Author
Amir Said
Amir Said (aka Sa’id), is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Art of Sampling and the creator and series editor of the Best Damn Hip Hop Writing book anthology. A writer, publisher, and beatmaker/rapper from New York (now living in Paris, France), Said is also the founder of BeatTips and the co-founder of the publishing company Superchamp Books. He is an author with a number of books to his credit, including ‘The Art of Sampling,’ ‘The BeatTips Manual,’ ‘Ghetto Brother,’ and ‘The Truth About New York.’ He is also a recording artist with a number of music projects, including the albums 'Soul Review' and 'The Best of Times.' Follow him on Twitter at: @amirsaid and @Art_of_Sampling.
Some people think that sampling is only for people who can’t play “real” instruments and people who don’t know music theory. But this is a terrible lie! Sampling, which represents its own art form and music process, has been chosen as a…
Drumless Loops, Rhythm, and Groove
Drumless Loops Defined
“Drumless loops” marks a minimalist, deceptively simplistic style, sound, and aesthetic of beatmaking that also emerges in this period. Typically with this style, sound, and aesthetic — the seeds for which appear to…
Fair Use Ensures That Copyright Protection Is Not Excessively Broad
While copyright owners hold an exclusive monopoly over their works, copyright law maintains that this exclusive monopoly is limited. This limitation manifests in two critical ways. First, authors (creators) are granted exclusive control…
What Is De Minimis?
De minimis — which is short for the Latin maxim de minimis non curat lex: “the law cares not for small things” or “the law does not concern itself with trifles” — is a legal doctrine that refers to trivial matters that are not worthy of…
The Act of Borrowing Is Not Infringement
If you copy an entire article from an online publication and save it to a Word file for your reference, is it copyright infringement? No, it isn’t. The mere act of copying something is not inherently infringement. To further clarify this…
The Art of Sampling MusicStudy: Bobby Boyd Congress – “Dig Deep In Your Soul”
Early funk from obscure, little-known band from Long Island, New York offers a great education on the relationship between the drum patterns of modern beatmaking and that of those found in early funk music.
Digging In the Crates Is Cool, But E-Digging Is Great Too
There are a number of beatmakers (some of them very notable) who view e-digging as some sort of bad or inferior process. Inasmuch as e-digging is, fundamentally, a means for searching for and finding new music, I don’t see how anyone can…
Cross-Generational Jam Sessions: The Main Reasons Why Sample-Based Beatmakers (producers) Sample
Every musician, every artist, working from within a specific tradition or medium makes the decision whether or not to stick to or scale away from the fundamental techniques and philosophies of that tradition or medium. In this way,…
Why A Compulsory License for Digital Samples of Sound Recordings Is A Bad Idea
“The Framers of the Constitution were excellent social psychologists.” Their premier foresight was about the balance of power, the establishing of checks and balances, so that democracy could prevail and a monarchy could never take hold.…
The Music Industry’s Policy On Sample Clearance Is Prior Restraint, and the RIAA Must End It
With regards to sampling, the Constitution already protects our right to the freedom of speech. The public is also shielded from what is legally known as prior restraint. According to the definition by Cornell Law School’s Legal Institute,…