TAOS Sample-Based Beat of the Day: Lloyd Banks – “Endangered Innocence” feat. Ghostface Killah (prod. by Nicholas Craven)
You hear a sample. Then what? What’s the next step? Do you leave the sample as is? Do you change its pitch? Do you chop it? If you chop it, where do you chop it? Do you leave this up to “auto-chop” functionality to decide? Do you add drums or leave it “drumless”? If you add drums, what kind of drums do you add? Do use a break-beat sample, or do you create your own drum pattern? These are just of the questions that sample-based beatmakers (producers) are faced with every time they create a sample-based beat. So whenever excellence arrives, you can be certain that all of these questions were properly addressed by the beatmaker (producer) who made the beat.
With each TAOS Sample-Based Beat of the Day, I take a close-up look at what makes each beat beautiful.
Lloyd Banks – “Endangered Innocence” feat. Ghostface Killah (prod. Nicholas Craven)
Key elements: Pitch, Drums, and Hook
Tapestry
As I describe in my book The Art of Sampling, 3rd Edition, putting it all together is the most important thing. No one element of a beat should ever overshadow another element. (One element in a beat can stand out more than another, but no element should ever overshadow the other elements in a beat.) Each element plays its own part in the overall tapestry of the beat. For example, “dope drums” just for the sake of dope drums is useless. The drum sounds — and the drum framework, i.e. the overall drum pattern(s) — have go with the beat. Thus, every element in a beat should go towards making the overall beat better, not just one isolated element, even the drums.
Pitch
The primary sample and the hook sample on “Endangered Innocence” are pitched just right, making for that feeling that allows Lloyd Banks and Ghostface Killah to deliver those real-feel rhymes. The music warm and bold at the same time. So it’s no surprise that the rhymes cut the way that they do. But none of this is a given when you’re making sample-based beats.
When you sample something, there’s no button or plug-in that can tell you what’s the right pitch to build a beat around. Even if you sample the song with the pitch already slowed down or sped up, you’re still own your own in determining the right pitch, the pitch that feels right. A lot sample-based beatmakers (producers) struggle with this; I suspect because they don’t spend much time learning how samples can be pitched, and with which types of drum frameworks pitch values work best with.
In The Art of Sampling, 3rd Edition, I discuss the importance of developing and ear for samples, and how an ear for samples is one thing that separates master beatmakers (producers) from average ones:
“An ear for music, or more precisely an ear for beats, is itself a talent and skill that must be developed. And there’s no “timing” or editing technology that’s going to help you develop this skill. It can only be developed by listening to music, building up a catalog of references and frequencies in your head and connecting those references to your understanding of the fundamentals of beatmaking and hip hop/rap music, and your relation to rhythm.” [1]
“To further illustrate this point, let’s take for example the use of silence or cut-offs or drop-offs in shaping the groove. This is a common technique in hip hop/rap music’s beatmaking tradition. DJ Premier perfected and used it to formulate his own style, sound, and aesthetic. You can’t copy DJ Premier’s cut-offs (mutes) or silences with the same precision and feel because you’d need to have Premier’s ear for samples — and you need to know how to blend them — to do so. You can emulate the structural approach that Premier takes; that is, you can incorporate the cutoffs (mute groups, drop offs, etc.) in the structural framework of your beat. You can’t, however, program his style and sound mathematically the way that you can easily program the click-and-clock rhythmic feel. The prior requires performance and a knack for DJ cutting and scratching; the latter requires no performative skills, you need only adjust the degree of shift in step edit mode on beat machines or draw in the placements (visually) in software programs.”[2]
Similarly, you can’t copy Nicholas Craven’s specific melodic and rhythmic blends with the same precision and feel because you’d need to have Nicholas Craven’s ear for samples — and you need to know how to blend them — to do so. Furthermore, you can’t auto-chop your way to understanding pitch. The only thing that can develop your sense for pitch is a developed ear for samples:
“auto-chop does not develop your ear for choosing, chopping, blending, and arranging samples. Instead, there are only two paths for developing an ear for samples. First, playing and listening to lots (and LOTS) of music; I’m talking hours on end. Second, DJing, which naturally includes searching for, listening to, and playing lots of music for long, concentrated periods, as well as developing a skill for matching music — most notably different rhythms, melodies, harmonies, and other distinct sounds. One reason that J Dilla’s skill with micro-chopping was hyper developed was precisely because of his ear for samples. The other reason, of course, was his own musical perspectives.”[3]
Drums
The drums on “Endangered Innocence” are brilliant. The sounds are light and tucked in the mix. No single drum sound is overbearing, and the entire drum framework keeps everything in the pocket.
Hook Change
The sample for the hook is a special stroke of genius. Nicholas Craven’s beat would’ve been dope even with the hook change, but this added touch takes the beat up several notches. And it’s the blended melodies between the primary sample and the hook sample that really shine. Again, this masterwork.
Lloyd Banks – “Endangered Innocence” feat. Ghostface Killah (prod. Nicholas Craven)
Notes:
1. Amir Said, The Art of Sampling: The Sampling Tradition of Hip Hop/Rap Music and Copyright Law, 3rd Edition (Superchamp Books, New York 2025), 717.
2. Amir Said, The Art of Sampling: The Sampling Tradition of Hip Hop/Rap Music and Copyright Law, 3rd Edition (Superchamp Books, New York 2025), 650.
3. Amir Said, The Art of Sampling: The Sampling Tradition of Hip Hop/Rap Music and Copyright Law, 3rd Edition (Superchamp Books, New York 2025), 716.
