Friday 4 January 2013

Drummage: Road Less Travelled


Obvious economic / convenience reasons apart, I never got why live drumming never quite took off in hiphop. When employed by the likes of the brilliant-but-underrated Stetsasonic, it sounded awesome. They were quite open about trying to capture the 'live' power of War, Mandrill and Earth, Wind and Fire; while also using the talents of production legend Prince Paul. And though the drum machine break from Schoolly D's 'PSK: What Does it Mean?' has been used all over the place (including on Siouxsie's 'Kiss Them For Me'), its the live drumming on Saturday Night: The Album that makes it date a lot less than other hiphop albums from the 80s.

However, the great Aaron Spears has beat a considerable reputation for himself playing for various hiphop / R'n'B acts...