<P> The drum beat is a core element of hip hop production . While some beats are sampled, others are created by drum machines . The most widely used drum machine is the analog Roland TR - 808, which has remained a mainstay for decades . Digital samplers, such as the E-mu SP - 12 and SP - 1200, and the Akai MPC series, have also been used to sample drum beats . Others yet are a hybrid of the two techniques, sampled parts of drum machine beats that are arranged in original patterns altogether . The Akai MPC series and Ensoniq ASR - 10 are mainstays for sampling beats, particularly by The Neptunes . Some producers create their own electronic drum kit sounds, such as Dr. Dre, Timbaland, DJ Paul & Juicy J, Swizz Beatz, Kanye West and The Neptunes . Some drum machine sounds, such as the 1980s - era TR - 808 cowbell, remain as historical elements of hip hop lore that continue to be used in 2010s - era hip hop . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> "</Td> <Td> Hip hop does not simply draw inspiration from a range of samples, but it layers these fragments into an artistic object . If sampling is the first level of hip hop aesthetics, how the pieces or elements fit together constitute the second level . Hip hop emphasizes and calls attention to its layered nature . The aesthetic code of hip hop does not seek to render invisible the layers of samples, sounds, references, images, and metaphors . Rather, it aims to create a collage in which the sampled texts augment and deepen the song / book / art's meaning to those who can decode the layers of meaning . </Td> <Td>" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="3">--Richard Schur, Hip Hop Aesthetics and Contemporary African American Literature (2008) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "</Td> <Td> Hip hop does not simply draw inspiration from a range of samples, but it layers these fragments into an artistic object . If sampling is the first level of hip hop aesthetics, how the pieces or elements fit together constitute the second level . Hip hop emphasizes and calls attention to its layered nature . The aesthetic code of hip hop does not seek to render invisible the layers of samples, sounds, references, images, and metaphors . Rather, it aims to create a collage in which the sampled texts augment and deepen the song / book / art's meaning to those who can decode the layers of meaning . </Td> <Td>" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="3">--Richard Schur, Hip Hop Aesthetics and Contemporary African American Literature (2008) </Td> </Tr>

What kind of bass is used in hip hop