Remix: “To combine or edit existing materials to create something new.”

A popular video series created by Kirby Ferguson called “Everything is a Remix” discusses ‘remixing’ and how it is actually a folk art with techniques being the same ones that could be used at any level of creation. They are copying, transforming, and combining. You could say everything is a remix and everyone can do it.

The first part of the series is the one I will be discussing today – examples of remixing on popular music trends. In this episode, Kirby talks about the beginning of the term remix in music and hip hop trends. A very early example of remixing began through the bassline of the song “Good Times” done by Chic and was sampled in Sugarhill Gang’s “Rappers Delight”.  This is the example I will be using as it is such a well-known bassline and has been used in so many songs past and present.

In these two songs, right off the bat, you may notice something similar. It happens with many well-known songs and it is the idea of combining: taking a popular bassline and adding it to your song and adding new words on top of it. Although someone could also take that exact bassline and words and publish it as their own, this is known as copying. You could also take that baseline and transform it into something totally new and original. In this case, Sugarhill Gang took the baseline from Chic’s song and sang their own lyrics therefore, combining the two.

Sugarhill Gang in a way has copied the original song by taking the exact baseline or riff and using it in their own song as well as publishing it as their own. Yet, in my opinion, I would not call this copying at all and I would define this as a way of transforming and recombining certain elements. Sugarhill Gang in no way took the exact same baseline and lyrics yet simply added their own lyrics as well as even adding more beats and mixes on top of the original riff heard on Chic’s “Good Times” so it may even take a bit of listening to hear the similarities between the two.

Furthermore, Sugarhill Gang has most definitely created an original, creative and catchy song that is still very popular and resonates with those young and old. I believe the rappers have created something to only a small degree that is not their own and that is the baseline of Chic’s song. The baseline is in the very background of Sugarhill Gang’s song and some have not noticed they were the same. That is because Sugarhill gang topped the baseline with their own creative lyrics, beats, mixes and sound effects that make the song “Rappers Delight” so iconic and so it does not infringe on the copyright of the original work.

In no way do I think the Sugarhill Gang ripped off Chic and other artists should take notes. The rappers simply enjoyed a baseline and thought that it would add something special to their song, so they took the baseline and topped it with their own ‘pizzazz’, that being, more beats, lyrics and mixes. They did not just take the exact baseline and add lyrics to it or worse, use the exact same lyrics. To avoid “ripping something off” I would for sure credit the original creator and add your own spin on the original that makes you creative. Overall, like Kirby said, “everything is a remix” and to get noticed in the creative world you may just have to do that.

 

 

 

Resources

DiscoSaturdayNightTV. “Chic – Good Times (Atlantic Records 1979).” YouTube, YouTube, 28 Nov. 2014, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er9xGRolrT4.

dutchmanmm. “The Sugar Hill Gang – Rapper’s Delight ( HQ, Full Version ).” YouTube, YouTube, 20 Oct. 2010, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTUAESacQM.

Ferguson, Kirby. “Everything Is a Remix Part 1.” Vimeo, 3 Apr. 2019, vimeo.com/14912890.