As anyone who has paid attention to mainstream hip hop will know, sampling is getting more and more obscure.

Big-shot producers have taken instruments from the east, west, north, south and occasionally what sounds like the depths of space to create their tracks.   So I figured it would be helpful to see some of the more obscure instruments you could sample!

Here are 10 interesting instruments to sample for your next production to really stand out!

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Okay! So the moment you’ve all been waiting for – the announcement for the winner and runners up for the Hip Hop composition competition!

There were a bunch of awesome songs submitted and it was frickin’ difficult to rank them, but I stuck to the 3 things I said I was going to judge it on:

- Production
- Originality
- Sour lemon test (How much it makes you pull a face like you’ve eaten a Sour Lemon)

As well as including the votes from the forum as a fourth category.

Okay, with all the preliminary stuff out of the way, here we go. The winner of the Hip Hop Composition Competition, who will get 5 free sample packs from primeloops.com is…

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Hip Hop House is the ideal crossover for the clubs – catchy lyrics and danceable beats mean it’ll get people shouting and moving.

From its old school “Hip House” roots to the newer Electro House/Rap crossovers, there are plenty of proponents of the style.

But which artists are doing it?   Here are the top 10 best DJs, MCs, groups and collabs, ranging from the old school to the new, which have released house music with that rap flavour!

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I’ve recently been given the opportunity to check out the “XXL Hip Hop Drums Sample Pack” from primeloops.com – I used it in my 7 day song Hip Hop tutorial, so I’ve got a decent amount of experience with it!

Before anyone asks – I do get paid for adverts on my site from primeloops, but I was not paid to make this review – I do completely independant reviews so they can be credible and objective – if this pack sucked, I’d say so. Read the rest of this entry »

Hey guys!   It’s the final day of the 7 day song on Hip Hop!   Todays 2 parter involves education regarding mixing and mastering your beatz, yo, as well as the final song for you to listen to, vocals and all!

Cheers for watching as I make it guys, it’s really appreciated – Don’t forget to enter the hip hop composition competition now it’s over!

Click here for day 7 of the hip hop tutorial!

Today I’ve got a more talk-y tutorial for y’all, explaining a bit about producing rap vocals, arrangement of a hip hop song and showing you some techniques for a percussive breakdown!

Click here for day 6 of the hip hop tutorial!