Marshall, Wayne. "Giving Up Hip-hop's Firstborn: A Quest for the Real after the Death of Sampling" Callaloo Vol 29 (2006)

This journal article uses ?uestlove of the hip hop group, The Roots, to highlight how today's artists are dealing with copyright law. The Roots are notorious in the modern day industry because they sample very minimally due to the fact that they play their own instruments, and thus, create their own music with them. Because of this they are able to create hip hop without conforming to the traditional method of sampling in order to create beats. The traditional method is often seen by as consumers as a necessary element to create "authentic" hip hop music. While ?uestlove obviously believes real hip hop can be made other ways, he acknowledges that sampling is too common for the art to thrive under current copyright law. To show how difficult it is, he provides real examples of the costs of some samples, with the average being $8,000 each. Most hip hop artists that have not broken out yet would not be able to pay such ridiculous fees.

The most important thing about this journal is the issue of authenticity. This helps to understand why it is essential for rap artists to have samples instead of just accepting it as a given. Not only does it create a connection to the origins of the musical style, especially when it comes to vinyl records, samples also challenge the idea of musical ownership. This is to say that, hip hop is based on a belief that music ultimately does not belong to anyone, it is for the community to enjoy, and as such should be used by anyone freely. This closely coincides with pushes for the public domain to be expanded. ?uestlove also incorporates anti-copyright messages into his music in order for fans to realize the bleakness of the situation. An example is given where a DJ begins to manipulate beats but is abruptly stopped stating that showing off his talent "would cost too much".