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Local producer/rapper, B.Ave, talks about his unique approach. Photo by: Lola

B.Ave puts old spin on something new

By: DynomiteDawn

Recently, recorded music has transformed. Once, producing was about a musician’s skill, but now, making music is a patchwork of any sound imaginable and anything goes.

This process is called sampling.  Sampling can be found in the majority of mainstream music, but is usually undetectable. An example of this layering technique can be found in the music of the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, and Eminem because they all used Led Zeppelin’s drum introduction from “When the Levee Breaks.”

Although this may seem simple, it has taken on a new form of art for those regarded as “beat-makers.” Just as music and hip hop has evolved, so has producing.

B.Ave, an Oklahoma producer, uses this technique to bring forth a unique style that he feels is underrepresented in the southwest. “Truthfully, I don’t like rapping. Out here, it isn’t the style I’m looking for in an artist. I do it because I have to. I say it because nobody else is,” he said.

“I want to bring a new flavor to Oklahoma,” B.Ave said. Sampling allows him to incorporate elements from other genres and time periods into his music. “I have sampled Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Luther Ingram, Stacy Robinson, The Beatles, Miles Davis, Al Greene, Curtis Mayfield, Diana Ross, Nancy Wilson, and Billie Holiday, just to name a few,” he said smiling.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDBweCy77c8]

Many of the beats found on his last EP, “To Infinity and Beyond,” took seven different songs meshed together to compose one single beat.

When asked about his process he responded, “Sometimes, I’ll sit here for hours trying to find a sample. And when do I find it, I will try my hardest not to use the vocals. I try to let the whole song develop around the beat that I just made.  But with many of them, the sample actually makes the song. When people know the sample, it makes it that much more interesting.”

Although, he samples from artists who were once mainstream, B. Ave says he stays away from the current mainstreamers of today. “I think that all new school is garbage and so is radio,” he said. “But I don’t think that hip hop is dead. I think the people in it are dead.”

In music, hip hop means different things to different people. “For me true hip hop is life, everyday trials and tribulations.   That’s what inspires me, life. Without it, I wouldn’t have the lyrics that I spit,” B.Ave said.

"I'm often compared to Lupe Fiasco because our styles are similar and we both skate." photo by: Lola

Lupe Fiasco, Nas, XV, Lil Brotha, Legacy, Evidence, Marco Polo and Sean Don, are among some of the names who he regards as artists who are still representing true hip hop. On the other side of the fence are artists like Soulja Boy, Cameron, Jim Jones, Cool Kids, New Boyz, and Gucci Mane.

However, in his opinion, “The one event that killed hip hop came around the area of Cash Money.”

When asked about the current trend in music, he replied, “Everybody wants dance music or the whole ‘I got cars and money’ thing. I don’t have any of that.  For instance, if you are a rapper and you’re saying you have a ‘benz, but yesterday I saw you in a Pinto’ it’s not going to make sense.”

In addition to just making good sense, the old school mixed with his style is what makes his music enjoyable for the people who listen to it. To learn more about this new artist, his EP “To Infinity and Beyond Average” is available for download (click Here). Also, look for his new album titled “Driving Down B. Ave.” After all, the best way to to get to know him is by listening to his music.  As he says, “It speaks for itself. My music will tell it all. It’s my dictionary, my diary, my journal. Everything I say is me.”

Check out B.Ave:
Myspace
Twitter
Youtube

External Links:

• Is Hip Hop Dying? This article discusses the many aspects, including sampling, that are leading to hip hops slow death.
• 10 Most Sampled Songs in Hip Hop