It has often been said that constraints drive creativity. This article talks about how the “Golden Age” of Hip Hop was driven by the constraints of technology.

The SP-1200 was a sampler/drum machine that allowed music producers to sample 10.07 seconds of sound. With that constraint they created some of the most iconic music of the 20th century.

“They’ve mastered the computer to the point it does things the SP-1200 can’t do. [But] we would have better records today if people said, “Look, you’ve got five hours to make a record.” The problem is that people got all day. They got all week. They got all month.”