The Breakbeat Bible, by Mike Adamo, focuses on the fundamentals of breakbeat drumming as applied to hip-hop. It takes the elements of classic funk and breakbeat drumming and presents them in a systematic way for practice. When mastered, these elements will give the drummer the ability to integrate a complete language of incredibly funky concepts into his or her playing. In addition to the elements and exercises, the book also contains:
- Complete history of breakbeats including biographies of important drummers and DJs including Stanton Moore, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Premier, David Garibaldi, Questlove, Clyde Stubblefield, J Dilla, Kool Herc, and more.
- Application of the groove elements in classic breakbeats, including the source of the original beat and the hip hop recording on which it was sampled. For example, a transcription of “Footsteps in the Dark,” by the Isley Brothers, followed by explanation of how the beat was sampled for “It Was a Good Day,” by Ice Cube.
- Several chapters of breakbeat transcriptions from the 1960s to today. Examples: “God Made Me Funky” (The Headunters/Mike Clark), “Amen, Brother,” “Funky Drummer,” “Apache,” “Express Yourself” (Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band/James Gadson – sampled by NWA in 1988), and much more.
- Contemporary beats from J. Dilla, Miles Tackett, DJ Shadow. Homer Steinweiss, Adam Deitch, and many others.
- Beats with drops
- Dubstep
- An extensive discography
- Challenging click track loops for practice.
- Audio examples of dozens of beats from the book.
- Sample library featuring 30 individual drum/cymbal sound.
This book is a must-have for every drummer and drum teacher’s library, covering breakbeat culture and hip-hop era drumming like no other book on the market.
