Chipmunk soul

{{Short description|Style of hip hop music production}} '''Chipmunk soul''' is a style of hip hop that features sped-up vocal samples, originating in the 2000s. The genre was popularized by Kanye West in his albums ''The College Dropout'', ''Late Registration'' and ''Graduation'', which notably were heavy in high-pitched vocals, especially in the singles "Spaceship" and "Through the Wire". Early users of the style included Just Blaze, RZA, and DJ Premier.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hardy |first=Caleb |date=2023-05-22 |title=How Kanye West Helped "Chipmunk Soul" Define An Era Of Hip-Hop |url=https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/680197-chipmunk-soul-songs |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=hotnewhiphop.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nobbs |first=Dan |date=17 December 2022 |title=Kanye West and 'Chipmunk Soul': A Graduation retrospective |url=https://theboar.org/2022/12/kanye-west-graduation-retrospective/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=theboar.org |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-15 |title=Kanye West and Chipmunk Soul: The Ultimate Guide |url=https://loopkitchen.co.uk/blogs/loop-kitchen-blog/kanye-west-and-chipmunk-soul |access-date=2025-09-25 |website=Loop Kitchen |language=en}}</ref>

The name "chipmunk" is a reference to Alvin and the Chipmunks, a 1960s musical act featuring sped-up high-pitched vocal recordings.<ref name=RedBull>{{Cite web |last=Brimmers |first=Julian |date=August 10, 2018 |title=What Was Chipmunk Soul? |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2018/08/chipmunk-soul |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=daily.redbullmusicacademy.com |language=en}}</ref>

Although the style originated by sampling soul music recordings, the term "chipmunk soul" includes the use of samples from other musical genres including reggae, rock and world music.<ref name=RedBull/>

== References == {{reflist}}

Category:Hip-hop Category:Hip-hop genres Category:2000s establishments