Hip hop and pop music has been around for decades and has only been increasing in popularity since it came about. These genres of music has revolutionized youth culture and made history that will never be forgotten. Technology has been a major part in the growth of music because of their distinctive sounds and beats. One of the innovations that impacted hip hop and pop was the Roland TR-808, a drum machine created by Ikutaro Kakehashi in 1980.
This new instrument made a huge impact during the late nineteenth century in pop and hip hop music. The way the TR-808 came about was an idea of Japan born Kakehashi who worked on watches and clocks in his younger years. In the year of 1960, the man worked his way into electronic instruments at the company Ace Electronic Industry. Everything came together for him in 1972 where he created the Roland corporation. The machine was made with other synthesizers for music. In the article “How The Roland TR-808 revolutionized Music” by Zainab Hasnain it states, “What made the 808 different was that the sounds did not resemble real percussion, and were more like a “futuristic” interpretation of common sounds: bass, drums, snare, cymbals, and more(Hasnain)”. This is what made it stand out from all the other instruments being used to created this type of music. This machine created a new sound that fit so well into this era and genres of music. One Thing about the history of the TR-808 was that it failed initially in the beginning stage because of people’s disbelief that this was a serious machine rather than a toy. It was then discontinued but than used more than any other machine including the main competitor Linn LM-1. The price tag was more affordable than other machine that created such sounds. The 808 didn't do as good in sales but it was truly put to use in many hit songs as we know today.
The TR-808 impacted the pop culture in a way that is still brought on to this day. In the article “8 ways the 808 drum changed pop music” by The Elias Leight it says “The drum altered pop’s sense of sonic space(Leight)”. This represents the Ability the drum had on the creating a new look in what is important to making music in this genre. It is different from the 1950’s were first impressions on melody and the mixing of rhythm was more quiet. Moreover, the drum created a flip in sounds such as rhythm, specifically bass drum and bass becoming more popular to put into new songs to create the loud sounds people of this culture were looking for. It became so popular musicians of these genres were putting the 808 in because it was different or even considered a new trend of some sort.
In addition, this new drum was also a second step in the improvement of better technology. In the article “A brief history of the Roland TR-808” by Brandon Danielderivative it states “Take for example the 808’s famous hand clap that sounds absolutely nothing like hands clapping. This sound offers producers a wide, sharp stab of treble frequency, often replacing the traditional role of the snare in electronic music(Danielderivative)”. This statement signifies the importance of the versatile sound options this machine has to offer. For such a many year old machine the technology of artificial sounds make it a instrument that is still being used and very popular even with our advanced technology today.
In Conclusion, this drum created such a huge footprint in music history that will continue and still be used in the future. The TR-808 has made history and has impacted the music culture in a very distinctive way. This innovation will be carried on for many year to come.
Works Cited
Danielderivative, Brandon. “A Brief History of the Roland TR-808.” MN2S, mn2s.com/news/features/a-brief-history-of-the-roland-tr-808/.
Leight, Elias. “8 Ways the 808 Drum Machine Changed Pop Music.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2016, www.rollingstone.com/music/news/8-ways-the-808-drum-machine-changed-pop-music-w453714.
Hasnain, Zainab. “How the Roland TR-808 Revolutionized Music.” The Verge, The Verge, 3 Apr. 2017, www.theverge.com/2017/4/3/15162488/roland-tr-808-music-drum-machine-revolutionized-music.