create a work that truly pierces the heart.
6. What a masterpiece that took 20 years to achieve Gold certification teaches us
This work was highly acclaimed, being selected for The Source magazine's '100 Best Rap Albums' list.
Furthermore, in 2015, 20 years after its release, it reached RIAA Gold certification.
This tells the story that this work was not an instant million-selling hit, but a catalog classic that accumulated appreciation and sales from listeners around the world over a long period.
The fusion of live instrumentation, jazz, and hip-hop presented in this work can be read as one of the foundations that led to The Roots' later activities and the neo-soul and alternative hip-hop of the Soulquarians era.
Things created by pursuing your own unique constraints and obsessions will not be consumed instantly, but will become assets that remain over a long time.
In an era of convenience, the sounds of those who dare to keep the cumbersome processes are what remain.
Instead of mass-producing content that rides trends and is consumed in an instant, it is also important to invest time in creating your own obsessive work that will be talked about for years to come.
7. Creators in the AI era should embrace their own unique inconveniences
In an era where the technique of sampling was responsible for the rediscovery of past music, The Roots took on the daunting task of creating the great grooves of the past in the present with their own hands and instruments.
For us today, that subject is AI.
AI is incredibly smart, and if you give it instructions, it will immediately return a polished answer.
However, precisely because of that, I encourage you to intentionally create inconveniences or personal constraints, and pour your obsessive dedication into them.
In an era where everything is easy to do, try doing things the hard way.
No matter how much tools evolve, the value of a creator resides only within that dedication and grit.
Just as The Roots kept playing the drums and the keys, we too must keep moving our own hands.
Your story begins with creating your first song using AI.
In this series, we will explore how creators in the AI era can build their own expression while deciphering classic hip-hop albums.
Also, for those who have not yet tried AI music production, we have prepared a free guide to creating your first two songs with Suno.
You can receive it from the instructions after registration.
Please check the HOME PAGE link below.
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