EMU SP1200 - The Beatmaker's Classic
A lot of cats don’t know about the Emu SP 1200. It’s not hard to believe that many dont know of the SP1200 given this is the days of soft synths, midi controllers, ipad / iphone music makers and the self proclaimed MPC killer, the NI Maschine. But back in the so called Golden Era of hip-hop the SP1200 was the weapon of choice for so many hip-hop luminaries, legendary beatmakers and producers. Debuting in the late 80’s and reissued thru the late 90’s, give or take a year here and there for hiatus, the SP1200 was an immediate legend in it’s own right.
I personally have only ever had MPCs but I’ve known cats who owned and worked with SP1200. One of my most memorable SP moments was when i went with a crew of the homies to see KRS-ONE live at a spot in Chicago. Kenny Parker, KRS’ brother, was his DJ. At the time we were signed to a production / management company and one of our groups were the opening act for KRS which subsequently gained us backstage passes. How lucky were we? When KRS took the stage we were back stage, stage right overlooking the stage from a vip area. Kenny had his turntables set up and next to the tables was an SP 1200. Halfway thru the set KRS and Kenny (forever teaching class) jumped into this beatmaking / freestyling impromptu routine where KRS instructed Kenny to make a beat on the spot with the SP. When Kenny was done creating magic with that ole boom bap style, KRS broke the beat down into 4 bar and 8 bar sections while freestyling rhymes.
The crowd was nuts over that routine. It was electrifying to me for sure. My man Noble Dru was there that night. Both of us have sited that nite as one of the most inspiring moments for wanting to make beats and it was largely because of the lo-fi boom bap sound of the SP that exemplified the sound of the golden era of hip hop that we all loved.
Well, the other day i ran across a couple videos on youtube where Pete Rock’s brother Grap Luva was playing some beats on the SP1200 that he’d made years ago. It’s almost like a VH1 Storytellers episode for beatmakers featuring the Emu Sp1200. I thought the vids were dope so I’d like to share…
