The Roland TR-808 and the Rise of Drum Machines
You know you’ve made it in any industry when the name of a tool or product becomes the universal catch-all of others, like Google or Kleenex. That’s exactly what happened with the Roland TR-808 drum machine first released in 1980. In the 40 years since, the product has likely made an appearance in thousands of tracks from Marvin Gaye and Afrika Bambaataa all the way up to Ye, the rapper once known as Kanye West.
The Roland TR 808 is still used in some scenarios but more often artists and listeners will colloquially refer to the term “808″ to refer to a variety of drum machines, many influenced by the trend center. The success of 808-style drum machines in rap music has led to the wide adoption of the sound style in everything from country songs to rock music.
