It's Funky Enough
"It's Funky Enough" is the debut single by American rapper, The D. O. C. Featured as the first track on his 1989 debut album No One Can Do It Better. A video shot in black and white was made to promote the song; the song was produced by Dr. Dre, it samples "Misdemeanor" by Foster Sylvers. The song has appeared on many video games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, True Crime: Streets of LA and Madden 2005, its line "Y'all ready for this?" has been sampled on many rap albums, is heard in the title screen of the platform game Jazz Jackrabbit 2. Most notably, "Y'all ready for this?" has been made globally famous as a sample in the song "Get Ready for This" by early-'90s dance group 2 Unlimited. That song is arguably the most played opening song for arena-based sporting events; the quote "stop him in his tracks, show him that I am Ruthless" was sampled by Eazy-E for the chorus of his diss song against Dr. Dre, "Real Muthaphuckkin' G's" in 1993. "It's Funky Enough" was sampled again by Eazy-E in his song "Creep N Crawl", which appears on his 1995 posthumous album Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton.
The line "when I am flowing" is sampled by Seattle rapper Kid Sensation in the song "Flowin'", which appears on the 1990 album Rollin' With Number One. A side "It's Funky Enough" - 4:29 "It's Funky Enough" - 4:22 "It's Funky Enough" - 0:44B side "No One Can Do It Better" - 4:50 "No One Can Do It Better" - 4:50 "No One Can Do It Better" - 1:12 Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Single (music)
In the music industry, a single is a type of release a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, a single is a song, released separately from an album, although it also appears on an album; these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular. In other cases a recording released. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks; the biggest digital music distributor, iTunes Store, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as does popular music player Spotify. Any more than three tracks on a musical release or thirty minutes in total running time is either an extended play or, if over six tracks long, an album; when mainstream music was purchased via vinyl records, singles would be released double-sided.
That is to say, they were released with an A-side and B-side, on which two singles would be released, one on each side. Moreover, only the most popular songs from a released album would be released as a single. In more contemporary forms of music consumption, artists release most, if not all, of the tracks on an album as singles; the basic specifications of the music single were set in the late 19th century, when the gramophone record began to supersede phonograph cylinders in commercially produced musical recordings. Gramophone discs were manufactured in several sizes. By about 1910, the 10-inch, 78 rpm shellac disc had become the most used format; the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century. The crude disc-cutting techniques of the time and the thickness of the needles used on record players limited the number of grooves per inch that could be inscribed on the disc surface, a high rotation speed was necessary to achieve acceptable recording and playback fidelity.
78 rpm was chosen as the standard because of the introduction of the electrically powered, synchronous turntable motor in 1925, which ran at 3600 rpm with a 46:1 gear ratio, resulting in a rotation speed of 78.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format and performers tailored their output to fit the new medium; the 3-minute single remained the standard into the 1960s, when the availability of microgroove recording and improved mastering techniques enabled recording artists to increase the duration of their recorded songs. The breakthrough came with Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone". Although CBS tried to make the record more "radio friendly" by cutting the performance into halves, separating them between the two sides of the vinyl disc, both Dylan and his fans demanded that the full six-minute take be placed on one side, that radio stations play the song in its entirety; as digital downloading and audio streaming have become more prevalent, it has become possible for every track on an album to be available separately.
The concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a more promoted or more popular song within an album collection. The demand for music downloads skyrocketed after the launch of Apple's iTunes Store in January 2001 and the creation of portable music and digital audio players such as the iPod. In September 1997, with the release of Duran Duran's "Electric Barbarella" for paid downloads, Capitol Records became the first major label to sell a digital single from a well-known artist. Geffen Records released Aerosmith's "Head First" digitally for free. In 2004, Recording Industry Association of America introduced digital single certification due to significant sales of digital formats, with Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" becoming RIAA's first platinum digital single. In 2013, RIAA incorporated on-demand streams into the digital single certification. Single sales in the United Kingdom reached an all-time low in January 2005, as the popularity of the compact disc was overtaken by the then-unofficial medium of the music download.
Recognizing this, On 17 April 2005, Official UK Singles Chart added the download format to the existing format of physical CD singles. Gnarls Barkley was the first act to reach No.1 on this chart through downloads alone in April 2006, for their debut single "Crazy", released physically the following week. On 1 January 2007 digital downloads became eligible from the point of release, without the need for an accompanying physical. Sales improved in the following years, reaching a record high in 2008 that still proceeded to be overtaken in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch vinyl discs. Other, less common, formats include singles on Digital Compact Cassette, DVD, LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc; the most common form of the vinyl single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its play speed, 45 rpm, the standard diameter, 7 inches; the 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable and higher-fidelity replacement for the 78 rpm shellac discs.
The first 45
Music genre
A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Academics have argued that categorizing music by genre is inaccurate and outdated. Music can be divided into different genres in many different ways; the artistic nature of music means that these classifications are subjective and controversial, some genres may overlap. There are varying academic definitions of the term genre itself. In his book Form in Tonal Music, Douglass M. Green distinguishes between form, he lists madrigal, canzona and dance as examples of genres from the Renaissance period. To further clarify the meaning of genre, Green writes, "Beethoven's Op. 61 and Mendelssohn's Op. 64 are identical in genre – both are violin concertos – but different in form. However, Mozart's Rondo for Piano, K. 511, the Agnus Dei from his Mass, K. 317 are quite different in genre but happen to be similar in form."
Some, like Peter van der Merwe, treat the terms genre and style as the same, saying that genre should be defined as pieces of music that share a certain style or "basic musical language." Others, such as Allan F. Moore, state that genre and style are two separate terms, that secondary characteristics such as subject matter can differentiate between genres. A music genre or subgenre may be defined by the musical techniques, the style, the cultural context, the content and spirit of the themes. Geographical origin is sometimes used to identify a music genre, though a single geographical category will include a wide variety of subgenres. Timothy Laurie argues that since the early 1980s, "genre has graduated from being a subset of popular music studies to being an ubiquitous framework for constituting and evaluating musical research objects". Among the criteria used to classify musical genres are the trichotomy of art and traditional musics. Alternatively, music can be divided on three variables: arousal and depth.
Arousal reflects the energy level of the music. These three variables help explain why many people like similar songs from different traditionally segregated genres. Musicologists have sometimes classified music according to a trichotomic distinction such as Philip Tagg's "axiomatic triangle consisting of'folk','art' and'popular' musics", he explains that each of these three is distinguishable from the others according to certain criteria. The term art music refers to classical traditions, including both contemporary and historical classical music forms. Art music exists in many parts of the world, it emphasizes formal styles that invite technical and detailed deconstruction and criticism, demand focused attention from the listener. In Western practice, art music is considered a written musical tradition, preserved in some form of music notation rather than being transmitted orally, by rote, or in recordings, as popular and traditional music are. Most western art music has been written down using the standard forms of music notation that evolved in Europe, beginning well before the Renaissance and reaching its maturity in the Romantic period.
The identity of a "work" or "piece" of art music is defined by the notated version rather than by a particular performance, is associated with the composer rather than the performer. This is so in the case of western classical music. Art music may include certain forms of jazz, though some feel that jazz is a form of popular music. Sacred Christian music forms an important part of the classical music tradition and repertoire, but can be considered to have an identity of its own; the term popular music refers to any musical style accessible to the general public and disseminated by the mass media. Musicologist and popular music specialist Philip Tagg defined the notion in the light of sociocultural and economical aspects: Popular music, unlike art music, is conceived for mass distribution to large and socioculturally heterogeneous groups of listeners and distributed in non-written form, only possible in an industrial monetary economy where it becomes a commodity and in capitalist societies, subject to the laws of'free' enterprise... it should ideally sell as much as possible.
Popular music is found on most commercial and public service radio stations, in most commercial music retailers and department stores, in movie and television soundtracks. It is noted on the Billboard charts and, in addition to singer-songwriters and composers, it involves music producers more than other genres do; the distinction between classical and popular music has sometimes been blurred in marginal areas such as minimalist music and light classics. Background music for films/movies draws on both traditions. In this respect, music is like fiction, which draws a distinction between literary fiction and popular fiction, not always precise. Country music known as country and western, hillbilly music, is a genre of popular music that originated in the southern United States in the early 1920s; the polka is a Czech dance and genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the early 1950s, developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and particular
West Coast hip hop
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originate in the West Coast region of the United States. The gangsta rap subgenre of West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records; some believe that the four elements of hip-hop culture, B-boying, DJing, graffiti art, MCing, existed on the East and West Coasts of the United States during the mid-to-late 1970s. This theory runs in opposition to the more accepted belief that the fundamental elements of hip hop were born and cultivated on the East Coast, in New York City in particular, in the earliest stages of the culture. Although it is agreed that hip hop was given its name in New York, some say a culture that mirrored the East Coast hip hop culture had emerged in the West, existing from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area during the same period.
The culture is believed to have been a mutual creation which evolved from interaction between people who identified with elements from their respective coasts. A number of events laid the foundations for West Coast hip hop, long before the emergence of West Coast rappers such as Eazy-E, Ice T, Too Short. According to geniusrap.com, "a cataclysmic event helped give rise to it out West: the Watts Riots of 1965." In 1967, Bud Schulberg founded a creative space entitled Watts Writers Workshop, intended to help the people of the Watts neighborhood and provide a place for them to express themselves freely. Out of this background the Watts Prophets formed, a spoken-word and musical collective, whose members had moved to the West Coast from southern states such as Texas and Louisiana; however Black expression in Los Angeles was muted after the release of the Watts' Prophet 1971 record Rappin' Black in a White World until the emergence of hip-hop in the 1980s. The origins of West Coast hip hop trace back to the late 1970s in Los Angeles when Alonzo Williams, a young disc jockey from Compton, began to DJ at parties and various venues in Southern California under the name "Disco Construction".
Williams formed a partnership with another DJ named Rodger Clayton who created a promotion company called Unique Dreams that would hire Williams to DJ at local events. The two went their separate ways: Williams started a group called the World Class Wreckin' Cru and became the house DJs at a local nightclub called Eve's After Dark while Clayton launched what would be the foremost successful mobile DJ crew in the region by the name of Uncle Jamm's Army that would host parties by top DJs for thousands of people at large venues. Other smaller DJ and party crews emerged around this time, hoping to establish themselves in the area. Unlike their East Coast counterparts, the hip hop sound emerging from Southern California was more fast-paced and influenced by electronic music; this could be credited to the fact that the local West Coast hip hop scene revolved more around DJing than rapping. A localized dance sub-culture came out of this party scene, highlighted on a national scale on such motion pictures as Breakin'.
Breakdancing and locking gave the Los Angeles music scene some of its earliest credibility outside the region. Further attention came to the West Coast as Uncle Jamm's Army began inviting such well-known East Coast hip-hop acts such as Whodini and Run-DMC to their functions. Another early landmark occurred in 1981, when Duffy Hooks launched the first West Coast rap label, Rappers Rapp Records, inspired by Sugar Hill Records in New York, its first act was the duo of Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp, whose debut single was "Gigolo Rapp" or "Gigolo Groove". However these early records suffered from a lack of radio play from both Black and East Coast hip-hop radio stations. Captain Rapp created the classic West Coast song "Bad Times". Clayton's group released their first single, "Dial-a-Freak", in 1984 Egyptian Lover released his On the Nile album, which includes the popular 12" single "Egypt Egypt". Members of Uncle Jamm's Army and the World Class Wreckin' Cru, including Dr. Dre, The Unknown DJ, Egyptian Lover and Ice-T would go on to help define the early West Coast hip-hop sound throughout the 1980s.
In the mid-1980s, Mixmaster Spade defined an early form of gangsta rap with his Compton Posse. From this group, Spade mentored future rap stars of the West Coast, including Toddy Tee, who recorded the South Central LA anthem "The Batteram" in 1985. In the same period, the Compton-based former locking dancer Alonzo Williams formed World Class Wreckin' Cru, which included future N. W. A members Dr. Dre and DJ Yella. Williams founded Kru-Cut Records and established a recording studio in the back of his nightclub Eve's After Dark; the club was where local drug dealer Eazy-E and Jerry Heller decided to start Ruthless Records and where Dr. Dre and DJ Yella met the group CIA, which included future N. W. A member Ice Cube, Laylaw, Dr. Dre's cousin Sir Jinx, K-Dee. During this period, one of the greatest factors in the spread of West Coast hip hop was the radio station 1580 KDAY and DJ Greg "Mack Attack" Mack. In 1988, N. W. A's landmark album Straight Outta Compton was released. Focusing on life and adversities in Compton, California, a notoriously rough area which had gained a reputation for gang violence, it was released by group member Eazy-E's record label Ruthless Records.
As well as establishing a basis for the popularity of gangsta rap, the album drew much attention to West Coast hip hop the Los Angeles scene. In particular, the controversial "Fuck tha Police" and the ensuing censorship attracted substantial media coverage and public attention. Foll
Run-DMC
Run-DMC was an American hip hop group from Hollis, New York, founded in 1981 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture and one of the most famous hip hop acts of the 1980s. Along with LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, the group pioneered new school hip hop music. Run-DMC was the first group in the genre to have a album certified gold and to be nominated for a Grammy Award, they were the first to earn a platinum record, the first to earn a multi-platinum certification, the first to have their music videos broadcast on MTV, the first to appear on American Bandstand and the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Run-DMC was the only hip hop act to perform at the U. S. Live Aid concert in 1985; the group was among the first to highlight the importance of the DJ relationship. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them #48 in their list of the greatest musical artists of all time. In 2007, Run-DMC was named "The Greatest Hip Hop Group of All Time" by MTV.com and "Greatest Hip Hop Artist of All Time" by VH1.
In 2009, Run-DMC became the second hip hop group to be inducted into the Roll Hall of Fame. In 2016, Run-DMC received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; the three members of Run-DMC grew up in Queens. As a teenager, Joseph Simmons was recruited into hip hop by his older brother, an up-and-coming hip hop promoter. Simmons appeared onstage as a DJ for solo rapper Kurtis Blow, managed by Russell. Known as "DJ Run, Son of Kurtis Blow", Simmons soon began performing with Kurtis Blow. McDaniels had been more focused on athletics than music, but soon began to DJ after purchasing a set of turntables. Simmons convinced McDaniels to start rapping, though McDaniels would not perform in public, he soon began writing rhymes and was known as "Easy D." Simmons and McDaniels started hanging around Two-Fifths Park in Hollis in the late-1970s, hoping to rap for the local DJs who performed and competed there, the most popular one known to frequent the park was Jason Mizell known as "Jazzy Jase". Mizell was known for his flashy wardrobe and b-boy attitude, which led to minor legal troubles as a teen.
Thereafter, he began entertaining in the park soon after. Simmons and McDaniels rapped in front of Mizell at the park, the three became friends. Following Russell's success managing Kurtis Blow, he helped Run record his first single, a song called "Street Kid." The song went unnoticed. Simmons soon wanted to record again—-this time with McDaniels, but Russell refused, citing a dislike for D's rhyming style. After they graduated from high school and started college in 1982, Simmons and McDaniels convinced Russell to let them record as a duo, they recruited Mizell to be their official DJ; the following year, in 1983, Russell agreed to help them record a new single and land a record deal, but only after he changed McDaniels' stage name to'DMC' and marketed the group as "Run-D. M. C.", a name which, the group hated at first. DMC said "We wanted to be the Dynamic Two, the Treacherous Two — when we heard that shit we was like,'We're gonna be ruined!' " After signing with Profile Records, Run-DMC released their debut single "It's Like That/Sucker MCs", in late-1983.
The single was well received. The trio performed the single on the New York Hot Tracks video show in 1983. Emboldened by their success, Run-DMC released their eponymous debut album Run-D. M. C. in 1984. Hit singles such as "Jam-Master Jay" and "Hard Times" proved that the group were more than a one-hit wonder, the landmark single "Rock Box" was a groundbreaking fusion of raw hip hop and hard rock that would become a cornerstone of the group's sound and paved the way for the rap rock subgenre movement of the 1990s. Run-DMC's swift ascension to the forefront of rap with a new sound and style meant that old-school hip hop artists were becoming outdated. Along with pushing rap into a new direction musically, Run-DMC changed the entire aesthetic of hip hop music and culture. Old school rappers like Afrika Bambaataa and Melle Mel of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five tended to dress in the flashy attire, attributed to glam rock and disco acts of the era: tight leather, chest-baring shirts and hats with rhinestones and spikes, leather boots, etc.
Run-DMC discarded the more glam aspects of early hip hop fashion and incorporated a more "street" sense of style such as Kangol hats, leather jackets, unlaced Adidas shoes. The group's look had been influenced by Mizell's own personal style; when Russell Simmons saw Jay's flashy, yet street b-boy style. Run said later: That embrace of the look and style of the street would define the next 25 years of hip hop fashion. After the success of their first album, Run-DMC looked to branch out on their follow-up; the release of King of Rock in 1985 saw the group furthering their rap rock fusion on songs like "Can You Rock It Like This" and the title track. The music video for the single "Rock Box" was the first hip hop music video to be broadcast on MTV and received heavy rotation from the channel; the song was the group's most popular hit at that point and the album was certified platinum. Run-DMC performed at the legendary Live Aid benefit shortly. In late-
Ruthless Records
Ruthless is an American record label, founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Gerald "Jerry" Heller. The record label was founded in Compton, California in 1986. Ruthless Records since its inception has been a subsidiary of Inc.. All Ruthless Records trademarks are owned by Comptown Records Inc; the label's acts over the years have earned RIAA certifications of Platinum or higher on 15 of its released albums, including releases by N. W. A, Eazy-E, MC Ren, The D. O. C. Michel'le, J. J. Fad, Bone-Thugs-n-Harmony. Ruthless was formed as a vehicle for releases by N. W. A, as well as member and cofounder Eric "Eazy-E" Wright. W. A's "Dopeman", "8-Ball" and "Panic Zone", introductory to the group's N. W. A. and the Posse, a compilation album released under the group's name, albeit not on Ruthless. It put out singles by underground California acts such as Frost and J. J. Fad, but the label's 1st full-length release was N. W. A's Straight Outta Compton, certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA. Following this was the release of Eazy's solo debut, Eazy-Duz-It.
As the six members went on tour in support of their project, some began to voice their displeasure with the financial situation at Ruthless. According to group member MC Ren, it was a common opinion that N. W. A manager and Ruthless co-founder Jerry Heller was the one receiving their due: We felt he didn’t deserve what he was getting. We deserved that shit. We were the ones traveling in vans and driving all around the place. You do all those fucking shows trying to get known, you come home to a fucking apartment. You go to his house, this motherfucker lives in a mansion. There's gold leaf trimmings all in all kinds of other shit. You’re thinking, “Man, fuck that.” Jerry Heller, in his 2006 memoir Ruthless, disputes any allegations of financial misconduct. The label experienced outside pressure due to the group; the success of their song "Fuck tha Police" led to a threatening F. B. I. letter to distributor Priority Records. After coming off tour, group member Ice Cube voiced his opinions on the group's finances.
Though Heller continually claims that everything was in order, has offered them to open the account books to prove his innocence, the ensuing confrontation ended in Ice Cube leaving Ruthless without signing on as a solo artist, which the remaining members proceeded to do. 1988 saw the release of J. J. Fad's gold-certified album Supersonic, produced by founding N. W. A member Arabian Prince and in 1989, singer Michel'le's eponymous self-titled album, The D. O. C.'s critically acclaimed No One Can Do It Better, all produced by N. W. A beat-smiths Dr. Dre and DJ Yella. W. A, producing the 100 Miles and Runnin' E. P. and the group's Niggaz4Life, which reached Platinum status. Above the Law's Livin' Like Hustlers was released during this period. In 1989, Eazy signed hip-hop's first white female rapper Tairrie B to Ruthless' new Comptown label subsidiary, she released her debut album The Power of a Woman in 1990 featuring the single and video for "Murder She Wrote" which Eazy and Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D appeared in.
The album featured guest vocals by Dr. Dre, D. O. C. and future House of Pain frontman Everlast, production by QDIII. Though N. W. A was successful, Dr. Dre was advised by The D. O. C. and the rapper's friend, Suge Knight, that he should leave the label to avoid any possible financial meddling by Heller, offering to extricate Dr. Dre from his Ruthless contract.. Suge succeeded in procuring Dre, D. O. C. and Michel'le's contracts—through illicit means—and proceeded to set up Death Row with Dr. Dre. Now short of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E signed various other acts that would assist him in a subsequent rivalry with Death Row. Gangsta Dresta and B. G. Knocc Out were among the most vocal of these rappers, with DJ Yella,187um and new producer Rhythum D producing. While MC Ren and DJ Yella stayed neutral, they remained with Ruthless. Eazy-E released several high-profile LPs dissing Dr. Dre, including most famously It's On 187um Killa. Producer Big Hutch/Cold 187 um alleges that during this time period, with Ruthless switching distributors from Priority to Relativity and Epic Wright began to feel as though Heller wasn't being honest with the label's finances: When the money started rolling and a lot of cats couldn’t come to the table and renegotiate….
Ya know, it was fucked up! That's. Like Eazy came to me one night and he said “Man, shit is fucked up, man.” Because he was at a point where he was getting played by Jerry Heller. However he added, "... I can't knock Jerry Heller.... He took us to the people to get massive exposure. We couldn’t have walked through the doors as brothers like that. We needed a guy like Jerry Heller to do that. You need that face, you need. Without him there wouldn’t have been none of that..."Eazy-E fired Jerry Heller, shortly before his death. On March 1, 1995, Eazy-E was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, he had just signed the Cleveland, Ohio-based group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, whose 1994 extended play Creepin on ah Come Up was well received by critics and fans. Eazy-E executive produced Bone Thugs' first full-length album, E 1999 Eternal, released shortly after his death on March 26, 1995 of HIV/AIDS in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, their smash 1996 single "Tha Crossroads" was dedicated to Eazy-
Record producer
A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performer's music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has varying roles during the recording process, they may gather musical ideas for the project, collaborate with the artists to select cover tunes or original songs by the artist/group, work with artists and help them to improve their songs, lyrics or arrangements. A producer may also: Select session musicians to play rhythm section accompaniment parts or solos Co-write Propose changes to the song arrangements Coach the singers and musicians in the studioThe producer supervises the entire process from preproduction, through to the sound recording and mixing stages, and, in some cases, all the way to the audio mastering stage; the producer may perform these roles themselves, or help select the engineer, provide suggestions to the engineer. The producer may pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record label's budget.
A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording and production of a band or performer's music. A producer has many roles that may include, but are not limited to, gathering ideas for the project, composing the music for the project, selecting songs or session musicians, proposing changes to the song arrangements, coaching the artist and musicians in the studio, controlling the recording sessions, supervising the entire process through audio mixing and, in some cases, to the audio mastering stage. Producers often take on a wider entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules and negotiations. Writer Chris Deville explains it, "Sometimes a producer functions like a creative consultant — someone who helps a band achieve a certain aesthetic, or who comes up with the perfect violin part to complement the vocal melody, or who insists that a chorus should be a bridge. Other times a producer will build a complete piece of music from the ground up and present the finished product to a vocalist, like Metro Boomin supplying Future with readymade beats or Jack Antonoff letting Taylor Swift add lyrics and melody to an otherwise-finished “Out Of The Woods.”The artist of an album may not be a record producer or music producer for his/her album.
While both contribute creatively, the official credit of "record producer" may depend on the record contract. Christina Aguilera, for example, did not receive record producer credits until many albums into her career. In the 2010s, the producer role is sometimes divided among up to three different individuals: executive producer, vocal producer and music producer. An executive producer oversees project finances, a vocal producers oversees the vocal production, a music producer oversees the creative process of recording and mixings; the music producer is often a competent arranger, musician or songwriter who can bring fresh ideas to a project. As well as making any songwriting and arrangement adjustments, the producer selects and/or collaborates with the mixing engineer, who takes the raw recorded tracks and edits and modifies them with hardware and software tools to create a stereo or surround sound "mix" of all the individual voices sounds and instruments, in turn given further adjustment by a mastering engineer for the various distribution media.
The producer oversees the recording engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as "the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record", like a director would a movie. Indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation is music director; the music producer's job is to create and mold a piece of music. The scope of responsibility may be one or two songs or an artist's entire album – in which case the producer will develop an overall vision for the album and how the various songs may interrelate. At the beginning of record industry, the producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live; the immediate predecessors to record producers were the artists and repertoire executives of the late 1920s and 1930s who oversaw the "pop" product and led session orchestras. That was the case of Ben Selvin at Columbia Records, Nathaniel Shilkret at Victor Records and Bob Haring at Brunswick Records.
By the end of the 1930s, the first professional recording studios not owned by the major companies were established separating the roles of A&R man and producer, although it wouldn't be until the late 1940s when the term "producer" became used in the industry. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1960s due to technology; the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously. All of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio where the performance was recorded. With multitrack recording, the "bed tracks" (rhythm section accompaniment parts such as the bassline and rhythm guitar could be recorded first, the vocals and solos could be added using as many "takes" as necessary, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. A pop band could record their backing tracks one week, a horn section could be brought in a week to add horn shots and punches, a string section could be brought in a week after that.
Multitrack recording had another pro
