Lecture 1 Quiz

A  It was a mistake – a sound engineer accidentally left out the vocals of a record but sent it to a soundsystem anyway

B  Vocalists charged too much money and the country was going broke.

C  There were so many different languages spoken in Jamaica that everyone need to make wordless songs.

D  What’s a “version”

A  The band could claim double the recording royalties for any recording sessions that they had done.

B  If a song was popular, the “DJ” or a “toaster” could speak on top of it to advertise upcoming shows or hype the the soundsystem and the audience would be more likely to listen.

C  If there was a fire and the master with the vocals was lost, they only had to re-record the vocals rather than the whole thing

D  The band could export the song to other countries, and then singers could make vocals in their native languages.

A  DJ Hollywood

B  Grandmaster Flash

C  DJ Kool Herc

D  El Guapo

A  Payola and music industry corruption

B  Samples were viewed as theft and the record companies were sued.

C  Authenticity and artistic integrity

D  Sex and violence

A  Via the radio

B  Via the graffiti on the subways

C  Via the first hit Hip Hop records from Georgia

D  Via a popular sitcom about inner city New York

A  They brought money earned in bauxite mines and were able to fund early Hip Hop recordings

B  The patois that they spoke at home was very similar to the way that rapping was supposed to sound

C  They were acquainted with American culture from TV but when they arrived felt alienated and grouped together into Hip Hop groups

D  When there became an opportunity for musical social interaction to begin again after the gang peace they were already acquainted with Soundsystem culture and set up their own.

A  The tapes were difficult to work with so to achieve the level of sophistication required, a remixer really needed to complement with musical idea with a very high level of technical competence and understanding

B  No big deal – they just threw it in garage band – anyone can do it.

C  This was such big business that remixers could just hire people to take care of it all

D  This is purely technological – there is no musical understanding or talent needed

A  Both the disco remixers and sound system organizers were concerned with ensure that the party kept going and that people would remain on the disco dance floor or at the soundsystem.

B  Both the disco remixers and Jamaican selectors were primarily concerned with keeping their source records secret so they obscured them by altering them

C  Both the disco remixers and Jamaican dub remixers were primarily concerned with elevating music to high art status

D  Both the disco remixers and Jamaican operators who created versions were primarily interested in inventing technologies that they could sell and profit from

A  He used a tape machine to repeat the parts of the song that made people dance the hardest

B  He re-recorded the vocals to take the swear words out because he hoped it would play on American radio

C  He added strings and dense instrumentation to “Roast Fish and Corn Bread” to create a new slick and polished song that would be popular in America

D  He removed much of the vocals, leaving ghostly traces and added echo and harsh non- musical sounds – particularly an incessant beeping – which created a destabilizing effect and may have more accurately depicted the social situation of Jamaica at the time

A  To draw people to their Soundsystems, owners would pair with food trucks and many became known for there “dub plate specials” as much as the music.

B  The police would arrest dancers that disobey the dictators orders and send them to a special cell with a hot floor to prevent dancing – a “dub plate”

C  It is a song commissioned and recorded for a specific Soundsystem. There arose a great deal of competition between Soundsystems and with American records becoming more and more difficult to find, owners hoped to record hit records that could only be heard at their own parties.

D  It is the large piece of metal that they put on the back of a speaker. It would vibrate and make the bass sound louder.

A  There wasn’t an effective infrastructure for people to gather and socialize with music, so innovators made what was effectively their own portable dance clubs so fulfil the need

B  The dictator banned dancing so kids had to make their own parties to dance in secret.

C  The stereos in cars were not loud enough for the noisy Kingston cityscape so people had to invent large speakers.

D  Imported American stereos did not have enough low-end to bring out the bass lines of the rocksteady music that was popular at the time

A  This is a trick question – there is no difference.

B  The DJ in the Jamaican soundsystem culture was the precursor of what we know as the “Hip Hop Mogul” . He/she ran the record companies and collected money on the behalf of performers.

C  Although at first, the Jamaican DJ was the owner of the soundsystem who did everything, in time he/she became the person who spoke to the crowd which evolved into “toasting” – the precursor of rapping. In the Hip Hop world, the DJ is the person who uses the turntables,

D  In Jamaica, the DJ was the person who fixed the electronics but in the Hip Hop world, he/she is the person who raps.

A  Perry’s are more abstract and use harsher sounds than Tubby’s

B  Tubby’s seem geared more towards an underground market and Perry’s are more mainstream

C  Perry’s tend to last for hours but Tubby’s are made to fit on one side of a 45 rpm record

D  Tubby doesn’t use any kind of effects but Perry’s do.

A  He and his friends stole them during the great 1977 blackout.

B  From visiting British rock bands

C  He worked as a disco DJ in New York during a summer and brought them all back with him.

D  He invented them himself

A  It is the same rapper on both

B  They are both examples of Jamaican dub

C  They both use exactly the same recording of a live band as the backing track

D  They both described exactly the same gang-related shooting in a crack deal gone wrong