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The Formula

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Kendrick Lamar Thinks Like A Jazz Musician

Kendrick Lamar performs at the 2017 Coachella festival. Though his 2015 album To Pimp A Butterfly wore its jazz influence on its sleeve, 2017's DAMN. displays Lamar's deep investment in the way jazz can evolve. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Kendrick Lamar Thinks Like A Jazz Musician

April 7, 2020 • The rapper behind the Pulitzer Prize-winning album DAMN. helps hip-hop evolve by tapping into the restless spirit of jazz, a trait on display in the shifting song "DUCKWORTH.," produced by 9th Wonder.

9th Wonder Breaks Down His Beats For Kendrick Lamar's 'Duckworth.'

9th Wonder breaks down three beats he composed that all went into a single song from Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer-winning album, "DAMN." NPR hide caption

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VIDEOS: The Formula

9th Wonder Breaks Down His Beats For Kendrick Lamar's 'Duckworth.'

April 7, 2020 • Watch hip-hop producer 9th Wonder break down the three beats he composed that all went into a single song from Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer-winning album, DAMN.

Erika Goldring/Getty Images

'I Hate You, Man': Questlove On Just Blaze's Maddening Genius

March 31, 2020 • The Roots drummer and Tonight Show bandleader picks apart exactly why fellow producer Just Blaze's talent for finding and flipping samples in unexpected combinations is both inspiring and infuriating.

Just Blaze Unpacks His Samples for Beyoncé And Jay-Z

Whether Just Blaze is tapping out sampled drums or utilizing live drummers in the studio, his ability to harness energy is what makes his beats so dynamic. NPR hide caption

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Just Blaze Unpacks His Samples for Beyoncé And Jay-Z

March 31, 2020 • Whether Just Blaze is tapping out sampled drums or utilizing live drummers in the studio, his ability to harness energy is what makes his beats so dynamic.

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The Formula: A Video Series On The Science Of Sampling

March 27, 2020 • Five acclaimed hip-hop producers take you inside their creative process, demonstrating how they build new hits out of old sounds — one drum break or horn blast at a time.