Similar to the G-Funk sounds that still appear very frequently in West Coast hip-hop (see: “Nothing but a “G””), the sound of the stomp is not something Barber actively notices. It’s simply “in the air now.”
Barber notes that the beat for “Grindin’” spawned other imitations. There’s J-Kwon’s “Tipsy,” with a bassline similar to “Grindin’,” though the song’s Tribe-style stomp is actually a sample of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Incidentally, Barber’s kids have recently started listening to this song because of country artist Shaboozey’s platinum-plated track “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which interpolates J-Kwon’s original.
There are other production breadcrumbs like Tribe that pop up again and again in hip-hop, Barber notes, like Three 6 Mafia member Juicy J’s signature “yeah, ho” or the cocktail shaker used in the late ’90s by D-Dot Angeletti, Jermaine Dupri, and the Hitmen. Another signature cocktail shaker was popularized by Atlanta producer Zaytoven A decade later.
Staying power
The Korg Triton is especially important to Evan Ingersoll, better known as Chuck Inglish, rapper, producer and one half of the hip hop duo Cool Kids. He learned to create beats on the now-iconic synthesizer.
“Grindin’,” if Inglish recalls correctly, came out the same day he graduated from high school. A friend showed Inglish the Korg Triton. He went to the B116 drum kit and showed him all the Neptunes rhythm sounds.
Two decades after Clipse released “Grindin’,” the Cool Kids used Tribe on “PROBABLE SCAM”, a song from his 2022 album Before everything got weird. Inglish, along with Don Trevino and Slade Da Monsta, produced it. Spoiler for Cool Kids fans: he also used the sound on his upcoming album in a way he says is “daring.”
The Tribe’s sound has a nostalgic, familiar feel, says Inglish, which has become an ingredient in a growing recipe book of beats. As another example, Inglish points to Nelly and Kelly Rowland’s “Dilemma,” which uses an “ahh!” sound found in a Roland M-DC1 rack modulewhich has since been heard on songs by artists including Travis Scott, Nicki Minaj and Migos, largely thanks to producer Zaytoven.
If you used the sound right after “Grindin’” came out, “you’re almost biting Pharrell,” Inglish says. But 22 years have passed. “It’s public knowledge now.”
In the 90s, people were digging back into previous decades to find their sounds. So one of the reasons we might recognize the beat from “Grindin'” is that the producers are referencing these now-classic sounds.
“I think it takes a certain kind of energy to get someone curious or discover your song,” Inglish says. Tribe is a sound that draws people in, one that provides familiarity when hearing a new set of beats for the first time. When someone hears that stomp, “it’s an instant moment of relief.” I like that.”
He compares it to the durability of Jordan sneakers. “These guys weren’t even alive to see Michael Jordan,” he said. “But that doesn’t stop them from wearing Jordans. And they can go back and see the impact Jordan had.” The Tribe sound, or “Grindin’ stomp,” is repurposed in a similar way, he says. “The nostalgia just lingers. That sound was from something you’re familiar with, so it warms you up more to hear it.”
Sound on sound
Like many who work in the field of audio production, Lehmkuhl not only loves music, he loves… soundOutside of his home studio, he has recorded entire sound libraries using ambient recordings captured with a Tascam recorder in a Costa Rican rainforest.
Photography: Natalie Behring