Some of yall might know i do an
internets radio show every week (or so). Episodes are mixed live and on occasion, i try to construct a theme around which my set is guided.
Last Thursday i felt it was high time SOMEONE paid homage to a man who could quite possibly be tha best producer in hip-hop history. That man is
Marlon "Marley Marl" Williams.
Does it matter who tha best producer in hip-hop history is? Not really. At tha end of tha day, we’re talking about art, and in any discussion of art there is that vast, murky area realm called ‘opionion’ – not everyone will (or should) experience tha same art in tha same way.
You will hear a lot of hip-hop fans and experts talk about great or greatest producers often. The names you usually hear are tha Holy Four: Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and J Dilla. On occasion, you will hear names like Large Professor, the Bomb Squad, and Prince Paul thrown into the mix…but it always surprises me that Marley Marl’s name is not at or near tha top of EVERY list.
What Marley did, who he did it with, and tha equipment he did it on sets him apart from every other producer of his era. He assembled arguably tha greatest MC lineup of all time in tha form of tha Juice Crew (Big Daddy Kane, Kool G. Rap, Roxanne Shante, Master Ace, Biz Markie, Craig G & Tragedy). He was the first to sample break beats from the live days of hip-hop (the foundation drum samples that were canonized in collections like Paul Winley’s “Super Disco Breaks” series and the ubiquitous “Ultimate Breaks and Beats” compilations), using very primitive sampling equipment and drum machines like tha Roland TR-808 and 909 to give tha sampled drums more punch. He was also noted for chopping these drums, perhaps most famously in his breakout production, “The Bridge” by MC Shan. He used tha kick and high hat from tha Honeydrippers’ “Impeach the President” which was a foundational hip-hop break but one that had not been sampled, or heard before in tha way it sounded on “The Bridge.” Marley took tha soul of tha original break, and created a Frankenstein version of it for the kids in Queensbridge projects to rap over.
DJ Premier, amongst others, has credited Marley’s sample chopping innovations as a massive influence on his production style. Marley’s usage of multiple sources to construct coheren drum tracks is something that clearly influenced J Dilla. And his knowledge of music opened tha door to tha sampling era in hip-hop, which was without question tha music musically progressive and innovative period of that music’s existence.
If hip-hop’s Golden Era was it’s creative zenith, there can be no doubt that Marley Marl was tha greatest producer of that era. Which makes him one of tha most important producers in music history.
So…make sure you include Marley Marl’s name when you are talking about tha greatest hip-hop producers of all time. Or…just turn yo sh*t up to 10 and enjoy tha man’s work….
Live Stream on ALLDAYPLAY site
HERE...320kbps recording of live mix downloadable
HERE....
Most songs are recognized hip-hop/R&B classics but feel free to download entire tracklisting
HERE.
Respect and love to DJ Marley Marl.
.jpg)
