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Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman · Roger Troutman was born in 1951 in Hamilton, Ohio, the fourth of nine children. With his brothers he founded Zapp, who were discovered in 1979 by George Clinton and signed to his label Uncle Jam Records. A year later Troutman signed with Bootsy Collins to Warner Bros. The debut album Zapp produced More Bounce to the Ounce, which reached number two on the Billboard Soul Singles chart at the end of 1980. Up to 1985 came gold albums such as Zapp II and Zapp III and top hits on the R&B chart, such as Dance Floor and Computer Love. In 1993 Zapp & Roger: All the Greatest Hits was released. Troutman died in 1999.
Music and breakthrough
His trademark was the talk box, a device connected to an instrument, usually a keyboard or guitar, that makes the instrument sound as if it is talking. He used a specially built Electro-Harmonix Golden Throat, via a Minimoog and later a Yamaha DX100. Zapp helped to push funk forward, and West Coast hip hop sampled their music extensively.
Influence
Dr. Dre, known from N.W.A and West Coast hip hop, made California Love with him in 1995. On that track Troutman sings through the talk box, so that the chorus line sounds in an electronic, robotic voice. It is an example of how the funk of Zapp was given a new lease of life in the hip hop of the 1990s. Troutman regularly collaborated with hip hop artists in those years.
Listening
California Love · 2Pac feat. Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman, 1995Apple Music ↗