Who was doing it before then?” He adds that the only other person he recalled saying the phrase was The Amazing Bombay, a member of his previous group The Undefeated Four. Asked if he might be the inventor of the phrase, T La Rock is resolute. (At the time Premier had courted some critical acclaim with his group Gang Starr, but had received little in the way of wider mainstream recognition.) Diamond D remembers it as “a bold statement to make in an era of shiny suits.” KRS knew it wouldn’t be a commercially successful decision, but he was more concerned reconnecting with “the streets and all those that clung to the original break-beat sounds of hip hop.”īoth KRS-One and Diamond D cited “It’s Yours” as the first time they heard the phrase ever used. His plan already in mind, KRS told them he wanted DJ Premier to produce it instead. KRS says that the executives at Jive Records suggested he work with big name commercial producers of the day on Boom Bap. Remembering the time period, KRS says that hip hop “production was extremely watered down and less confrontational… The album title Return Of The Boom Bap was a call back to the original intent of hip hop’s music production and rebellious music style.” If boom bap is hooked around drums that smack and hit with a grit-sodden crunch, then 1993’s Return of the Boom Bap is the sub-genre’s grand call to arms. The Bronx-born Diamond D, who’s best known as part of the Diggin’ In The Crates collective, backs up Premier’s description, saying, “It’s raw, gritty and unpolished hip hop that normally features a DJ scratching.” He adds that the SP-1200, MPC-60 and Akai-900 were the technological tools of choice that got him “that 16-bit boom bap sound.” Talking to Premier, the idea of strength and power was key to boom bap’s genesis.
Most recognize DJ Premier and Pete Rock as two of the sub-genre’s most famous producers. To find out where boom bap came from, it’s important to define what it is. Classic boom bap is a persuasive experience, with beats that are visceral and rousing. But Joey’s take is markedly more laidback than the bounding, energetic ’90s version.
NEW BOOM BAP PRO
Boom bap has been used in more glowing terms to describe the music of Joey Bada$$ and his Flatbush-based Pro Era collective, not least after Bada$$ dropped rhymes over a DJ Premier production earlier this year. The phrase is frequently applied to East Coast hip hop to suggest that its architects are dated and trading on former glories.
These days, however, the notion of tagging something as boom bap has become more of a backhanded compliment.
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