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...and someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but when you sample another hip-hop record, in a way you're cheating because you're messing around with what another producer messed with.
A good example of this is the Original Concept album, STRAIGHT FROM THE BASEMENT OF KOOLEY HIGH, so we're going back to 1987 or so for this. I still think it's a great album, but "Charlie Sez" is supposed to sound original until you realize Doctor Dre was just using Coldcut's "Beats And Pieces", without alteration. If you're doing a DJ set that's one thing, but when you're producing "your own" song, it comes off as half-assed.
Or it's like a DJ scratching a part of a record that has scratching, a DJ things it may sound cool because part of the effect is there and you're adding your own flavor to it.
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It also touches on so-called "ethics", and in sample-based production it shouldn't matter, even if we have our own individual guidelines. I used to be someone who borrowed from hip-hop records, it was quick and fast and it was in many ways education. I got to a point where I did not want to make music that sounded like anyone else, and I had more than enough records to create something that I hoped would represent my production techniques and my collection. I do not regret having Led Zeppelin's untitled 4th album and making endless loops of "When The Levee Breaks" with a cassette deck, not only could I make decent loops, but I could add an additional bass, do a double snare, or extend that knock in the beat a little more, using nothing more than a pause button. When I got into computer based production I used that method, and it was a lot easier because I could actually "see" the music rather than rely on audio cues.
Anyone who visited a library probably came across a book or magazine articles on how to splice audio tape, which lead into how to make a tape loop. I remember being amazed at the concept of "time stretching", and it got mathematical too. Let's say four inches of tape represented three seconds. If you got that four inch tape and cut it into four, 1-inch slices, that would be 0.75 seconds each piece. You had a sense for what sound was on each piece. Now if you moved around each piece, so instead of the splices being in a 1-2-3-4 sequence, it could be 1-2-4-3, or 2-1-3-4, or 3-2-4-1, and when spliced together and played, it would result in a different sequence of sounds, even if the sounds within is the same sound on that four inch piece of tape.
Okay, now I'm off-topic again so I'll shutup.
Point is, it was a lot more interesting and creative to make something on your own and not rely on sounds pre-made by another producer. Or to put it bluntly, if the thief got away with doing something, you want what he has, so you steal from the thief.
With all of that said, if someone can make a good song and most people have no idea where you got the sounds from, that's part of the song's charm, it's "magic". When you go behind the wizard's curtain and discover some of the production truths, then people start throwing issues. There is a bit of that competitive edge, but we almost treat beatmaking as if it's wrestling. This isn't the Battle Royale or Wrestlemania VII.
I know, someone will now mention the Pete Marriott/9th Wonder thing, but that's Pete and he can back up his claims. But this isn't about Pete, it's about making music you're comfortable with, regardless of the techniques or methods involved.
http://www.myspace.com/crutmusic
http://www.musicforamerica.org/node/112379
http://jbookmusic.blogspot.com
http://www.cduniverse.com/default.asp?style=music&frm=lk_johnbook
http://www.allmanbrothersband.com/index.php?vst=45730
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