Mark Ronson: How sampling transformed music

May 10 2014, 12:55am

I usually avoid TED videos that look like it's just a music performance, I'm glad I clicked on this one however, he goes into how the best music is usually based on another song in the past, and how re-sampling is an art form.

Sampling isn't about "hijacking nostalgia wholesale," says Mark Ronson. It's about inserting yourself into the narrative of a song while also pushing that story forward. Watch the DJ scramble 15 TED Talks into an audio-visual omelette, and trace the evolution of "La Di Da Di," Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick's 1984 hit that has been reimagined for every generation since.