Omrao Brown began the discussion as he spoke of the present day music and what it encompasses. He went on to emphasize that the music itself becomes an assimilation of other cultures so that it embodies many different ways of life. He continued by saying that hip hop music can be appreciated by people other than African Americans, because anyone is able to enjoy the music that is being produced because it is a blend of so many different cultures. Ever since this first commercial achievement, hip hop has truly spread across the nation and has helped unite people. The use of sampling music or borrowing rhythms and sounds from previous existing music, has helped universalize the music form.
Music is about adopting other people's music and there are very few original tracks of their own.
The likes of Puff Daddy, KRS-1, and the Notorious B.I.G. all have followed this trend and have succeeded from it. One of the many interesting things presented at the lecture was that many samples derive from such things as jazz and blues music during the middle of the century, as well as slave songs that were sung long ago during the days of the Civil War. The components of these songs are very similar. Lyric content is very important. This form of music has evolved increasingly over the years, but the roots still remain in tact.