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Hip-Hop Featured In George Martin’s New Doco ‘Soundbreaking’

In the years before his death last week, legendary producer and “fifth Beatle” George Martin had teamed up with PBS for an eight-part series called Soundbreaking: Stories From the Cutting Edge of Record Music.

Created over five years, Martin and his son Giles enlisted the help of over 150 artists to share their behind-the-scenes stories of creating some of music’s most iconic records. He said: “Soundbreaking afforded me the opportunity to tell the story of the creative process of so many of the artists I have worked with throughout my life.”

The series features 150 exclusive and original interviews with both artists and producers, including: Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Dave Grohl, Questlove, Bon Iver, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, DarrylD.M.C.McDaniels, Quincy Jones, Rick Rubin, RZA, Mark Ronson and more.

It is good to see that among some of the godfathers and trendsetters of music, hip-hop’s influence and presence has been noticed. Martin takes the time to explore sampling in hip-hop and speaks with Chuck D, RZA, Q-Tip, Questlove, AdamAd-RockHorovitz and Rick Rubin among other hip-hop artists.

Hip-hop music has taken influence from so many different genres; in turn, it has had an influence back onto many more. It stands out as one of the few genres with noticeable growth and change each year, but not everybody recognises its importance.

One episode of Soundbreaking, which is presented by Higher Ground, focuses on Martin’s indispensable work with The Beatles. “As a co-creator, Sir George Martin was the inspiration and intellectual force behind the Soundbreaking project,” Higher Ground founder David Langstaff said in a statement. “He was involved with all phases of the project and was immensely proud of the way these great stories were being told. The fact that so many extraordinary singers, songwriters, producers, and other artists came together to tell their stories is a testament to the respect and love they hold for Sir George, and the widespread recognition of his impact on the evolution of recorded music.”

Soundbreaking will air this November on PBS and will hopefully be streamable in Australia.

Image: Broadcastnow