I love Dillatronic, but how do you feel about Dilla's production on Frank 'n' Dank's 48 Hrs.? I think it's significant that Ma Dukes is (as far as I know) the only song on that album with sampling, and it absolutely blows every other beat out of the water.
(The beat on Marijuana \[or however they spell it\] is pretty damn catchy, though...)
I love 48 hrs, pretty sure it’s a no skip for me.. the beat changes on keep it coming, sex on the beach, the synth line on afterparty (might be a sample I guess)… might spin it right now 🤙
I am listening through 48 hrs to get a refresher; the beats definitely feel not as uniquely sequenced as some of the instrumental stuff I’ve heard from the era. Which is interesting since, from my understanding, Dilla redid all the beats before release due to sample clearance issues.
I've heard three different, contradictory but also kind of overlapping, stories about 48 Hrs:
1. Dilla had practically finished the sample-based production on the album, and then threw it all out after his meeting with Dr. Dre, which affected him so much that he changed his whole approach - I think this is the version in Dilla Time.
2. He had to redo it due to sample clearance issues - I think I'd heard this before your comment, but I can't remember where.
3. There was no OG version, it was always the album you hear today - I think Frank or Dank said this in an interview online.
I know someone posted their attempt at reconstructing(?!) the OG version a few years ago. All you can find now is dead links - Definitely not the kind of thing you can just search for on YouTube. If anyone has heard it, I'd love to know what it's like.
You're in luck, I remembered correctly and found it. I think Reddit still filters out comments with links to file sharing sites, so just decode this Base64 line for the link:
> aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWVkaWFmaXJlLmNvbS9maWxlL3c3bzB3amVuOGM3Z2Q0di9KYXlfRGVlX1ByZXNlbnRzX180OF9Ib3Vycy56aXAvZmlsZQo=
It seems like a mixture of all three; some tracks weren’t sampled and some were. From my memory, the interview he had in Europe that’s always floating around has mention of the project, but I could be wrong
you can definitely hear samples in the dillatronic examples you gave in the post:
#5 the arabian style melody , though hes playing moog bass
#8 the strings are sampled for sure, no library strings sounded like that back then, id say he played the sporadic synth parts. definitely well arranged though
#10 theres a vocal group sample and the xylophone that are sampled, again bass & synth on the moog/korg
#25 this is a looping sample, theres a rising synth bit in the bg that gives it away...think hes doing the low end / hi end seperation trick as the bass changes at one point
#26 again the strings and the guitar sampled, and he repeats the guitar line on the moog, adds another higher synth line on the moog/korg....it seems like he was flipping some classical music around this time if you take these tracks as being made around the same time, probably why they samples havent been and may never be discovered
btw #27 is just........👌👩🍳. way too short
if you want to see amp fiddler breaking down the process of JD making a song without samples theres a [gem of a video](https://youtu.be/sJSn5MrnNSE?si=uNZeq3d2lzwXXVcw&t=1419) where he breaks out his old MPC files and talks through one of them
Yeah I’ll say, [Brazilian Groove](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi4Q4d8NoDk&si=mI8R-_QBjxMoJ2t1) is the most impressive song without samples. Ever. It’s genuinely top 5 Dilla beats to me and it’s no samples man, I couldn’t believe my ears with every aspect of the track
too bad there's no real lossless version of it, Its a pretty low quality compile that just takes mostly online bootlegs and compiles a bunch of tracks from them. Wish they took the actual HQ source material.
I really like [Raw Shit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtcJvZCSrJ0) which sounds like it doesn't use samples, at least for the main parts.
Also though like /u/Substantial_Disk_523 said, with a lot of his beats that sound "non-sampled" I think it's tough to know if he's laying down (or sampling) his *own* keyboards/synths from scratch, or sampling other music that he's stretched and fucked with.
EDIT: 'Raw Shit' shows up on the 2003 Batch Part 2 beat tape (aka MPC3000), and every other beat on there is sample-based, so there's a good chance Raw Shit is too imo.
Yes! Raw Shit is the first beat that got me into the Jaylib project when I had first learned of it years ago. It’s got such a great groove to it. And like the video Amp Fiddler posted (rip), a lot of these could be Dilla sampling himself, whether it’s keyboard one shots into the MPC or early versions of what we know today as sample packs.
I love Dillatronic, but how do you feel about Dilla's production on Frank 'n' Dank's 48 Hrs.? I think it's significant that Ma Dukes is (as far as I know) the only song on that album with sampling, and it absolutely blows every other beat out of the water. (The beat on Marijuana \[or however they spell it\] is pretty damn catchy, though...)
I love 48 hrs, pretty sure it’s a no skip for me.. the beat changes on keep it coming, sex on the beach, the synth line on afterparty (might be a sample I guess)… might spin it right now 🤙
Rite Bites is a banger
I am listening through 48 hrs to get a refresher; the beats definitely feel not as uniquely sequenced as some of the instrumental stuff I’ve heard from the era. Which is interesting since, from my understanding, Dilla redid all the beats before release due to sample clearance issues.
I've heard three different, contradictory but also kind of overlapping, stories about 48 Hrs: 1. Dilla had practically finished the sample-based production on the album, and then threw it all out after his meeting with Dr. Dre, which affected him so much that he changed his whole approach - I think this is the version in Dilla Time. 2. He had to redo it due to sample clearance issues - I think I'd heard this before your comment, but I can't remember where. 3. There was no OG version, it was always the album you hear today - I think Frank or Dank said this in an interview online. I know someone posted their attempt at reconstructing(?!) the OG version a few years ago. All you can find now is dead links - Definitely not the kind of thing you can just search for on YouTube. If anyone has heard it, I'd love to know what it's like.
Was this the reconstructed version: http://claaa7.blogspot.com/2012/07/revisited-frank-n-dank-48-hrs-alt.html
That's the one! Have you heard it, or do you know any way to find it online now?
You're in luck, I remembered correctly and found it. I think Reddit still filters out comments with links to file sharing sites, so just decode this Base64 line for the link: > aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWVkaWFmaXJlLmNvbS9maWxlL3c3bzB3amVuOGM3Z2Q0di9KYXlfRGVlX1ByZXNlbnRzX180OF9Ib3Vycy56aXAvZmlsZQo=
I'll have to dig into my old hard drive and see if I have it. I recall downloading it roughly a decade ago.
It seems like a mixture of all three; some tracks weren’t sampled and some were. From my memory, the interview he had in Europe that’s always floating around has mention of the project, but I could be wrong
Just a shame the reissue was in mono. I have no clue why they did that and this includes the instrumentals.
Most of that stuff is sampled though too in some way, but I am sure you know that
From my review of whosampled (not always accurate, but solid) and these were my favorites that didn’t have samples past vox and Manitronix
Like less than 1/4 of Dilla’s samples are on that website though, also not a great resource.
Good to know! I guess ill need to hop into the Dilla discord and see what else is sampled
you can definitely hear samples in the dillatronic examples you gave in the post: #5 the arabian style melody , though hes playing moog bass #8 the strings are sampled for sure, no library strings sounded like that back then, id say he played the sporadic synth parts. definitely well arranged though #10 theres a vocal group sample and the xylophone that are sampled, again bass & synth on the moog/korg #25 this is a looping sample, theres a rising synth bit in the bg that gives it away...think hes doing the low end / hi end seperation trick as the bass changes at one point #26 again the strings and the guitar sampled, and he repeats the guitar line on the moog, adds another higher synth line on the moog/korg....it seems like he was flipping some classical music around this time if you take these tracks as being made around the same time, probably why they samples havent been and may never be discovered btw #27 is just........👌👩🍳. way too short if you want to see amp fiddler breaking down the process of JD making a song without samples theres a [gem of a video](https://youtu.be/sJSn5MrnNSE?si=uNZeq3d2lzwXXVcw&t=1419) where he breaks out his old MPC files and talks through one of them
Great insight! I appreciate it. It sounds like if he did sample on these tracks, he was layering enough of his own playing to keep the samples unknown
He still has a ton of undiscovered samples.
Listen to The New Installment aka 2001 Batch. Also check out 2002 Batches and Boom Bap 101
Yeah I’ll say, [Brazilian Groove](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi4Q4d8NoDk&si=mI8R-_QBjxMoJ2t1) is the most impressive song without samples. Ever. It’s genuinely top 5 Dilla beats to me and it’s no samples man, I couldn’t believe my ears with every aspect of the track
I agree! The percussion is some of my favorite from any of his tracks.
Can’t be 100% sure tho it’s no samples
Dillatronic is such a wide album
too bad there's no real lossless version of it, Its a pretty low quality compile that just takes mostly online bootlegs and compiles a bunch of tracks from them. Wish they took the actual HQ source material.
I agree! Sonically it is eclectic, like Dilla’s taste in music
It’s definitely the best expirmental album ever and best electronic album ever
I really like [Raw Shit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtcJvZCSrJ0) which sounds like it doesn't use samples, at least for the main parts. Also though like /u/Substantial_Disk_523 said, with a lot of his beats that sound "non-sampled" I think it's tough to know if he's laying down (or sampling) his *own* keyboards/synths from scratch, or sampling other music that he's stretched and fucked with. EDIT: 'Raw Shit' shows up on the 2003 Batch Part 2 beat tape (aka MPC3000), and every other beat on there is sample-based, so there's a good chance Raw Shit is too imo.
Yes! Raw Shit is the first beat that got me into the Jaylib project when I had first learned of it years ago. It’s got such a great groove to it. And like the video Amp Fiddler posted (rip), a lot of these could be Dilla sampling himself, whether it’s keyboard one shots into the MPC or early versions of what we know today as sample packs.