"Sample based" beats vs. "played from scratch" beats ... where do you stand ?

 If you ask as a general, sweeping statement, then I prefer "sample based."  There's something about it that when it's done right, feels more satisfying to create and elicits more of a positive internal reaction when I hear it.  That doesn't mean I dislike all "played from scratch" stuff.  There's some phenomenal musicianship out there, obviously.  What I don't like is when it's clear that people who can't actually play to begin with attempt to "change the game" with their played from scratch keyboard beats.  Sampling is the foundation.  For me, I'll always be sampling.  I'll incorporate a synth module every now and then.  But at the same time, I'll be creating my own synth sounds and melodies with the elements I sample.  When done right, sampling is an art form.  It's like a mystical power from another dimension.


 Why do you think yours was the 2nd winning beat of BB003?

It actually appears to be the third "best" beat if you base it by how many are above mine in the list, right?  So I got a little more work to do, but I think it's due to the inaudible phase-shifted high-frequency bird whistle I added.  That really made the difference.  Actually I just made something I liked.  I guess they thought it was decent, too.


 Whose beat of BB003 would you see win the contest? What were your top 3 picks?

 How much time do you spend on your music, how many beats per week/day do you make ?

Might be 10 hours one day and 10 minutes the next day actually in front of the sampler with the machines turned on.  Might go a week without turning on the machines.  I'm almost always "working on my music", though.  I might spend a week simply listening to how songs are structured.  Or what instruments are used; how they're used; how it's mixed.  I might go through records and just listen for the sake of listening-- you always hear things you didn't hear before.  To me that's spending time on my own music.  You don't learn in a bubble.  You have to absorb.  In terms of number of beats?  Might be 3 in 30 minutes; might be 1 in a week.  No set number.  Whatever comes out.

When did your production start to happen ?

I started "making beats" and recording tapes I guess in middle school, around 1990.  Before that it was messing around with all the instruments we had at the house and taking piano lessons.  But I didn't sit down and consciously make an effort to try and create on a consistent basis until about 2000, when I was in college.


 What are you working on presently ?
Live, work, create.  What I'm trying to do is link up with this artist named Qualca From The Left Coast.  He's impossible to coordinate with, though.  We'll see


 What is more important : diggin skills or the chopping skills?

They're both art forms in their own rights.  If I have to pick just one I go with chopping.  Lots of people have all the "right" records, but that doesn't mean their beats are any good.  Just means they have a nice record collection.  If that's what you're looking for, then call it a night, no problem with that!  Lots of other people don't have the "right records" and make crazy, fall-out-your-seat music with sounds of dog barks, cardboard box thumps, and the 101 strings records found in every goodwill store across the united states.  "...it's how you hook it up..."