ROLAND HIP-HOP ARTISTS
With the TR-808 drum machine being name-checked by Timbaland, Public Enemy, and Frank Ocean, along with a feature-length documentary featuring the likes of Rick Rubin, Pharrell Williams, and Hank Shocklee, it’s fair to say that the giants of hip hop and Roland share a mutual affection. Kanye even named his chart-topping fourth album after the 808!
But it doesn’t stop there—back to the present day and musicians at all levels continue to choose Roland to help express themselves. From the iconic sounds of our classic drum machines, to the pattern-based step-sequencer that laid the foundation of boom-bap, electrofunk, trap and more, Roland’s new MC-101 and MC-707 GROOVEBOXES are two of the latest instruments designed to help you create studio-quality hip hop tracks with ease. Whether you’re writing on the fly, in the studio with your DAW, live on stage, or just having fun making beats at home, our new GROOVEBOXES are all-in-one production setups for making music any place, any time.
We asked up-and-coming beatmakers from across the hip hop scene to create a brand-new track using an MC-101 or MC-707, while also explaining how they create their signature beats. Read on to learn more about each artist, then check out their performance videos and hear their thoughts on the MC GROOVEBOX series.