G-Funk & its Significance

Tupac and his producer created this album to resonate with the G-Funk style that Dr.Dre used to revolutionize the rap game. G-Funk came to rise during the end of NWA when Dr.Dre and Ice-Cube left the group. It was a move away from gangster rap and the lyrical tone of violence and corruption to a more flashy relaxed style that was in turn adopted as the sound of California rap.(kajikawa)  It was through the use of a synthesizer that Tupac was able to signify on Dr.Dre and his revolutionary style as well as Joe Sample and his modernized Jazzy Funk. Tupac essentially allowed the synthesizer to do its job and recreate as well as play back sounds, riff, hooks, and harmonies. Tupac took advantage of synthesized hooks and riffs from Joe Samples song to create a smooth constant flow throughout the song. Flowing with the g-funk style Tupac also used a guitarist to signify on the jazz mood which allowed for a call and response between the lyrics, the synthesized sample, and the guitar that went along rhythmically with the beat. He also performs a call and response between himself and the background vocals throughout the hook.(Kajikawa)

The Synthesizer: 

The single most important technology used to make “Dear Mama” was the synthesizer. The synthesizer is an electronic device that enacts as filtration for harmonic sound sources.(Devine) It’s origin came from the need for musicians to be able to reproduce live sounds to recreate the same sounds from a live performance. This led to the creation of the modular synthesizer in the 60’s by Robert Moog and Donald Buchla.(Devine) This technology really kicked off in the 80’s with the development of microprocessors and Yamaha’s creation of the DX7. Expanding to various different styles of play and musical genres this equipment became increasingly popular and commonly used. In the 90’s the technology had developed enough to run synthesizer software programs to encapsol digital wave generation and digital sampling, which essentially help you achieve emulation of a particular voice or sound.(Devine) Tupac and his producers were able to use the synthesizer to effeciently recreate live like riffs that provided a smooth funky groove to “Dear Mama”. This is essentially where the sampling of Joe Sample steps in and adds a layered meaning to song itself. The riffs begin at around 24 seconds into “Dear Mama” and the synthesizer takes over to provide the riffs on a repeated scale throughout the rest of the song. The synthesizer as said before was the epidomy technology that allowed Tupac to successfully recreate the sounds of the legendary Jazz musician Joe Sample. This provided a layered meaning that shows lineage with great African American jazz music, hence the sampling of Joe Sample. It also helped promote the call and response between the lyrics and the guitar pushing for the vernacular tradition and helping those within this tradition to resonate with the layered meanings that fall inside the vernacular.